EL MARIACHI

Robert Rodriquez's 1992 breakout feature film, El Mariachi, is as good as ever. With the backlog of pictures I have to see, I will occasionally look back at those I have seen twice, thrice, or more. Impulsively I picked out Mariachi from the shelf at Suspect Video here in Toronto -- the packaging said something about Special Edition, which often means 'nothing edition', but I thought I would take a chance.

I was right, the only thing special about the DVD in question is that the transfer is gorgeous. The packing did proclaim this edition was taken from the original film negative. It shows. This leap in image quality gives El Mariachi even more class. The whole story about Rodriguez deciding to make a feature film for the Spanish-speaking video rental market because he was amazed how poor the stock example was, is one of the most inspiring "first time director" moments I have ever witnessed.

Soon after seeing El Mariachi in the theatres upon its release, I bought the book penned by the director himself... "Rebel Without a Crew".

Those citizens who would love to 'break out' into movies themselves but have never done much other than talk (talk), would be wise to watch El Mariachi and read "Rebel Without a Crew". If they can't get up the gumption to pick up a camera and give it a shot after scanning the film and book, then nothing will help them.

It is highly debatable whether director Robert Rodriguez has lived up to his potential, but one thing is for sure: He started with a bang!