Mexico Trilogy
The Mexico Trilogy (also known as the Desperado Trilogy on some released DVD products) is a series of American/Mexican contemporary western action films, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The plot tells the continuing story of El Mariachi, a man who painfully lives alone after seeing all of his loved ones die. El Mariachi was portrayed by actors Carlos Gallardo and Antonio Banderas. The films were released theatrically from 1993 to 2003, and later on home video as a collection in 2010.
| Mexico Trilogy | |
|---|---|
 Official trilogy DVD cover artwork | |
| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez Carlos Gallardo Elizabeth Avellan |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Carlos Gallardo Antonio Banderas |
| Music by | Eric Guthrie Chris Knudson Álvaro Rodriguez Cecilio Rodriguez Mark Trujillo Los Lobos Robert Rodriguez |
| Cinematography | Robert Rodriguez Guillermo Navarro |
| Edited by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Dimension Films |
Release date | 1993 – 2003 (theatrically) 2010 (home video) |
Running time | 289 minutes |
| Country | United States Mexico |
| Language | English Spanish |
| Budget | $36,007,000[1] (3 films) |
| Box office | $125 million[1] (3 films) |
Development
The trilogy began with the 1993 ultra low-budget production of El Mariachi. The film was made on a budget of only US$7,000 using 16-millimeter film, was shot entirely in Mexico with a mostly amateur cast, and was originally intended to go directly to the Mexican home-video market (a process detailed in Rodriguez's book Rebel Without a Crew). Writing in his book Rebel Without A Crew, Rodriguez got some funds for the film by offering himself up as a human guinea pig to science labs. Other finances came in the form of prize money won by his short student film, Bedhead, at film festival competitions.
Executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the rights to it for American distribution and eventually spent several times more than the film's original production budget on 35 millimeter film transfers, a marketing campaign and the eventual distribution/release of the film. It was so well received that they eventually chose to finance the second part of the trilogy, Desperado, and subsequently the final chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Film
| Film | U.S. release date |
Director | Screenwriter | Producers | El Mariachi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Mariachi | February 26, 1993 | Robert Rodriguez | Robert Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo | Carlos Gallardo | |
| Desperado | August 25, 1995 | Robert Rodriguez and Bill Borden | Antonio Banderas | ||
| Once Upon a Time in Mexico | September 12, 2003 | Robert Rodriguez, Carlos Gallardo and Elizabeth Avellán | |||
El Mariachi (1993)
El Mariachi travels through Mexico, as a musician. He arrives to a small town, hoping to find work in some of the local cantinas and clubs. Unfortunately for the man, troubled locals mistake him for a recently escaped convict who has been hunting down his former associates with a guitar case filled with weapons. As the story progresses, El Mariachi falls in love with a woman who helps him hide from those who are trying to kill him, and eventually sees her die at the hands of those same men. He seeks revenge for her death.
Desperado (1995)
The unfortunate adventures of El Mariachi continues, following his quest for love and his attempts to quench his thirst for revenge.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
A coup attempted on the President of Mexico, is stopped by the heroic actions of El Mariachi himself. El Mariachi sets out to avenge the murder of his wife, and discovers a connection between the marauders and her death.
Television
A TV series adaptation of the El Mariachi franchise premiered on March 20, 2014 on AXN.[2]
Reception
Box office
All three films were made using Rodriguez's "Mariachi-style" of filmmaking in which (according to the back cover of his book Rebel Without a Crew) "creativity, not money, is used to solve problems." Thus, all three movies have been extremely profitable. El Mariachi was made for $7,000 and went on to gross more than $2 million in its theatrical release. Desperado was made for $7 million and grossed over $24.6 million in US theaters. Once Upon a Time in Mexico was made for $29 million and grossed over $56.3 million domestically and an additional $41.8 million worldwide and holds the box office distinction for being the most improved second sequel of all-time grossing 122% more than Desperado.
Awards and critical reaction
All three films have won various prestigious awards. El Mariachi won the Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival and the 1993 Deauville American Film Festival and Best First Feature at the 1994 Independent Spirit Awards. Desperado saw Salma Hayek nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 1996 Saturn Awards, and was nominated for the Bronze Horse at the 1995 Stockholm Film Festival. Once Upon a Time in Mexico won two Imagen Foundation Awards for performances by Antonio Banderas and Rubén Blades, was nominated for two Satellite Awards, winning Robert Rodriguez an award for Best Song ("Siente Mi Amor") and Johnny Depp a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical and the movie's impressive stunts landed it two Taurus World Stunt Awards nominations.
References
- "El Mariachi Franchise Box Office History". The Numbers (website).
- "SOBRE EL MARIACHI" [ABOUT EL MARIACHI] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 8, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2021.