Salvador | | Cast : | James Woods, James Belushi | | Director : | Oliver Stone | | Studio : | MGM/UA Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | April 23, 1986 | | DVD Released Date : | June 05, 2001 | | Language : | French (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 12, 2005 | | Summary | Film as a text | Content
 | I was compelled to write this review after I read the two reviews written from the Salvadorean perspective claiming that this movie was essentially complete fiction. Although, I haven't seen this movie in several years I remember it being a griping and shocking account of events that are largely forgotten (or were even noticed back then) by average Americans. I wonder if the two Salvadorean reviewers have ever met or talked with Boyle, the journalist whose experience the movie is based, or if they were ever in the same places with Boyle during that time. Moreover, one of the key events depicted in the movie actually DID HAPPEN: On December 2, 1980 four American nuns who were there giving aid and relief to the poor people of that country were brutally raped and murdered by a group of El Salvador's National Guardsmen. Like anything we view or read, Stone's movies should be seen with a critical eye. Of course his movie is not the "ultimate truth" on what happened in the 80's in El Salvador and it should not be viewed that way. Instead, it should be viewed for what it is: one man's perspective (Boyle's) of what he witnessed while he was there. How does that person's perspective or account deepen our understanding of history? What questions does it raise? Whose interests does that perspective (or other perspectives) serve? Whether this movie is an "accurate" depiction is not as important as the fact that this movie can get us thinking and talking about important issues surrounding justice, freedom, equality and the role our government overtly and covertly plays in international conflicts where those values are at stake. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 26, 2005 | | Summary | 0% Historically accurate | Content
| This movie is completely, totally, and sjamefully innacurate to what really happened. I'm from EL Salvador and as a boy, a bomb exploded on my face, got caught in the middle of 2 gunfights and went to bed wondering If i would make it through the night. As my fellow Salvadorean said, this movie makes the guerrillas loo like they were good people and our army as cruel, reckless and "bad". First of all, I witnessed a bus being hijacked by guerrillas and all the kids taken out to be recruited. Through my experience I can say that the guerrillas AND the military did horrible things but this movie truly doenst show how the war was really like. Also I believe they try to make us look like a 1600's town. People on horse wagons and all the people are "mexican-like". I know that to most of you this will come in as a surprize but people from El Salvador as well as Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc don't look like Mexicans! It makes me upset that we are stereotyped as mexicans. Well, overall, this is a historically innacurate, bad movie |
| Rating | | | Date | January 07, 2005 | | Summary | Overall a Truthful Account of a Dark and Bloody Time | Content
| While Oliver Stone's 60's-style "hipness" intrudes too much into the characters and situations, overall the film is a good and honest portrayal of the Nazi-like terror inflicted on this country by police and military beasts in human form. Having been associated with Amnesty International at this time I'm well aware of the real people who were tortured, mutilated, raped, murdered, and "disappeared" in the name of "Western Values." This film not only portrays the true face of El Salvador's bloody and evil little civil war, but of the moral callousness of the US in funding this descent into hell. The US self-righteousness over Bosnia and Kosovo a decade or so later seems all the more incredible, as one watches American complicity with mass murder here. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 18, 2004 | | Summary | Nothing Special | Content
| This was nothing special. Sure, there is some good acting (James Wood's character is so bizarre/contrived that it most likely is true). Still, the movie didn't catch my interest like others in the genre. The five minute political diatribe in the middle was not necessary. I don't agree or disagree with it, it just didn't work. That plays into some of Stone's patterns in his other movies, but not nearly as effective. Oversold. |
| Rating | | | Date | October 03, 2004 | | Summary | Strictly Based On A Foreigner's Point Of View | Content
| Being a Salvadorean, I must say that this movie is based on an outsider's viewpoint. First of all, there was no dictaroship, the death squads were splinter squads operating apart from the government and the military. Second, Human Rights only came to stir up more trouble, as our police, military and other sectors have been downgraded in favor of system which is comfortable for the FMLN (the former guerrillas now a government party). The movie portrays them as some kind of heroes and critisices the USA for helping our military, which was getting murdered, mutilated and tortured by the opressive guerrillas. I seriously doubt any Salvadorean finds this movie historically accurate, I myself do not remember anything portrayed in the film happening in reality. And contrary to foreing belief, our country is not in same stage, as when the guerrillas were terrorising ours and blaming the government for it. This is classic propaganda done through a film: misinformation to the foreign public, in hopes of critsicing our democratic government and liberty-loving way of life. In the end, this movie is nothing more than a confused foreign opinion on something that only us Salvadoreans truly understand. |
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