NONFICTION - Sept. 3, 1995

REBEL WITHOUT A CREW by Robert Rodriguez (Dutton: $22.95; 285 pp.) Only someone very young or ignorant would attempt to make a feature film with $7,000 dollars and no crew. This is because most people know such an endeavor is impossible. Not only did Robert Rodriguez create “El Mariachi” under those conditions but at 23 he became a Hollywood success overnight. Now, at 27, as his first studio movie (“Desperado”) is being released, Rodriguez has compiled excerpts from a journal written while he was making “El Mariachi” along with the original screenplay and some tips for making your own movie. “Rebel Without a Crew” is the kind of book one would expect from someone who had the courage to break with convention and enough talent for it to pay off almost immediately. In short, this is a friendly, funny, smart and arrogant book. Mostly, it is young.

“Now, you may hear all the time that you need to learn the rules so you can break the rules. Don’t bother. I’ve found it more effective to ignore everything and question everything . . . and in the end the only techniques worth knowing are the ones you invent yourself.” “Rebel Without a Crew” is energetic and likable--useful, no doubt, for aspiring filmmakers and entertaining for the rest of us.