Red Dawn (1984)

It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band 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	...	Bella
William Smith	...	Strelnikov
Vladek Sheybal	...	Bratchenko
Powers Boothe	...	Andy
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 a few 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 K.G.B. 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!"

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Plot Keywords:

russkies | thin girl | invasion | teenage girl | blonde girl | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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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

Box Office

Budget:

$4,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,230,381, 12 August 1984, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,376,497

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

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, one hundred thirty-four acts of violence occur per hour, or 2.23 per minute.

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Goofs

The Russians track the partisans with some sort of electronic beeping box, which is supposed to be a radio direction finder. In closeups, it's an impedance (AC resistance) meter. There are two dials and a label that says "X=(up) x (down) (omega)", which means "impedance is lower dial times upper dial in ohms". Even if the meter had anything to do with radio, twisty wire between the terminals would be useless as an RDF antenna.

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Quotes

Colonel Ernesto Bella: [writing a letter to his family back home] I can't remember what it was to be warm. It seems a thousand years since I was a small boy in the sun. How did I come to this high, desolate place where there is nothing but loneliness? So much is lost. I want to look into your eyes and forget. It all seems so far away: a warm house where my shadow never falls; your long, black hair in my hands. There is no more revolution, only you to come back to. I will post my resignation.

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Crazy Credits

None of the actors are in the opening credits

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Connections

References Alexander Nevsky (1938)

User Reviews

Sums up US feelings

Man o man. This movie is great. As a history student its awesome to look back on these types of things and see what the buzz was around the time of the movie's release. The plot is insane, acting over-the-top, but the historical commentary is amazing. People actually believed that such a thing as this was possible in the mid-80s, pre-Gorbachev. This is not "low-level propaganda," its the most obvious pro-American movie I have EVER seen.

On the movie alone, the "film" shouldn't even rate. But as a Cold-War barometer, every interested person should see this to peer into the height of US-Soviet tensions.