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El Mariachi/Desperado - Double Feature Blu-ray Sony Pictures Home Entertainment - 2011 Written & Directed by Robert Rodriquez |
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It's really interesting to look at EL MARIACHI now because it's obvious to me it was made by a first time director. That doesn't mean it was bad. Robert Rodriquez has flair with his ability to cover action, he does this with his camera and editing. What made it obvious that it was his first film was the amount of low angles used (look at David Fincher's first feature ALIEN 3, etc) and some of the shot compositions/camera moves just scream out first timer. For a cast of unknowns they do a very good job of pulling off each character. The music score at times reminded me of John Carpenter, while the songs where fitting Mexican acoustic guitar tunes that encompassed the main character's job. Rodriquez's image suffers from being blown up to 35mm, but the rapid cuts that were necessity (because Rodriguez didn't have much film stock) actually help and upped the film's pacing. There's some fun extras which include a very technically informative Audio Commentary by Robert Rodriguez. This is especially interesting for those who want to find out how a movie could be made for $7,000.00. I really got a kick out of the 10 Minute Film School because Rodriguez breaks down footage to point out instances how he shot so cheaply. And in my opinion Rodriquez's student film "Bed Head" is a certified short classic. There is two online special features BD Live and movieIQ. EL MARIACHI was a good way to start a career. |
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Written & Directed by Robert Rodriquez |
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Rodriquez substitutes al most all of the original cast with bigger name actors and this is done without much distraction. The story continues where the first film leaves off with the Mariachi character (Antonio Banderas) wanting to get revenge against the man (Joaquim De Almeida in this film) who murdered his girlfriend. The mysterious guitar player goes back into the town to hunt down Bucho's (Joaquim De Almeida) whereabouts. Along the way he must face an onslaught of men who work for Bucho. The bar scene that takes place about twenty-five minutes in, which features Cheech Marin & Quentin Tarantino is masterfully done. Rodriguez starts the scene to be funny casual but eventually becomes an all out war. The shots, editing, physical stunt work, combined with bullets flying, squibs exploding would make Sam Peckinpah proud. Salma Hayek makes a sexually grand entrance, causing on looking cars to crash in her wake. Rodriguez smartly captures her magnetism and she does have chemistry with Banderas. The love making scene between Hayek and Banderas is done with style and grace. Hayek's amazing attributes take center stage. The film does hit a bit of a lull about 3/4 in, but the movie ends with a bang as all the elements come together in the climatic finale. Extras include More 10 Minute Film School, where Rodriguez talks about using his own storyboards because he wants the drawings to turn out like the way he sees it and he used pre-visualization video. He says both are good tools to share his vision with others. There's a Audio Commentary that's along the line as EL MARIACHI track in that it's very technically informative. Rodriguez shares intimate details on how to make a 7 million dollar movie look like a 30 million summer blockbuster. The main thing he stresses is using creativity to solve problems rather than just throwing money at them. He shares many tricks like paying actors per day, shooting them on limited schedule, using only two stuntmen to do all the stunts and hiring a crew who were use to lower budgets and working quicker. There's also two music videos; Los Lobos "Morena De Mi Corzaon" video uses the scene from the movie where the three Mariachi's perform at the beginning of the film. Tito & The Tarantula are filmed performing "Back to the House That Love Built" and sprinkle it with scenes from DESPERADO. BD Live and movieIQ give you online connection to the movie. As a double bill Blu-ray, this is a rock solid choice. Two movies' play like cousins, abundant with action, the magnificent Salma Hayek and a dual course in filmmaking. Highly recommended. "Bravo" to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment for doing these films right in the Blu-ray format.
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