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James Woods, James Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage, Elpidia Carrillo ... see more see more... , Cynthia Gibb , Colby Chester , Tony Plana , Will MacMillian , Valerie Wildman , Jose Carlos Ruiz , Jorge Luke , Juan Fernández , Arturo Bonilla , Erika Carlson , Nicholas Jasso , Russell Tyrone Jones , Gilles Milinaire , Jorge Reynoso , Maria Rubell , Salvador Sanchez , César Sobrevals , Roberto Sosa , Sean Stone , Jose Chavez Trowe , Angel Vargas , Rosario Zuniga , Miguel Ehrenberg , Ramón Menéndez , Bruno Rubeo , Mario Arevalo , Agustín Bernal , Queta Carrasco , Jule Conn , Waldeir de Souza , Arturo Rodriguez Doring , Humberto Elizondo , Gary Farr , Martin Fuentes , Josh Gallegos , Sigridur Gudmunds , Danna Hansen , Claudia Hernandez , Bill Hoag , Tomás Leal , Israel Leon , John MacDevitt , Mauricio Martinez , Ann Sue McKean , Bob Morones , Daria Okugawa , Rene Perevra , Rene Pereyra , Jorge Pol , Gerardo Quiroz , Xochitl Rosario Del , Yair Rubin De , Carmen Del Ma. Sanchez , Héctor Téllez , Juliana Urquisa , Angeles Los De Ma. Urquiza , Leticia Valenzuela , Kara Glover , John Doe , Erica Carlson , Will MacMillan

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 ... read more read more...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, Rovi

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83% liked it

7,757 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

24 critics

R, 2 hr. 3 min.

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Release Date: April 23, 1986

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (435)

  • flixsterman
    July 30, 2011
    flixsterman
    Off-beat actor meets eccentric director meets gritty material.
  • hunterjt13
    August 31, 2010
    hunterjt13
    This is how a political drama is done, and it should be no surprise that Oliver Stone is the one to do it. I find it fitting that I watch this immediately after Hunt for Justice (how a political drama is not done). Stone understands that the political facts of El Salvador are l... read moreess interesting than the human drama that inevitably creates and is affected by state-induced strife. Consequently, we get troubled, but ultimately engaging, characters like Boyle and Doc. And the film's main action has less to do with questions of Communism and Reagan-era, CIA-sponsored Latin American civil wars and more to concern with whether Boyle and Maria are going to live or die, escape or become ensconced in the conflict, love and live together or break up. This contrasts Hunt for Justice, in which there was no such suspense and no such high-stakes concern for the characters' lives. Of course, there is the requisite amount of Stone's political commentary, and much of it is given in Woods's characteristic rapid-fire delivery. Not to mention: if you watch the deleted scenes, you'll get to hear complex political analysis while the characters are getting blow jobs. Who says politics can't be fun?
    The film does have flaws. As in JFK, NBK, and Born on the Fourth of July, Stone likes to pound his audience in the head with politically created human suffering. Sometimes it's effective; occasionally, in Salvador, it's overkill (no pun intended (of course, by saying that, I'm drawing attention to the fact that there's a pun (doesn't that imply a pun is intended?))). Also, I thought Boyle's relationship with Maria could have been front-loaded. We see him with an Italian wife at the beginning and various other women before we meet Maria. Even given the confession scene, what's to prevent us from thinking she's just another notch in Boyle's belt?
  • garyX
    August 25, 2009
    garyX
    Has-been gonzo journalist James Woods sees the civil unrest in El Salvador as a opportunity to make some money but when his Salvadoran girlfriend and her family become embroiled in the violence his attitudes soon change. Salvador is a damning criticism of the US' continued and s... read morehameful interference in the affairs of foreign countries. The Reagan era saw the US giving aid to any despot or monster for the sole reason of the fact they were not part of the communist "threat", and funded the military junta in El Salvador despite their atrocious human rights record. The core of the film is Woods' tirade against the US' "military adviser": "Yes I'm left wing but that doesn't make me a communist! When will you people learn to tell the difference?" Showing many of the horrific events of the conflict with honesty and passion, Woods is perfect for the part and is ably supported by John Savage as a photo journalist looking for the "perfect shot" and James Belushi as his debauched companion. The only real flaw is that amidst Stone's heartfelt preaching he forgets the human element, the plot barrelling along with little thought for pacing or emotional connection with the characters. It's a thought provoking and well made film however, and probably Stone's best work.
  • kenstachnik
    April 14, 2008
    kenstachnik
    My favorite Oliver Stone film. Powerhouse performances from Woods and Belushi.
  • gor41
    April 11, 2007
    gor41
    Oliver Stone's best movie with James Woods on fire !
  • fb704730572
    February 19, 2012
    fb704730572
    Excellent early directorial effort by Oliver Stone, one that doesn't shy away from the complexities of geopolitics and our unfortunate and often contradictory foreign policy, sure to please all political junkies. This is James Woods at his best, frustrating yet unrelenting. It wa... read mores appropriately dramatic, but refused to settle for cliche story-lines and resolutions, with a particularly powerful and poignant ending. I wouldn't call it Stone's best work (Platoon, JFK), but it's certainly one of his greats.

    4/5 Stars
  • thirdway821
    November 27, 2011
    thirdway821
    I found Oliver Stone's "Salvador" complex, trying to decide which is the best story to tell. With Boyle as a photographer, snapping photos of the ongoing war in El Salvador, his commitment of trying to smuggle out his gf out of the country, his disjointed relationship with Dr Roc... read morek (James Belushi) and John Cassady (John Savage), and Boyle's firm stance upon Major Max's involvement in the death squad execution. I think if Stone annd the real Richard Boyle (who also co-wrote the screenplay) found a simple synopsis in the plot the film could have been more intriguing for me. I disliked the disjointed Boyle acting as a petty con-artist since it's feels kinda distracting, the movie's lack of not following the seriousness of the U.S. involvement in El Savador instead focusing more on a love story.

    James Woods is really good and at first I thought the best scene was when he's talking to a politician about the killing of those who leave the boarder without a sedgeula?, but in fact it's the famous scene where he goes to confession trying to bargain with a priest about his gf and his ill feelings with Catholicism. Stone's style is pure guerrilla filmmaking, each scene you get a real sense of the madness and frustrations that was happening during that turbulant time. I'm guessing Stone and his cinematographer Robert Richardson must have watched "The Battle Of Algiers" before filming or maybe not.

    A lot of people feel this is one of Stone's best but I don't think it is. "Salvador" is too confusing and misses the real point. First it's about the war/political atrocities and then the film shifts concentrating more on the relationship between Boyle and his gf from El Salvador. Again, why couldn't Stone and the real Richard Boyle just make up their minds?????
  • ileo
    February 8, 2008
    ileo
    Fantastic movie!
  • cacutshaw
    September 9, 2007
    cacutshaw
    Oliver Stone has said that anyone who lists this as one their favourite of his movies is doing so to be different, which is crazy since this is really one of his finest achievements. Back in the time when comedy and brutal drama were not mixed at all, this is a perfect melding o... read moref the two. Woods and Belushi have never been better and probably will never be again (seeming how they are both on TV now) and there are some very big laughs to be had. My good friend Sims recently was shocked that this wasn't on my greatest movies list, but NBK squeezes on before it. Still, this film is definitely a masterpiece and the DVD for it is awesome, make sure to check out the documentary.
  • benjaminzapata
    August 28, 2011
    benjaminzapata
    Based on actual events,"Salvador" is an excoriating indictment of the Reagan administration's role in El Salvador,and who better to tell it than Oliver Stone. When Richard Boyle(play by James Wood in one of his best perfomances ever),an American journalist in search of kicks,driv... read morees with a buddy south of the border to El Salvador,he is unprepared for the horror that awaits him. A powerful indictment of US policy in Latin America and a searching,sensitively acted portrait of a man rediscovering responsibility. Stone developed a taste for history early in life,and 'Salvador" was his first examination into unresolved national traumas,which was later followed by "Platoon","Born On The Fourth Of July","Heaven and Earth","Nixon","World Trade Center",and one of his latest one"W".

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Critic Reviews

Jay Weissberg
May 24, 2006
Jay Weissberg, Variety

[The] crime spree feels more like bored rich kids on a joy ride than committed leftie intellectuals hastening regime change. Full Review

Walter Goodman
May 21, 2003
Walter Goodman, New York Times

One look at the youthful, idealistic guerrillas, accompanied everywhere by folk music, and you know where Mr. Stone's heart lies. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Salvador is long and disjointed and tries to tell too many stories...But the heart of the movie is fascinating. Full Review

Fernando F. Croce
April 21, 2010
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion

Borgesian critique, or exotic backdrop for a scoundrel's Hollywood redemption? Full Review

Emanuel Levy
September 18, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Though structurally messy and with uneven dialogue, Stone's independent movie captures vividly the cool, rush, and hysteria of jaded leftist American journos in the political chaos of El Slavaodr in 1... Full Review

Rob Gonsalves
April 9, 2007
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com

One of Oliver Stone's best films, and absolutely James Woods' best performance. Full Review

Dan Jardine
August 2, 2006
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

Lean, Mean and On Point. Stone's best film. Full Review

Derek Adams
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

The polemic may seem obvious and at times laboured, but the action sequences are brilliant, and the film does achieve a brutal, often very moving, power. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
May 26, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

Still Oliver Stone's best film. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
June 13, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Brutally moving depiction of the civil war in El Salvador in 1980. Full Review

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Salvador Trivia

  • Which artist designed the dream sequence in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Spellbound'?  Answer »
  • "Un Chien Andalou" was as experimental as it was controversial, featuring an eye being cut with a razor. What was the name of the famous surrealist painter who helped make the film?  Answer »
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  • ***What Movie is this Trivia Tidbit from? Upon close inspection, the butterfly in the posters for this movie appears to have a human skull at its center. However, upon VERY close inspection, this "skull" turns out to be four women embracing a Salvador Dali painting.***  Answer »
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