Once Upon a Time in Mexico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Once Upon a Time in Mexico | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Produced by | Robert Rodriguez, Elizabeth Avellan, Carlos Gallardo |
| Written by | Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring | Antonio Banderas Salma Hayek Johnny Depp Willem Dafoe Mickey Rourke Eva Mendes Danny Trejo |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. |
| Release date(s) | September 12, 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Language | English / Spanish |
| Budget | $29,000,000 |
| Preceded by | Desperado |
| IMDb profile | |
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) is an action film by Robert Rodriguez and the final film in the "Mariachi Trilogy", which includes El Mariachi and Desperado. Antonio Banderas reprises his role as El Mariachi. The film also stars Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Enrique Iglesias, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes and Rubén Blades.
The film received mostly positive reviews, but was criticized for reducing El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to an almost secondary character in his own trilogy, and also for having what some viewed as a convoluted plot. However, in the special features of the film's DVD, Robert Rodriguez has explained that this was intended, as he wanted this to be The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the trilogy.
Tagline:
- The time has come.
Contents |
[edit] Trilogy Problems
This film is presented as the concluding chapter of Rodriguez's "Mariachi Trilogy", though there are some consistency problems with viewing the films as a linear trilogy, as one would do with The Godfather or Back to the Future films:
Desperado is often considered a re-make of El Mariachi, not a direct sequel; there are inconsistencies between the first two films and in Rodriguez's commentary on the Desperado DVD, he says he originally intended Desperado to be a remake of El Mariachi for an American audience. There is some confusion as to specific plot points, such as how the character of Bucho actually links back to the drug-peddling consortium that killed El Mariachi's girlfriend in the first film. A number of actors whose characters died in Desperado appear in "Mexico". Rodriguez has stated that he wanted to use those actors again, and chose to do so despite their characters' deaths in Desperado. Sergio Leone similarly used the same actors in different parts in different movies in his Dollars trilogy.
Also, Robert Rodriguez Claims on the DVD commentary for "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" that he intended to make it the fourth film in the series with certain scenes in it part of the originally planned third film, which would have told the story of El Mariachi and his wife from the end of Desperado up to a little while before "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" starts, which was briefly recapped in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico". But, he was unable to do this and instead took portions of that story, put them in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" and just alluded to, as he put it, "a phantom film" in the series, making the story of El Mariachi a trilogy.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Antonio Banderas | El Mariachi |
| Salma Hayek | Carolina |
| Johnny Depp | Sheldon Jeffrey Sands |
| Eva Mendes | Ajedrez |
| Danny Trejo | Cucuy |
| Enrique Iglesias | Lorenzo |
| Marco Leonardi | Fideo |
| Rubén Blades | FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez |
| Willem Dafoe | Armando Barillo |
| Mickey Rourke | Billy Chambers |
| Gerardo Vigil | General Emiliano Marquez |
| Miguel Couturier | Dr. Guevera |
| Cheech Marin | Belini |
| Pedro Armendáriz Jr. | President |
| Julio Oscar Mechoso | Nicholas |
| Tony Valdes | Little Boy |
[edit] Plot
The plot centers on El Mariachi, who is recruited by CIA Agent Sands to kill General Marquez. Marquez had murdered El Mariachi's wife and child and has been hired by Mexican drug lord Armando Barillo to assassinate the Mexican President. Sands recruits retired FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez to kill Barillo, as Barillo had been responsible for the death of Ramirez's partner, agent Archuleta. Sands also hires AFN Agent Ajedrez to tail Barillo.
As the plot unfolds, informants begin to turn on Sands. On the day of the Coup, he finds himself captured and blinded by his captors. Meanwhile, El Mariachi recruits two of his friends to assist him in rescuing the President. El Mariachi kills Marquez, avenging his wife and daughter, while Ramirez kills Barillo.
[edit] Box office
US Gross Domestic Takings: US$ 56,359,780
- + Other International Takings: $41,825,802
= Gross Worldwide Takings: $98,185,582
[edit] Trivia
- Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) tells El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to meet an associate of his named Salome in the church. Salome is played by Johnny Depp and in his DVD commentary, Rodriguez comments that Salome is Sands incognito. Johnny Depp reportedly didn't want to leave after his filming was finished and suggested to Robert Rodriguez that he play the small part and use his Marlon Brando impression, though in the original script it was a different character.
- Filming took place in the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. The "Presidential Palace " is the main building of the University of Guanajuato.
- A special feature of the DVD release shows director Robert Rodriguez explaining and demonstrating the recipe for puerco pibil, the dish that Agent Sands eats during all of his meetings with his associates.
- Agent Ramirez's partner, Archuleta, shares his name with Ruben Blades' character in Predator 2.
- On the DVD Commentary, director Robert Rodriguez says that the part of Cucuy, which was played by Danny Trejo, was originally meant for Quentin Tarantino. Agent Sands was intended for George Clooney.
- This film was shot before Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in order to avoid a potential Screen Actors Guild strike. It was the first film Rodriguez ever shot in HD.
- The name of Billy Chambers's dog is Moco ("booger"), which is the same name as the drug dealer from El Mariachi. The name can be seen on the dog's tag.
- The name of Eva Mendes' character, "Ajedrez," means chess in Spanish.
[edit] External links
- Once Upon a Time in Mexico at the Internet Movie Database
- Boxoffice information
- fanlisting for the movie and the soundtrack
| The films of Robert Rodriguez |
|---|
| Bedhead • El Mariachi •Roadracers •Four Rooms •Desperado • From Dusk Till Dawn • The Faculty • Spy Kids • Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams • Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over • Once Upon a Time in Mexico • Sin City • The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D • Grind House • Sin City 2 • Madman |
fr:Il était une fois au Mexique nl:Once Upon a Time in Mexico ja:レジェンド・オブ・メキシコ/デスペラード ru:Однажды в Мексике (фильм) fi:Once Upon a Time in Mexico sv:Once Upon a Time in Mexico
