Red Dawn (1984)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John Milius

Writers:

John Milius (writer)
Kevin Reynolds (screenplay)

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:

Invasion | High School | Guerrilla Warfare | Helicopter | Warfare

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

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:

Valkyrie Films

Trivia:

In the movie, a regional headquarters for the invasion forces is bombed by the Wolverine insurgents. On 8/3/06 the actual 107-year-old historical landmark used in the film, the "Center Block Building" in Las Vegas, NM, was destroyed as result of heavy thunderstorms.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the scene where Strelnikov and his special forces soldiers are parading down the street, the belt of the soldier behind the drummer on the far right breaks off.

Quotes:

Robert: Wolverines!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Britney Spears (#25.19)" (2000)

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.