Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy is the rare set that includes different formats of each film. There’s probably no sense upgrading El Mariachi beyond Blu-ray, but HD is even the limit for Once Upon a time in Mexico too. The set it worth it for the 4K UHD of Desperado alone so consider the other two movies bonus features.
Desperado sweats with the hot location and Rodriguez was still shooting film. The shadow is a deep void as the mariachi (Antonio Banderas) emerges into the light, and when he’s hiding from Bucho in the bookstore. His black clothes create a striking silhouette for all the action.
El Mariachi looks surprisingly good, and can be forgiven for being Rodriguez’s $7000 calling card. Once Upon a Time doesn’t look great. It’s funny how Rodriguez touts the advantages of digital but even Sony decided it wasn’t worth upscaling.
Maybe digital is faster but compared to Desperado, you can see. the benefits of using film. And Rodriguez could still shoot for the edit and go faster than most celluloid productions, but alas he’s never going back.
The surround sound for all films is selective with action effects. The mariachi crowd cheers, the White Suit villain pounds his cigarettes in the back, shells clang on the ground and fire envelops the room but not every single sound is given a distinct speaker effect.
Rodriguez always loaded his DVDs but it’s been a while since I watched those. His new interviews on all three films discuss his rebel filmmaking attitude and the development of each one. Plus, his original commentaries and 10 minute film schools are still included.
Producer Bil Borden corroborates Rodriguez’s stories but also reports on amusing border issues with bringing guns into Mexico for Desperado. Stunt coordinator Steve Davison, special effect coordinator Bob Shelley, VFX director Ethan Maniquis, and original mariachi Carlos Galardo also highlight achieving Rodriguez’s ambitions with limited means.
Gareth Evans confirms 10 minute film schools actually taught the next generation. He used tips for The Raid. Alas, this collection still does not include the final shootout Rodriguez deleted from Desperado. Hopefully, he didn’t delete it from all his archives as it would be cool to see one last 1995 action scene someday.