GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Lechuguilla A simple story about mistaken identities and lost idealism, "El Mariachi" gets high marks from me for its authentic visuals and absence of big-name movie stars. The film was shot in a real town on the Mexican border, enhancing realism. There are lots of hand-held camera shots, fast cutting, and pleasant lack of CGI. Images look grainy, possibly intentionally so. When the movie was made, none of the actors were well known. As a result, you see characters, not actors playing script roles. Despite the lack of professional actors, overall acting quality is fine.Ambient sounds are amplified, probably for dramatic effect. I really like the guitar score; it's appropriate for the Mexican setting, and it's slightly mysterious. Effective editing masks minor mistakes, such as mismatched lighting and poor lip-sync.The main weakness is the script, originally only 40 pages in length. A guitar-playing musician comes to town looking for work. Unbeknownst to him, a man wearing similar clothes and also carrying a guitar case is involved with a drug kingpin.Except for some violence at times, the story itself is fairly low-key; gore is minimal, thankfully. Though the story could be construed as serious, the tone is decidedly tongue-in-cheek.This film is a pleasant change from splashy, over-hyped, big-budget Hollywood productions that cost millions of dollars. Though I found the story a bit boring and contrived, the overall production offset the script's weaknesses. "El Mariachi" is a good film to watch at least once for its authentic visuals and its ability to convey a credible story at a very low budget.

Uriah43 Let's give credit where credit is due. Although this picture had an extremely low-budget, it goes to prove that a nice film can still be produced if the director has the imagination and talent to pull it off. And let's face it, the sad fact is that there are all too many movies being made today that cost much more than this particular film ($7000) but fail to deliver the same level of satisfaction. The director (Robert Rodriguez) deserves every attribute due to him. The humor was good and there were some social commentaries that I think some people might have missed. That is not to say, however, that this film was necessarily perfect. It wasn't. The acting wasn't great by any means. Neither was the script. But then, the movie was originally produced in Spanish and the version I saw was dubbed in English, so it is possible that some of the dialogue may have been lost in translation. The ending though, was unexpected and abrupt and I didn't quite like it. As far as the characters are concerned, I thought Reinol Martinez (playing the part of the gangster "Azul") did the best. Consuelo Gomez ("Domino") was attractive and put in a fair performance as well. Carlos Gallardo ("El Mariachi") was average at best. The rest of the cast were pretty much forgettable. Having said all of this, the fact that this film was produced with a low budget doesn't mean that a person should lower his standards and give it a higher score than it deserves when it comes to evaluating it. This wasn't "Gone with the Wind" so there's no need to give it an equivalent rating. The bottom line is that it was an enjoyable low-budget film and it made a hefty profit. No need to argue with that.

bts1984 For a movie that is so minimalist, 'El Mariachi' doesn't offer little and doesn't leave much to be desired. Generally speaking, the "minimalist philosophy" is practically omni-present in this movie. The story is simple, most actors are amateur, the scenario is real, and efficiency and the use of the brain replace any needless effects. Just about everything is authentic and economical. Not a bad way of thinking: makes it all the more realistic and at the same time keeps the costs lower.Nothing is overdone, even the action in it - although, I can't lie, this is a very violent movie at times and there is some disturbing content. But even the most shocking violence is kept in an acceptable league - that is, hardly more than the necessary. On the other hand, despite being a crime story, there is a good deal of clever humor (natural humor instead of bad taste humor or forceful humor).Time shows that this movie has gone down in history as a great success. And rightfully so. It has aged with dignity and is now old enough to be considered a little classic.The story of a good-natured mariachi who only wants to offer his music in exchange of very little money but is confounded with a violent criminal who looks nothing like him dressed in a similar style and carrying a guitar case just like his (however with guns and knives inside) is quite thrilling and involving.Peter Marquardt is great as Moco. Moco can be funny at times and yet he is so arrogant and cruel that you really hate him. But if he amuses you and at the same time fills you in hate that only means that the actor does his role very well. Carlos Gallardo is terrific as the mariachi. Consuelo Gómez is splendid as Dominó. Dominó is hot, sexy, beautiful and yet she has a strong personality: she has a devilish sense of humor, she can be aggressive in a sensual way, she has that exotic but severe look and she is obviously a powerful woman, a woman with guts. You gotta love her for all that. Dominó is one of the hottest women in cinema ever although, to be honest, the woman who manicures Moco's hands is just as hot.I find it cute and funny that the little turtle of the movie is credited. Not that it doesn't deserve. Why shouldn't animals deserve such honor? Tito Tortuga is great in its minor role as the turtle that crosses a road.All in all, an enjoyable movie. I only don't like the ending because Dominó is killed and the mariachi gets his hand shot. At least Moco gets what he deserves, but unfortunately too late for Dominó and the mariachi. Title in Portugal: 'El Mariachi'.

Aldo Moro First of all,let's not look for the needle in the hay here,this movie was made with fistful of dollars and by a 23 years old kid,today man,with not crew and that inspires the hell out of me.If someone out there wants to play Roger Ebert and criticize this flick he better take the camera,and go by himself back to Mexico and do it for 7.500$.Robert Rodriguez's camera work,angles,authentic locations,authentic cast and great editing job at end deserve big 10 stars for his effort.Even that some actors were lacking on their skills,it is still great work cause story unites them well and it was a breath of fresh air to see movie done with amateurs better then many over 1mil. dollar films from Hollywood.Over all highly recommended movie,very aspiring and worth having in DVD home collection.Enjoy the Rodriguez's work folks.