Low-budget filmmaking at its very best right here. Quite impressive how director Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi on an immensely modest budget of $7,000, and he no doubt gives it his all here in this exceptionally sharp and truly energetic directorial debut.

Its cheapness may typically show at times, however, it's the irresistibly genuine charm, pure, full-on dedication of it all, and no-frills/all-thrills mix-up narrative that immediately won me over on this one in the end.

In preparation for my first upcoming attempt at a micro-budget film, I did some research on independent debuts that kickstarted successful filmmakers into the big league, eventually landing on El Mariachi. After recently sending myself crazy as the start date for my project moves closer, I needed some reassurance that working on a tight budget/schedule can still produce quality effects, and boy did this deliver. Although slightly sketchy around the edges, and definitely not Rodriguez’ best work, for a budget of just $7,000 (roughly $13,000 adjusted for inflation) this is all the motivation I needed, my mounting worries of lighting and audio issues thrown totally out of the window with this extravagant feast of filmmaking. You can’t put a price on momentum, and I’d say this one’s essential for understanding how to direct with nothing but the bare bones minimum. That pitbull is in the running for the greatest screen-dog ever committed to film. Nothing will ever quite top The Thing, though.

Desperado Double-Bill:
Film #1: El Mariachi

"What is this? Mariachi Day?"

Better than I remembered, and arguably the best movie Robert Rodriguez has ever made. The writing and direction are terrific, and the cinematography and editing (also by Rodriguez) are particularly prodigious - insanely kinetic, consistently innovative, and frequently hilarious in their creativity. It's got a nice cast as well: the villainous gringo overacts a little towards the end, but everyone else is very charming, notably Carlos Gallardo as the Mariachi and Consuelo Gómez as Dominó.

My only criticism the first time I saw this was the climax, which I have warmed to. It's mean-spirited, but it does complement the movie's message about how the central character becomes slowly shaped into a killer by the violence around him. So on the whole, El Mariachi holds up as one of the most impressive film debuts of all time, especially considering it was initially produced on a budget of just $7000.

more interesting than how relatively much Rodriguez got for relatively little is how patient this movie is. although of course it's a little padded even at 80 minutes, a lot of it goes by without dialogue, so much of it played out in lengthy, loose shots, and often whole sequences are cut out of two or three setups.

he had to try really hard to make this.

Films I've been recommended - recommended by Cole Cox
Robert Rodriguez Ranked

El Mariachi is extremely impressive. The fact that this can be made on a budget of $7000 is insane to me. It actually blows my mind how a film like Justice League (2017) can be so bad with a $300,000,000 budget.

That being said though I didn’t think the script was very good at all. It felt like a first draft. But then again it’s still better written than $300,000,000 budget Justice League. 

My respect for Rodriguez as a director has increased massively.

This film was made for $7,000 which is amazing because it is better than a lot of films that cost much more. A simple story with an interesting twist and a satisfying ending. In addition, I would think this film an inspiration to young, poor, filmmakers attempting to get a start in the world.

ô campeão me vê uma brejinha na garrafa

Inspiring! I mean ppl reviewing this on here just came from reading the book right... thats totally not where i came from... just sayin. I love how no one ever finishes their drink tho, like yall sweaty asf take more than a swig please ik u need it

An amazingly fun example of "this is what we had, so we made a movie". Rough around the edges but a good watch.

I'm drunk as fuck, but this is still a great fucking movie.

Just about as awesome as it is janky and undercooked. A valiant early effort by Rodriguez, but a far cry from his eventual mastery and style. Still an enjoyable watch either way, and a nice prologue to the other two Mexico movies. Decent work all round.

on one of the first jobs i swung as a grip, production could only afford one truck so the camera team had to squeeze all of their gear into a weird corner of the G&E truck. i went back to the truck to grab a stand or something and stood on what i thought was the dana dolly kit to reach it. as i was doing that, someone from the camera team came by, yelled at me for standing on a lens case, and opened it to discover i had put a hairline fracture in an Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm

this movie's budget was less than 10% of that lens' retail price

Low-budget filmmaking at its very best right here. Quite impressive how director Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi on an immensely modest budget of $7,000, and he no doubt gives it his all here in this exceptionally sharp and truly energetic directorial debut.

Its cheapness may typically show at times, however, it's the irresistibly genuine charm, pure, full-on dedication of it all, and no-frills/all-thrills mix-up narrative that immediately won me over on this one in the end.

Rodriguez came out swinging. There are quite a few flaws that I think he managed to iron out over his career, but El Mariachi is entertaining and engaging enough across its brief runtime.

Surprisingly funny, stylish, and well written. This movie balances its dark story and its silly premise quite well.

The story is fairly straight forward and the acting can be a little hammy at times, but the film definitely has a lot of charm.

Even with a measly seven thousand dollar budget, you can see Rodriguez's talent shine through.
The direction/cinematography has quite a unique style to it, and if for nothing else, is enjoyable for that reason alone.

Archi balbutiant et simpliste mais bien sympa pour des débuts, jouant sur un joli quiproquo plaisant à suivre tout au long du bousin.
Difficile de se dire que la même année QT sortait également son premier film, pas pour rien que certains lâchent des OUATIH pendant que d’autres font des Sharkboy and Lavagirl. Du bon Rodriguez.