El Mariachi

Robert Rodriguez wrote, directed, shot, cut and co-produced this, his first feature. It was shot on 16 mm in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, in 14 days. Rodriguez spent $7,225 of the $9,000 he had set aside, raising close to half of it by taking part in experimental clinical drug testing in Austin. There was no dolly; he held the camera while being pushed in a wheelchair. The lighting was two 200-watt clip-on desk lamps. The squibs were condoms of fake blood fixed over weightlifting belts. The jail scene’s warden and guard are that jail’s real warden and guard. Peter Marquardt, who plays Moco, spoke no Spanish and delivered his lines without understanding them. It was made to sell to the Latino video market. Straight-to-video distributors turned it down, so Rodriguez went to larger companies; Columbia bought the American rights and spent $200,000 transferring the print to film, remixing the sound and finishing it. It won the Audience Award in Sundance’s dramatic competition in 1993 and Best First Feature at the 9th Independent Spirit Awards, where Rodriguez was also up for director. A good fit if you want to see poverty turned into a method, step by step. Not for anyone expecting a clean image and track; the sound was laid in afterwards and bad takes stayed in to save film.