Desperado / El Mariachi -Special Editions-

Product Description A Mariachi musician wanders into a small Mexican town and is mistaken for a hit man who carries his gun in a smiliar case to the one he carries for his guitar in El Mariachi (Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez. 1993/81 min.)(Spanish audio only). The sequel Desperado (Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek. 1995/103 min.) finds the reluctant Mariachi dragged into the criminal underworld where he seeks out a Mexican drug lord to settle an old score. Color/R. Additional Features The double-disc box of Desperado and El Mariachi offers a number of worthwhile features: interesting commentary tracks by director Robert Rodriguez on both films, his short film "Bedhead," and two 10-minute featurettes. Note, however, that they're almost exactly the same as those on the previously released two-sided disc; the only differences are the addition of a four-minute preview for the follow-up, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and a new transfer of El Mariachi presented in a slightly wider aspect ratio (1.85 instead of 1.66). The new transfer has richer colors, but hasn't gotten rid of scratches and fuzziness. If you don't already have the two-sided disc, this box is worth the purchase because of the slightly improved quality and significantly lower price, but if you have the other there's no compelling reason to upgrade. Those who don't care about the features and just want Desperado in the best picture and sound should opt for the Superbit DVD. --David Horiuchi