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

7 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:

female bartender | attempted rape | female prison guard | love triangle | bikini | 

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Taglines:

He didn't come looking for trouble, but trouble came looking for him.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence

Details

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

26 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

El Mariachi

Filming Locations:

Coahuíla, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$312,528, 18 July 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,040,920

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,041,928, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Los Hooligans Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The running gag, in which Moco lights up his match using the moustache of his henchman Bigotón, was described by Robert Rodriguez as a means to start and end the film: the end scene is a parody of this scene.

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Goofs

Just before Mariachi jumps on a truck for the third time, he's checking out the window of a guitar shop. On the right-hand side, the camera on a tripod is visible, with the operator (Robert Rodriguez) moving back and forth from the sun to the shade and checking the viewfinder.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Turtle... Tito La Tortuga

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: Hot Cocoa Bang Bang (2011)

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Soundtracks

Mariachi Solo
Written and Performed by Álvaro Rodríguez (as Alvaro Rodriguez)

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.