Salvador (1986)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Oliver Stone (written by) and
Rick Boyle (writer)

Release Date:

23 April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Based on a true story.

Plot:

A journalist, down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 military dictatorship...

Plot Keywords:

El Salvador | Political Repression | Female Nudity | Nun Raped | Photojournalist

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

James Woods	...	Richard Boyle
James Belushi	...	Doctor Rock
Michael Murphy	...	Ambassador Thomas Kelly
John Savage	...	John Cassady
Elpidia Carrillo	...	María (as Elpedia Carrillo)
Tony Plana	...	Major Maximiliano 'Max' Casanova
Colby Chester	...	Jack Morgan - State Department Analyst
Cynthia Gibb	...	Cathy Moore (as Cindy Gibb)
Will MacMillan	...	Colonel Bentley Hyde Sr.
Valerie Wildman	...	Pauline Axelrod
José Carlos Ruiz	...	Archbishop Romero
Jorge Luke	...	Colonel Julio Figueroa
Juan Fernández	...	Army Lieutenant
Salvador Sánchez	...	Human Rights Leader
Rosario Zúñiga	...	Human Rights Assistant
Martín Fuentes	...	Carlos
Gary Farr	...	Peter
Gilles Millinaire	...	French Reporter
Ramón Menéndez	...	Gomez
John Doe	...	Roberto
Leticia Valenzuela	...	Rebel Woman
Roberto Sosa	...	Rebel Youth (as Roberto Sosa Jr.)
Daria Okugawa	...	Dog Attendant
Sue Ann McKean	...	Cop in San Francisco
Joshua Gallegos	...	Immigration Officer on Bus
María Rubell	...	Boyle's Wife
Ty Granderson Jones	...	San Francisco Landlord (as Tyrone Jones)
Sean Stone	...	Boyle's Baby
Danna Hansen	...	Sister Stan
Sigridur Gudmunds	...	Sister Burkit
Erika Carlsson	...	Sister Wagner (as Erica Carlson)
Kara Glover	...	Kelly Assistant
Julie Conn	...	WAC at Party
María del Carmen Sánchez	...	Maria's Grandmother
Art Bonilla	...	Romero Assassin (as Arturo Bonilla)
Gerardo Zepeda	...	Death Squad Member #1 (as 'Chiquilín' Zepeda)
Nicolás Jasso	...	Death Squad Member #2
José Chávez	...	Jail Guard
Héctor Téllez	...	Mayor at Nun's Burial
Jorge Reynoso	...	Jefe at Customs Shed
Jorge Pol	...	Customs Officer #2
César Sobrevals	...	Customs Officer #3
Bruno Rubeo	...	Customs Officer #4
Bob Morones	...	Customs Officer #5
Juliana Urquisa	...	Wilma
Queta Carrasco	...	Bruja
María de los Ángeles Urquiza	...	Mamá Moncha at Panamá Club
Tomás Leal	...	Rapist #1
René Pereyra	...	Rapist #2
Arturo Rodríguez Doring	...	Young Killed Student
Jair De Rubin	...	Maria's Son (as Yair De Rubin)
Claudia Hernández	...	Maria's Daughter
Humberto Elizondo	...	Roadblock Thug #1
Mário Arévalo	...	Roadblock Thug #2
Gerardo Quiroz	...	Carlos' Friend #1
Israel León	...	Carlos' Friend #2
Mauricio Martínez	...	Executed Lieutenant
Xochitl del Rosario	...	Messenger on Horse
Agustín Bernal	...	Bodyguard to Major Max
John MacDevitt	...	GI in Salvador
Bill Hoag	...	Immigration Officer #2
Waldeir DeSouza	...	US Customs Guard
Ángel Vargas	...	Tic Tac Monster in Cafe
Miguel Ehrenberg	...	Captain Marti
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nancy Davis	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Oliver Stone

Writing credits
Oliver Stone		written by and
Rick Boyle		writer (as Richard Boyle)

Produced by
Brad H. Aronson	....	associate producer
John Daly	....	executive producer
Derek Gibson	....	executive producer
Gerald Green	....	producer
Bob Morones	....	associate producer
Oliver Stone	....	producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Robert Richardson

Film Editing by
Claire Simpson

Casting by
Bob Morones		(as Bob 'Blackie' Morones)

Production Design by
Bruno Rubeo

Costume Design by
Kathryn Morrison		(as Kathryn Greko Morrison)

Makeup Department
Bertha Chiu	....	hair stylist: Mexico
Humberto Escamilla	....	hair stylist: Mexico
Elvira Oropeza	....	makeup artist: Mexico
Gordon J. Smith	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Gionilda Stolee	....	prosthetics assistant

Production Management
Brad H. Aronson	....	executive in charge of production
Anuar Badin	....	supervising production manager: Mexico
Michael Bennett	....	post-production supervisor
Mary M. Ensign	....	production supervisor: San Francisco
Carlos Gutiérrez	....	assistant production manager: Mexico
Alejandra Hernández	....	production manager: Mexico

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Miguel Lima	....	second assistant director: Mexico
Ramón Menéndez	....	first assistant director
José Luis Ortega	....	first assistant director: Mexico

Art Department
Ron Downing	....	property master
Ricardo Gil	....	property master: Mexico
Melo Hinojosa	....	art director: Mexico
Luis Jiménez Méndez	....	camera painter: Mexico
Adalberto López	....	key set dresser: Mexico
Francisco López	....	stand-by on-set dresser: Mexico
Milo	....	set dresser: USA (as Milo Needles)
Adolfo Navarro	....	assistant property master: Mexico

Sound Department
Neil Brody	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jonathan D. Evans	....	sound recordist
Michael Fishman	....	sound assistant
Jorge Gómez	....	sound assistant: Mexico
Ted Goodspeed	....	foley artist
F. Hudson Miller	....	sound effects editor
Bob Minkler	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bill Mumford	....	sound re-recording mixer
R.J. Palmer	....	sound effects editor
Philip Perkins	....	sound recordist: San Francisco
John Post	....	foley artist
Steve Rice	....	dialogue editor
Jesús Sánchez	....	sound assistant: Mexico
Frank Smathers	....	dialogue editor (as Frank T. Smathers)
Manuel Topete	....	sound operator: Mexico
David Lewis Yewdall	....	sound designer
David Lewis Yewdall	....	supervising sound editor
Stephen Balliet	....	boom operator: San Francisco (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Daniel Cordero	....	second special effects assistant: Mexico
Yves De Bono	....	special effects supervisor
Alfonso Pacheco	....	first special effects assistant: Mexico
Marcelino Pacheco	....	special effects: Mexico

Stunts
Bill Catching	....	stunt coordinator
Raúl Martínez	....	stunt coordinator: Mexico

Camera and Electrical Department
Fernando Calvillo	....	gaffer: Mexico
Flavio Castillero	....	videoman: Mexico
Gary Farr	....	still photographer (as Gary Anthony Farr)
Humberto Galindo	....	generator operator: Mexico
Salvador Gutiérrez	....	chief electrician: Mexico
Chris Lombardi	....	assistant camera (as Christopher Lombardi)
Guillermo Moysen	....	assistant camera: Mexico
Manuel Paredes	....	assistant camera: Mexico
Antonio Ramírez 'Puma'	....	dolly grip: Mexico (as Antonio Ramírez)
Thomas Julian Richmond	....	camera operator
León Sánchez del Ángel	....	assistant camera: Mexico
León Sánchez	....	assistant camera: Mexico (as León Sánchez del Ángel)
León Sánchez Ruiz	....	director of photography: Mexico
Pedro Vázquez	....	assistant camera: Mexico
Salvador Vázquez	....	key grip: Mexico
Tom Richmond	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Claudia Becker	....	additional casting: Mexico
Chucho Guerrero	....	extras casting: Mexico

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Monica Araiz	....	wardrobe: Mexico
Federico Castillo	....	wardrobe master: Mexico
María de Jesús Luna	....	seamstress: Mexico
Jaime Ortiz	....	assistant wardrobe: Mexico

Editorial Department
David Brenner	....	assistant film editor
Tom Finan	....	associate editor (as Tom Finnan)
Lisa Leeman	....	first assistant editor
Julie Monroe	....	assistant editor
Edgar Pavon	....	assistant editor: Mexico
Carlos Puente	....	associate editor
Julie Rogers	....	apprentice editor
John David Allen	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Joan Biel	....	music editor
Budd Carr	....	music supervisor
Georges Delerue	....	musical director (uncredited)
Roger Monk	....	scoring recordist (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Miguel Angel Gomez	....	transportation chief
Miguel Ángel Gómez	....	transportation captain: Mexico

Other crew
Pablo Buelna	....	location manager: Mexico
Mario Cisneros Jr.	....	script supervisor: Mexico
Robert Dawson	....	title designer: main titles
Cristina Espinosa	....	public relations: Mexico
Rosa María Gómez	....	production accountant: Mexico
Patricia Green	....	executive secretary
Elsa Hermoso	....	assistant production accountant: Mexico
Laurie Noll	....	location manager: San Francisco
Sergio Prieto P.	....	production assistant: Mexico
Federico Serrano	....	production unit manager: Mexico
Elizabeth Stone	....	assistant to director
Concepcion Taboada	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Manuel Trejo Morales	....	actor's delegate: Mexico
Eileen Zannino	....	production secretary
Arturo Del Rio	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Charles Ryan	....	special thanks
Louis Stone	....	dedicatee (as Dad)

Production Companies

• Hemdale Film

Distributors

• Hemdale Film (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1987) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• PolyGram Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• PVB Editions (2004) (France) (DVD)
• CEL (1986) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Rosenbergs Filmbyrå (1986) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (VHS)
• Look Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Vestron Video (1986) (USA) (video)

Other Companies

• Banca del Noroeste  special thanks
• Bart Milander Associates  special thanks
• Big Time Picture Company  post-production services
• M/S Billings Publicity Ltd.  publicist (as M/S Billings Co.)
• Modern Film Effects  opticals
• Patsa Productions S.A.  production services

Also Known As:

Outpost: Salvador (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Singapore:R21 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alameda County, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

The movie had an advisor who was killed in El Salvador during the production.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the young man is executed while Belushi and Woods are in the armored personnel carrier, the gun is obviously pointed over the man's head.

Quotes:

John Cassady: I got the shot! I got the shot!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

El Campecino

Compelling Film About the Intersection Between Journalistic Ethics and Politics

Going back and watching Salvador makes me realize how long it's been since Oliver Stone has been on his game. How long has it been since he made a film that actually required the audience to think. It's not that he's suddenly become loud and bombastic, it's that he's suddenly stopped doing anything genuinely provocative. Natural Born Killers, for example, is *not* a provocative film. It's a loud and angry and aggressive film. However, the film produced only attacks on the filmmaker (or rather excessive adulation for Stone) and never really stimulated an intelligent national debate. But Salvador, based on the true experiences of photojournalist Rick Boyle, is Stone at his best. It's complicated and full of the mixture of regret, guilt, nostalgia, and outrage that fill the director's landmarks (JFK or Platoon, for example). After all of the violence and horror, it becomes a film about representations of reality and the different reasons for distorting truth.

Rick Boyle (James Woods) is at the end of his rope. He's unemployed, his wife just left him. And he's just been thrown in jail for a litany of driving violations. After getting bailed out by his tubby friend Doctor Rock (James Belushi in the role he was probably born to play), he hops in his unregistered car that he isn't licensed to drive, and he heads south to El Salvador. His only companions are Doctor Jack, his alcohol, and his drugs on a journey that can't help but be likened to the drive to Vegas in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. When he arrives in El Salvador, he finds the country torn apart with leftist rebels fleeing to the hills and a country braced for a bloody "democratic" election in which a murderous American puppet general will likely be elected. Boyle tries to use his connections to get a press pass and get one last shot to become a success. This is made easier by the Salvadorian woman who loves him and the ace photographer who lends him a hand (John Savage).

But not everybody in El Salvador is supportive of the loose cannon journalist. There's the colonel who thinks he's a communist, the military attache who's using him for information, and the local military forces who resent the way Boyle depicted them in a previous campaign. The audience is supposed to be disgusted by the way that Boyle treats himself and those he loves, but there's one important fact that's repeated over and over: Boyle was the last journalist out of Cambodia. We know that he stayed to help save people. And it's just a matter of time before he becomes even more personally invested in what's happening in Central America. And that's when things go really crazy.

The world of photojournalism depicted in the film is one step from public relations and sometimes not even that. Boyle's major supported among the military leaders is a general about whom Boyle had written a glowing profile. Boyle is also able to curry favor by showing his pictures to American military leaders before trying to publish them. The question that comes up, of course, is why are the pictures being taken at all and how can anybody ever know the truth of any war. Journalists, like everybody else, get caught up in their surroundings. Boyle may be supporting the right side in El Salvador, but he admits to having favored Pol Pot for a brief period years earlier. The difference between canonizing a truly noble leader (like the assassinated Archbishop Romero) and elevating a genocidal lunatic is a small one. Salvador calls into question how American audiences can ever know who to trust in a media covered war. On one hand we have Pauline Axelrod (Valerie Wildman) appearing on air because she's pretty and blond even though she just accepts the official statements as truth. Then there's also Savage's journalist who's willing to do anything to get the perfect shot, to create an image that shows both the conflict and the reasons behind it in a single frame. Idealism and self preservation are competing instincts.

The film is pure Stone. The battle sequences are tense and tightly edited and the dialogue (which Stone cowrote with Rick Boyle) is rippingly good, for the most part. Then again, its misogyny is almost worn as a gold star, female characters are, as always, Madonnas or whores, and a rape scene is fairly exploitative. Also in a conversation between Boyle and a conservative US Colonel, Stone unpacks entirely too much of his personal ideology in a series of monologues. The message of the film, about not wanted to create another Vietnam and liberalism not being the same as Communism is much too literally articulated.

The film basically hinges on Woods's wonderful performance. His typical manic energy perfectly fits his character's earliest incarnation, but as Boyle becomes more troubled by what he sees around him, Woods's performance becomes deeper, richer, and more internalized. The rest of the cast has less to do and thus can't really be blamed for not standing out. Belushi's Doctor Jack has "Fictitious Composite Character" written all over him. Basically we watch as his story arc goes in opposite directions from Woods's at all times.

Salvador is perhaps the only film to ever express nostalgia for Jimmy Carter. I like that. I like that it's challenging, dogmatic, but rarely insults my intelligence by saying things that I already know. This is a very fine 8/10 film.