Desperado appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. A native 4K film, the disc offered a solid Dolby Vision presentation.
Sharpness appeared good. A few slightly soft shots materialized, but these remained minor, so the majority of the movie displayed positive delineation and definition.
No issues with jaggies or moiré effects occurred, and edge haloes were absent. Print flaws also failed to appear, as the movie remained clean, and grain felt natural.
The movie’s palette emphasized amber/orange and looked positive within those parameters. The hues were tight and full, and HDR added impact to the tones.
Black levels were deep and dense, and low-light shots looked appropriately opaque without any concerns connected to excessive darkness. HDR gave whites and contrast added. Only the occasional minor instances of softness kept this image from “A”-level consideration, as most of the film boasted terrific visuals.
Director Robert Rodriguez clearly enjoyed the benefits of his increased budget when it came time to mix the movie’s audio, and Desperado’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 showed what he could do with a little money. Music demonstrated solid stereo spread, as the score split nicely into the sides and blended cleanly.
Effects really made good use of the various channels, so all five speakers got a good workout during both loud and subtle sequences. For example, in an early dream sequence, the sound of one man clapping moved neatly all around the room.
Of course, the gunfights came to life very well, as shots flew all around the spectrum. The surrounds weren’t equal partners, but they got a lot of use in this vivid and engrossing track.
The quality of the audio seemed positive as well. Dialogue always came across as natural and distinct, and I noticed no issues related to edginess or intelligibility.
Music was full and warm, and the track demonstrated good low-end response when necessary. The effects kicked the mix into higher gear and sounded simply terrific.
The components were tight and concise, and they showed nice range. Bass response was deep and firm throughout the film. I couldn’t find much to complain about during this solid soundtrack.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the 2011 Blu-ray? Both appeared to boast identical DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio.
On the other hand, the Dolby Vision image demonstrated obvious growth in terms of sharpness, blacks and colors. This wound up as a clear upgrade over the Blu-ray.
The Arrow 4K mixes old and new extras, and we open with an audio commentary from director Robert Rodriguez. A running, screen-specific piece, the track doesn’t appear as strong as those for some of his other flicks, but Rodriguez nevertheless gives us an above-average discussion of his work.
Whereas the El Mariachi track focused mainly on the challenges of shooting on an extremely low budget, Rodriguez had 1000 times more money for Desperado. As such, finances take a less prominent role.
Nonetheless, since $7 million remained pretty low budget in 1995, the director relates some of the ways he made his movie look more expensive and gives us tips in that department. He also goes over creative and casting elements and relates fun anecdotes from the set.
Unlike his better tracks, however, Rodriguez doesn’t maintain a consistently chatty pace. He actually falls silent for brief periods on a few occasions, and a little more than halfway through the movie, he indicates that he’s run out of notes!
Rodriguez ably improvises, though, and he makes sure we learn more about the movie. Despite its lulls, the commentary still works better than most others, and it gives us a fair amount of good information about the flick.
A “sequel” to the El Mariachi disc’s “Ten-Minute Film School”, Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout actually lasts 10 minutes, 33 seconds. This program mostly focuses on one of the bar shootouts, but it also includes a little material about other sequences.
Rodriguez’s use of “video storyboards” dominates the piece, as he shows us how he uses these to preplan shots. It’s not as good as the original “Film School”, but it’s generally an illuminating glimpse at the director’s methods.
From here, we go mainly to new extras. Lean and Mean offers a fresh 17-minute, 19-second chat with Rodriguez.
“Mean” covers the film’s development, sets/locations, cast and performances, aspects of the production and its release. Rodriguez manages a quality overview of the shoot.
Shoot Like Crazy spans 11 minutes, 21 seconds. It provides notes from producer Bill Borden.
This featurette looks at how he became involved in the project as well as stories about the production. Borden offers info that complements Rodriguez’s notes.
Next comes Kill Count. During this eight-minute, 10-second piece, we hear from stunt coordinator Steve Davison.
As expected, “Count” covers the movie’s stunts and action. Davison delivers a quick but informative take on these topics.
Lock and Load lasts eight minutes, 50 seconds. It delivers remarks from special effects coordinator Bob Shelley.
Unsurprisingly, “Load” examines the movie’s practical effects. Buoyed by a tour of the methods in question, Shelley turns this into a terrific piece.
Finally, Game Change goes for six minutes, 42 seconds. Here filmmaker Gareth Evans gives us thoughts.
The guy behind The Raid: Redemption, Evans didn’t work on Desperado but he took inspiration from Rodriguez’s efforts. Evans brings an interesting view of how Rodriguez’s DIY methods influenced him.
In addition to teaser and theatrical trailers and a TV spot, we find a music video for “Morena De Mi Corazon” by Los Lobos with Antonio Banderas. “Morena” is a peppy little Mexican ditty, but the “video” simply shows the movie’s opening credits sans text.
A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of Desperado. It presents the same extras as the 4K, and that means it comes from a new scan and doesn’t just regurgitate the same BD from 2011 mentioned earlier.
Note that this Arrow release loses an interactive editing feature as well as additional music videos. I don’t really miss the latter, and because it didn’t work on my player, I don’t know how enjoyable the editor was.
With 1000 times the budget of El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez created a sequel that didn’t match up to the original. Desperado boasts some strong moments, but overall it feels forced and like everyone involved tried too hard to impress us. The 4K UHD presents very good picture and sound plus a quality set of supplements. Action fans will probably find this film to merit a look but I definitely prefer El Mariachi.
Note that this 4K UHD of Desperado can be purchased on its own or as part of a three-movie “Mexico Trilogy” set. It includes Blu-rays for 1992’s El Mariachi and 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
To rate this film visit the prior review of DESPERADO
