Rating: 
Summary: I Watched This 3 Times in 2 Days
Review: I'm not a huge Oliver Stone fan, I rented this because James Woods is so entertaining, but the movie itself was pretty good, too. The movies I liked that Stone directed didn't have a big political message, like U-Turn, The Doors, and Natural Born Killers (ok, that last one was slightly political) There was one scene in this where Woods and Savage were taking photos of a huge amount of dead bodies in a dump, and there's a subtitle saying "Blah-blah, dumping ground for corpses killed by death squads" (or something similar) Oh really? Thanks for the explanation Mr. Stone, I would have thought they were at the zoo. I probably wasn't supposed to find this movie as funny as I did, but God James Woods was so funny. It's just his timing, or the way he says stuff, or something, but he just totally steals the movie. If it had a different actor in the starring role who wasn't as entertaining, I doubt I would have watched it so many times. He was definitely robbed of a Best Actor Oscar for this movie--there's a scene near the start of the movie where he is barreling down the street in his crappy car and gets pulled over, that made me laugh so hard I played it back for my husband. The scene in the confessional where he asks the priest if it would still be okay to take a few hits of a joint once in a while is priceless. If you're a Woods fan, what are you waiting for? Get a copy fast! Oh yeah, and the movie itself is great, very emotional. You do care about the characters, even the sleazy ones. The ending also was unpredictable, and there a several scary, very tense scenes. One more thing--watch for John Doe of the punk band X in a small cameo as a restraunt owner-va va voom!!!
Rating:
Summary: At first it seems like fun. Then the horror sets in.
Review: James Boyle, the journalist who actually lived this fascinating story, wrote this 1986 screenplay along with Oliver Stone, who also directed it. It takes place in El Salvador during in the early 1980s. War was raging and, depending upon which version you believe, it was either a Civil war against the military government or a potential communist takeover. People are being murdered every day and it's an awful place to be.James Woods stars as James Boyle, a freelance journalist who had formerly been a reporter in Vietnam. His life in California is spinning out of control. He has no money, his wife has left him, and he craves the excitement of being where the action is. He and his disk jockey friend, Doctor Rock, played by James Belushi, drive down to El Salvador, drinking and drugging and spinning bad jokes all the way. At first it all seems like fun. Then reality hits. And the two friends are plunged into the violence. There's one scene after another that made me cringe in horror. And yet, James Woods is quite a con man and keeps getting himself and his friend out of scrapes by his fast talking and former connections. He falls in love with a local woman, tells it like it is to the American Ambassador, and keeps getting into trouble. There's lots of action and lots of people getting killed. And yet, it's mainly about the personalities of the two lead characters. This adds a light touch to the horror that surrounds them. It's a fast paced film without one dull moment. I couldn't stop watching and wondering what would happen next. The DVD extras feature a long documentary about the making of the film. That was interesting background and added to my enjoyment although by then I was dozing off. During the actual film, however, falling asleep would have been impossible. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Oliver Stone Production...
Review: Just having re-discovered this film on DVD almost 10 years after I saw it for the first time, it was a pleasure to see that after so many years, its quality hasn't degraded in the slightest. James Woods has cornered the market (as far as character actors go) on SLEAZY dirt merchants, but he's also proven himself capable of going toe to toe with some of the best actors in Hollywood. Simply put, if you want James Woods, you'll have to hire James Woods. Although the table-side speech by Boyle (Woods) is a bit of a soapboxing moment, the rest of the film is at times hilarious and terrifying to watch. If nothing else, Stone accurately captured the utter turmoil of a nation in the throes of a dictatorship. As for the extras, the commentary by Stone is quite good, but the documentary portion renders it pointless, for the most part. The deleted scenes make it QUITE clear exactly why they were cut from the finished print, but they could have been re-inserted without causing much damage to the storyline. One of the best films of all time, never mind the 80s. "Platoon" and "Wall Street" may represent the apex of Oliver Stone's resume, but in my book, this one doesn't suffer one bit in comparison.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Woods, Essential Stone
Review: No, this is not a masterpiece, but it makes for highlyengrossing viewing. Viewers must be reminded that this film is not aHollywood production, but an independent film. Stone wrote, got the funding and shot this gutsy film as an independent. As an "indie" film, Salvador is among the very best that I've seen. The "Abbot & Costello go to war" plot is a bit offensive, but ultimately effective: when the film was released, and today still, most Americans didn't know what was really going on in El Salvador, and this film manages to encapsulate the events leading up to the war by placing two naive Americans as witnesses. And yes, all of the events depicted in the film really happened, and they all happened before the war in El Salvador actually started in 1981. I am from El Salvador, and I know that most Salvadorans hate the film for the relentless violence that it depicts. To be fair to Stone, the film depicts real events that took place within a period of 12 months (1980-81) the most violent period in the history of that country (20,000 were killed that year, mostly by death squads). To be fair to Salvadorans, the films misses on the cultural nuances: Salvadoran women do not parade naked in the beach and no, death squads were not killers only because they were people with pathological/physical problems, but because of their political and ideological views, unfortunately. Perhaps this is the question to ponder: why was the US even involved in this war and why did they supported people with such twisted ideologies? I also know that the left often complained about the portrayal of the leftist guerrillas in the film. But I happen to know that even in this aspect Stone deserves credit. Stone obtained copies of the underground films and videos shot by guerrillas and used them as source of reference in creating the war scenes; so the images of the guerrillas are actually accurate. In fact, the video shown in the title credits is the actual footage of a massacre by the police on unarmed civilians standing on the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral in El Salvador. Stone is a great filmmaker who has made some great american films, and Salvador is essential viewing for those who admire the work of this director. This film also contains the finest work that James Woods has ever done. In fact, Salvador is carried by his character's viewpoint. Woods is in every scene, and he carries the film with crazed, nervous, relentless energy.
Rating: 
Summary: Before its Time
Review: Not unlike many of Oliver Stone's achievements, Salvador is not only before its time but also one of his least known films. An intensely gripping drama set during the guerrilla uprising in El Salvador in the early 1980's. James Woods plays Richard Boyle, an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck, freelance photographer, travels to El Salvador with friend Dr Rock (Belushi). Boyle hopes to document the troubles arising and make some cash in doing so. Woods' performance has been considered a little too rough around the edges for most critics' liking, yet he actually toned down the character for the film (the real Richard Boyle co-wrote the script with Stone), as he thought that people would find the character disagreeable. Stone's direction is truly at its best. The limited budget, time frame and only his third full-length movie give the film the gritty, panicked edge it deserves and achieves. Stone as usual pulls no punches when it comes to portraying violence and contempt for political ignorance. Attacks on US policies pertaining to arms support in favour of the dictatorship, as opposed to the communist insurgents, are dealt with in a clear and concise manner. Not a film for the faint-hearted, "Salvador" is one of the first documentary style features that would later become inspiration for the likes of "Welcome to Sarajevo" and "The Killing Fields".
Rating:
Summary: Great film!.......
Review: Ok, so this isn't oliver stone's masterpiece. There are holes all over this thing. The timing of events, the clumsy way he tries to get his message across. Some of the characters are almost wooden, put there just to fill in the pieces. Stone's objective obviously is to tell the viewer about the terrible human rights situation in el salvador so americans realize they were funding the murder of innocent people. He uses the then, recent historical events of that country to make his point. The murders of arch bisop romero, the killing of the 5 american church women ect. Stone makes his point somewhat but feels he has to interject some dialogue in certain places to make it clear just in case he is not getting through to the viewer. There is one scene where boyle(woods) basically summarizes the entire objective. So, what makes this movie worth 5 stars? This movie is incredibly energetic and unique. It would be an easy cliche to make the central character, boyle(woods), some sort of hero, a white american avenger who wants to save el salvador's people. No, boyle is a lowlife who has lost his journalistic credentials, his wife and son and can't keep his head out of a bottle of booze. Doyle is self serving. He's not there to help el salvadoran's but to rectify his own lost opportunities. So he hears about the explosive situation down there and decides to go. James belusi plays the fired disc jockey who reluctantly heads south with boyle not having a clue what he is getting into. When he begins to have reservations boyle tells him about all the cheap women and booze down there. Now i can't imagine what driving from san francisco to el salvador would be like but it doesn't matter because in a couple of minutes they arrive at the salvadoran border and all hell breaks loose. From that moment on the movie is non stop action as people are dropping like flies. The james woods character alone makes this a 4* movie. This is his finest role and i believe, his finest performance and that is saying a lot. This is a character that is almost killed and castrated so many times he's like die hard. Despite this there are several incredibly funny moments. The woods character is so amusing it's hard to take him serious when he gets preachy about the violence around him. The james belushi character is similar. He wants to get the hell out of there but doesn't have any money so he makes the most of it by drinking and picking up whores. One thing i didn't like about this movie was the depiction of the revolutionaries. Wood's character and a photographer friend played nicely by john savage, get permission to follow and report on the guerillas. Stone depicts these revolutionaries like they were hippies living in some commune. Overall this is a very powerful and entertaining film. Truly different. All the performances are good but it is james woods who steals the show. He should have won an oscar for this. Buy this one and also buy romero. Two great movies about the same general topic from two different perspectives. ..................socks .................socks
Rating:
Summary: a great political adventure!!!!!
Review: Salvador is a good example of political trife that goes on throughout the world. a great film from the journalist's point of view. it also makes you wonder what journalists and photographers have to go through to bring a story to the world.. BRAVO....
Rating:
Summary: Excellent DVD release of SALVADOR
Review: SALVADOR is a VERY fine film, showing a broad range of drama, emotion, humor, and exposure of American foreign policy. An extremely valuable feature of the DVD release is the documentary on the making of the film which is indepth, and provides much detailed information on the making of the film, and the factual events that were the basis for the film. The interviews with the actual US Ambassador to El Salvador, who was portrayed by actor Michael Murphy in the film, are in incredible testimony to the validity of the film as a historical record. I'm very glad to have this DVD in my personal collection.
Rating:
Summary: A early powerful Stone film
Review: Salvador is an early Oliver Stone film, which required overcoming many production hurdles, lying and cheating to complete filming, and committing fraud for additional money (all admitted by Stone in the commentary.) It was underrated during its brief theatrical release, although James Woods earned and deserved his Best Actor nomination as a press photographer who goes to El Salvador, accompanied by Jim Belushi, to make some money photographing the political mess and killings there, including the murder of nuns and a priest. ("Romero" is a movie about the priest). Based on "real events" and "real people" like all Stone movies, some license has been taken, also as in all Stone movies. Political viewpoints aside, the movie pulls no punches in showing the atrocities of war. If you are squeamish about seeing dead bodies, burning bodies and bloody bodies, then you will have to look away on occasion. As in real life, there is some sex and swearing. The DVD extras, including Stone's commentary, deleted scenes, and cast interviews and clips, are very interesting as well.
Rating:
Summary: Stone's Best Work
Review: Salvador is just a great film, period. No "too rough around the edges" from me. I think the main character Boyle is likable. I'd like to talk to this guy. Sorry! I remember an interview with Stone in which he discussed wanting touches of magical realism in Salvador. He has accomplished that. When Boyle crosses over the El Salvadoran border, he passes through an actual line separating earth from hell. It is a scary, haunting moment. Stone's over the top style is at its best here. Boyle is the perfect Stone character. Salvador is, incredibly, little known. For some damn reason, dumb stuff sells and this isn't dumb. So watch and enjoy.
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