El Mariachi

El Mariachi
Theatrical film poster
Directed byRobert Rodriguez
Written byRobert Rodriguez
Produced by
StarringCarlos Gallardo
Consuelo Gómez
Peter Marquardt
CinematographyRobert Rodriguez
Edited byRobert Rodriguez
Music by
  • Eric Guthrie
  • Chris Knudson
  • Álvaro Rodriguez
  • Cecilio Rodriguez
  • Mark Trujillo
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • September 15, 1992 (1992-09-15) (TIFF)
  • January 8, 1993 (1993-01-08) (Sundance)
  • February 26, 1993 (1993-02-26) (United States)
Running time
81 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageSpanish
BudgetProduction: $7,225
Post-production: $200,000
Box office$2 million[3]

El Mariachi is a 1992 Spanish language American independent neo-Western action film and the first part of the saga that came to be known as Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy. It marked the feature-length debut of Rodriguez as writer and director. The Spanish language film was shot with a mainly amateur cast in the northern Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico across from Del Rio, Texas, the home town of leading actor Carlos Gallardo as the title character. The US$7,225 production was originally intended for the Mexican home-video market, but executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film and bought the American distribution rights. Columbia eventually spent $200,000 to transfer the print to film, to remix the sound, and on other post-production work, then spent millions more on marketing and distribution.[4]

The success of Rodriguez's directorial debut led him to create two sequels (Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico) with Antonio Banderas taking over from Gallardo for the character, though Gallardo co-produced both films and had a minor role in Desperado.[5][6]

In 2011, El Mariachi was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7][8] The film is also recognized by Guinness World Records as the lowest-budgeted film ever to gross $1 million at the box office.[9]

  1. ^ a b "El Mariachi". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 1, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "EL MARIACHI (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 1, 1993. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. ^ El Mariachi at Box Office Mojo
  4. ^ Shone, Tom (November 25, 2009). "Paranormal Activity and the myth of the shoestring shocker". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ^ Laws, Zach; Beachum, Chris (August 5, 2023). "Antonio Banderas movies: 15 greatest films ranked from worst to best". Gold Derby. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Haage, Anthony (March 7, 2024). "5 Best Mexican-Themed Casino Games You Can Play Online". The Yucatan Times. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  7. ^ "2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Oscars 2015: The Guinness World Records alternative Academy Awards". Guinness World Records. February 20, 2015. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2019.

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