Red Dawn (1984)

It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers bands together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

Kevin Reynolds (story), John Milius (screenplay),

Stars:

Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Swayze	...	Jed
C. Thomas Howell	...	Robert
Lea Thompson	...	Erica
Charlie Sheen	...	Matt
Darren Dalton	...	Daryl
Jennifer Grey	...	Toni
Brad Savage	...	Danny
Doug Toby	...	Aardvark
Ben Johnson	...	Mr. Mason
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Mr. Eckert
Ron O'Neal	...	Colonel Ernesto Bella
William Smith	...	Strelnikov
Vladek Sheybal	...	Bratchenko
Powers Boothe	...	Lt. Col. Andrew 'Andy' Tanner
Frank McRae	...	Mr. Teasdale

Storyline

From out of the sky, Soviet, Nicaraguan, and Cuban troops begin landing on the football field of a Colorado high school. In seconds, the paratroopers have attacked the school and sent a group of teenagers fleeing into the mountains. Armed only with hunting rifles, pistols, and bows and arrows, the teens struggle to survive the bitter winter and the Soviet KGB patrols hunting for them. Eventually, trouble arises when they kill a group of Soviet soldiers on patrol in the highlands. Soon they will wage their own guerrilla warfare against the invading Soviet troops-under the banner of 'Wolverines!'

---

Plot Keywords:

soviet | wolverine | high school | invasion | bow and arrow | 

---

Taglines:

. . . . A Gang of high-school kids become the last line of defence.

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | War

---

Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Spanish

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ten Soldiers

Filming Locations:

Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Valkyrie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film, Toni (Jennifer Grey) sneaks into town and blows up the "Soviet-American Friendship Center." The real life National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (NCASF), a left-wing organization composed of Soviet and communist sympathizers, angrily denounced "Red Dawn" as paranoid and militarist. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the NCASF, whose last president was prominent character actor John Randolph, disbanded.

---

Goofs

When Strelnikov and his special forces soldiers are parading down the street, the belt of the soldier behind the drummer on the far right breaks off.

---

Quotes

Col. Andy Tanner: [using a crude diorama, the Wolverines prepare for an assault on the Calumet Drive-In, which is now a Russo-Cuban "Re-education Camp"] All right. Four planes. Cuban bunker, Russian bunker. munitions dump, troop tents. Four machine gun bunkers. Back here by the drive-in screen are your political prisoners. We'll cause a diversion over here... cut holes in the wire here, fire on all these machine gun positions. The B-Group comes across this area in a flanking maneuver... and when you reach this ...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

None of the actors are in the opening credits

---

Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

User Reviews

It's Only A Movie...

I saw this movie when I was in college in Colorado Springs, Colorado when it came out in 1984. Many people dismiss this movie at best as either a teen fantasy or at worse as a right-wing maniac's delusional vision of the future. Yes, it is a teen movie, but there's a bit more to it than that. I'm basically writing this for those of you who either weren't born or too young to remember those days. I grew up in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Anything mildly patriotic was regarded in bad taste. So when John Millius and his friends decided to make this patriotic teen movie about resistance fighters fighting invaders from the Evil Empire, he was just tapping into the frustration that many people (including myself) felt at that time. The scene I remember most vividly is the one when Patrick Swazye shoots the young Russian political officer in the Chevy Blazer. The audience consisted mostly of guys from nearby Fort Collins and Peterson AFB, and they gave this scene a standing ovation. In this post 11 September world, it's hard to imagine a time when, during the Cold War, flying the flag or loving your native land made many people think you were either a Nazi or a member of the John Birch Society. Now this film isn't "Seven Days in May" or "Fail-Safe." It's just a movie that was made at a time after we had lost a war and many in the world regarded the USA as a paper tiger. That's all.