El mariachi (1992)

A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.

Director:

Robert Rodriguez

Writer:

Robert Rodriguez

Stars:

Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de Hoyos

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carlos Gallardo	...	El Mariachi
Consuelo Gómez	...	Domino
Jaime de Hoyos	...	Bigotón (as Jaime De Hoyos)
Peter Marquardt	...	Mauricio
Reinol Martinez	...	Azul
Ramiro Gómez	...	Cantinero (as Ramiro Gomez)
Jesús López	...	Viejo Clerk (as Jesus Lopez)
Luis Baró	...	Domino's Assistant (as Luis Baro)
Oscar Fabila	...	The Boy
Poncho Ramón	...	Azul's Rat (as Poncho Ramon)
Fernando Martínez	...	Azul's Rat (as Fernando Martinez)
Manuel Acosta	...	Bodyguard
Walter Vargas	...	Prisoner
Roberto Martinez	...	Prisoner
Virgen Delgado	...	Female Bodyguard

Storyline

El Mariachi just wants to play his guitar and carry on the family tradition. Unfortunately, the town he tries to find work in has another visitor...a killer who carries his guns in a guitar case. The drug lord and his henchmen mistake El Mariachi for the killer, Azul, and chase him around town trying to kill him and get his guitar case.

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Plot Keywords:

mariachi | guitar | guitar case | gun | mexico | 

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Taglines:

With a guitar in his hand and a price on his head, he wasn't looking for trouble...but trouble came looking for him.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

El Mariachi, suonatore di chitarra

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Acuña, Coahuíla, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$2,040,920 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Los Hooligans Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For much of the outdoor filming Robert Rodriguez was down the street from the Mariachi. People walking by did not see him, just the man walking down the street with a machine gun.

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Goofs

After the Mariachi kisses dead Domino,l the corner of her mouth moves.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mauricio: Good morning, Azul. Know who this is?

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Crazy Credits

In the beginning credits, Robert Rodriguez is listed as the editor. In the ending credits he gets sole credit for additional editing.

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Connections

Referenced in Lucignolo (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Ganas De Vivir"
Written and Performed by Juan Suarez

User Reviews

Frenetic.

I know the budget for this film was somewhere between 5000 and 7000 dollars, but I would like to comment more on the pacing and frenetic film style Rodriguez bestows upon us. Low budget or not,this film has energy. It never lets down for more than a few minutes and the editing is amazing. Robert Rodriguez has such a knowledge of film-making that he makes this movie look like a million bucks easy. The film isn't perfect, but on sheer energy alone it will entertain you more than most over-blown Hollywood action films.