A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
Director:
Robert RodriguezWriter:
Robert Rodriguez
From metacritic.com
From his roles in Just Mercy to Straight Outta Compton, O'Shea Jackson Jr. knows a thing or two about great biopics.
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Title: El Mariachi (1992)
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7 wins & 4 nominations.
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Edit
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 |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
See All (256) »
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. Written by Josh Pasnak <chainsaw@intouch.bc.ca>
Plot Keywords:
female bartender | attempted rape | female prison guard | love triangle | bikini |Taglines:
He didn't come looking for trouble, but trouble came looking for him. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
SpanishRelease Date:
26 February 1993 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
El Mariachi See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
$7,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend USA:
$312,528, 28 February 1993Gross USA:
$2,040,920Cumulative Worldwide Gross:
$2,040,920Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
DolbyColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Robert Rodriguez was producer, director, writer, special-effect man, etc, the only job he didn't do was act, as there would be no one else to operate the camera. See more »Goofs
After the Mariachi uses the zip-line to get to the bus, you can see Robert Rodriguez and his camera in the rear-view mirror. See more »Crazy Credits
In the beginning credits, Robert Rodriguez is listed as the editor. In the ending credits he gets sole credit for additional editing. See more »Alternate Versions
In addition to the subtitled version, Columbia had an English dubbed version prepared for home video release in the United States. See more »Frequently Asked Questions
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It is so well-established now in other comments, I won't repeat that Robert Rodriguez made this debut film of his for a mere $7,000. Regardless how much he did or didn't spend, this is a very well-written and photographed story of a nice young man who only wants to be a Mariachi singer, but is inadvertently caught up in a manhunt and several gunfights. The movie is not intended to be taken seriously. The crook with the guitar case full of guns is supposed to be part of the joke of the movie. Many people get shot and killed, and of course that isn't funny in real life, but this film is not intended to reflect real life. It is just an entertaining film. Sort of a cartoon come to life.
I saw this on DVD, which is real nice because the extra features contain a great insight into how Rodriguez shot and edited this movie. For example, all the filming was done "silently". Then, armed with a tape recorder and Radio Shack microphone, he had the actors re-do the scene while he recorded the dialog and other sounds. Music was done the same way. Then, when Rodriguez edited the movie, he matched the tape-recorded sound to the filmed action for the final cut. Watching the film you can notice some non-synchronization, and that's the reason why. It is certainly not distracting. He made the film with no crew, no fancy equipment, vrtally no lighting other than natural. Most of the actors were local Mexican businessmen, bartenders, or TV news men. Quite an achievement in movie-making, because it is a very entertaining movie on its own. I give it 9 of 10, partly because of the novelty of its origin.
The other side of the DVD contains Rodriguez's followup movie, "Desperado", which is actually a sequel to "El Mariachi." So, if you rent or buy this DVD, you are getting 2 movies for one price. Quite a deal!!