El Mariachi Trilogy 720p 110
an interesting footnote to the trilogy is the fact that sergio leone was originally supposed to direct desperado, but when he came to visit rodriguez's set in mexico city and realized what was going on, he walked off. this is the first of the three rodriguez films to be released in the u.s., and although it doesn't reach the historical significance of the first one, it is still a vital part of rodriguez's original vision. desperado is a much better film than el mariachi (or once upon a time in mexico), but it's still fun to see the original film. the film also has a more coherent script and a tighter shooting schedule.
El Mariachi Trilogy 720p 110
because it is the only one that has been released in the u.s., desperado has a completely different ending than the other two movies. although it is set in mexico city, it takes place mostly on a ranch, which is where the final showdown with the mariachi takes place.
desperado is also considered by many to be the best of the trilogy. the action is as explosive as ever, and the film holds up surprisingly well after almost 30 years. the cinematography (by rodriguez's brother eugenio, whose brother fernando was the cinematographer on el mariachi) is far more polished than the first film. the film also improves on the first in other aspects: the script is more well-rounded, the characters are more developed, and the pace is a little slower. with the shot-for-shot remake of desperado in theaters now, it's worth watching, even if you have already seen the original.
it's a funny thing, though. if you've seen el mariachi once, you know the ending. and if you've seen it a second time, you'll know the ending almost the same way. so, you might be able to predict the ending of desperado right away, even without seeing the film. this really isn't anything new: we know the ending to many movies, even if we have never seen them, and some of those endings are so perfectly written that they're instantly recognizable. but the ending of el mariachi is something different, something that was perfect even when it was unknown to anyone but rodriguez. if you haven't seen desperado, you'll see what i mean.