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DESPERADO (1995)
Director: Robert Rodriguez
I bought Rodriguez's book "Rebel without a Crew" back in 1995 at the recommendation of a friend of mine. We'd both grown up together watching movies and loving them, much, much more than the casual movie goer. He was into editing between two VCR's and had just bought a Canon 8mm video camera. I just watched what he did most of the time. After I read the book, my life was changed. I was told, in very easy going terms, that I, too, could be a film maker, in fact, I may already be. I agreed with this. I knew what I liked and what I responded to, and in some psychedelic way, I'd been making pretend my whole life was a movie, anyway.
I immediately saw El Mariachi followed by Desperado, which was still fresh in the theaters. Though I liked Desperado, I couldn't help but feel like Rodriguez betrayed his original star Carlos Gallardo, who played the guitar case toting hero mariachi in first picture, which was made "without a crew" for $7,000.
Over the years, I had made my mind up, based mostly of my imaginative and increasing distaste for anything Rodriguez-related, that I didn't care that much for Desperado. Even though this author/filmmaker gave me confidence to be a filmmaker myself, and that what he said in his book clicked with how my mind worked out obstacles, it didn't seem to be enough. Before too long, give or take a decade, I was pretty much anti-Rodriguez, figuring him for a hack guy who broke the doors open like the legendary mariachi himself, but soon becoming complacent, over stylizing typical B genre films, and never really taking the craft seriously. To make a long story short - I wanted Robert to direct a drama, and a good one at that.
I'm still waiting...
Last night, out of boredome, I popped in my dvd copy of Desperado and much to my pleasure, I found myself adhered to the entire film without falling asleep, and better, laughing plenty, and not just chuckles. I got some real belly laughs out of this thing. So glad I watched it.
The humor comes from the writing and casting as Antonio Banderas has a great ability for physicality and comedy. He twirls around like a tazmanian devil just to adjust his collar. Very dramatic. Lots of unnecessary flair. Funny stuff. Also, the new mariachi played by Banderas has some great frustrated and angry reactions, as well as his counterpart nemesis in the picture, who, cannot for the life of him, remember his own car phone number. There is a nice, even coating of jokes in this movie that aren't "hit you over the head" funny, but instead play for subtlety and I would imagine will only connect with a certain age group and social disposition.
The action sequences I can only describe as something like "if Sam Peckinpah directed a ballet with ninjas for the cast". Every camera set-up was meticulously thought out and the coverage and staging was so fluid (not relying on vari-speed tricks as far as I could tell), that by the time it went into editing, I can only imagine how fun it must have been to cut it together. Rodriguez even masters the art of lighting and smoking a cigarette, as just the proper amount of sound, smoke visibility, and movement is part of the alternate angle in a 2 shot. Amazing technicality. It's very apparent that Robert Rodriguez is a musician. You can tell by his writing, blocking, staging, movements and editing. Not to mention, he utilizes Los Lobos for the score in a superb manner, furthering the action blockbuster "look" of this $7 million film to a poetic tribute for El Mariachi.
I am no longer mad at Robert Rodriguez. Not after seeing Desperado again. It's an action comedy and nothing more, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better action picture that is funnier, or a funnier picture that has more action from an American filmmaker.
I may decide to investigate some of his other work that might've been glossed over due to my prejudice. And by the way, Carlos Gallardo does get to come back as the mariachi's sidekick in a couple of sequences (memorable ones, too). That's Hollywood, I guess.
Director: Robert Rodriguez
I bought Rodriguez's book "Rebel without a Crew" back in 1995 at the recommendation of a friend of mine. We'd both grown up together watching movies and loving them, much, much more than the casual movie goer. He was into editing between two VCR's and had just bought a Canon 8mm video camera. I just watched what he did most of the time. After I read the book, my life was changed. I was told, in very easy going terms, that I, too, could be a film maker, in fact, I may already be. I agreed with this. I knew what I liked and what I responded to, and in some psychedelic way, I'd been making pretend my whole life was a movie, anyway.
I immediately saw El Mariachi followed by Desperado, which was still fresh in the theaters. Though I liked Desperado, I couldn't help but feel like Rodriguez betrayed his original star Carlos Gallardo, who played the guitar case toting hero mariachi in first picture, which was made "without a crew" for $7,000.
Over the years, I had made my mind up, based mostly of my imaginative and increasing distaste for anything Rodriguez-related, that I didn't care that much for Desperado. Even though this author/filmmaker gave me confidence to be a filmmaker myself, and that what he said in his book clicked with how my mind worked out obstacles, it didn't seem to be enough. Before too long, give or take a decade, I was pretty much anti-Rodriguez, figuring him for a hack guy who broke the doors open like the legendary mariachi himself, but soon becoming complacent, over stylizing typical B genre films, and never really taking the craft seriously. To make a long story short - I wanted Robert to direct a drama, and a good one at that.
I'm still waiting...
Last night, out of boredome, I popped in my dvd copy of Desperado and much to my pleasure, I found myself adhered to the entire film without falling asleep, and better, laughing plenty, and not just chuckles. I got some real belly laughs out of this thing. So glad I watched it.
The humor comes from the writing and casting as Antonio Banderas has a great ability for physicality and comedy. He twirls around like a tazmanian devil just to adjust his collar. Very dramatic. Lots of unnecessary flair. Funny stuff. Also, the new mariachi played by Banderas has some great frustrated and angry reactions, as well as his counterpart nemesis in the picture, who, cannot for the life of him, remember his own car phone number. There is a nice, even coating of jokes in this movie that aren't "hit you over the head" funny, but instead play for subtlety and I would imagine will only connect with a certain age group and social disposition.
The action sequences I can only describe as something like "if Sam Peckinpah directed a ballet with ninjas for the cast". Every camera set-up was meticulously thought out and the coverage and staging was so fluid (not relying on vari-speed tricks as far as I could tell), that by the time it went into editing, I can only imagine how fun it must have been to cut it together. Rodriguez even masters the art of lighting and smoking a cigarette, as just the proper amount of sound, smoke visibility, and movement is part of the alternate angle in a 2 shot. Amazing technicality. It's very apparent that Robert Rodriguez is a musician. You can tell by his writing, blocking, staging, movements and editing. Not to mention, he utilizes Los Lobos for the score in a superb manner, furthering the action blockbuster "look" of this $7 million film to a poetic tribute for El Mariachi.
I am no longer mad at Robert Rodriguez. Not after seeing Desperado again. It's an action comedy and nothing more, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better action picture that is funnier, or a funnier picture that has more action from an American filmmaker.
I may decide to investigate some of his other work that might've been glossed over due to my prejudice. And by the way, Carlos Gallardo does get to come back as the mariachi's sidekick in a couple of sequences (memorable ones, too). That's Hollywood, I guess.