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Salvador: Special Edition by Paul Jacobi 10.04.01 |
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Oliver Stone is undoubtedly one of America’s
most controversial and talented filmmakers. His movies are very
unconventional and he prides himself on his ability to get his audience to
think about what they’ve just witnessed. In 1986, Stone produced two
films. One would go onto win the Academy Awards for Best Picture,
Director, Editing, and Sound and be acclaimed as one of the greatest war
movies of all time. That movie was “Platoon”. However, it’s Stone’s lesser
known and overshadowed work of that year that I’ll be reviewing here. The
film, “Salvador” was critically acclaimed in it’s own right, and was also
nominated in 1986 for Best Actor and Screenplay. The film was one that
signaled Stone’s arrival as a director, and one that would shed some light
on some of the horrific events that were taking place in Central America
with United States aid at the time.
The Movie: The movie is based on the experiences of photographer Richard Boyle, who was in El Salvador during one of it’s worst civil wars. Boyle is a very unlikable character played to a tee by James Woods. As the movie opens, his wife has left him and taken their baby. He’s unemployed, and largely in debt. So how does he try to rectify the situation? Chase down his wife? Find another line of work? Of course not, he grabs his local DJ friend (Jim Belushi) and heads down to El Salvador for a mixture of booze, alcohol and women, and hopefully a chance to shoot some photos that’ll get him back on his feet. As soon as Boyle gets to El Salvador, he finds an old girlfriend, and gets re immersed into her life. He also meets an old photographer friend and tags along with him to take pictures. As the picture progresses, and Boyle takes in the madness and senseless brutality that surrounds him, his feelings begin to change. He goes from someone who at best could be described as apathetic and uncaring about the war, to someone who realizes just how wrong the dictator led government is. He becomes even more disgusted that the United States is aiding this government, and attempts to pull his girlfriend and her children out of the country before they’re put in even more danger. The film is brutal in some of its violent depictions and uncompromising. Woods does a phenomenal job with his character, and the supporting cast including Belushi and John Savage holds up their end very well. Stone shots the film uniquely and well, at times, following Boyle from behind to give his perspective on the pictures he’s trying to take. The film is not very well known, and as stated before, had the unfortunate luck of coming out too close to Platoon to be noticed. However, it’s still an excellent film and deserves a look. The Special Features: For a film of relative obscurity, MGM has done a hell of a job on this special edition. First off is a commentary by director Oliver Stone. The track is very informative as Stone details the tension on the set and provides ample background information on his motivations in making the film. There are very few gaps of silence, but the commentary is very good overall. The best part of the disc for me was undoubtedly the documentary “Into the Valley of Death”. It is quite frankly, one of the best pieces on the making of a movie I’ve ever seen. There are recent interviews with Stone, Woods, Belushi, and more. It’s incredibly interesting and informative and includes stories of just how much Woods’ disliked the real life Boyle, Woods’ almost quitting the movie right before the last few days of filming, the tension between Woods and Stone, and the tension between Woods and Belushi. It’s nearly an hour long, but believe me, it flies by. There are 8 deleted scenes all presented in pretty rough shape, and none really add much to the larger picture. One in particular that takes place inside of the office of an officer in the El Salvador army is very funny and outrageous, but was understandably cut. Also included in the disc is a collectable booklet, the original theatrical trailer, and a photo gallery to round out this impressive set of features. The Technical Side: The disc is presented in it’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is Anamorphic. For a film that’s 15 years old, they did a hell of a job on the transfer. The colors are great, the print void of any major blemishes, and overall it’s a very clean presentation. The sound quality is decent as the film is presented in a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The audio is always crisp and clear, but my guess it that the equipment used at the time simply doesn’t measure up to what we’re capable of today. However, with no major flaws, the audio quality is fine. The film is also presented with its original mono track and has French and Spanish subtitles available, but no English ones, which if that’s your major complaint, shows how well together the disc was put together. Conclusion: Salvador is an overlooked gem in the career of Oliver Stone. Between the great direction and wonderful performances, the movie deserves more fanfare than it received. Kudos to MGM for releasing such a great special edition. This disc is Highly Recommended for the feature and the extras. Assuming people are happy with my reviews, I’m going to continue to review the films of Stone’s career. Next up: “Platoon: Special Edition” |