Salvador (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(May 2008) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Salvador | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Oliver Stone |
| Produced by | Oliver Stone, Gerald Green |
| Written by | Oliver Stone, Richard Boyle |
| Starring | James Woods Jim Belushi Michael Murphy John Savage Elpidia Carrillo Cindy Gibb |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
| Editing by | Claire Simpson |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | 28 February 1986 (premiere) |
| Running time | 123 min |
| Language | English, Spanish |
| Budget | ~ US$4,500,000 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Salvador is a 1986 film which tells the story of an American journalist in El Salvador covering the Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military. It stars James Woods, James Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage, Elpidia Carrillo, Tony Plana, Cynthia Gibb, Juan Fernandez and José Carlos Ruiz. The movie is an indictment of human rights abuses in the tradition of Costa-Gavras. Its gritty anti-hero protagonist, Richard Boyle, is a compelling focus for the political action.
The film was written by Oliver Stone and Richard Boyle, and was directed by Stone. Stone's portrayal is sympathetic towards the left wing peasant revolutionaries, but deplores their killing of prisoners in a crucial scene. He is strongly critical towards the U.S.-supported right wing military and the allied death squads, focusing on their assassination of four American churchwomen including Jean Donovan. His portrayal of the Catholic Church as a force for justice reflects events of the time. This is exemplified in the political sermon of Archbishop Óscar Romero, which is based almost word-for-word on the speech Romero made before he was assassinated by a death squad.
Salvador was popular among critics and although the production made its budget back, the film was relatively unsuccessful at the box office. Currently it is one of Oliver Stone's most admired works.
Salvador was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Woods) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Stone and Boyle).
|
||||||||
