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Salvador (film)
Encyclopedia
Salvador is a 1986 war drama film which tells the story of an American journalist in El Salvador
covering the Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military. It stars James Woods
, James Belushi
, Michael Murphy
, John Savage
, Elpidia Carrillo
, Tony Plana
, Cynthia Gibb
, Juan Fernandez and José Carlos Ruiz
.
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).
Salvador was popular among critics, but unsuccessful at the box office
. As of July 13, 2009, the review aggregator
Rotten 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."
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."
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
covering the Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military. It stars James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, James Belushi
James Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
, Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy (actor)
Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
, John Savage
John Savage (actor)
John Savage is an American film actor, producer, production manager, and composer.- Acting career :...
, Elpidia Carrillo
Elpidia Carrillo
Elpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress who has appeared in various acclaimed Latin-American films and television shows, in addition to some Hollywood films. She is also credited as Elpedia Carrillo on some of her films....
, Tony Plana
Tony Plana
Tony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
, Cynthia Gibb
Cynthia Gibb
Cynthia Gibb is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She is 5'-2" tall.-Biography:...
, Juan Fernandez and José Carlos Ruiz
Jose Carlos Ruiz
José Carlos Ruiz is a Mexican film actor, born in the City of Jerez Zacatecas, Mexico who stars in Mexican movies and Mexican Telenovelas such as Soñadoras, Mariana de la noche, Sortilegio and Soy Tu Dueña....
.
The film was written by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
and Richard Boyle, and was directed by Stone. Stone's portrayal is sympathetic towards the left wing peasant revolutionaries
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
, 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
Jean Donovan
Jean Donovan was an American lay missionary who was murdered with three nuns in El Salvador by a military death squad while volunteering to do charity work during the civil war there.-Life:...
. 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
Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980....
, 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
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Woods) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Stone and Boyle).
Cast
- James WoodsJames WoodsJames Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
as Richard Boyle - Jim BelushiJames BelushiJames Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
as Doctor Rock - Michael MurphyMichael Murphy (actor)Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
Ambassador Thomas Kelly - John SavageJohn Savage (actor)John Savage is an American film actor, producer, production manager, and composer.- Acting career :...
as John Cassady - Elpidia CarrilloElpidia CarrilloElpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress who has appeared in various acclaimed Latin-American films and television shows, in addition to some Hollywood films. She is also credited as Elpedia Carrillo on some of her films....
as María - Cindy GibbCynthia GibbCynthia Gibb is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She is 5'-2" tall.-Biography:...
as Cathy Moore - Tony PlanaTony PlanaTony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
as Major Maximiliano 'Max' Casanova - Colby Chester as Jack Morgan- State Department Analyst
- Will MacMillan as Colonel Bentley Hyde Sr.
Plot
Veteran photojournalist Richard Boyle 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, 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, and he doesn't want to leave her behind.Box office and critical response
In 1986, the film grossed a total of $1,500,000 in the United States.Salvador was popular among critics, but unsuccessful at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. As of July 13, 2009, the review aggregator
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
records an average response of 91%, based on 22 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
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."
Walter Goodman of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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."
Home media
The Region 1 Special Edition DVD was released on 5 June 2001, it includes the following bonus features:- Commentary by director Oliver Stone
- 62 minute documentary "Into the Valley of Death"
- Eight deleted scenes
- 46 production photos
- Original theatrical trailer.