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:

death | national film registry | mariachi | guitar | assassin | 

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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 | 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

Robert Rodriguez spared expense by shooting on 16 mm film as opposed to 35 mm, and transferring the film to video for editing, avoiding the costs of cutting on film. In the end, he used only 24 rolls of film and only spent $7,225 of the $9,000 he had planned.

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Goofs

There are two guitar cases at the bar, Azul's (filled with weapons) and El Mariachi's (with a guitar inside). When he leaves, Azul mistakenly takes El Mariachi's with him and leaves his own at the bar. But it should have been easy to notice the difference in weight between the two cases (as the Mariachi immediately proves in the same scene).

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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 Unikal'noe pozdravlenie (2014)

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Soundtracks

Ganas De Vivir
Written and Performed by Juan Suarez

User Reviews

One of the greatest low budget movies of the last twenty years, and still an inspiration to wanna be movie makers around the world.

'El Mariachi' should still be regarded as an inspiration to wanna be movie makers around the world. For around US$7,000 Robert Rodriguez created one of the most enjoyable action movies to hit Hollywood since Peckinpah's 'The Getaway'. Once again Rodriguez proves the point that creativity and imagination beat million dollar budgets every time. An obvious concept to most people one would think, but going by the overblown CGI infested crapola at a theatre near you something that mainstream Hollywood STILL doesn't get! Carlos Gallardo played El Mariachi and co-produced with Rodriguez who did just about everything else - writer, director, cinematographer, editor, special effects,etc.etc. I first saw this movie not long after it hit video and I enjoyed it a lot. I recently watched it on DVD for the first time, ten years after I first saw it, and to me it really stands up. (Rodriguez' commentary is also highly recommended to any aspiring director) Personally my favourite Rodriguez movie is 'From Dusk Til Dawn', but 'El Mariachi' comes a close second. It's sequel cum remake 'Desperado' is a better known to most people but despite a budget 1000 times bigger(!) and some "name" actors involved I don't think it has half the energy and fun of the original, one of the greatest low budget movies of the last twenty years.