Red Dawn (1984)

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

John Milius (screenplay)
Kevin Reynolds (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A full scale military invasion by foreign troops begins. Total surprise. Almost total success . . . .

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Soviet | High School | Invasion | Student | Communist

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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
Roy Jenson	...	Mr. Morris
Pepe Serna	...	Aardvark's Father
Lane Smith	...	Mayor Bates
Judd Omen	...	The Nicaraguan Captain
Michael D'Agosta	...	Boy in Classroom
Johelen Carleton	...	Girl in Classroom
George Ganchev	...	Soldier #1
Waldemar Kalinowski	...	Soldier #2
Sam Slovick	...	Yuri
Radames Pera	...	Stepan Gorsky
Lois Kimbrell	...	Mrs. Mason
Elan Oberon	...	Alicia
Harley Christensen	...	Man on Pole
Fred Rexer	...	Tank Survivor
Michael Meisner	...	Russian Tanker #1
Victor Meisner	...	Russian Tanker #2
Phil Mead	...	Mr. Barnes
Sam Dodge	...	Man at Drive-In
Ben Zeller	...	Man #2 at Drive-In
Dan Sparks	...	Man #3 at Drive-In
Benjamin Schick	...	Russian Sergeant (as Ben Schick)
George Fisher	...	KGB Major
Zitto Kazann	...	Political Officer
Chuk Besher	...	Door Gunner
J.D. Ruybal	...	Cuban Crew Chief (as Jay Dee Ruybal)
Pacho Lane	...	Firing Squad Officer
Julius L. Meyer	...	Latin Soldier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Krzysztof Janczar	...	Soviet Soldier (as Christopher Janczar)
Tom Ireland	...	KGB Officer #2 (uncredited)
Tacy Norwood	...	Rat Girl (uncredited)
Scott Phillips	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
Raquel Provance	...	Rachel (uncredited)
Gene Scherer	...	KGB #1 (uncredited)

Directed by
John Milius

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Milius		screenplay
Kevin Reynolds		screenplay
Kevin Reynolds		story

Produced by
Barry Beckerman	....	producer
Sidney Beckerman	....	executive producer
Buzz Feitshans	....	producer

Original Music by
Basil Poledouris

Cinematography by
Ric Waite		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Thom Noble

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
Jackson De Govia

Art Direction by
Vincent M. Cresciman		(as Vincent Cresciman)

Set Decoration by
Lowell Chambers

Makeup Department
Lance Anderson	....	makeup artist
Wes Dawn	....	makeup artist
Lola 'Skip' McNalley	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Elliot Schick	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Behnke	....	second assistant director
Terry Leonard	....	second unit director (as Terry J. Leonard)
Arne Schmidt	....	assistant director (as Arne L. Schmidt)
Carol Smetana	....	second assistant director (as Carol Jean Smetana)

Art Department
Brandy Alexander	....	set designer
John Alvin	....	poster artist
Adrian Gorton	....	assistant art director
Dennis J. Parrish	....	property master
William Apperson	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Roy Barnes	....	set designer (uncredited)
Greg C. Jensen	....	general construction foreman (uncredited)
John R. Jensen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
George Jenson	....	sketch artist (uncredited)
Stuart John	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Billy Ray	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Curtis A. Schnell	....	set designer (uncredited)
Daniel Turk	....	foreman (uncredited)
Christopher Windisch	....	construction foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bub Asman	....	sound editor
Alex Bamattre	....	sound editor
Fred J. Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Carlos Delarios	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Carlos De Larios)
Denise Horta	....	adr editor
Joe Kenworthy	....	sound mixer
Michael J. Kohut	....	sound re-recording mixer
Lauren Palmer	....	adr editor
Aaron Rochin	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michele Sharp	....	sound editor
Ken Dufva	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Juno J. Ellis	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Fisher	....	special effects
Dale L. Martin	....	special effects

Stunts
Kenny Call	....	stunts
Buddy L. Edmunson	....	stunts
Tom Elliott	....	stunts
Cindy Folkerson	....	stunts
Clifford Happy	....	stunts
Chris Howell	....	stunts
Terry Jackson	....	stunt double: Darren Dalton
Soren Jensen	....	stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator (as Terry J. Leonard)
Bob Lockrow	....	stunts
Mike H. McGaughy	....	stunts (as Mike McGaughy)
Jimmy Medearis	....	stunts (as Jim Medearis)
Jeff Ramsey	....	stunts
Glenn Randall Jr.	....	stunts (as Glenn H. Randall Jr.)
Larry Randles	....	stunts
Ross Reynolds	....	stunts
Thomas Rosales Jr.	....	stunts (as Tom Rosales)
Kerry Rossall	....	stunts
Ben Scott	....	stunts (as Ben R. Scott)
John-Clay Scott	....	stunts
Frank James Sparks	....	stunts (as Frank J. Sparks)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frederick Elmes	....	director of photography: second unit
Dana Kershner	....	title photographer
Mako Koiwai	....	assistant camera
John R. Shannon	....	still photographer (as John Shannon)
Carl Boles	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Charles A. Carlsen	....	grip (uncredited)
Michael J. Schwartz	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Joseph D'Agosta	....	additional casting (as Joe D'Agosta)
Elisabeth Leustig	....	casting associate (as Elizabeth Leustig)
Sally Jackson	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Chichester	....	costumer: men
Julie Starr Dresner	....	costumer: women (as Julie Dresner)
George L. Little	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Joan E. Chapman	....	assistant film editor (as Joan Chapman)
Bob Kaiser	....	color timer
Tom Moore	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Harry V. Lojewski	....	music supervisor
Stan Witt	....	music editor
Steven Scott Smalley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Terry Collis	....	transportation coordinator
Vic Cuccia	....	transportation captain (uncredited)
Billy Kaundart	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
James Ballard	....	helicopter pilot
Tim Carroll	....	stock contractor
Carline Davis-Dyer	....	script supervisor (as Cariline Davis-Dyer)
Karen Day	....	location auditor
John Early	....	technical advisor (as Captain John Early)
Tom Gehrke	....	helicopter pilot
Michael Jarvis	....	location manager (as E. Michael Jarvis)
Bob Lockrow	....	helicopter pilot
Saralo MacGregor	....	assistant: Mr. Milius
Raymond Moggio	....	location manager (as Ray Moggio)
Ed Pine	....	unit publicist
Fred Rexer	....	special advisor
Ross Reynolds	....	helicopter pilot
Robert Thorson	....	location auditor (as Bob Thorson)
Scott Wead	....	helicopter pilot
Clay Wright	....	helicopter pilot
Bill Cody	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Stephen Dane	....	design consultant: Russian helicopters (uncredited)
Kevin King	....	payroll accountant (uncredited)
Frank Rousseau	....	weapons specialist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• United Artists (presents)
• Valkyrie Films (as a Valkyrie film)

Distributors

• MGM/UA Entertainment Company (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (collector's edition)
• Argentina Video Home (1986) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (double feature with "Navy Seals")
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (collector's edition)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1985) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (double feature with "Navy Seals")
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (double feature with "Navy Seals")
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Intrada  score album released by (remastered version)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | Spanish

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Johnson Mesa, New Mexico, USA

Company:

United Artists

Trivia:

The film made the Guinness Book of Records for having the most acts of violence of any film up to that time. According to their calculations, 134 acts of violence occur per hour, 2.23 per minute.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Colonel empties his 45 while standing on top of the tank. It continues to fire after the slide has locked back.

Quotes:

The Colonel:All that hate's gonna burn you up, kid.
Robert:It keeps me warm.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)

Great if your ten years old or seriously crazy. Amazingly bad otherwise.

So lets cover what happens in this movie. The Russians decide to invade the USA by sneaking in via Mexico. The first target the Russians chose to hit when invading the world's greatest super-power is none other than............a local high school in a small town in the middle of no where (a strategic stroke of genius if ever I saw one). Unfortunately for us, the high school was apparently the majority of the USA's military and now the whole country is on the verge of being ruled by the Soviet Union. And the Soviets aren't taking prisoners either. After murdering everyone in the school, they proceed to execute every American who they deem as a threat and eventually reach Nazi-levels of genocide. But when all seems darkest, a force of freedom and righteousness comes to liberate the Country. A force powerful enough to halt the Soviets in their tracks. A force made up of............about six teens with a few civilian guns. Ummm....yeah.

I remember when my friends and I used to play war as a kid. We came up with much more easy-to swallow scenarios than the one this movie is based on. I have a feeling that if we'd ever taken the time to film one of these games, our movie would have been a lot better acted than this one too. Most of the brat pack cast give some of their worst performances of the 80s (which is saying a lot) and the Russians tend to sound like they wandered in from a bad SNL skit. That said, it's hard really to blame the actors with such a awful script to work with. The only bright spot in the film is Milius's direction of the action sequences which is occasionally striking though not nearly enough to save this film. If you like Milius's style, watch Conan the Barbarian instead. At least that film knows that it's fantasy and makes its campiness work for it rather than against it.

I'm sorry I don't share the love for this film that some do. I think it's because I'm not completely and utterly crazy. Perhaps if I was, I'd enjoy this paranoid conservative wet-dream. As it stands, the film is only worth watching just so you can tell your friends about it and say, "I swear, it's a real movie."