Overview: A Tex-Mex tornado of fire and fury, writer-director Robert Rodriguez’s astonishing ‘Mexico Trilogy’ broke fresh new ground in American independent and action cinema, catapulting the filmmaker and his largely Hispanic cast and crew into the Hollywood stratosphere.

Rodriguez’s ingenious 1993 debut El Mariachi (infamously filmed for only $7000) sees a naive young musician entering a godforsaken border town and finding himself in the middle of a deadly case of mistaken identity. The major studio follow-up Desperado sees Antonio Banderas take up the mantle of the mysterious Mariachi, stalking the Mexican underworld with enough bullets up his sleeves for every bandito in his path.

Finally, 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico sees Rodriguez use every cutting-edge technological innovation in his arsenal to bring the trilogy’s explosive conclusion to the screen, as the Mariachi finds himself in the center of a bloody war for the soul of Mexico itself.

Fun, fast and full of invention and inspiration, this deadly trio cemented Robert Rodriguez’s reputation as an action auteur worth following, and are accompanied here by insightful new interviews with the director and his crew of collaborators.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: The trilogy opens on El Mariachi (1993), which tells a simple tale of mistaken identity. The protagonist and title character is a mere wandering mariachi looking for work, until he is confused with an escaped prisoner. Then of course, all hell breaks loose. Bullets fly and the fun begins.

Strictly on its cinematic merits, El Mariachi is not as great as you have probably heard. The story, as I described, is nothing special. The acting doesn’t detract at all from the movie, but no one stands out either. There are a number of continuity errors; shots within individual scenes are inconsistently lit; some of the cuts seem unusual; and the special effects are elementary. The technical aspects, except the necessarily innovative cinematography, are not quite up to Hollywood standards. All of this would not seem to add up to a classic independent film.

But the borderline crude nature of all these pieces add up to a fascinating film, and they do that for one reason: Robert Rodriguez. His creativity and vision collide with his lack of money to produce a fascinating film. Filling virtually every major role on the crew, he creates a style all his own. Within this style, all of the problems are transformed into resourcefulness and creativity, the product of which is a consistent look akin to what he forged in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and his other films.

Next up is Desperado (1995) and the no-named Mariachi player is now being played by Antonio Banderas. He is after Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), the big boss who was pulling the strings when his old flame was killed. He will go from town to town and bar to bar leaving a trail of dead bodies in order to find Bucho.

Helping him is his friend played by Steve Buscemi. Also helping him is his new flame, Carolina (Salma Hayek). Like I said, upgrades all around.

This is a shoot ’em up action flick with a Mexican flare. It’s somewhat of a throwback to Spaghetti Westerns, yet with a modern day flare. Looking purely at body count and bullet count, this movie could be virtually indistinguishable from your typical Hollywood action movie. But, just the subtle change of location, accents, and substituting white faces for brown faces and suddenly the new packaging makes the entire product much better.

Banderas is brilliantly-cast as a brooding longer on the hunt and leaving a very large trail of dead bodies behind him. The gorgeous Salma Hayek plays his love interest in what I guess was one of her first ever roles, and, on a personal note, I loved Buscemi’s contribution!

Lastly is Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), an all out action, thriller movie starring, once again, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, but now they are joined by stars such as Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades and Willem Dafoe.

The fugitive couple from the last film (Hayek and Banderas) are still on the run from the criminals who’ve survived their last gun battle. We finally learn who’s behind all of the EL Mariachi’s troubles. Will he and his bride ever find peace and solace in the desert towns of Mexico? Can they ever settle down and raise a family?

The visual effects are also pure Rodriguez, which is both good and bad. Rated R for strong violence, Mexico earns its rating time and time again as men are blown ridiculous distances by bullets and explosions. Over the top? Yes, but somehow they almost seem possible in the portrayed world.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all three films
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of Desperado
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Carlos Aguilar and Nicholas Clement
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
Double sided posters featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
Collectable poster featuring Robert Rodriguez’s original poster concept for El Mariachi

DISC 1 - EL MARIACHI (BLU-RAY)
Original uncompressed Latin-American Spanish stereo audio, plus an English dub in lossless stereo
Optional English subtitles, plus English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
Big Vision Low Budget, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
The Original Mariachi, a newly filmed interview with producer/star Carlos Gallardo
The Music of ‘El Mariachi’, a newly produced featurette on the music in the film, featuring interviews with composers Eric Guthrie, Chris Knudson, Alvaro Rodriguez and Marc Trujillo
Ten Minute Film School, an archive featurette produced and narrated by Rodriguez
Bedhead, a 1991 short film by Rodriguez
Theatrical trailer and TV spot

DISCS 2 & 3 - DESPERADO (BLU-RAY / 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
New 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Sony Pictures
Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
Lean and Mean, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
Shoot Like Crazy, a newly filmed interview with producer Bill Borden
Kill Count, a newly filmed interview with stunt coordinator Steve Davison
Lock and Load, a newly filmed interview with special effects coordinator Bob Shelley
Game Changer, a newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption)
Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
Textless opening (“Morena de mi Corazón”)
Theatrical trailers

DISC 4 - ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (BLU-RAY)
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
The Revolution Will Be Digitized, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
Troublemaking, a newly filmed interview with visual effects editor Ethan Maniquis
Eight deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Rodriguez
Ten Minute Flick School, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
Inside Troublemaker Studios, an archive featurette on Rodriguez’s studio in Austin
Ten Minute Cooking School, an archive featurette in which Rodriguez shows you how to cook Puerco Pibil
Film is Dead: An Evening with Robert Rodriguez, a presentation by the director given in 2003
The Anti-Hero’s Journey, an archive featurette on the arc of the Mariachi
The Good, the Bad and the Bloody: Inside KNB FX, an archive featurette on the film’s special effects
Theatrical trailers

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