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.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 9 nominations total
Jim Belushi
- Dr. Rock
- (as James Belushi)
Elpidia Carrillo
- María
- (as Elpedia Carrillo)
Cynthia Gibb
- Cathy Moore
- (as Cindy Gibb)
José Carlos Ruiz
- Archbishop Romero
- (as Jose Carlos Ruiz)
Rosario Zúñiga
- HIS Assistant
- (as Rosario Zuniga)
Martín Fuentes
- Maria's Brother
- (as Martin Fuentes)
Gilles Millinaire
- French Reporter
- (as Gilles Milinaire)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording 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.
- GoofsArchbishop 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 versionsAccording 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Salvador: Deleted Scenes (2001)
- SoundtracksRunning On Empty
Written & Performed by Jackson Browne
Swallow Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Elektra-Asylum Records
by arrangement with Warner Special Products
Featured review
With a touch of the Hunter Thompsons, Oliver Stone created a quality film about reporter Richard Boyle and his troubles in El Salvador during a civil war that breaks out around him.
Compared to other Stone films, I think this is his best, he has managed to take the true story of Boyle and craft it into a film in which you actually care about the on-screen characters, something he lost later on.
The performances are classic; James Woods, he was clearly on edge and it shows, he produces one of his finest to date. Doc would really have been only a fringe character if it wasn't for the fact he was played by James Belushie in fine form, he fits into the role of the degenerate with ease, he begins as somewhat uptight, but slowly dissolves into the seedy culture of Salvador in contrast to Boyle being ostracised by everyone he deals with.
As with most Stone biopics, there is an element of "you weren't there man!" anger as he unleashed another tirade against the US government and military through this film. You can take that as you like, what I found most fascinating about this film is the similarity to Fear and Loathing, right down to the battered red car they make most of the journey in. I found it fascinating that Boyle could live the kind of story that Thompson made his name creating, the two would make a cracking team, should they not die getting the story, just make it up.
If you're undecided on Olly Stone, but haven't seen this film, give it a try before you decide whether he is an overrated paranoid madman or an impassioned filmmaker with a message in there somewhere if you can get past all the shouting.
Compared to other Stone films, I think this is his best, he has managed to take the true story of Boyle and craft it into a film in which you actually care about the on-screen characters, something he lost later on.
The performances are classic; James Woods, he was clearly on edge and it shows, he produces one of his finest to date. Doc would really have been only a fringe character if it wasn't for the fact he was played by James Belushie in fine form, he fits into the role of the degenerate with ease, he begins as somewhat uptight, but slowly dissolves into the seedy culture of Salvador in contrast to Boyle being ostracised by everyone he deals with.
As with most Stone biopics, there is an element of "you weren't there man!" anger as he unleashed another tirade against the US government and military through this film. You can take that as you like, what I found most fascinating about this film is the similarity to Fear and Loathing, right down to the battered red car they make most of the journey in. I found it fascinating that Boyle could live the kind of story that Thompson made his name creating, the two would make a cracking team, should they not die getting the story, just make it up.
If you're undecided on Olly Stone, but haven't seen this film, give it a try before you decide whether he is an overrated paranoid madman or an impassioned filmmaker with a message in there somewhere if you can get past all the shouting.
- ill_behavior
- Feb 16, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Outpost: Salvador
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,500,000
- Gross worldwide
- $1,500,000
- Runtime2 hours 2 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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