Salvador is a 1986 war drama film written by Oliver Stone and journalist Richard Boyle, and directed by Stone. It stars James Woods, James Belushi, and Michael Murphy, with John Savage, Elpidia Carrillo, and Cynthia Gibb in supporting roles.
The film tells the story of an American journalist (Richard Boyle) covering the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992) who becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military. The film is highly sympathetic towards the left wing revolutionaries and strongly critical of the U.S.-supported military, focusing on the murder of four American churchwomen and the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero by Salvadoran goverment death squads.
While the movie is set in the country of Salvador, it is interesting to note that it was actually shot entirely in Mexico so many of the actors and extras were Mexicans. The military equipment used in the film was also provided by Mexican film studios as well as the regional police and armed forces, despite the somewhat critical view of the film towards the U.S., which was actually an ally of Mexico during the Cold War.
Some government troops are armed with the IMI Galil.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingIMI Galil ARM with wood hand-guard - 5.56x45mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingSalvadorian government tank commander Colonel Julio Figueroa (Jorge Luke) opens fire with the Galil. The tank is a Panhard Lynx ERC 90 Sagaie (Engin de Reconnaissance à Canon de 90 mm) armored recon vehicle equipped with a 90 mm cannon. The Panhard is actually used by the Mexican Armed Forces as its main combat tank.
Many rebels are armed with the Spitfire Carbine, a low cost clone of the Thompson. As the film was shot in Mexico during the eighties, these were probably provided by the Mexican police which used the weapon at the time.
