Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy getting a deluxe Arrow release (but only Desperado will be 4K)
Robert Rodriguez’s classic El Mariachi triogy will be coming out in a new set from Arrow Video (with one small catch).
June 1st 2024, 4:08pm
Like many of you reading this, I have a soft spot for Robert Rodriguez’s Mexico trilogy. The three films centred around a guitar-playing mariachi (first played by Carlos Gallardo, then by Antonio Banderas) who becomes a killer after a case of mistaken identity. The three films put Rodriguez on the map as one of the most exciting directors of his generation, and the story of how he turned a $7000 action movie made for Mexican home video into a worldwide smash is legendary (as he documented himself in the classic book “Rebel Without a Crew”).
Now, Rodriguez’s loose trilogy, which consists of El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, are coming to Arrow Video in a special features-laden box set which includes commentaries, new interviews, deleted scenes and more. However, the catch is that of the three films, only Desperado is getting a 4K disc.
Why?
Well, here’s the thing – the elements don’t really exist to put the other films on 4K disc. El Mariachi was shot on 16mm film for $7K, so a 1080p HD transfer is about as good as it gets for that movie. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, despite having the biggest budget, was an early movie shot on HD digital, meaning the maximum resolution is 1080p. It would have to undergo a major restoration (or revisionist transfer) to look good in this format (this is the dilemma likely facing Sony and Danny Boyle with 28 Days Later). Desperado was the only one shot on 35mm film, so it has the best elements and will likely look amazing in 4K.
Whatever the case, the set is loaded with extras, as revealed by our friends over at Arrow Video. Check em’ out:
DISC 1 – EL MARIACHI (BLU-RAY)
- Original uncompressed Latin-American Spanish stereo audio, plus an English dub in lossless stereo
- Optional English subtitles, plus English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
- Big Vision Low Budget, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
- The Original Mariachi, a newly filmed interview with producer/star Carlos Gallardo
- The Music of ‘El Mariachi’, a newly produced featurette on the music in the film, featuring interviews with composers Eric Guthrie, Chris Knudson, Alvaro Rodriguez and Marc Trujillo
- Ten Minute Film School, an archive featurette produced and narrated by Rodriguez
- Bedhead, a 1991 short film by Rodriguez
- Theatrical trailer and TV spot
DISCS 2 & 3 – DESPERADO (BLU-RAY / 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- New 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Sony Pictures
- Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Audio commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
- Lean and Mean, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
- Shoot Like Crazy, a newly filmed interview with producer Bill Borden
- Kill Count, a newly filmed interview with stunt coordinator Steve Davison
- Lock and Load, a newly filmed interview with special effects coordinator Bob Shelley
- Game Changer, a newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption)
- Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
- Textless opening (“Morena de mi Corazón”)
- Theatrical trailers
DISC 4 – ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (BLU-RAY)
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
- The Revolution Will Be Digitized, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
- Troublemaking, a newly filmed interview with visual effects editor Ethan Maniquis
- Eight deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Rodriguez
- Ten Minute Flick School, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
- Inside Troublemaker Studios, an archive featurette on Rodriguez’s studio in Austin
- Ten Minute Cooking School, an archive featurette in which Rodriguez shows you how to cook Puerco Pibil
- Film is Dead: An Evening with Robert Rodriguez, a presentation by the director given in 2003
- The Anti-Hero’s Journey, an archive featurette on the arc of the Mariachi
- The Good, the Bad and the Bloody: Inside KNB FX, an archive featurette on the film’s special effects
- Theatrical trailers
Well, here’s the thing – the elements don’t really exist to put the other films on 4K disc. El Mariachi was shot on 16mm film for $7K, so a 1080p HD transfer is about as good as it gets for that movie. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, despite having the biggest budget, was an early movie shot on HD digital, meaning the maximum resolution is 1080p. It would have to undergo a major restoration (or revisionist transfer) to look good in this format (this is the dilemma likely facing Sony and Danny Boyle with 28 Days Later). Desperado was the only one shot on 35mm film, so it has the best elements and will likely look amazing in 4K.
We’re at the point where if something isn’t released on 4k there has to be a reason, it’s rarely stated as plainly as this though.
Anyway, that’s a quick preorder.
I’ve never watched the 28 Days Later Blu-ray because surely it’s impossible to look any better? Wasn’t it shot with digital standard definition cameras?
I’m sure someone will prove me wrong. 😊
No that’s what they are saying in the piece. However, it seems like the kind of film that some company would put the time and effort into upscaling to 4k, especially with the new films in the pipeline.
I decided to go over to Blu-ray.com and read the review of the 28 Days Later Blu-ray release. Most of the film does look poor because of the cameras used in production. The reviewer states that this does match up with the film’s tone and aesthetic though.
However, I wasn’t aware of this, a final portion of the film was shot on 35mm film and this is obviously the best looking part of the disc.
However, I wasn’t aware of this, a final portion of the film was shot on 35mm film and this is obviously the best looking part of the disc.
I did not know that. It’s coming back to the cinema so I’ll keep an eye out for that.
Arrow Video does amazing work. I pretty much only buy movies they release these days.
I love a lot of their releases, especially as they put the work into finding any bonus material and creating new content as well.
I was over the moon when they released Tremors and was completely taken by surprise when they applied the same effort to it’s sequel as well!
It makes me wonder if they’ll continue the series. Maybe films 3 and 4 as a double pack? But nothing after that, as the original creative team had nothing to do with films 5 onwards and it shows.
Watching Desperado when I was 12 turned me gay!
