Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Peter Marquardt

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 ...( read more  read more... )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. New film transfer from original negatives supervised by Robert Rodriguez! Featurette: "Sneak Peak: Once Upon A Time in Mexico." Audio Commentary with Director Robert Rodriguez. Featurette: 10 Minute Film School. Featurette: Robert Rodriguez's Student Film "Bed Head."

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74% liked it

46,957 ratings

R, 81 min.

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez

Release Date: February 26, 1993

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DVD Release Date: August 26, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (2,073)


  • April 22, 2009
    A wandering musician is mistaken for a a gun toting killer with a grudge and finds himself caught between two warring drug gangs. To say Robert Rodriguez' breakthrough film was an achievement is an understatement; this rates alongside Evil Dead as one of the great victories of mi...( read more)nd over money. I have pairs of trainers that look more expensive than this! The photography is a little cheap looking (though no worse than say, Mad Max), the acting rather amateurish and you do seem to spend a lot of the time watching people running around the same streets. Made for $7,000 and every shot done in one take, the constraints of the budget are obvious, but the director's invention still manages to shine through. At only 80 minutes it has a nice no frills approach but like Evil Dead, it is completely out shined by the director's own big budget re-invention, Desperado. Well worth a look though, especially for Rodriguez fans and anyone interested in independent cinema.
  • February 16, 2009
    Ultra-cheap prequel to Desperado, filmed in a small Mexican town in their native language. The low budget makes it seem more real in some ways, though in a cheesy way. It's not only a must see if you'd like to know how the El Mariachi character came about, but it's also a very go...( read more)od gangster flick in its own right.
  • February 11, 2009
    Considering this was made for $7000, I'm completely baffled. This movie was filmed around the same time John Woo's The Killer was...and production value for both are extremely similar. Rodriguez motivates anyone with a video camera to just go out and make their dreams come true...( read more). This film is his proof that anything is possible.
  • September 24, 2008
    Quite possibly one of the most important and influential independent films ever made. A living proof that money is completely secondary when it comes to making good cinema.
  • September 10, 2008
    I was expecting something a little special for Robert Rodriguez?s debut film, but it all seems a little too uncomplicated for me. The storyline was milked a little too much I felt, which made parts feel pretty monotonous. I have to rate this film without the Robert Rodriguez in...( read more)fluence. It?s a novel idea and a watchable film, but nothing too special.

    3 stars
  • November 8, 2009
    Je l'ai vu en espagnol sous-titré en anglais et j'ai aimé quand-męme.
  • October 26, 2009
    Due to his passion for making films Rodriguez came up with quite a good action movie, in spite of the very low budget. All the tricks he came up with to reduce the costs were really clever. I recommend to watch the making of to understand the difficulties he encountered in the pr...( read more)ocess. At least it can be seen as a test drive for the following Desperado.
  • October 15, 2009
    Antonio papi chulo Banderas
  • October 7, 2009
    Bad actors (except Azul and the main character), Bad direction, but a great start for Robert Rodriguez and 7000$ of budget. Is quite enjoyable and funny.
  • September 18, 2009
    The best of the trilogy. Excellent start for Rodriguez; stylish and violent, just as this story should have been.

    67/100

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El Mariachi Trivia


  • What film takes place before Desperado?  Answer »
  • In the movie El Mariachi what was the bad guys name?  Answer »
  • How many movies are there where the main character is El Mariachi, a man who carries a variety of guns and other weapons within a guitar case?  Answer »
  • What Actor played El Mariachi in Once Upon A Time In Mexico?  Answer »

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