New in home theaters: Controversial & bloody war film from ‘Natural Born Killers’ maker Oliver Stone

With films such as “Born on the 4th of July”, “JFK – Tatort Dallas” and “Natural Born Killers”, Oliver Stone earned a place in the Hollywood directorial pantheon. Although his more recent projects have made smaller waves, some of his earlier projects are once again gaining attention. This includes the war film “Salvador“, which was released in theaters a few months before “Platoon.”

Although it received two Oscar nominations, it was lost in comparison to its successor. However, ‘Salvador’ is in high demand on Blu-ray: eleven years after the first edition in 2010, a remastered edition was released with improved image and sound. It is now almost only available used, but the Pidax label ensures delivery: “Salvador” is expected to receive a Blu-ray reissue on December 3, 2023!

In addition to the uncut version of the war film, the Blu-ray includes the accompanying documentary ‘Into The Valley Of Death’, audio commentary by Oliver Stone and almost 30 minutes of deleted scenes.

“Salvador”: Loosely based on true events

Former top photo reporter Richard Boyle (James Woods) has reached rock bottom: due to professional fraud, marital problems, crushing debts and alcohol abuse, he has maneuvered himself into a dead end. Then he comes up with a daring idea: he scrapes together the last of his money and flies to El Salvador with his only remaining friend, the politically ignorant Doctor Rock (James Belushi).

There he wants to report up close on the rampant civil war against the arbitrary military dictatorship. Little by little, Boyle discovers that the US government and the CIA are inhumanely participating in these atrocities…

Richard Boyle was a real war journalist who covered, among other things, the Cambodian Civil War and the conflict in Northern Ireland. Oliver Stone arranged a meeting between himself, Woods and Belushi and the real-life model of his role – but according to Stone, this meeting only ended in an argument.

Overall, the mood behind the scenes of ‘Salvador’ was tense. Stone admitted that he spread discord between Woods and Belushi to create a competitive mentality among the stars. However, the director himself felt this medicine: in the heat of the moment, on the last day of filming, Woods improvised a scene, which would have driven Stone crazy – even if, looking back, he admits to Woods that he had the right impulse.

The very fact that Woods was able to improvise a key plot moment suggests: As usual with Stone, ‘Salvador’ is more of a free interpretation of real events than a docudrama. This received mixed reviews from critics, as did the press reaction to the depiction of violence:

Some contemporary critics found it too striking, unbelievable and heroic, while others found its drastic nature repulsive in the best sense of the word. Nevertheless, ‘Salvador’ was well received in the film industry from a narrative perspective: The screenplay, written by Stone and the real Boyle, was nominated for an Oscar. Woods also received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.