Savages | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Oliver Stone |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by |
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Based on |
Savages by Don Winslow |
Starring | |
Music by | Adam Peters |
Cinematography | Dan Mindel |
Edited by |
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Production
company |
Relativity Media
Ixtlan Productions |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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130 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $45 million |
Box office | $83 million |
Savages is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Oliver Stone. It is based on the novel of the same name by Don Winslow. The screenplay was written by Shane Salerno, Stone, and Winslow. The film was released on July 6, 2012, and stars Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Demian Bichir, Benicio del Toro, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, and Emile Hirsch.
Best friends Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are marijuana growers in Laguna Beach, California. Chon, a former Navy SEAL, smuggled the seeds for the plants out of Afghanistan. Ben, a University of California, Berkeley graduate in business and botany, cultivates the marijuana. The seeds yield a particularly potent strain, which develops a wide customer base. Chon and Ben become wealthy, and Ben devotes time and money to charity work in Africa and Asia. They are both in a relationship with Ophelia Sage (Blake Lively).
The trio receives a video from Mexican drug-cartel enforcer Miguel "Lado" Arroyo (Benicio del Toro) of severed heads and a chainsaw, and Arroyo demands a meeting at which the cartel offers a partnership. Although Chon and Ben offer to hand over their network and get out of the business, the cartel wants their expertise and insists on a partnership. Chon and Ben make plans with Ophelia to go to Indonesia for a year, not telling her that they are fleeing the cartel. They speak to corrupt DEA agent Dennis Cain (John Travolta), who urges them to join the cartel. Ophelia is kidnapped by Lado's gang; Chon and Ben are notified of the kidnapping by a video call from cartel leader Elena Sánchez (Salma Hayek), who threatens to harm Ophelia if they decline the partnership.