Red Dawn (1984)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

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

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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:

High School | Invasion | Guerrilla Warfare | Helicopter | Concentration Camp

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	...	Mason
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Mr. Eckert
Ron O'Neal	...	Bella
William Smith	...	Strelnikov
Vladek Sheybal	...	Bratchenko
Powers Boothe	...	Andy
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:
Tom Ireland	...	KGB #2
Krzysztof Janczar	...	Soviet Soldier (as Christopher Janczar)
Tacy Norwood	...	Rat Girl
Raquel Provance	...	Rachel
Gene Scherer	...	KGB #1
Scott Phillips	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
John Milius

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

Produced by
Barry Beckerman	....	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
Adrian Gorton	....	assistant art director
Dennis J. Parrish	....	property master
William Apperson	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Roy Barnes	....	set designer (uncredited)
George Jensen	....	sketch artist (uncredited)
Greg C. Jensen	....	general construction foreman (uncredited)
John R. Jensen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
Stuart John	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Billy Ray	....	carpenter (uncredited)
Curtis A. Schnell	....	set designer (uncredited)
Daniel Turk	....	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
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
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
Carline Davis-Dyer	....	script supervisor (as Cariline Davis-Dyer)
Karen Day	....	location auditor
Captain John Early	....	technical advisor
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

Distributors

• MGM/UA Entertainment Company (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1984) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (1986) (Argentina) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• 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 (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Intrada  score album released by (remastered version)

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) | 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 original tagline for the movie said: "In our time, no foreign army has ever occupied American soil." Some historians believe it to be historically inaccurate. During the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States, British troops did in fact occupy American territory, including an area outside of New Orleans and most notably when they captured and burned Washington, DC, including the White House itself, in 1814. Also, several islands off the coast of Alaska were occupied by Japanese forces for part of the Second World War. However, the phrasing is "In our time . . . "--i.e., within a viewer's lifetime--and that is technically correct, as no viewer was alive during the War of 1812 and at the time of the Japanese occupation, Alaska was still a territory--it didn't become a state until 1959.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Soviet tankers wore black berets. Blue berets were worn by the VDV.

Quotes:

[Yuri's 2 fellow soldiers have just been killed by Toni and Robert, and Yuri has managed to escape back to the jeep despite serious wounds]
Yuri: [speaking Russian into radio mike] God help me!
Yuri: God help me!
[Jed catches up to Yuri at the jeep, armed with a .45 pistol. Yuri looks at him with terror, then turns his head away, knowing what is coming. Jed then executes the Soviet soldier with the pistol]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "South Park: Grey Dawn (#7.10)" (2003)

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.