Rating: 
Summary: $7K movie and it shows
Review: First of all. I love "Desperado" and "Once a Upon ..." films. I bought El Mariachi on the assumption that the film was up to the par with the sequels. It's not. The quality of this film reminds me when my small town's local theater would show cheap mexican movies where the acting and editing were poor even to the untrained eyes. Film students just love this film because it was made on $7K budget. It is an amazing film for such a low amount but it's not a great film for the average moviegoer. Mr. Rodriguez shows promise in this film and he has fulfilled them in the sequels but the accolades from 4-star reviews are misleading.
Rating:
Summary: $7K movie and it shows
Review: First of all. I love "Desperado" and "Once a Upon ..." films. I bought El Mariachi on the assumption that the film was up to the par with the sequels. It's not. The quality of this film reminds me when my small town's local theater would show cheap mexican movies where the acting and editing were poor even to the untrained eyes. Film students just love this film because it was made on $7K budget. It is an amazing film for such a low amount but it's not a great film for the average moviegoer. Mr. Rodriguez shows promise in this film and he has fulfilled them in the sequels but the accolades from 4-star reviews are misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: An inspirational piece of filmmaking!
Review: For any would-be movie makers, this film is a must, due to its highly innovative style of both production and direction. Combined with his great book, 'Rebel Without a Crew', you will feel like making a feature movie tomorrow!
Rating:
Summary: Kicks ass
Review: Heres a typical example on how you can make a good action movie with an incredible low buget(And the action doesn't even look fake).It beats the hell out of Face/Off and most of van Damme movies.And the sequel "Desperado" was even better.
Rating:
Summary: Just as impressive as Desperado.
Review: I finally got the chance to see this, the first installment of the El Mariachi trilogy just the other day and had as much a blast watching it as I did Desperado. Of course, it didn't have anywhere near as much action, but it's essentially the same movie. Afterall, Desperado was a demi-remake of it, but at the same time, if this was before it, it left a few questions that made me wonder about the series as a whole. Oh well, nevermind that, it doesn't matter. If you like Robert Rodriguez's style, you'll enjoy this, plain and simple. And just for the sake of readers out there, I won't mention the budget for the movie because it's getting annoying. I've yet to read a review that didn't mention how much this was made for. A lot of reviews also fail to mention that the scenes weren't what cost so much, but a majority of the budget went to film. For the most part, you can't tell that this was a cheap movie. It looks like your basic movie that was made that year, save the grainy film quality.
We start out in a jail in Mexico where a man, Azul, is running his own buisness right there in the prison. The phone rings, and it's Mocco- a powerful gangster in Mexico, telling Azul that everything's going to be fine. Yeah right. Just seconds later, some of his men storm the jail and attempt to take Azul out. Nice try, they didn't stand a chance. Azul goes out to do away with Mocco so he can have some peace, with his guitar case full of weapons. And this case is pretty sweet. It has pockets and slots holding various weapons from brass knuckles, huge knives, automatic guns and more. At the same time, a mariachi, El Mariachi to be exact, enters the town looking for work. At first he thinks it's going to be a breeze since they're giving away free coconuts at the entrance, but he's completely wrong. Mocco told his men to look out for Azul, who is wearing black and carrying a guitar case...so is El Mariachi. Since his men don't know what Azul himself looks like, anyone in black with a guitar case is the target. El Mariachi doesn't have any luck finding work at first. Mariachis are all done for in this town, as shown by one bar owner's keyboard player who has every instrument right there on the keyboard. Why pay five guys when you have all of them right there in one? Right when El leaves, Azul barges in and takes out everyone in the bar after learning that Mocco owns the place. Word goes around that the man in black with the case took 'em out, so the wild search continues. El finds a love interest in Domino, a woman who runs another bar and gives him a chance. He's safe for a little bit, but things go sour and it's up to him to stop Mocco after Azul gets him in a little bit of trouble, accidentally taking the wrong guitar case. All in all, I really liked the movie. While El Mariachi will always be Antonio to me, it's good to see how the story all began. This is a very good first film from anyone, especially Robert Rodriguez who is the friggin' king of action movies.
Visually, I think you know what's going on here. It doesn't look very good. Be it from the cameras used, being filmed in the early 90's or the lack of any real remastering. We're talking taped vhs quality here. But it's still watchable. There's tons of grain in most of the scenes, but it doesn't hinder the overall presentation that much. And check out some of the lighting effects. 'hard to believe that some of them were pulled off with just two 250 watt lightbulbs placed at the right level. The audio is about the same as well. Remember that the voices were done at a different time, much like the Man With No Name trilogy. Robert did a good job matching them up for the most part. He did an even better job with the sound effects. Hearing the coconut hit the bottom of a trash can made me jump. I didn't expect it to be so loud. At least this was remastered in 5.1 Dolby. Try watching it with headphones.
The special features, while not as packed as Desperado or Once Upon A Time In Mexico, are of the same quality you'd expect from Robert Rodriguez. Up first is a commentary by him, which is always a joy. Robert never takes a breath while commentating, and gives nothing but useful information on the movie itself, and gives advice for aspiring film makers. I like a lot of the small tricks he used in order to make the movie for look good while retaining its small budget. For instance, because the movie was filmed without vocal tracks, and was later added in, if a line didn't match the lip movements, he'd cut away to a person's reaction, or zoom in on something else. Most of these cuts were done with Carlos, the actor who plays El Mariachi, because when he'd sing, it was a different person singing the words since he couldn't, and couldn't play the guitar. So any time he didn't match, Robert would cut away to Domino's reaction, or the crowd. And just like in Desperado, he used a lot of the same actors more than once for stunts and all that. It's a very interesting commentary track, and with him doing it, you never get bored. I would never have guessed that the guy playing Azul was just 19 (Robert even states "he looks like he's pushing 40!). There's also the usual 10 Minute Film School where he goes more into detail about tricks used. There's also his short film- Bed Head, which is a goofy little short. It's about a little girl who has an annoying brother that pushes her down, causing her to have psychic powers. She tries her hardest in using them to get rid of his bed hair, which is just rediculous looking but adds to the charm. The cast is consisted of his family.
Again, if you like Desperado, by all means grab this beauty. While the characters aren't as strong, it builds the whole series. Honestly, I was expecting a pretty poorly edited movie after reading a few reviews, but it looks very professional. Blood shots are better than some I see in movies today, and of course, all the action's still theire...though this is more of a drama with some comedy thrown in. Robert himself said this was supposed to be a comedy, but because it's sub-titled, people saw it as a foreign film, and took it more seriously. He says this on the Desperado commentary, and he's right. When we see any movie in a language other than our own, we see it as an artsy film for some reason. But don't do that here. Watch El Mariachi to enjoy an hour and a half of fun, not deep messages. Keep up the good work Robert.
Rating:
Summary: A moviemaking marvel
Review: I first read about this movie in "Millimeter" magazine...and couldn't believe that anyone could possibly do what Robert Rodriguez did. Don't have enough money to rent a dolly camera? Borrow a wheelchair and move the camera around on that. Can't record sound properly? Edit it on a home camcorder. Can't afford editing time? Borrow time at the local cable access station. Oh, and while you're at it, make a film good enough to get you a national distribution deal and recognition as one of the hottest directors around. My hat's off to you, Robert. You made an amazing film...probably because no one told you you couldn't do it that way.
Rating:
Summary: El Mariachi blew me away
Review: I first watched "Once upon a time in Mexico" with my brother because he had told me it was so good. Soon after that i learned that movie was the third in the El Mariachi Trilogy.
I rented El Mariachi just yesterday and watched it last night. I was amazed!!!!Everything in this movie is great, the acting, the actors, the action, and the story istelf!! It was good to watch actors i had never seen before. I loved Carlos Gallardo as the mariachi, he was very good. The storyline was relatively simple, but Robert Rodriguez gave it an edge i doubt i would find anywhere else. But what truly amazes me is that this movie's budget was only $7,000 and that it was shot with no second takes (I've never heard of such a thing before). I advize people to watch this movie, they'll remember it forever. I know i will!!
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing Special
Review: I love this movie for its simplicity, location and photography.
image quality is average.
No difference between the regular issue (the Desperado / El Mariachi editon)and this so called special edition, except for the previews of Roberto Rodriguez's other movies.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: If it weren't for the Spanish language and subtitles in this movie, it could have easily been mistaken for a John Woo movie, the Hong Kong director who was one of Rodriguez's inspirations to create El Mariachi. Make no mistake. Only one other director in the entire world makes such use of incredibly slick, stylish, unique camerawork in an action movie and that man is John Woo, who practically invented the style. Unmistakeably John Woo-ish camera technigue. But if you love good action movies and especially if you love high-octane John Woo movies then you will not be disappointed in the least bit!
Rating:
Summary: rare
Review: Never before have i seen a movie that grabbed me the way this one did. Shot on 16mm film and $7,000 he made by selling his body to science, Robert Rodriguez was a one man crew in his cinematic debut. The actions scenes are so intense, so fast, and so well thought out. If you haven't read "Rebel Without A Crew" you should, for Rodriguez explains the entire process of making "El Mariachi."
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