Roberto Rodriguez's 1992 American action movie cost a paltry $7,000 to make. Shot in Spanish with an amateur cast, the film was originally intended for the Mexican video market. But executives at Columbia Pictures were so blown away by what Rodriguez had managed to make that they bought the American distribution rights and spent considerably more than the film's budget on prints and advertising. Rodriguez raised much of the budget by participating in experimental drug testing and used a guitar an a tortoise as props, simply because he had access to them. He also used several inventive tricks to keep the costs down and left in bloopers because he couldn't afford any more film. The film spawned two bigger budget sequels (Desperado and Once Upon A Time In Mexico) starring Antonio Banderas, but this is the film that made Rodriguez's name. He subsequently wrote a book about his experience making El Mariachi that gave insight into how to make a film on such a small budget called Rebel Without A Crew.
