Although he began his career much like most filmmakers with nothing at all, Robert Rodriguez took Hollywood by storm in the early '90s, creating a feature-length action thriller with $7,000, some friends, and a cheap camera. Within a few years, he was working with folks at the top of Hollywood's A-list, with multimillion dollar budgets and high-tech special effects. Rodriguez's transition from unknown filmmaker to big-name star is most clearly apparent in the two films that book-end his transition, El Mariachi and Desperado, which I was fortunate enough to find in a boxed set from Columbia Tristar just before break.The 1993 film El Mariachi is the sort of work that aspiring filmmakers dream about creating. Shot by Rodriguez in a small Mexican town, El Mariachi follows the misadventures of a lone guitarist as he wanders into small-town, big-gun trouble. The film, produced on a mere $7,000 that Rodriguez raised by volunteering himself for medical experiments, was shot with minimal equipment, amateur actors, 16mm film, and remarkably, no second takes. Despite these limitations, or perhaps because of them, Rodriguez managed to create a hard-hitting, action-packed film that flies with the sort of playful intensity that carefully structured Hollywood films tend to lack.

A filmmaker like Rodriguez, who managed to take El Mariachi through a bidding war to a highly successful theatrical release, has a lot to teach aspiring filmmakers. And he knows it. In addition to recording a director's commentary, Rodriguez includes in the DVD a 10-minute long featurette called "10-Minute Film School", in which he uses raw footage, scenes and sequences from El Mariachi to describe his unique, fast-paced, economical approach to filmmaking. For independent filmmakers working on a low-budget, these lessons are indispensable. I imagine that the featurette would pique the interest of non-filmmakers as well.

Soon after making his massive Hollywood splash, Rodriguez proceeded to sign another deal with Columbia Pictures to direct Desperado-a somewhat remake, somewhat sequel to El Mariachi. Rather than having a nameless amateur take the lead role, Rodriguez cast Antonio Banderas (Mask of Zorro) as the nameless Mariachi. Although Desperado had a significant Hollywood-size budget ($7 million, as opposed to El Mariachi's $7000), Rodriguez manages to capture the same stylish, hectic pace that made El Mariachi work so well. Desperado, in my view, is not a superior film, but it works better than many other similarly-styled Hollywood action films.

The Desperado DVD has bonus features as well, including "10 More Minutes" of Rodriguez on-camera. He describes his process of creating a video storyboard for a significant shootout sequence. Rodriquez shows, via raw footage and rehearsals on videotape, the process of designing his action scene. Desperado can also be seen with the director's running commentary.

For those interested in independent filmmaking, the rare transition of independent filmmakers to Hollywood, or simply in Rodriguez's success, I recommend that in addition to these DVDs, you take a look at his book, Rebel Without a Crew, which documents the production and distribution adventures surrounding El Mariachi.