Maverick independent filmmaker Robert Rodriguez caught the attention of Hollywood in 1992 with his hyper-kinetic, low-budget action hit 'El Mariachi'. When that film became an instant cult hit and a critical fave, Rodriguez was handed a larger budget -- 100 times larger, as a matter of fact -- to film the sequel (but really more of a remake) 'Desperado'.
Antonio Banderas comes into his own as a sexy action hero in this slick, turbo-charged, South-of-the-border shoot-‘em-up. The plot is a continuation of the first film, with the mysterious mariachi drifting into town to avenge the death of his loved one, killing, maiming, and obliterating anyone who gets in his way.
The laserdisc is letterboxed for the film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but its painfully obvious that the framing is way too tight, with foreheads and chins becoming distracting casualties of the black masking at the top and bottom of the image. Nothing is gained to the sides when compared to the full-frame cassette version, and since so much visual information is compromised by the letterboxing, perhaps it would have been better— certainly more visually pleasing—if Columbia/Tri-Star had issued 'Desperado' on disc in a full-frame version, at the ratio in which it was originally filmed.
Rodriguez is a laserdisc collector himself, and he used his clout to ensure that Columbia/Tri-Star put a little bit extra into the laserdisc release of 'Desperado'. There’s a cool theatrical trailer following the film, and a running audio commentary with Rodriguez offering a wealth of information about the rag-tag production ($7 million is a big budget as far as Rodriguez is concerned, but only a fraction of what most action films cost, and far less than what the film looks like it should have cost). As a bonus for Spanish-fluent viewers, the other analog track features the Spanish dub of the film.
The disc looks and sounds terrific, with accurate color, brightness and contrast levels, and an aggressive, knock-your-boots-off surround soundtrack.
Vital Statistics: Columbia/Tri-Star Home Video; 2 sides; CLV; Widescreen (1.85:1); Stereo Surround; Chapter stops; Closed captioned; $39.95.
S. Damien Segal.
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