Salvador

1986
R
2h 2m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

24K

YOUR RATING

An American photojournalist gets caught in a political struggle at El Salvador in 1980.

Play trailer1:58

1 Video

99 Photos

Drama History Thriller War

A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

24K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 9 nominations total

Dr. Rock
(as James Belushi)

Michael Murphy

Ambassador Thomas Kelly

John Savage

John Cassady

Elpidia Carrillo

María
(as Elpedia Carrillo)

Tony Plana

Major Max

Colby Chester

Jack Morgan

Cynthia Gibb

Cathy Moore
(as Cindy Gibb)

Will MacMillan

Col. Hyde

Valerie Wildman

Pauline Axelrod

José Carlos Ruiz

Archbishop Romero
(as Jose Carlos Ruiz)

Jorge Luke

Col. Julio Figueroa

Juan Fernández

Army Lieutenant

Salvador Sánchez

Human Rights Leader

Rosario Zúñiga

HIS Assistant
(as Rosario Zuniga)

Martín Fuentes

Maria's Brother
(as Martin Fuentes)

Gary Farr

Australian Reporter

Gilles Millinaire

French Reporter
(as Gilles Milinaire)

Director
- Oliver Stone
Writers
- Oliver Stone
- Richard Boyle
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

7.2

7.1

6.8

7.0

7.2

Born on the Fourth of July

7.0

6.9

7.2

6.7

7.3

4.7

5.5

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
According to James Woods, he went to watch the film at a local theatre and while he was leaving, a refugee from El Salvador knelt before him and kissed his hand, thanking him for telling the story of her family's massacre.

Goofs
Archbishop Romero is killed at point-blank range by a handgun. However, the real Romero was shot by a sniper. Also, while he was shot while saying Mass, it was in a small hospital chapel, not in a large church as depicted in the film.

Quotes
John Cassady: You gotta get close to get the truth. You get too close, you die.

Alternate versions
According to the Oliver Stone biography "Stone: The Controversies, Excesses, and Exploits of a Radical Filmmaker" by James Riordan, the film was originally meant to be a two and a half hour release from a 150 page script, and much extra footage was cut due to box office concerns and by the original studio, Orion, who saw that a lot of the footage was too excessive or violent (one such scene described in the book was of an orgy scene with Rick Boyle and Dr. Rock and a bag of ears casually tossed on to a table). Stone regrets this decision as the film ended up, and was criticized for being, choppy in some of its editing. Some of this deleted footage is included on the Special Edition DVD.

Connections
Edited into Salvador: Deleted Scenes (2001)

Soundtracks
Running On Empty
Written & Performed by Jackson Browne
Swallow Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Elektra-Asylum Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User reviews112

Review

Featured review

8/10

Now watch the doc on the DVD!

This movie was overshadowed by Platoon. The connection being that both are from the genius Oliver Stone! And both being released in 1986! Salvador at least as engaging as Platoon, but looking and feeling a lot more raw.

You get the feeling it's a documentary. The camera is in your face! Which is exactly what Oliver Stone wanted you to feel! And who better to represent the audience than a journalist (James Woods)?

Although if you watch the document about making this movie, which is as exciting as the future film itself, you'll appreciate the film a lot more! You will love it a lot more! Watch the movie for it's gritty content and for the fact it's a no holds barred look at a war zone and the depiction of that situation through media and politics!