Videos: Roberto Martinez

Winner of the Audience Award at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, El Mariachi tells the story of a young mariachi (Carlos Gallardo), or itinerant musician, who arrives in a Mexican border town looking for work. He is dressed in black and carries a guitar case; a killer arrives in the same town on the same day, dressed the same way-only the hitman's identical guitar case is filled with weapons. A case of mistaken identity ensues, and soon the easygoing mariachi is thrust into the middle of someone else's blood feud, and people start shooting at him. When the sexy bar owner (Consuelo Gomez) who befriends him turns out to be the object of the local warlord's unrequited lust, the mariachi finds himself in a whole heap of trouble that will require a lot of courage, luck and bullets to get out of.

All he wants is to be is a mariachi, like his father, his grandfather and his great grandfather before him. But the town he thinks will bring him luck brings only a curse of deadly mistaken identity. Forced to trade his guitar for a gun, the mariachi is playing for his life in this critically-acclaimed film debut from director Robert Rodriguez. Financed with earnings from a month-long stay in a research hospital, this astonishing action adventure was shot with no second takes, using borrowed equipment and a talented cast of unknowns. The riveting result is a wild bullet-dodging ride through a world of bandito violence, from the suspense of the opening shoot-out to the tragedy of the unexpected conclusion. With little more than a great story and a lot of heart, Rodriguez has created pure movie pleasure, setting new standards for independent filmmaking, and establishing himself as an unquestionable talent. "An enormously entertaining movie." (Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES)

Spanish, subtitled in English. In a small border town a musician and an assassin are trapped in a drama of violence, tragedy and passion.

Spanish, subtitled in English. In a small border town a musician and an assassin are trapped in a drama of violence, tragedy and passion.

A mariachi trades his guitar for a gun in this wild bullet-dodging fast ride through a world of bandito violence.

A mariachi trades his guitar for a gun in this wild bullet-dodging fast ride through a world of bandito violence.

Kind-spirited guitarist El Mariachi wanders into a small mob-run town, guitar case in hand. It so happens that the local criminal element is awaiting the arrival of vicious hit man Azul, who is well known for carrying his weapons in...a guitar case.