El Mariachi glowers seductively, lingers in shadows, and clangs a little when he walks (this owing to the silver epaulets on his trousers).
Leone comes up repeatedly, not least obviously in the trilogy’s focus on a man with no name. He notes that he brings back actors whose previous character had been killed (“I did a complete Sergio Leone, and brought ’em back as different characters”), explaining that he likes to work with people who already know his style and especially, his speed. He extols the virtues of 1080p24 (the terrific looking high definition video he used) and the joys of working fast and cheap ($30 million) with other fast thinkers, like Depp (who suggested dressing Sands like a bad tourist), Cheech, and Quentin Tarantino (form who he took advice on writing dialogue: “I just get two characters talking to each other and then even I’m surprised by what they say”). Just so, Rodriguez’s commentary is focused for budding filmmakers. With all of its political and allegorical allusions, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is also local and immediate. intelligence, policy, and military industry as a matter of course.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO MOVIE
The mythology of Mexico in this movie - Rodriguez’s third film in his revisionary “Western” trilogy - takes on the ominous workings of U.S.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO FULL
Watching Johnny Depp first appear as Agent Sands, Rodriguez gushes, “This was the first scene I wrote, a corrupt CIA agent down in Mexico, sort of running the country by cell phone.” It’s a phenomenal concept, layered and smart and full of comedy and history. He does talk fast, and he is into methods and how ideas come to him. This seems true, as much as anything a filmmaker might tell you can be true. So, if you’re listening to this, I may be talking way too fast and saying way too much, but if you’re into methodology, you’ll get a lot of that here, as well as some really funny behind the scenes stories.” I think I do these commentaries… so that when I’m an old man, I can look back and see what the hell I was thinking. Just so, he introduces his latest, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, as if coming back to see old friends: “Hello,” he says as the Columbia logo comes on screen, “This is Robert Rodriguez, back for more musings. If ever there was a filmmaker made for DVD commentaries, it is Robert Rodriguez, in love with process, technology, his crew and his budding-filmmaker-viewers.
El (Antonio Banderas), Once Upon a Time in Mexico Robert Rodriguez, commentary track, Once Upon a Time in Mexicoįorgive me for what I am about to become. You just sort of open yourself up to it, and things come to you, and you can almost not take credit for it. That’s gotta be the coolest thing about creativity, is that it’s very unpredictable.