Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Salvador Blu-ray Movie Review

"You gotta get close to get the truth. You get too close, you die."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 8, 2024

Filmmaker Oliver Stone seemed to appear out of nowhere -- a child of Vietnam and gritty '70s cinema -- and, with Salvador in 1986, began carving a path through Hollywood that would earn him an equal-parts enviable and insurmountable reputation as a fearless, ceaselessly controversial provocateur. What would follow was an era in which Stone was frequently labeled one of Hollywood's "It" directors and, simultaneously, one of its bad-boy filmmakers; a visionary and vigilante, using subsequent movies to preach, politicize and to fight the good fight in his corner of the culture wars. How successful he's been in his higher pursuits is entirely up for debate. What isn't up for debate is that Stone capitalized on his views of the world stage and created a series of stunning films, some more hit or miss than others, but almost every one impossible to avoid and even more impossible to ignore. Salvador was an early outing that hinted at what the notorious JFK wunderkind would later become, and remains a film that's almost as relevant and insightful today as it was some forty years ago.

Unable to find work in America because of a penchant for booze and drugs, veteran photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods) heads to El Salvador with his friend, a DJ called Doctor Rock (James Belushi), to see if he can land freelance gigs covering the country's ongoing, hotly politicized civil war. It doesn't take long, though, for Boyle to decide it's time to flee the country when violence escalates to a level that even he's uncomfortable with. But his relationship with an El Salvadorian woman (Predator's Elpidia Carrillo) complicates matters. Directed by Oliver Stone and co-written by Stone and the real Richard Boyle, the film also stars Michael Murphy as U.S. Ambassador Thomas Kelly (based on Robert E. White, ambassador to El Salvador from 1980-81), John Savage as John Cassady (based on embedded war journalist John Hoagland), Cindy Gibb as Cathy Moore (based on murdered lay missionary Jean Donovan), Tony Plana as Major Maximiliano Casanova (based on neo-fascist death squad leader Roberto D'Aubuisson) and José Carlos Ruiz as Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Despite the film's based-on-a-true-story trappings, Stone's angle is clearly political, angry with the U.S. government for its hand in El Salvadoran affairs. But the resulting film is thankfully more character driven war drama than thinly veiled soap box, drawing on a sharp, unflinching script (an Oscar-nominated screenplay based on his co-writer's own experiences) and Woods' portrayal of the oft-unmoored Boyle to chart a rather substantial arc from drunkard to... whatever it is Boyle has become when he at long last returns home to America. Woods is excellent; young, hot-headed and electrified -- snarky, smirking kinetic energy incarnate -- yet occasionally lackadaisical and irreverent, more focused on scoring a paycheck than doing good. The story moves at a breakneck pace, but doesn't rush, allowing Boyle's transformation to develop naturally through a series of increasingly dangerous encounters as he pieces together exactly what the U.S. and the various factions in El Salvador are up to and about. Belushi turns in an equally impressive performance, though you wouldn't be out of line if you came away surprised. Far more talented than his fading stardom would later suggest, the comedian's Doctor Rock is sure to forever be compared to Fear and Loathing's Dr. Gonzo. But with Belushi's charisma and ability to flip between emotional cores, Rock believably turns over his own new leaf and begins to grow. Their ease on screen and tangible chemistry allows Stone to fully dramatize what he sees as an impossible no-win scenario (likely because that's precisely what the situation was in El Salvador in the early '80s). And he doesn't pull punches or allow his audience to shrug off the reality of the truth as presented (however one-sided some may accuse it of being).

Boyle's substance abuse does render the first two acts a tad unwieldy, as does his wading into family man waters (after losing his first wife and child in a legal separation). It doesn't help matters that the film feels as if it's rocketing along, to the point of condensing otherwise important facts into a more digestible, neatly packaged two-hour narrative. I wanted more detail, not less. A better understanding of the endlessly complex political landscape, both American and El Salvadoran, not a streamlined version of each. A harder, grittier look at the plight of the common man, rather than laying the burden of an entire country's civil war on a handful of characters' shoulders. And I longed for a more convincing string of tragedies and obstacles instead of a Hollywood production that, once in a while, flexes its muscle and hits the viewer with disturbing sights that drive Stone's points home. Salvador attempts to be too many things. Its ambitions are huge. But Stone, still in his cinematic infancy, would be shown up later that same year by... Stone, with the arrival of Platoon, his first truly great film and a much more balanced take on the perils, tragedy, personal cost, and corruption of a rotten-at-its-core conflict driven by the political and military powers that be. Ultimately, Salvador remains a solid flick. It just lacks the hard-hitting realism, potent resonance, and wartime poignance it's so eager to deliver.

Salvador Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Salvador's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer features a dated, problematic presentation (circa 2014, possibly earlier) that cries out for a new remaster or, better yet, a full restoration of the film's source elements. Grain is present but has largely been subdued to the point of nearly being wiped away; the product of an overbearing digital clean-up effort that, sadly, inadvertently has resulted in a noticeable loss of fine detail. Textures are too smooth and soupy, edges are prone to haloing, and even close-ups bear the telltale signs of de-graining and artificial sharpening. (Enlarge the accompanying screenshots to immediately begin seeing clear examples of all of it.) The transfer isn't a complete loss. The almost forty-year-old film could certainly look much worse, and it doesn't quite fall to the depths of despair of an upscaled DVD. Almost, frankly, but not quite. There isn't anything in the way of artifacting or banding, although far too many print specks have survived the grain swab and pop up in scene after scene. It all amounts to a disappointment, particularly when the 2020s have brought us such miraculous rejuvenations of classic films. Ah well. Colors are striking enough I suppose, contrast infuses life into the image, black levels are (more often than not) deep and inky, and skintones are warm and lifelike. Here's hoping someone acquires Salvador in the near future and ponies up for a proper restoration; grit, grime, grain and all.

Salvador Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is substantially more satisfying than its video presentation, despite the fact that Salvador features the tried-and-true au naturel sound design of a low-budget '80s war drama filmed in a central American locale (in this case Morelos, Mexico). Lightweight effects have a slight tinniness to them; a canned, hollow sound-stage tone that, for better or worse, is par for the course. Otherwise there isn't much to complain about. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, even when violence erupts or chaos and confusion ensue. Conversations have the air of in-the-field documentary audio, but rarely to the film's detriment and often to its advantage, enhancing the realism and seeming spontaneity of key scenes. Low-end output is solid, lending welcome weight to explosions, gunfire and the like, and the rear speakers expand the war into every edge of the soundfield, creating a fairly immersive experience (particularly when Boyle and his companions are outdoors). Environmental ambience and convincing directional effects pair with smooth channel pans and the aforementioned LFE strength to rise above the mid-80s norm and impress.

Salvador Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While the out-of-print 2014 Screen Archives Entertainment exclusive edition release of Salvador offered numerous extras (a director's audio commentary, an hour-long production documentary, a half hour of deleted scenes, and more), the 2023 Sandpiper Blu-ray provides us with a mere theatrical trailer (in SD to boot).

Salvador Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Salvador is an early Oliver Stone outing worth watching, even if the filmmaker is still cutting his teeth and honing his craft. Woods and Belushi are excellent, the story is often quite gripping, and only a wobbly, hurried middle proves detrimental and distracting. Unfortunately, far more distractions await those being introduced to the film via Sandpiper's Blu-ray release. The disappointment of seeing an outdated, mediocre video transfer is exacerbated further by the disc's complete lack of substantial extras (despite previous releases offering a good bit of content), and the only highlight is Salvador's lossless audio. This is probably as best as we're likely to get for some time, but still. Bring on a proper restoration so we can finally see Savlador as it was meant to be seen.