Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Jaime de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martinez, Ramiro Gomez, Jesus Lopes, Luis Baro
More info: IMDb
Tagline: With a guitar in his hand and a price on his head, he wasn't looking for trouble...but trouble came looking for him.
Plot: A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
My rating:? 8/10
Will I watch it again? Yes!
Boy, oh, boy was this a treat. The last time I saw this it was on video 18 years ago. Now I'm watching it on the big screen at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival with Robert Rodriguez in attendance. It was twenty years ago that Rodriguez brought this, his first feature, to Sundance and it catapulted him into the spotlight and made him the toast of the independent film world. The budget on this flick was only $7,000!!!
Rodriguez introduced the picture and gave us a treat by leading it with an 8 minute short he shot on video 6 years prior at the age of 16 called, ISMAEL JONES AND THE EYES OF THE DEVIL...that was fun! You could see in that short the talent and eye he had at an early age. It was a lot of fun.
EL MARIACHI was a load of fun from start to finish. I'd forgotten how bleak the ending was (there are times when I can appreciate my dodgy memory). I'm going to bust out my DVD of this when I get back and delve into the commentary and extras.
Rodriguez and Gallardo gave us an entertaining and informative Q&A after the show. One reason I dig this guy so much is his enthusiasm for not only about making movies but by encouraging everyone to do the same. After one of his talks (even watching him talk about such things on DVD extras) I get pumped up enough to go out and make my own damn movies. I just need to get my hands on a couple of cameras and HELLO, HOLLYWOOD!!!
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