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El Mariachi / Desperado [DVD] [1996]
 
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El Mariachi / Desperado [DVD] [1996]

DVD ~ Antonio Banderas
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

El Mariachi / Desperado [DVD] [1996]
68% buy the item featured on this page:
El Mariachi / Desperado [DVD] [1996] 4.4 out of 5 stars (7)
El Mariachi / Desperado / Once Upon A Time In Mexico [DVD] [2003]
19% buy
El Mariachi / Desperado / Once Upon A Time In Mexico [DVD] [2003] 3.4 out of 5 stars (30)
£14.38
Desperado [DVD] [1996]
7% buy
Desperado [DVD] [1996] 4.2 out of 5 stars (19)
From Dusk Till Dawn (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD]
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From Dusk Till Dawn (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] 4.0 out of 5 stars (32)
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Product details

  • Actors: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Joaquim de Almeida
  • Directors: Robert Rodriguez
  • Writers: Robert Rodriguez
  • Producers: Carlos Gallardo, Robert Rodriguez, Bill Borden, Carmen M. De Gallardo, Elizabeth Avellan
  • Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English, Spanish
  • Subtitles: Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 18
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 1 Nov 1999
  • Run Time: 181 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004D00H
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,344 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Before Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi, Mexicans in North American action films were typically maids, drug dealers or prison inmates. Even if the Cisco Kid was a friend of yours, you handled a dust cloth or a Mac-10 if you lasted in Hollywood longer than a New York minuto.

But when El Mariachi crossed the border in 1992, things changed. Granted, it still involved a drug lord in a shoot-em-up but this time the good guy was a Mexican.

Austin-based Rodriguez made El Mariachi for a fistful of pesos and a little help from his friends. He wrote, directed, coproduced, edited and operated the camera. Plus, he assembled a cast that had never acted before to work por nada.

Desperado continues the outrageous action adventure. Working with a much bigger budget, Rodriguez returns the nameless mariachi to non-stop action. Again thrust into a world he never made, the hero takes his guitar-case arsenal deep into the criminal labyrinth of Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), el gran chingon of the Mexican drug lords. With an amigo (Steve Buscemi) and a beautiful bookstore owner (Salma Hayek), el mariachi confronts an outrageous cast along the way, including a bartender (Cheech Marin), a drug-deal, pick-up guy (Quentin Tarantino) and the original mariachi (coproducer Carlos Gallardo) as a new-found compa'.

Antonio Banderas has the lead this time, and if he's not quite up to the challenge, it's probably because he's Spanish, not Mexican, a distinction not lost by anyone raised on what the popular media now calls "ethnic food."

That said, Desperado is not to be missed. Using intelligence, romance and humour--as well as plenty of explosive, surreal violence--Rodriguez again showcases the timeless struggle between the forces of darkness and light. And, in the process, he's recasting the mould for the contemporary action hero--kids now argue about who gets to play the Mexican. --Stephan Magcosta, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.77 Wide Screen
1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 10
German
English\Latin American Spanish
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo Latin American Spanish German\Dolby Digital 5.1 English German
Dolby Digital Stereo
Dolby Digital 5.1
Filmographies
US Theatrical Trailer
Directors Commentary
Music Video
Scene Selection
Ten Minute Film School
Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Spanish\Swedish\Turkish


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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The work of a great director, and plenty of extra features, 3 Jul 2000
By A Customer
Desperado has been described as a 'south of the border Pulp Fiction', but this is rather misleading, as Tarantino's masterpiece should really stand alone from any other (in a direct comparison, Pulp Fiction would have to be the better film) and Desperado is in many ways unique in its style. Set in dusty Mexico and following the violent exploits of a pushed-too-far musician, Desperado has more in common with the likes of Last Man Standing. The director, Robert Rodriguez, is clearly in favour of a fast-cutting, action-filled movie, and the action is furious and bloody at times, but giving the audience time to cool off in-between gunfights.

Antonio Banderas was excellently cast for the lead role, and throughout the movie he contributes much to the mysterious but fast-paced atmosphere with his Latino ambience, his seemingly natural use of weapons and his athleticism (he did his own stunts, by the way). Other cast members also shine, Salma Hayek doing a commendable job of her first major Hollywood role. Quentin Tarantino also pops up (and back down again) in typical Tarantino style.

But lets not forget the other side of the disc. El Mariachi was what transformed Rodriguez from small-time director using family as cast and home-town as set to a big Hollywood name, now with the likes of From Dusk Till Dawn and The Faculty under his belt. El Mariachi is the precedent for Desperado, having a similar skeleton story and character that Desperado later picked up. The real achievement of Mariachi is it's budget. Just $7,000 was made to look like so much more, and the accompanying director's commentary of the film is full of money-saving techniques in movie-making.

The special features that come with El Mariachi / Desperado are worth mentioning. Both films come with a very good feature-length commentary by Rodriguez, a trailer and a ten minute making-of film. There are also music videos, biographies, a little booklet and even one of the director's early films. Overall, this is a great bundle, and both films are well worth seeing. Desperado has to be the better one, though, being newer and having a bigger budget, and I would recommend watching the second movie before El Mariachi.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars desperado is cool, 19 Aug 2003
By A Customer
this is a great box set which shows both great films. El Mariachi is very low budget but still an excellent film wheras Desperado with Antonio Banderras is more stylish and makes better use of effects and the bigger budget.

for fans of good thrillers this has it all, lots of shooting and good music, a must for all film fans

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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars El Mariachi is a must watch..., 15 Oct 2003
...for fans of independant films. produced on a budget of $7,000 dollars in 7 days with one camera and people who had never acted before. in spite of all these it combines a good plot with good action scenes all shot with such style it looks like it must have cost way more than 10 times the price to make. if you dont like low budget films however steer clear of this film and go straight to desperado.

with banderas taking over as the main character the whole film goes up a level in terms of style and class but loses some of what made El Mariachi so damn good in the first place. links to Rodriguezes film From Dusk Till Dawn are apparent with the 'male organ' gun amongst banderases weapons.

so for the film enthusiast like myself El Mariachi is amazing and Desperado is quite good - for the casual film watcher El Mariachi may seen slow poorly acted and fairly short (about 76mins). the extras on both films are great with a wealth of different things such as a mini commentry by rodriguez on making a film cheap.

my only problem is the decision to make it a double sided disc rather than two discs. they are too easy to damage if viewed many times (as my copy is). well worth the low price though even for one of the films - my advice buy it...and buy another copy just in case something happens to your first.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic entertainment
...and fun! Are these B films? I don't know, and I don't care. They display an enthusiasm and bravura (bravado? Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dinky

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Stuff - A Must For Emerging Filmmakers
A few years ago I watched 'Desperado' when it appeared on TV. At that time it was just another movie to me, but one that I really enjoyed. Read more
Published on 18 April 2005 by J. PURCELL

5.0 out of 5 stars Contrast & compare...
El Mariachi, especially with the director's commentary, is a case study in low-budget movie making. It belies it's tiny price-tag and manitains a tension throughout. Read more
Published on 25 May 2003 by M. Currie

4.0 out of 5 stars Great value, but El Mariachi is the better film
2 films in one. Great value. El mariachi on side 1 is an excellent film when you consider it was made for something like $7,000. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2000 by Larkin Cunningham

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