Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

James Carabatsos

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, Everett McGill

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Highway
Marsha Mason	...	Aggie
Everett McGill	...	Major Powers
Moses Gunn	...	Sgt. Webster
Eileen Heckart	...	Little Mary
Bo Svenson	...	Roy Jennings, Palace Bar Owner
Boyd Gaines	...	Lieutenant Ring
Mario Van Peebles	...	Stitch
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Sergeant Major Choozoo
Vincent Irizarry	...	Fragetti
Ramón Franco	...	Aponte (as Ramon Franco)
Tom Villard	...	Profile
Mike Gomez	...	Quinones
Rodney Hill	...	Collins
Peter Koch	...	'Swede' Johanson

Storyline

1983. Tom Highway is a well-decorated career military man in the United States Marine Corps, he who has seen action in Korea and Vietnam. His current rank is Gunnery Sergeant. His experiences have led him to become an opinionated, no nonsense man, who is prone to bursts of violence, especially when he's drunk, if the situation does not suit him, regardless of the specifics or people involved. Because of these actions, he has spent his fair share of overnighters behind bars. Close to retirement, one of his last assignments, one he requested, is back at his old unit at Cherry Point, North Carolina, from where he was transferred for insubordination. He is to train a reconnaissance platoon. His superior officer, the much younger and combat inexperienced Major Malcolm Powers, sees Highway as a relic of an old styled military. Highway's commanding officer, Lieutenant Ring, the platoon leader, is also a younger man who has no combat experience, but is academically inclined and happy-go-lucky...

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Plot Keywords:

platoon | marine | combat | military | gunnery sergeant | 

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Taglines:

... the scars run deep.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

El guerrero solitario

Filming Locations:

Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$42,724,017 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jay Weston Productions, Malpaso Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sequence involving the bulldozer is based on a real event. The officer who actually did what Eastwood portrays was John Abizaid, at the time a Captain and a Ranger Company Commander. Abizaid recently retired as the Commander In Chief of Central Command, in charge of all U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East.

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Goofs

Throughout the movie, the 2nd Reconnaisance Battalion appears to only consist of two platoons of soldiers. A Marine Corps or Army battalion normally consists of companies, which, in turn, consist of platoons.

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Quotes

Highway: You're dead, marine. You just got your legs blown off and we'll have to send out a search party for your testicles. Now, where the hell's your backup?
Lance Corporal Fragatti: Profile.
Highway: What the fuck good you doin' back there? Without any cover fire, I get my ass blown off! While you guys are sittin' there pumpin' the neighbor's dog, we'll get every swinging dick in this platoon killed!
Corporal 'Stitch' Jones: Hey, chill out, man. That's what we're here for.
Highway: Say, what?
Corporal 'Stitch' Jones: We're here for that, man. We've ambushed Major Powers three times, and ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening Warner Bros. logo is black and white.

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Connections

References Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

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Soundtracks

"Sea of Heartbreak"
Written by Hal David and Paul Hampton
Performed by Don Gibson
Guitar by Hank Garland (uncredited)
Courtesy of Hickory Records

User Reviews

Probably one of the most quotable movies of the 80's

Among my husband and his buddies, this movie is like Shakespeare -- they quote from it often and well, so often and well, in fact, that the quotes are just part of their vocabulary and the source is forgotten. It does have more than its share of witty quips, even for me, a lowly female ;).

I really do like this movie. It makes me miss the 80's, when it was still considered acceptable to be a patriotic American, and movies that glorified America and the military could be made without the felt need to apologize left and right. And of course Clint Eastwood is clever and attractive as always, as the hardcore Marine lifer who's trying to discover his tender side in time to reunite with his ex when he retires.