{"id":29340,"date":"2024-08-28T01:19:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T08:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=29340"},"modified":"2024-08-28T01:19:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T08:19:21","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-review-the-mexico-trilogy-el-mariachi-1992-desperado-1995-once-upon-a-time-in-mexico-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=29340","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD\/Blu-ray Review: THE MEXICO TRILOGY (EL MARIACHI (1992), DESPERADO (1995), ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This set from Arrow Video is currently available for\npurchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s hard to believe that it has been more than 30 years\nsince Robert Rodriguez appeared on the filmmaking scene. His shot on 16mm debut\nfeature, El Mariachi<\/em>, gained a lot of attention in the press for its\ndynamic action and visuals that were all created by the independent filmmaker\non a budget of $7000. Sony Pictures quickly picked up the distribution rights\nand the little movie earned itself a theatrical release. While it wasn\u2019t a\nmassive box office hit, it was a picture that seemingly everyone caught up with\non video. The movie launched Rodriguez\u2019s career and he eventually was persuaded\nto make two follow-ups about the titular gun-toting guitar player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrow Video is now presenting all three pictures in a\nwonderful box set called The Mariachi Trilogy<\/em>. It contains El\nMariachi<\/em>, Desperado<\/em> and Once Upon a Time in Mexico<\/em>.\nCuriously, the first and third pictures in the box are presented only on\nBlu-ray, while the second appears in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. That may seem\ninitially strange, but it makes sense and really has to do with how the movies\nwere shot. Make no mistake, the images on display for all three titles are\nspectacular and the set is amazing from beginning to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Mariachi<\/em> follows a Mexican guitar player known\nonly as \u201cEl Mariachi\u201d (Carlos Gallardo, who also served as producer), whose\nonly dream is to make a living playing music just like his father.\nUnfortunately, he is immediately mistaken for a similarly dressed criminal who\nplans on murdering a local drug lord. This major crime figure wants the\ngun-toting character wiped out and sends all manner of thugs to eliminate the\nproblem. After their mistake, El Mariachi is hunted in a lengthy and violent\npursuit. In self-defense, the hero ends up fighting back and taking down\nseveral bad guys. He also falls for a helpful bar owner, only to learn that the\ndrug lord owns the bar and has eyes for her as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The film was made for next-to-no money, but it is creatively\nfilmed, fast-paced and extremely high energy, making it a surprising and\nenjoyable action film. There are plenty of impressive stunts and the real\nMexican locales (it was primarily shot in Ciudad Acu\u00f1a on the border of Mexico\nand Texas) <\/strong>are also unique and visually interesting. The camera often\nraces alongside El Mariachi while others are in pursuit, which helps viewers\nidentify with the character. Lead actor Gallardo is also likable and sells the\ndark sense of humor running through much of the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blu-ray definitely looks superior to previous editions.\nWhile 16mm is never going to appear pristine, the images are crisper here and\none can see more details in the backdrops, really getting a feel for the town\nof Ciudad Acu\u00f1a. This is as good as the film can possibly look and there is no\nreason to need any more visual information than what is available on this\nBlu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Extras are also exceptional. When the movie was originally\nreleased, it came with some great bonuses, including a \u201cTen Minute Film School\u201d\nin which Rodriguez explains his shooting and editing methods, advising aspiring\nfilmmakers on how they can achieve their cinematic dreams on a limited budget.\nHis process involves a lot of shooting and zooming in and out on actors in a\nsingle shot to get a variety of angles without wasting footage. Of course, he\nhad to know exactly what he needed and essentially cut the film in his head\nwhile shooting so that he wouldn\u2019t miss a part of the shot in a preferred\nangle, but it worked out. This feature is included on the Blu-ray, along with\nother archival plusses like a commentary, a short film from the director made\nonly a year earlier, and publicity materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is really wonderful is the new bonus material.\nRodriguez introduces the picture and notes that when he was in university, he\nbefriended Gallardo and began traveling with his new pal to the man’s hometown\nin Mexico. There, they began making short films together. When Gallardo showed\nhim a Mexican action movie that was very popular at the time, Rodriguez\ninsisted that they could make a better film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two begged and borrowed to shoot their movie. Gallardo\nwas well known in town and many locals were happy to help them out. The\ndirector also mentions how they managed to borrow guns and weapons from the\npolice department for the movie and use them for the shoot. These stories are,\nat times, hilarious and it seems as though the producer\/star was a very\ncharismatic individual who was an essential part of getting the movie made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a recently recorded interview with Gallardo,\nwho discusses his duties and how the project was eventually sold to a\ndistributor. His insights are equally entertaining and insightful. He credits\nRodriguez for holding out for the best possible offer from studios (the\nproducer\/star admits that there was a lot of interest and he would have been\nhappy to have just accepted the first offer from anyone, anywhere). Gallardo is\nalso gracious about passing the mantle on to Antonio Banderas for the sequels,\nbeing pleased to make a brief appearance in the follow-up and continue to work\nas producer on many of Rodriguez\u2019s later films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there is a new featurette on the music of the\nfilm. Since Rodriguez had spent time at the University of Texas in Austin, he\nknew local musicians and asked around, assigning bits and pieces of the score\nto a group of friends and acquaintances. They all describe which bits they were\nassigned and their experiences putting the memorable music together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desperado<\/em> came about a couple of years later in 1995.\nThis effort was shot in 35mm for a larger, but not enormous sum of money\n(reported to be $7 million). The final product was an even more fantastic and\nexaggerated tale that featured incredible shootouts and a stunning cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The gun-toting guitar player known as Manito “El\nMariachi” (Antonio Banderas) is reintroduced at the beginning of the film\nin a mythic story that subtly alters some aspects of his past. Now a seasoned\nvigilante, El Mariachi is looking for Cesar \u201cBucho\u201d (Joaquim de Almeida), the\ndrug lord whose goon murdered his love (in the first film). \u201cBucho\u201d is also\nlooking for El Mariachi, sending an army of thugs to find and murder his enemy.\nThe protagonist is saved during one encounter by Carolina (Salma Hayek) and the\ntwo go on the run together. They cross paths with a threatening assassin named\nNavajas (Danny Trejo) and all sorts of other characters (including Steve\nBuscemi, Cheech Marin, and Quentin Tarantino) while doing battle with \u201cBucho\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, everything about this title is bigger and\nbetter. The cast is incredible and all are or were shortly to become major\nstars, so the performances are all better than expected for this type of\nfeature. Additionally, the supporting parts from the likes of Buscemi, Marin\nand Tarantino are hilarious as well, with each performer possessing great comic\ntiming. Of course, the action scenes are top notch, with grander explosions and\nduels, more extreme and creative camera angles, all of which adds to the sense\nof fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 4K Ultra HD upgrade is spectacular. This new transfer\nwas created from the original camera negative. Everything on the screen looks\nphenomenal and every shot is packed with detail. Curiously enough, this follow\nup was also shot in Ciudad Acu\u00f1a at some of the very same locations. As good as\nthe other films in this set look, this is perhaps the most striking\npresentation. It\u2019s an absolutely incredible looking image. And if you haven\u2019t\npicked up a 4K Ultra HD player yet, the Blu-ray is notable too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the introduction for this picture, Rodriguez notes that\nanother \u201cEl Mariachi\u201d film was inevitable and that he had already thought about\nwhether it would be a bigger-budget remake or a sequel. When Sony Pictures gave\nhim their conditions for the new movie, that\u2019s when it became a combo of\nboth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez notes that Banderas was a new performer generating\nbuzz for his work in dramatic pictures. He was pleasantly surprised that\nBanderas was excited to make an action picture and notes he was wonderful to\nwork with. Hayek was a Mexican soap actress who was trying to make her break in\nAmerican films. While studio bosses were initially skeptical of her, once they\nsaw footage of the two leads together, they were thrilled and largely left the\nwriter\/director alone. Viewers learn that Rodriguez shot in exactly the same\nmanner as El Mariach<\/em>i, changing angles and using zooms in the middle of\ntakes. It was all  the same, just with more elaborate set pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You\u2019ll get more enjoyable stories from the Rodriguez\ncommentary, as well as an archival featurette on the shooting of a memorable\ngunfight in the movie. Additionally, there are new interviews with the\nproducer, stunt coordinator and special effects coordinator. They all describe\nRodriguez\u2019s rapid shooting in Mexico and the sense of excitement and energy it\ncreated. The disc also contains a new appreciation for the movie from director\nGareth Evans (The Raid<\/em>) who talks about the big influence this picture\nhad on his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Upon a Time in Mexico<\/em>, the final feature in the\nseries, arriving 8 years later. The movie is every bit as crazy as its\npredecessors, but also offered a larger scope and a few fresh characters. In\nthis story, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) and wife Carolina (Salma Hayek) face\noff against General Emiliano Marquez (Gerardo Vigil), a crooked leader of the\nMexican Army who has been hired by a drug kingpin (Willem Dafoe) to assassinate\nthe President of Mexico (Pedro Armend\u00e1riz Jr.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The almost equally shady CIA officer Sheldon Jeffrey Sands\n(Johnny Depp) puts pressure separately on El Mariachi and former FBI agent\nJorge Ramirez (Reuben Blades) to eliminate Marquez before he succeeds. Over the\ncourse of the film, the main characters interact with all sorts of underworld\nfigures and government types (played by Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo\nand Cheech Marin) and even more mariachis (including Enrique Iglesias).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film is almost overstuffed with characters and subplots,\nbut it is so unpredictable and the cast is so much fun to watch that it doesn\u2019t\nmatter. Banderas is still the central figure here and delivers the action, but\nthere are some fantastic supporting roles. Blades makes a big impression\nserving as the heart of the story. And Depp really stands out in this film as\nthe CIA agent. Sanders is a pretty horrible individual, but the character has\nso many great moments and lines that the movie perks up even more whenever he\nappears on the screen. This is a truly wild ride that is just as strong as its\nimmediate predecessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This picture arrives on Blu-ray and boasts a crystal-clear\nimage that looks perfect upconverted on a 4K player. The reasons why it isn\u2019t\nappearing on 4K Ultra HD become clear in the extras, but rest assured, this is\nas good as the picture can look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, there is an incredibly informative introduction\nfrom Rodriguez that sheds light on the film. With the 2001 Screen Actors Guild\nstrike fast approaching, the director had visited George Lucas, who was working\nwith high-definition digital video on Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the\nClones<\/em>. Rodriguez was blown away by the technology, believing it would\nrevolutionize and simplify the shooting process. He contacted Miramax and said\nthat he could shoot another El Mariachi<\/em> movie immediately if they gave\nhim the chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The studio agreed, and a stunned Rodriguez wrote the script\nand got the cast together to start the production about two weeks after getting\nstudio approval. It was shot on video in 1080p (which is very slightly lower\nthan 2K, hence Blu-ray being the optimal format for this film). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He states there was a lot of improvisation on set and a very\nshort schedule to put it all together. Rodriguez notes that Miramax was floored\nand never expected him to even begin, let alone finish, principal photography\nby the time the strike began. Then, the filmmaker left to work on other\nprojects for about a year or so before coming back, editing and locking the\npicture and getting it ready for release. He also talks about scoring the\npicture himself. All of the details about this production are amazing to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also an entertaining interview with the visual\neffects editor who discusses meeting Rodriguez and working for him. And the set\ncomes with a recent talk from Rodriguez on video being the optimal shooting\nformat (whether you agree or disagree, it\u2019s an interesting take). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the archival bonuses from previous releases are also\nincluded here. You\u2019ll get a director commentary, eight deleted scenes with\nadditional commentary from Rodriguez, another \u201cFilm School\u201d featurette, more\nbits that include a cooking class, a special on the filmmaker\u2019s studio, a\nspecial on the character arc of El Mariachi over the series. Promo materials\nand other bonuses round out the excellent package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if that wasn\u2019t enough, the set comes with an illustrated\ncollector\u2019s booklet with writing on the movies, reversible sleeves with\noriginal and newly commissioned artwork (as well as double-sided posters) and\nanother poster featuring Rodriguez\u2019s original poster concept for El Mariachi<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Rodriguez was part of the independent scene and also\nwas one of the first movie makers to embrace shooting features on video. His\naction films have a unique fresh voice and they are an absolute blast to watch.\nOnce again, Arrow Video has done an incredible job putting these pictures\ntogether for this fantastic set. If you\u2019re an action movie fan, you need to\npick The Mexico Trilogy<\/em> set up as soon as you can!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This set from Arrow Video is currently available for purchase. It\u2019s hard to believe that it has been more than 30 years since Robert Rodriguez appeared on the filmmaking scene. His shot on 16mm debut feature, El Mariachi, gained a lot of attention in the press for its dynamic action and visuals that were all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":29350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[300,697,704,1627,1836,2923,3067,5763,6780,15396,17186,21586],"class_list":["post-29340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-4k-ultra-hd","tag-action","tag-action-movies","tag-antonio-banderas","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-blu-ray","tag-desperado","tag-el-mariachi","tag-once-upon-a-time-in-mexico","tag-robert-rodriguez","tag-the-mexico-trilogy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}