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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) [see separate review].
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. The
Dutch Region 2 release served as a basis for this review.
The
transfer is presented in a cropped-down fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect ratio,
which feels cramped and unnatural from the start. Video quality is otherwise
passable but this is really only a tiny step up from a regular old VHS
release.
The audio is presented in a remastered Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix. The track is free of distortion and features good
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.
No
extras were included on this release.A
single static menu screen offers access to disc's limited features.
Gerard
Castelein and Dan Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: February
19, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Salvador.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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