Savages has been my favorite book since its release. Parttime environmentalist and philanthropist ben and his exmercenary buddy chon run a laguna beachbased marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their loyal clientele. Spanning from 1960s southern california to the recent past, it is a tale of family in all its forms. Filmmaker talked to winslow about the book, the movie, his newly. Not all holidays are by norman rockwell, and maybe some grown children will enjoy this touching. The savages is a labored labor of love about an estranged brother and sister, who have to deal with a frail and fractious father. The novel is infused with a mournful sense that these kids have no future because their parents, their elders, left nothing for them, that all they have to look forward to is a lifetime of paying. A breakthrough novel that pits young kingpins against a mexican drug cartel, savages is a provocative, sexy, and sharply funny thrill ride through the dark side of the war on drugs and beyond. Many people thought it was oliver stone reverting to his previous style of natural born killers or scarface. Stone has never been one to make a movie that has littleto say, but savages just seems like an exploitation exercise that just toys with the drug war in order to weave a fanciful tale. Starring taylor kitsch, blake lively, aaron johnson, john travolta, benicio del toro and salma hayek, savages is a stylish, violent, hallucinatory thriller. In a glittering california beach town, two best friends innovative marijuana business has come to the. Sep 20, 2012 sadly, savages plays up to stones worst tendencies. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 24 hours to finish once started.
Drugs, southern california, a mexican drug cartel and 3 friends are the core of this story. O blake lively, the blondifornia kidnap victim of a mexican drug cartel, spits in the face of her brutal jailer lado benicio del toro a big, wet ball of phlegm, as if shes been saving it throughout her. In the trailer for fridays savages, a potential moviegoer can glean that the film involves. Savages star blake lively describes awkward sex scene. Next, there is a shot of an attractive young blonde woman named o short for ophelia, played by blake lively as she narrates in a voiceover. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the. Savages, oliver stones adaptation of don winslows novel. Whats the difference between savages the book and savages the movie. A return to form for stones dark side, savages generates ruthless energy and some, but not too much, humor. He was also a finalist for the gold dagger award for the kings of cool.
Savages is a fun flick that will keep you mildly entertained, but the script is flabby, the feature itself about 20 minutes too long and theres little dramatic tension to speak of. Savages, a book that got wide acclaim last year before its paperback. O blake lively, the blondifornia kidnap victim of a mexican drug cartel, spits in the face of her brutal jailer lado benicio del toro a big, wet ball of. Taylor kitsch, blake lively, aaron johnson, john travolta, benicio del toro and salma hayek star in this brutal, sexy thriller of two friends forced into war against the mexican baja cartel. Jul 05, 2012 in a movie stuffed with torture, killings, a handimpaling and an hour or so of craziness turned up to 11, one moment made a woman at a savages screening emit an audible ick. Don winslow was a finalist for the dilys, barry, and steel dagger awards for savages. If you enjoy a great survival story with romance, action, and thrills, then you should love savages. Jul 06, 2012 in the trailer for fridays savages, a potential moviegoer can glean that the film involves. Savages book hennepin county library bibliocommons. A new york times, entertainment weekly, and chicago suntimes favorite book of the year a revelationthis is butch cassidy and the sundance kid on autoload.
The book is both revelation and revolution whose joys come from its. Jan 01, 2010 i found savages because of the movie trailer for oliver stones adaptation of this book. The imagery we all saw at the very end of the movie is the final couple chapters of the book, only this is all playing out in os mind as ben explains indonesia to her. But, stone is being dreamier in savages than he has ever been. I found savages because of the movie trailer for oliver stones adaptation of this book. Watch savages full movie watch savages full movie online watch savages full movie hd 1080p. Now, in his highoctane prequel, winslow reaches back in time to tell the story of how ben, chon, and o became the people they are. Ive never had my memory betray me to such an extent upon rereading a novel, even novels that i. My expectations for the movie initially were low, but. Savages book whatcom county library system bibliocommons.
Savages has got to be the same book that i remember from fifteen years ago, the plot is the same. As a seemingly unwinnable war unfolds around them, theyre forced to take part in a savage battle of wills to save the girl they both love. It is based on don winslows novel of the same name. The movie begins with a video being shot of men with their hands tied behind their backs. Savages return in the kings of cool in 2010, writer don winslow hit it big with his crime novel, savages. Id seen the movie, but it wasnt until id read about savages in an interview with winslow about his new book, cartel, that i decided to give it a look. Savages 2012, crime drama thriller released in english language in theatre near you in. It is based on don winslow s novel of the same name. What was the ending like in the novel version of savages. Missing too, from savages, is the political subtext that makes the book a touchstone for the millennialgeneration ychildren of baby boomers set. Savages was definitely worth the two hours and eleven minutes i spent watching it. Savages is a 2012 american crime thriller film directed by oliver stone. Stars gathered monday in westwood village for the world premiere of. Sep, 2012 savages is a distillation of all that and all the better for it.
Parttime environmentalist and philanthropist ben and his exmercenary buddy chon run a laguna beachbased marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their. Even before the credits reveal that oliver stones new movie, savages, is based on a novel by don winslow, who joined stone and shane. In the end of savages, dennis sets himself up as winning the drug war in public. Razorsharp plot twists, a cast of ruthless antiheroes, and of course, winslows superb, adrenalinefueled prose make this scorching, druginfused thriller an addictive and. Alexander payne and jenkins husband jim taylor were two of the executive producers.
Savages book by don winslow official publisher page. Sadly, savages plays up to stones worst tendencies. I honestly cant believe that this movie could be this bad. His new book, the kings of cool, is a prequel to savages. Savages movie based on novel by dons winslow, also author of prequel kings of cool july 6, 2012. I only saw the trailer for the movie and it looks like typical hollywood crap you need a superb director at the top of his game to translate a book like savages into. Now stone has made an ordinary pulp movie with very little to say, and he seems rather bored with pulp for pulps sake. Jul 04, 2012 oliver stones savages is a moral tangle embedded in a bloody war between two best buddies in laguna beach and the queen of a mexican drug cartel. After writing the novel, the screenplay and seeing the movie, whats your takeaway on what it means to be savage. Don winslows novel savages is a clever, fast paced, selfaware, morally ambiguous book filled to the brim with extravagant characters and crisp, razor sharp and witty language. The rest of the movie is pretty much the war you would expect with some poor negotiation skills tossed in for fun. Nov 10, 2014 with this reading, savages exists in a fairy tale world where the lurid is the ideal. I have read it numerous times and pick up on more exciting details each time i read it. Not all holidays are by norman rockwell, and maybe some grown children will enjoy this.
Savages book fraser valley regional library bibliocommons. Savages, oliver stones feverish adaptation of don winslows drugwar novel, is a pulpy daylight noir, a western, a stoner buddy movie and a. Savages is a distillation of all that and all the better for it. Savages book charlotte mecklenburg library bibliocommons. Simon and schusterfrom the new york times bestselling author of the cartel, the. Oliver stones savages is a moral tangle embedded in a bloody war between two best buddies in laguna beach and the queen of a mexican drug cartel.
Filmmaker talked to winslow about the book, the movie, his newly published prequel the kings of cool, and his relationship with the cinematic. With those opening words of savages, author don winslow delivered a. The don winslow book was a page turner that was filled with suspense, gangster violence, sexy scenes, and was so stylized. Savages is a crime novel by american author don winslow, published in 2010. But now they may have come up against something that they cant handlethe mexican baja cartel wants. Savages by oliver stone oliver stone, taylor kitsch. In savages, don winslow introduced ben and chon, twentysomething best friends who risk everything to save the girl they both love, o. When i first thought about getting this book i noticed a prequel the kings of cool had come out after this one but decided to start with the other. Don winslow discusses his new book the cartel duration. The savages 2007 wendy savage laura linney, a struggling playwright, has little to do with her brother, jon philip seymour hoffman, a college professor and author. Savages, the first novel in this don winslow series, was turned into a movie of the same name by oliver stone.
Although hed already written 12 novels, savages was the book that really launched his. The book is quickwitted and hilarious but its also about an escalation of a drug war. Have you ever waited for your favorite book to be turned into a movie. The screenplay by stone, shane salerno, and don winslow who penned the book savages is based on does a commendable job of juggling multiple storylines, though some are likely to feel cheated when the writers make a notsosubtle attempt to have it both ways in the tense climax. For example, natural born killers used a pulp story to say something about the callousness of media. Savages by hachette adapting don winslows 2010 novel savages was never going to be easy. I can see why someone like oliver stone would want to turn this into a movie. An enforcer, who we learn later is lado benicio del toro wears a skull lucha libre mask and runs a chainsaw. Jul 06, 2012 the rest of the movie is pretty much the war you would expect with some poor negotiation skills tossed in for fun. Savages represents at least a partial resurrection of the directors more hallucinatory, violent, sexual and, in a word, savage side. Christmas day itself is said to be the top moviegoing day of the year, as families a seek something they can do together without having to talk, or b use them as a excuse to escape from the house. Savages is don winslows best book yet a wickedly funny and smart novel, with a rippedfromtheheadlines story that gets your pulse racing as the action unfolds.
In the past when their turf was challenged, chon took care of eliminating the threat. Don winslow is the acclaimed new york times bestselling author of fifteen novels, including the kings of cool, savages, the gentlemens hour, the dawn patrol, the winter of frankie machine, and the power of the dog. The movie was rather bloody at parts but all in all, it was an outstanding movie. Simon and schusterfrom the new york times bestselling author of the cartel. But, i think that theres an edge to the use of the end. But, the writing style and the details as the plot is fleshed out are so very different than i remember. Don winslow to write prequel to savages as oliver stone ramps.
The character has the same name in both the book and the movie. Savages is based on a book by don wilson, a journalist and author whos spent much of his career cataloging the horrors of mexican drug cartels. The savages seems a curious movie to be opening four days before christmas, but maybe not. Overacting is the word of the day, especially from travolta, ms. The movie centers on two young marijuana growers, ben and chon, who live and. The movie is a battle between good and evil, you could say, except that everyone in it is evil but some are less evil than others. Oliver stones movies were once incendiary and had the power to get people talking about strong issues.
This film is the polar opposite of that and the fact that winslow was involved in writing the screenplay baffles me. My philosophy is that the book is always better than the movie. Then when it finally happens you barely recognize it on the big screen. The savages is a 2007 american independent comedydrama film written and directed by tamara jenkins. For jon, who is writing a book on brecht, and his playwright sister, life has become something. Savages by don winslow has received some wonderful prepublication publicity due to its being tapped for film adaptation by oliver stone even before the first tree was chopped to lay the book to paper. Dec 20, 2007 the savages seems a curious movie to be opening four days before christmas, but maybe not. Threetime oscarwinning filmmaker oliver stone brings to life this ferocious, sexy epic. The screenplay was written by shane salerno, stone, and winslow.
At least it seems that way until the final sequences of savages, where stone completely deviates from the book. He believes, and director oliver stone agrees, that not only has the socalled war on drugs been lost, but that it breeds the sort of violence we see in savages. With younger protagonists and terse pacing, winslow makes savages into a smooth and intense read, laced with a laconic humour and a slightly ironic, campy pace that makes the inevitable scenes of violence all the more visceral. But, the writing style and the details as the plot is fleshed out. Running a lucrative marijuana operation in laguna beach, sometime environmentalist ben and mercenary chon confront a dangerous adversary in the mexican baja cartel, which kidnaps their playmate and confidante ophelia, compelling the duo to plot ingenious negotiations. Janet maslins top 10 books of 2010 november 23, 2010. Even the psychotic nightmare backdrop to uturn felt like a hardedged acid trip of a movie compared to the lush and lurid plotting that stone attempts in savages. Salerno is also the founder and president of the story factory, which produces film and tv series based on literary properties. Its an easy and valid reading, especially since it is a film that is all about a drugbusiness fantasy. In a movie stuffed with torture, killings, a handimpaling and an hour or so of craziness turned up to 11, one moment made a woman at a savages screening emit an audible ick.