Rumble Fish (Criterion Collection) - BLU-RAY

Three-disc set includes El Mariachi (1993)Made for a paltry $7,000 for the Hispanic home video market and eventually raking in worldwide nearly 300x that, writer/director Robert Rodriguez's much-acclaimed action-comedy tells the tale of a Mariachi singer (Carlos Gallardo) who finds himself in the middle of a gang rivalry when he's mistaken for a gun-toting killer. Hip, funny, and explosively violent, the indie classic co-stars Consuelo Gomez, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martínez. 81 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. C/Rtg R Desperado (1995)Robert Rodriguez's remake of his made-on-pennies sensation InchEl MariachiInch is an explosive actioner starring Antonio Banderas as the swaggering guitar-playing loner who takes on a series of hombres in a Mexican town ruled by a druglord (Joaquim de Almeida) with whom he has a score to settle. Salma Hayek is his fetching romantic interest; cameos are turned in by Quentin Tarantino, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo. 103 min. C/Rtg R Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003)In the third and final entry in Robert Rodriguez's series, Antonio Banderas' gunslinger, El Mariachi, is out for vengeance after his wife (Salma Hayek) and their young daughter are killed by drug kingpin Barillo (Willem Dafoe), who is about to have the president of Mexico assassinated. Before he can bring down Barillo, however, Mariachi must deal with a rogue CIA agent (Johnny Depp), an ex-agency operative (Ruben Blades), and a Barillo associate (Mickey Rourke). With Eva Mendes. 102 min. C/Rtg R

Three-disc set includes 13 Assassins (1963)A landmark in Japanese samurai cinema, director Eiichi Kudo's historical saga finds a cruel feudal lord, the brother of the Shogun, about to be appointed to a high-ranking position. Fearing that the move will lead the country to ruin, a samurai recruits a dozen of his sword-wielding brethren in a plot to assassinate the lord before he reaches the capital. Chiezo Kataoka, Ko Nishimura, and Ryohei Uchida star. 125 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. BW/Rtg NR The Great Killing (1964)Director Eiichi Kudo's follow-up to Inch13 Assassins,Inch the second film in his InchSamurai RevolutionInch trilogy, tells a gripping 17th-century story of intrigue and violence inspired by the real-life assassination of a Japanese socialist leader. In the film, a group of rebels makes plans to overthrow the ruling shogun. Even their capture and torture they regard as only a temporary roadblock to their ultimate victory. Toru Abe, Mikijiro Hira, and Yoshio Inaba star. 118 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. BW/Rtg NR 11 Samurai (1966)The concluding film of Eiichi Kudo's InchSamurai RevolutionInch trilogy follows the intrigue that sets in after the Oshi monarch is murdered by the villainous son of the former Shogun. Eleven Oshi warriors must then step forward to defend the clan's honor after it is implicated in the lord's killing-even if it means they must die in the fight. Junko Miyazono, Isao Natsuyagi star. 100 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. BW/Rtg NR Widescreen; Soundtrack Japanese; Subtitles English; audio commentary; featurettes; theatrical trailers.

THE SAMURAI TRILOGY, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki (THE RICKSHAW MAN) and starring the inimitable Toshiro Mifune (SEVEN SAMURAI), was one of Japan's most successful exports of the 1950s, a rousing, emotionally gripping tale of combat and self-discovery. Based on a novel that's often called JAPAN'S GONE WITH THE WIND, this sweeping saga fictionalizes the life of the legendary seventeenth-century swordsman (and writer and artist) Musashi Miyamoto, following him on his path from unruly youth to enlightened warrior. With these three films -1954's Oscar-winning MUSASHI MIYAMOTO, 1955's DUEL AT ICHIJOJI TEMPLE, and 1956's DUEL AT GANRYU ISLAND Inagaki created a passionate epic that's equal parts tender love story and bloody action.