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| James Woods, Elpidia Carrillo, James
Belushi, John Savage, Michael Murphy, Tony Plana, Cynthia Gibb, Colby
Chester, Will MacMillan |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Dr. Rock (Jim Belushi): You said Guatemala man, you didn't say
anything about El Salvador! C'mon, I've never been out of the country.
They kill people here, Boyle!
Richard Boyle (James Woods): You believe anything you read it
in the papers? C'mon man, you're gonna love it here! Gimme that joint.
The
violence in El Salvador in 1980-1981 as seen through the eyes of photojournalist
Richard Boyle, who experienced the escalation first hand.
 Salvador
is one of the most hard-hitting political movies ever made. Much like
The Killing Fields and Under Fire it presents an unflinching
look at a shameful moment in American foreign policy but in Salvador
the main characters who witness the terrible consequences of their goverment's
actions are barely sympathetic themselves. Based upon the stories of
womanizing, hard drinking, drug-taking photojournalist Richard Boyle
it details not only the peasant uprising against a small group of rich
land owners (who are kept in power by the CIA and the US State Department),
but it's also a story about a man desperately searching for some purpose
in his own life. Only when the bodies start to add up and he himself
becomes a target does the audience see something of a 'hero' in him:
up until then, Boyle and his companion Dr Rock are truly despicable
characters.
Oliver Stone knew he had to go outside of Hollywood to get this movie
made and initially had plans to keep it very low-budget and let Richard
Boyle play himself in the movie. That idea was abandoned and James Woods
was brought in. Stone then had the idea to con the regime of El Salvador
into letting him film the movie with their help (he and Boyle provided
them with a phony script that made the military regime into the heroes
of the movie) but that went awry when the military advisor assigned
to them was brutally killed by guerrillas. Stone and Boyle eventually
settled on Mexico where the explosive relationship between James Woods
on the one side and Stone and Boyle on the other led to a truly memorable
piece of film-making. Woods gives the performance of a lifetime (he
received and Academy Award nomination) and even Stone admits that Woods
was a better Richard Boyle than the man himself in real life. Shot under
very difficult circumstances (the crew went on strike and the remainder
had to literally flee the country when the movie's financiers were arrested
and put in jail) it's amazing enough the movie ever was finished. It
was released in April 1986 at the height of the Reagan era, dissappearing
quickly and to critical reviews. Stone jumped right into his next project
which he had already written and when Platoon was released in
December 1986, Salvador quiclu resurfaced in the public conscience.
In the end, Salvador ranks among the best movies Stone has made
and this DVD release is a timely reminder. |
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Similar
Special Edition releases are available for Region 1 and Region 2 (UK
only). The UK region 2 version is missing four of the deleted scenes:
Boyle & Col. Figueroa (3:47), El Playon (2:56), U.S. Embassy Party (4:51),
Dr. Rock & Wilma/Boyle & John Cassidy (2:32). The Dutch Region 2 release
from RCV is a bare-bones affair that carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio
mix but a disappointing pan&scan presentation of the movie [see
separate review]. The
Region 1 release served as a basis for this review.
The
anamorphic widescreen image is framed at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and
it's much better than expected. Not only does this version restore Bob
Richardson original cinematography, but it's surprisingly vibrant for
such a comparatively low-budget movie. Nicks and scars are almost completely
absent (though a couple of scenes suffer a little bit) and this transfer
is as clear as a bell with great colors and terrific detail.
The audio is available in the original mono track as well as a remastered
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Both are free of distortion but the 5.1 track
wins out due to a better separation between music and dialogue with
the action scenes benefitting the most. The LFE and surrounds kick in
during the battle sequence in Santa Ana. Overall an above-average audio
presenatation.
A
truly five-star effort here. The audio commentary by Stone is
a joy to listen to as he covers all the bases of the movie and offers
up some great anecdotes. The man has now done detailed DVD commentaries
for all his major movies and he deserves credit for pushing the envelope
in his proven support for the medium.
The eight deleted scenes run some 25 minutes together and are
presented in low quality and full frame (probably mastered from a VHS
tape). They all add details to the story (although some are merely extensions
of scenes from the movie) with 'Major Max Meets With U.S. P.R. Firm'
taking the prize for the most essential and 'Boyle & Col. Figueroa'
winning hands down in the most extreme category with the rather novel
mix of an orgy, political discussions, a drink with a severred ear and
subsequent vomiting. Unfortunately, there's no commentary by Stone for
these scenes.
The meat of the extras is to be found in the brand new hour-long documentary
"Into The Valley Of Death" by Charles Kiselyak. All the major
players are interviewed and it results in a no-holds-barred spilling
of the beans with Stone admitting to wanting to kill James Woods during
the shooting (he repeats it twice, unblinking, to make sure everybody
knows he's quite serious). Woods equally felt Stone was out of his head
and prevented his own premature death when the scene with the rifle
and a blank cartridge made Woods nervous enough to check the weapon.
Stone was furious for the wasted shot but a good thing for Woods he
did (he knew from hearsay that a blank cartridge is not the same as
getting a "click" from an empty weapon). Real-life ambassador
to El Salvador Thomas Kelly (who is portrayed in the movie by Michael
Murphy) is on hand to give the movie credit in accurately depicting
the events that unfolded under his eyes during 1978-1981 (the infamous
rape and murdering of the four American nuns being the breaking point
for the ambassador who refused to sweep it under the carpet – the
refusal cost him his job). A fantastic documentary, easily among the
top 5 DVD extras I have seen in the past year.
Other extras include a photo gallery with stills from the movie
and the original theatrical trailer.Animated
menus open the disc, using a cut-up montage much like the opening of the
movie.
Gerard
Castelein
Reviewed: 2001
Click
here for IMDB info on Salvador.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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