Born American (1986)

Three American students vacationing in Finland, cross the border into Russia for fun of it. When they are spotted by the Russian soldiers who are shooting to kill, it's not fun anymore. ... See full summary »

Director:

Renny Harlin

Writers:

Renny Harlin, Markus Selin

Stars:

Mike Norris, Steve Durham, David Coburn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Norris	...	Savoy Brown
Steve Durham	...	Mitch Sheppard
David Coburn	...	K.C.
Thalmus Rasulala	...	The Admiral
Albert Salmi	...	Drane
Piita Vuosalmi	...	Nadja Kulakova
Vesa Vierikko	...	Kapsky
Ismo Kallio	...	Zarkov
Laura Munsterhjelm	...	Irina (as Laura Heimo)
Antti Horko	...	Cossack
Pauli Virtanen	...	Sergei
Jone Takamäki	...	Interrogator (as Jouni Takamäki)
Inkeri Luoma-aho	...	Female Guard
Markku Blomqvist	...	Irina's Father
Sari Havas	...	Girl at Party

Storyline

Three American students vacationing in Finland, cross the border into Russia for fun of it. When they are spotted by the Russian soldiers who are shooting to kill, it's not fun anymore. Captured and thrown in jail, they find it's not fun either. It's a nightmare.

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Plot Keywords:

soviet union | illegal border crossing | imprisoned | crossing the iron curtain | rape | 

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Taglines:

Freedom is just a word...until you lose it.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

As the film was initially banned in Finland for grounds of violence and that it could harm Finland's foreign relations, this meant severe financial hardship to producer Markus Selin as the distribution deals were drawn out so that the Finnish co-producers would get their income only from the Finnish sales.

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Quotes

Interrogator: [while torturing Mitch] We really do have all the time in the world.

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Alternate Versions

UK versions are cut by 20 seconds to get an '18' rating.

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Connections

References The Blues Brothers (1980)

User Reviews

Great? No. Worth the buck to rent? Yes.

Not a great movie, but then, it starred Mike Norris, not known for great movies, though in this one he did more acting than usual.

David Coburn as KC was the best part of the film (if somewhat uneven) while the character Mitch was the worst. He had no real redeeming qualities. Frankly, I was rooting for him to die so I wouldn't have to watch him anymore.

Most striking was how much "stuff" Renny Harlin managed to fit into the film. If only it weren't so disjointed or so full of gratuitous violence.

A must for Coburn fans. Great moments and a great comparison piece to see how much he's grown as an actor.

Details

Country:

USA Finland

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1986 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Arctic Heat

Filming Locations:

Enontekiö, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

$3,401,376 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,225,475, 1 September 1986

Gross USA:

$3,388,020

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,388,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Group Ventures, Larmark Productions Inc., Man & Gun Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1