Themes: Americans Abroad, Whistleblowers, Members of the Press
Main Cast: James Woods, James Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage, Elpidia Carrillo
Release Year: 1986
Country: US
Run Time: 123 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
While Salvador wasn't Oliver Stone's first film (a pair of offbeat horror stories preceded it), it defined his style of fiercely dramatic, politically oriented filmmaking, staked out his territory as one of the major directors of the 1980s and 1990s, and remains one of his strongest works to date. Veteran photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods) has been taking his camera to the world's trouble spots for over 20 years; while he does good work, Boyle's fondness for booze and drugs, and his colossal arrogance, have given him a reputation that's left him practically unemployable. Broke and with no immediate prospects, Boyle and his buddy Doctor Rock (Jim Belushi), an out-of-work disc jockey, head to El Salvador, where Boyle is convinced that he can scare up some lucrative freelance work amidst the nation's political turmoil. However, when Boyle and Rock witness the execution of a student by government troops just as they enter the country, it becomes clear that this war is more serious than they were expecting. Increasingly convinced that El Salvador is a disaster starting to happen, Boyle eventually decides that it's time to get out; but he has fallen in love with a woman named Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), and he doesn't want to leave her behind. James Woods gives one of his best performances as Boyle; and the passion of Stone's message, aided by the power of its truth (the film is based on actual events), propels the film forward. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Salvador may be Oliver Stone's best film, even if it is one of his least known and commercially disappointing. Released in the same year as Stone's more acclaimed Platoon, Salvador takes a rare, politically volatile subject -- the U.S.-backed war in El Salvador -- and gives audiences a thrill-a-minute ride through the eyes of its unlikely protagonist, photographer Richard Boyle (James Woods). The reliable Woods is terrific, given room to roam by Stone in a complex and unforgiving role, and James Belushi as his friend is a dramatic surprise. The film is compelling both as a semi-autobiographical account of a risk-taking, globe-trotting photojournalist (Stone wrote the screenplay with Boyle) and as a mesmerizing political horror story. It's comparable in some ways to Missing, as one of a few mainstream American films to examine the United States's Latin American foreign policy and its impact on peoples' lives. Salvador marked Stone as a political maverick with a dazzling directorial style, as kinetic and frenetic as it would be in his later work. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Cynthia Gibb - Cathy Moore; Colby Chester - Jack Morgan; Tony Plana - Maj. Max; Will MacMillian - Col. Hyde; Valerie Wildman - Pauline Axelrod; José Carlos Ruiz - Archbishop Romero; Jorge Luke - Col. Julio Figueroa; Juan Fernandez - Army Lieutenant; Arturo Bonilla - Romero Assassin; Erika Carlson - Sister Wagner; Nicholas Jasso - Death Squad; Tyrone Jones - Landlord San Francisco; Gilles Milinaire - French Reporter; Jorge Reynoso - Jefe at Customs Shed; Maria Rubell - Boyle's Baby; Salvador Sanchez - Human Rights Leader; Cesar Sobrevals; Roberto Sosa - Rebel Youth; Sean Stone - Boyle's Baby; Jose Chavez Trowe - Jail Guard; Angel Vargas - Tic Tac Monster in Cafe; Rosario Zuniga - His Assistant; Miguel Ehrenberg - Capt. Marti; Ramon Menendez - Maj. Max's Assistant; Bruno Rubeo; Mario Arevalo - Road Block Thug; Agustin Bernal - Bodyguard to Major Max; Queta Carrasco - Bruja; Jule Conn - WAC at Party; Waldeir de Souza - U.S. Customs Official; Arturo Rodriguez Doring - Young Student Killed; Humberto Elizondo; Gary Farr - Australian Reporter; Martin Fuentes - Maria's Brother; Josh Gallegos - Immigration Officer on Bus; Sigridur Gudmunds - Sister Burkit; Danna Hansen - Sister Stan; Claudia Hernandez - Maria's Daughter; Bill Hoag - 2nd Immigration Officer; Tomas Leal; Israel Leon - Carlos' Friend; John MacDevitt - GI in Salvador; Mauricio Martinez - Executed Lieutenant; Ann Sue McKean - Cop in San Francisco; Bob Morones - Customs Officer; Daria Okugawa - Dog Attendant; Rene Perevra - Rapist; Jorge Pol; Gerardo Quiroz; Xochitl Rosario Del - Messenger on Horse; Yair Rubin De - Maria's Son; Carmen Del Ma. Sanchez - Maria's Grandmother; Hector Tellez - Mayor at Nun's Burial; Juliana Urquisa - Wilma; Angeles Los De Ma. Urquiza - Mamma Moncha at Panama Club; Leticia Valenzuela - Woman Rebel; Kara Glover - Kelly; John Doe - Roberto, Restaurant Owner
Credit
Melo Hinojosa - Art Director, Kathryn Morrison - Costume Designer, Ramon Menendez - First Assistant Director, Oliver Stone - Director, Claire Simpson - Editor, Georges Delerue - Composer (Music Score), Bruno Rubeo - Production Designer, Robert Richardson - Cinematographer, John Daly - Producer, Derek Gibson - Producer, Gerald Green - Producer, Oliver Stone - Producer, Yves de Bono - Special Effects, Richard Boyle - Screenwriter, Oliver Stone - Screenwriter
The film was written by Oliver Stone and Richard Boyle, and was directed by Stone. Stone's portrayal is sympathetic towards the left wing peasant revolutionaries, but deplores their killing of prisoners in a crucial scene. He is strongly critical towards the U.S.-supported right wing military and the allied death squads, focusing on their assassination of four American churchwomen, including Jean Donovan. Stone's portrayal of the Catholic Church as a force for justice reflects events of the time, exemplified in the political sermon of Archbishop Óscar Romero, which is based almost word-for-word on the speech Romero made before he was assassinated by a death squad.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Woods) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Stone and Boyle).
In 1986, the film grossed a total of $1,500,000 in the United States.[2]
Salvador was popular among critics, but relatively unsuccessful at the box office. As of July 13, 2009, the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes records an average response of 91%, based on 22 reviews.
Roger Ebert, a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times gave the movie three stars out of four and wrote, "The movie has an undercurrent of seriousness, and it is not happy about the chaos that we are helping to subsidize. But basically it's a character study - a portrait of a couple of burned-out free-lancers trying to keep their heads above water."[3]
Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrote an unfavorable review and described the film "As an adventure film, Salvador has plenty of speed, grit and grime" and "Taking his cinematic as well as political lead from the work of Constantin Costa-Gavras, [Stone] offers an interpretation of history, laying blame on conservative forces in the United States for abetting the horrors in El Salvador."[4]
Media releases
DVD format
The Region 1 Special Edition DVD was released on 5 June 2001, it includes the following bonus features:
