Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

El Mariachi 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.

El Mariachi Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

El Mariachi is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer 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.

Of the three films in Arrow's set, I'd argue that the differences between Arrow's version and the previous version by Sony of this particular film are probably the least dramatic, though as with the other two releases in this set, I'd also argue the Arrow's version is slightly darker and better suffused than the older Sony version. The increased darkness perhaps only serves to point out the at times very thick grain, which can quite often be tinged with blue or yellow. Rodriguez's completely ADHD camera style and askew framings can lead to ebbs and flows in detail levels, but stationary shots featuring close-ups offer really rather commendable fine detail levels, given the smaller millimeter source format. As with Sony's release, this has some recurrent if never very debilitating damage, including noticeable scratches and other blemishes.

El Mariachi Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

El Mariachi features LPCM 2.0 tracks in either Spanish or English. Both tracks feature dubbing, meaning sync can be loose (as they say), but the English track comes off as noticeably anemic when stacked up against the Spanish, which itself is not especially forceful. Both tracks have a somewhat thin, claustrophobic sound, and dynamic range changes can be limited to things like bursts of violence. Music is reasonably well presented but probably could have benefited from a more fulsome budget. Dialogue is rendered mostly cleanly and clearly (again, limitations in amplitude on the English track in particular can provide occasional hurdles). Optional English subtitles are available.

El Mariachi Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Robert Rodriguez (HD; 00:19) plays automatically at disc boot up after the Arrow masthead, but I didn't see any way to access it separately.


• Commentary by Robert Rodriguez


• Big Vision, Low Budget with Robert Rodriguez (HD; 14:41) is a fun newly produced interview with Rodriguez, who recounts the kind of unbelievable way El Mariachi came into being.


• The Original Mariachi with Carlos Gallardo (HD; 15:21) is a new interview with the film's producer.


• A Band of Misfits: The Music of El Mariachi (HD; 12:41) is another fun new piece, with Rodriguez discussing his unusual approach toward scoring this feature, and with additional interviews with musicians Eric Guthrie, Chris Knudson, Alvaro Rodriguez and Marc Trujillo.


• Ten Minute Film School (HD; 14:38) is an archival piece with Rodriguez again discussing producing the film for $7,000.00.


• Bedhead (1999) (HD; 9:09) is a goofy short film shot by Rodriguez, "starring" his siblings Rebecca and David.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:38)


• TV Spot (HD; 00:32)

El Mariachi Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even without the "background" information as to how Robert Rodriguez managed to make this film, El Mariachi is one of the most visceral viewing experiences imaginable. Yes, it's probably overly "arty" at times, and may lack some cohesion in the narrative department, but presentationally it is so amazingly inventive that it's really hard to even care about any perceived deficits. The source element here has a few passing issues, I'd argue maybe more so with regard to audio than video, but everything is certainly watchable and listenable. As usual, Arrow provides some outstanding supplements. Highly recommended.