El Mariachi (1992)
Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, the film follows a traveling musician who is mistaken for a hitman and drawn into a violent conflict involving a local crime organization. It introduces the Mariachi character and establishes the foundation for the trilogy that continues with later entries.

Desperado
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Antonio Banderas, the film follows the Mariachi as he seeks revenge against a powerful cartel figure. Expanding on the story introduced in El Mariachi, it develops the character within a larger-scale narrative centered on organized crime and personal vendetta.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, and Salma Hayek, the film follows the Mariachi as he becomes entangled in a broader conflict involving political corruption and cartel power. It concludes the Mariachi trilogy and brings together multiple intersecting storylines established across the series.

Arrow Video

A Tex-Mex tornado of fire and fury, writer-director Robert Rodriguez's astonishing 'Mexico Trilogy' broke fresh new ground in American independent and action cinema, catapulting the filmmaker and his largely Hispanic cast and crew into the Hollywood stratosphere.

Rodriguez's ingenious 1993 debut El Mariachi (filmed for only $7000) sees a naive young musician entering a godforsaken border town and finding himself in the middle of a deadly case of mistaken identity. The major studio follow-up Desperado sees Antonio Banderas take up the mantle of the mysterious Mariachi, stalking the Mexican underworld with enough bullets up his sleeves for every bandito in his path. Finally, 2003's Once Upon a Time in Mexico sees Rodriguez use every cutting-edge technological innovation in his arsenal to bring the trilogy's grand conclusion to the screen, as the Mariachi finds himself in the center of a bloody war for the soul of Mexico itself.

Fun, fast and full of invention and inspiration, this deadly trio cemented Robert Rodriguez's reputation as an action auteur worth following, and are accompanied here by insightful interviews with the director and his crew of collaborators.