DVD: Once Upon A Time In Mexico

[Zixar]

Here's the link to the original discussion on the movie old thread

One of my few complaints about the theatrical version was that the digital-to-film transfer was a bit grainy in spots. Since this is direct digital-to-digital, this is simply one of the most GORGEOUS transfers I've ever seen. It still has the 24-frame look, but it has detail and sharpness that film can't touch. There's a featurette in the Extras section entitled "Film is dead" and I think it's right. Just as digital cameras killed film in astrophotography ten years ago, and digicams are pushing Kodak away from celluloid, HD-video will be how all movies are shot in ten years.

The "Making-Of" featurettes are invaluable for those who like the behind-the-scenes info. Writer-Director-Composer Robert Rodriguez is a genial, enthusiastic teacher, eager to show how all the stunts were faked, how all the editing and mixing were done in his (remodeled) garage in Austin, and even how to cook the pork dish that Johnny Depp ate at every bar--puerco pibil. (That recipe looks delicious, but I'm not so sure where I can find all the ingredients.)

The feature commentary had a lot of neat info I didn't know before:

--Rodriguez originally wanted George Clooney to play Depp's role, and wanted Quentin Tarantino to play Danny Trejo's "El Cucuy" role, yet neither was able to schedule it in.

--All of Johnny Depp's scenes--plus four that were cut out--were shot in only EIGHT days on the set. HD-video was the wondertool that allowed that to happen.

--They only had rubber dummy-guns for the first two weeks of shooting because of permit problems getting the blank-firing guns into Mexico. When Antonio Banderas is blazing away at the bad guys in the first church gunfight, he's just waving a machine-gun-shaped rubber wand. All the bullet flashes and ejected shell casings were added digitally later. Antonio ruined the first few takes because he was mouthing "bang-bang-bang" as he jerked the rubber prop.

Even if you don't really care for the movie, the disc is worth watching just for the cool filmmaking stories and secrets.

[WordWolf]

Oh, and you would be able to do the scene, fire bullets from a fake

gun, and NOT go "bang-bang" the first time? :)-->

I think if there was SOME kind of noise when he pulled the trigger, he

could have restrained himself.