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 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clint Eastwood	...	Gunnery Sergent Thomas Highway
Marsha Mason	...	Aggie
Everett McGill	...	Major Malcolm Powers
Moses Gunn	...	Staff Sgt. Webster
Eileen Heckart	...	Little Mary
Bo Svenson	...	Roy Jennings
Boyd Gaines	...	Lieutenant Ring
Mario Van Peebles	...	Corporal Stitch Jones
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...

---

Plot Keywords:

marine | military | gunnery sergeant | u.s. marine corps | uniform | 

---

Taglines:

... the scars run deep.

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heartbreak Ridge

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,100,840, 7 December 1986

Gross USA:

$42,724,017

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,724,017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jay Weston Productions, The Malpaso Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clint Eastwood's character, Gunnery Sergeant Tom 'Gunny' Highway, is a marine and a veteran of the Korean War's 1951 Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. That campaign was predominantly fought by the American Army and not marines. Originally, the character was from the U.S. Army, but it was changed to a marine when that armed forces declined to co-operate, and the production got support from the U.S. Marines.

---

Goofs

During the rifle range scene, Jones shows up with a steel pot helmet in an attempt to tease Gunny Highway for being old. He is admonished and told to remove it and wear the standard issue Kevlar helmet instead. Since the film takes place in 1983, the steel pot helmet was the standard issue at the time, so Jones' wear of it would've been proper. Kevlar was not the standard issue helmet for Marines until 1985-86 (when the movie was filmed).

---

Quotes

Corporal 'Stitch' Jones: [singing] "I met her on a Monday. She was the best. Come Sunday mornin', I needed rest. She didn't shave. She didn't use Neet. She tried to use my face like a bicycle seat."

---

Crazy Credits

The opening Warner Bros. logo is black and white.

---

Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 15 secs to remove some of the confrontational dialogue between Eastwood and the bald man during the opening scene in the prison cell. The cuts were restored in 2001.

---

Connections

References Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

---

Soundtracks

Secret Love
Written by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster
Performed by Jill Hollier

User Reviews

How about just a LITTLE realism?

I normally don't complain about the realism of Hollywood's portrayal of the Armed Forces in it's movies, but this one is just too far out of bounds to let go. Marine recon units are the equivalent of Navy SEALS or Army Rangers. They are elite units, and discipline is strict. Back-talking your superior, whether officer or enlisted, is not tolerated a bit, and would not be attempted by junior enlisted men. Right away, you would have eliminated about half of the dialogue in this movie. Oh, well... They did get one thing right, though. Winners of the CMH (Congressional Medal of Honor) never have to salute anyone. They will always be saluted first, and will return the salute.