Review of Desperado & El Mariachi

Introduction

I first saw “Desperado” on video many years ago and Robert Rodriguez’s stylish blend of violence and humour really entertained me. Until I bought this DVD, I had never seen the film the led to “Desperado” – “El Mariachi”.

Unsurprisingly the basic plot for both movies is very similar – a Mexican with a guitar case full of guns is on a mission of revenge against a crime boss. The execution in each movie is however different – with “El Mariachi” revolving around a case of mistaken identity between an innocent guitarist and the gangster on the revenge mission. “Desperado” is much more in your face with absolutely no confusion about who is killing who!

Video

El Mariachi
“El Mariachi” comes in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen and considering the meagre $7000 budget for the film is not as bad as I had expected. Admittedly, the picture quality isn’t great, but it is certainly a great deal better than for example the recent “Manhunter Director’s Cut”.

Special Effects in “El Mariachi” are kept to the absolute minimum due to the budget and gunfire/gunshot wounds are all we get. Again, whilst not up to Hollywood standards, they add to the charm of the film.

Desperado
“Desperado” on the other hand has great video, presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen which looks fantastic.

Again, special effects centre on gunfire, but the gunfights in “Desperado” have to been seen to be believed, very fast, stylish and supremely entertaining.

Audio

El Mariachi
“El Mariachi” features a Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack with “Latin American Spanish” dialogue and English subtitles. The soundtrack reflects the low budget of the movie, but is more than adequate and doesn’t detract from the film in any way.

Desperado
"Desperado” features a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and it is superb – with great use of music and effects throughout the movie which really add to the overall stylish feel of the movie.

Features

El Mariachi
“El Mariachi” features a director’s commentary, short film “Bedhead”, trailer and filmography.

Desperado
“Desperado” features a director’s commentary, trailer, filmography and music videos.

Conclusion

Fans of “Desperado” may be surprised to learn that “El Mariachi” is a much better film than its successor, which although very stylish has little substance in comparison.

“El Mariachi” is first hand proof that you don’t need big stars or a huge budget to make a good movie. “Desperado” is also a very entertaining film, but remembered more for its set piece gunfights and violence rather than the charm of the original.

The cast in both films is good – “El Mariachi” has a cast of unknowns who all play their parts well, “Desperado” turns to Banderas, Hayek, Buscemi and Tarantino who are all superb in their respective roles.

Providing overall marks is very difficult when two movies are on the disc, but as I bough the DVD for “Desperado” (I suspect that most other people will do the same), I treat “El Mariachi” as an extra feature.

However, no matter which way you look at it, there are two good movies on this DVD, both with a good range of extras and both very entertaining in their own way.