Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Desperado 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 19, 2024

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as part of The Mexico Trilogy 4K set from Arrow. Note that in this instance the "4K" appellation refers only to the version(s) of Desperado included in the set.

There's microbudgeting when it comes to making films and then there's Robert Rodriguez microbudgeting when it comes to making films. Almost unbelievably, at least contextually within the confines of macrobudgeted features whose bottom line can evidently quite frequently and easily get into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and frankly maybe even without any context whatsoever considering how amazing it is, Rodriguez pretty much literally burst upon the filmmaking scene in 1992 with the first film in this nicely appointed new set from Arrow, an outing which set Rodriguez back the princely sum of $7,000.00. That's not a misprint — there's no missing zero (or several) before the decimal point. El Mariachi created such a stir, and did reasonable enough box office, that Rodriguez probably unsurprisingly soon found himself courted by actual studios with significantly larger budgets, and among the many interesting films Rodriguez when on to multi-hyphenate (if that can be a verb) were the two sequels to El Mariachi. Rodriguez's kind of amazingly fast climb up fame and fortune's ladder is all the more remarkable when one considers what might be termed his "regional" proclivities, not to mention how he managed to initially fund that first step up a rung (enterprising Googlers are encouraged to do a little investigation). There's an almost feral and unkempt quality to the admittedly lo-fi and perhaps just slightly not ready for prime time ambience of El Mariachi, but there is also such an amazingly assured presence in the director's chair that Rodriguez's pretty seamless facility with larger funding amounts and bigger name marquee stars doesn't come as much of a surprise. As tends to be the case with Arrow's box sets, this is another pretty lavishly appointed release that is somewhat unusual in that it offers El Mariachi and Once Upon a Time in Mexico on 1080 discs, with Desperado presented on both 2160 (4K UHD) and 1080 discs (also a bit unusually, Arrow is releasing a standalone Desperado 4K SteelBook).

While all three of the films in this set have had previous releases on Blu-ray, kind of interestingly home studio Sony put out the first two films in the trilogy as a "double feature" Blu-ray release several years ago. Those interested can head over to Martin Liebman's El Mariachi / Desperado Blu-ray review for plot information, as well as screenshots and lists of supplements.

Desperado 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Desperado is presented in 4K UHD and on standard Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video, with (in the first instance) an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer, and (in the second instance) an AVC encoded 1080p transfer, both in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet lumps information on the films' transfers together on one page, as follows:

El Mariachi is presented in its theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio with its original Latin American Spanish stereo soundtrack, as well as a stereo English dub track.

Desperado is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with 5.1 and stereo sound. The film was restored in 4K resolution by Sony Pictures from the original camera negative and has been graded in SDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. This restoration has been approved by director Robert Rodriguez.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico is presented in its video aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with 5.1 and stereo audio.

All mastering was completed at Sony.

Arrow tends to release its 4K and 1080 versions of the same film as standalone properties, but this is the rare exception, and while I'll concentrate on the 4K presentation, I'll be mentioning the 1080 in passing, especially to draw comparisons. Once again, as with the other films in Arrow's set, their new version offers a darker overall ambience and (to my eyes, anyway) better suffusion and especially color timing in both the 1080 and 4K UHD versions. The timing differences are admittedly rather minor, but telling with regard to things like flesh tones in particular, where Arrow's version struck me as noticeably more natural looking. There's a just slightly jaundiced look to the Sony release which has commendably been warmed up here, and the 4K UHD version offers an even more impressive rendering of the palette. HDR / Dolby Vision offer at least marginal improvements in shadow detail, but generally help to boost an already nicely suffused presentation. Detail levels are frankly more or less what they were on the Sony release with regard to Arrow's 1080 presentation, but Arrow's 4K presentation manages to provide some nice new fine detail levels on things as various as fabric textures to horrifying bodily immolations. Grain is nicely resolved throughout, though my hunch is this may be another release where some prefer the 1080 version to the 4K UHD version, since the increased resolution of the 2160 disc can definitely bring awareness of the grain field to the forefront at times.

Desperado 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Desperado quite ably shows what a gifted director can do with an augmented budget, and this film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is "alive with pleasure" (to quote one of those old cigarette commercials). While El Mariachi frankly struggles to achieve much energy, at times there's nothing other than energy surging through the surround channels, with an onslaught of everything from gunshots, to fistfights, to Rodriguez's almost patented evocative use of music. Directionality can also be noticed in relatively "simple" dialogue exchanges. Dynamic range is almost insanely wide given the often gonzo activities in the film. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Desperado 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Robert Rodriguez


• Lean and Mean with Robert Rodriguez (HD; 17:19) is a newly produced interview with the director, here discussing his transformation into a "big budget" filmmaker.


• Shoot Like Crazy with Bill Borden (HD; 11:21) is a new interview with the film's producer.


• Kill Count with Steve Davison (HD; 8:10) is an interesting new interview with the film's stunt coordinator.


• Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout (HD; 10:33) is an archival piece once again offering Rodriguez.


• Morena de mi Corazon (Textless) (HD; 2:39)


• Theatrical Teaser (HD; 1:34)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:05)


• TV Spot (HD; 00:33)

Desperado 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Desperado tries mightily to recreate the visceral impact of El Mariachi, with much bigger names and an obviously increased budget, and if it doesn't quite succeed in that ambition, it comes pretty darned close a lot of the time. Arrow's version probably shows some of the most dramatic differences when compared to the older Sony release, and the label breaks its own longstanding approach by offering the film in both 1080 and 4K UHD formats in one package. As usual with Arrow releases, the supplements are outstanding. Recommended.