Desperado & El Mariachi (UK)

I bought this DVD as I had seen the movie before on video. I am a Robert Rodriguez and Antonio Banderas fan, however if you are a fan of Salma Hayek as well this a must buy. This is a double sided disc, on one side is El Mariachi and on the other is Desperados. El Mariachi is the film that first shot Rodriguez to fame when it was a huge hit at the cinema and was bought out by Columbia Pictures. The amazing part being that it only cost Rodriguez $7000 to make. My advice would be to first watch El Mariachi as the picture quality is not up to much as explained in the commentary by Rodriguez as the negatives used for the transfer were not in good condition by the time it was put to DVD. The best part about this side of the disc is to listen to the commentary of how he made this so cheaply, in parts it is quite hilarious when he tells you some of the ingenious ways he gets round the costs of production. He uses virtually anybody he doesn`nt have to pay and cons others into being part of the movie. This is great fun as he makes it very interesting the whole way through. A must for all budding directors out there.
The plot of both films is not that great, it`s basically bad drug dealer and bad guys against him. Just sit back and enjoy the performances of Banderas, Hayek and also a great supporting role from Steve Buscemi. Watch the action and the hot Mexican atmosphere and let the story wash over you, it is superb fun. The visual quality is excellent, colours rich and detail very clear, added to this the sound is amazing. Each gun shot ricochets round the room and the low rumbling from your sub should have the room shaking. The soundtrack is great also, keeping the tension high and adding to the heavy atmosphere as it throbs away in the background. I will base my ratings on this side of the disc as it would be a shame to mark it down because of the poor quality of the other side and anyway the main reason to watch El Mariachi side is for the entertaimnent of Rodriguez`s commentary. This is why I would advise watching El Mariachi side first as you will not enjoy it as much after seeing the quality of Desperados. There are also some great extras on the Desperado side as well, some music videos, trailer and also a brilliant 10 minute short on the filming of a shoot out. Once again entertainingly narrated by Rodriguez with Antonio Banderas jumping about a bar using his finger as a gun, great stuff. There are also more extras on El Mariachi side such as some old films he shot at film school and more. I would recommend anybody to buy this and add it to their collection. Watch and enjoy and don`t think too much about plot, storyline etc, just savour the action and Salma!

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Stylish if rather overrated movies, given a good presentation on DVD

Most people will buy this disc for Desperado, but I advice watching El Mariachi first, as it`s the better of the two films.
El Mariachi is a great little spigetti western, made even more better by the fact that it was made on such a small budget. There is an equal balance of style and substance in this film, whereas Desperado is all style, no substance, and a naked Salma Hayek thrown in for (amazingly) good measure.
The video quality of Mariachi is quite good, presented in anamorphic widesreen. This is definately better quality than most 16mm releases, although at times blurry. Desperado has a very good anamorphic transfer, although I have definately seen better elsewhere.
The soundtracks each suit their films, with Desperdo`s soundtrack being very impressive.
The extras are superb on this disc. The commentaries are possibly the best ones ever recorded, and the film schools will teach you everything you`ll ever need to learn about film-making. Bedhead is amusing, but doesn`t stand up to repeat viewings, and the music videos are alright.
A top class package, and a must have for fans of Rodregiuez`s other work, Salma, action flicks, spigetti westerns and budding film makers.

Features:

El Mariachi: Side B
Not as good as Rodriquez`s Desperado, but this his first movie shot on a budget of $7000, it is worth a look at how to make a film for cheap but make it look more than that, which
all Rodriquez`s films look like anyway. Carlos Gallardo (Robert`s best friend and the films producer) makes a good performance as the luckless hero of the piece who only wants
to play the guitar than blow people away with big guns. But the film is still entertaining to say the least.

Desperado: Side A
The second feature on the disc is the better one. Now with a bigger budget Rodriquez returns to continue the Mariachi story
this time with the excellent Antonio Banderas as our hero. Again this film looks more expensive than it is. Banderas also
has great support from Steve Buscemi, the sexy Salma Hayek (Who in a surprise turn get`s quite sweaty in the film) and a cameo from Quentin Tarantino and Cheech Marin. The film also features lashings of bloody ultra-violence and is very slick. The better of the two films.

Sound;

El Mariachi is in Stereo, which is a shame, 5.1 would be brilliant it`s such a shame.

Desperado has a full 5.1 mix and is fantastic, it`s used to the extreme and is well, fantastic, i would love to hear it in DTS.

Picture:

El Mariachi again is miss treated, the picture is ok, it would be nice if Columbia had put a little more effort in to it.

Desperado has fantastic picture quality, why are they re-releasing this on Superbit when it`s great all ready.

Extras:

El Mariachi features Robert Rodriquez`s short film bed head, which is rubbish but worth a look any way. The commentary is
very good from the young director and very informative. The ten minute film school, which is becomming regular on his DVD releases these days. It`s actually quite good.

Desperado has a better commentary from Rodriquez and again is very good. The music videos are also a good inclusion
and the ten minute film school again is great!

**** El Mariachi Scores****

Content: 7
Video : 7
Audio : 7
Extras : 7

THE SCORES BELOW ARE FOR DESPERADO