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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