Salvador

R

Released Apr 23, 1986

1 hr. 57 min.

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

90%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Unable to find work in America because of his penchant for booze and drugs, photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods) heads to El Salvador with his DJ friend Doctor Rock (James Belushi) to see if he can get a gig covering the country's ongoing civil war. Boyle decides it's time to flee the country when the violence escalates to a level that even he is uncomfortable with, but his relationship with an El Salvadorian woman (Elpidia Carrillo) complicates matters.

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Critics Consensus

Despite its somewhat disjointed narrative, Oliver Stone's Salvador is a vivid and powerful political drama that sets an early tone for the director's similarly provocative future projects.

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Alec C

Welcome to El Salvador, one of the most dangerous and war-torn countries in the world! A boozy reporter decides to do some freelance work in the middle of a civil war, but soon finds himself biting off more then he can chew, with the constant innocents shot down and the officials unable to intervene. Unflinching in its portrayal of the evils of social instability and tyranny in this underrated Oliver Stone story!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/24

Full Review

Lee F

James Woods performance is perfect as a self confessed Weasel photographer journalist. There are some shocking scenes which capture the violence of the time in Salvador. Overall a film I would recommend.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/27/23

Full Review

Jelisije J

A movie that should have focussed more on the struggle of the civil war in El Salvador than James Woods character in the first 46 minutes of the film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/26/23

Full Review

Andrew T

Man, it's an incredible movie! I know why you feel so weird after watching it. The main actor is so goot at it, that you end hating the film, cause he's such a disgusting and unpleasant character, which has no personality at all and will always find a way to take advantages upon others. Even when he seems sad, he's just trying to convince others he's a poor guy. Even though, girls will fall for him somehow i cannot explain. The movie quality is great and i even forgot it was from the '80. the bruises, injuries and dead bodies looks so real with all of that very well made makeup that sometimes we wonder if they were just people acting out. Most impressive than that, they managed to mix a good humor with a terrible situation. I also gonna have to agree with you guys, that the main subject here which is the government political and power abuse over their people only served as a background over most of the movie lenght, but it won't make it shine less.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/06/23

Full Review

William L

With Stone as director, you knew exactly what sort of tone to expect a dramatic take on the Salvadoran Civil War to take, but even so you might be surprised at how bluntly he sets up bowling pins to knock down. US military figures are either clad in country club polos or throwing around allegations of "commie-lover" at any chance they get, usually providing the opportunity for Stone to level accusations of cruelty, dishonesty, or imperialism against the Reagan administration, using Woods' Richard Boyle as a mouthpiece. That's not to say he's wrong about quite a few of the statements he makes, but he's also not exactly subtle about it. Boyle is depicted as half Hunter S. Thompson, half moral crusader, with intermittent flashes of action hero; where did this boozehound screwup learn to do a combat tracheostomy? His character is inconsistent, often assessed (correctly) to be a grifter and a bum, and while he is at least compellingly acted, the film is never quite sure whether or not it's effectively about its protagonist or about the conflict in El Salvador, sprinkling in just enough scenes of which Boyle would have had no knowledge to skew the audience away from his perspective. The film is ambitious and well-intentioned, but has a clear tendency to serve as a soapbox that takes away from the more compelling elements, and all too often resorts to showing piles of bodies when the pacing and engagement otherwise lags. It's totally fair to distinguish between the art and the artist, but James Woods is a piece of shit. (2.5/5)

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/22

Full Review

s r

1001 movies to see before you die. However, this one came across as cheap and tacky. I gave it an extra half star for raising awareness about El Salvador. It was on Daily Motion.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Oliver Stone

Director

James Woods

Richard Boyle

Jim Belushi

Doctor Rock

Michael Murphy

Ambassador Thomas Kelly

John Savage

John Cassady ('Newsweek' reporter

Elpidia Carrillo

María

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Richard Combs

Sight & Sound

Of Stone's two recent films, Salvador is the most remarkable, if only for its drive and sense of attack, its willingness to deal in current politics as directly as it does.

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

Catherine Rambeau

Detroit Free Press

Although it doesn't attain the stature of The Killing Fields, the film is an effective comment on the actions in Central America.

Rated: 8/10

Oct 27, 2021

Full Review

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.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Armond White

National Review

It is Stone’s cynicism that recommends Salvador for contemporary viewing. No other American filmmaker this millennium dares Stone’s candor about the sins and absolute corruption of political journalism.

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

Jordan M. Smith

IONCINEMA.com

Still soberingly relevant today, this is a film that needs a critical revival and much deserved love and attention.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 3, 2020

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

Its success is largely down to a livewire and erratic central performance by James Woods.

Oct 30, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

Unable to find work in America because of his penchant for booze and drugs, photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods) heads to El Salvador with his DJ friend Doctor Rock (James Belushi) to see if he can get a gig covering the country's ongoing civil war. Boyle decides it's time to flee the country when the violence escalates to a level that even he is uncomfortable with, but his relationship with an El Salvadorian woman (Elpidia Carrillo) complicates matters.

Director: Oliver Stone
Executive Producer: John Daly, Derek Gibson
Screenwriter: Richard Boyle, Oliver Stone
Distributor: MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Polygram
Production Co: Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A., Hemdale
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 23, 1986, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008

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