Mariachi Trilogy

The "Mariachi Trilogy" is a series of movies; El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time In Mexico all directed by Robert Rodriguez which tell the continuing story of the movies' main character "El Mariachi".

Related Topics:
El Mariachi - Desperado - Once Upon a Time In Mexico - Robert Rodriguez

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The trilogy began with the 1992 low-budget production of El Mariachi. The film was made on a budget of only $7,000 USD using 16 millimeter cameras, was shot entirely in Mexico with a mostly amateur cast, and was originally intended to go directly to the Mexican home-video market. It tells the story of an out of work musician (the Mariachi) traveling through Mexico. He arrives in a small border town, hoping of find work in some of the local Cantinas and clubs. Unfortunately for "El", local hoodlums mistake him for a recently escaped convict who has been hunting down his former associates with a guitar case filled with hand-guns. As the story progresses, "El" 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 all he has been put through.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the rights to it for American distribution and eventually spent several multiples 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 choose to finance the second part of the trilogy, Desperado and subsequently the final chapter, Once Upon a Time In Mexico.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Desperado continues El Mariachi's quest for revenge where he finds a new love and quinches his revenge.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once Upon a Time in Mexico revolves around a failed coup attempt on the President of Mexico where as El Mariachi is the hero who saves him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~