Red Dawn (1984)

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:

High School | Invasion | Concentration Camp | 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:

Though the story takes place in Colorado, filming was actually done in New Mexico (the town of Las Vegas, NM serving as the main characters' hometown of Calumet). In the short montage of destroyed Russian vehicles that have been tagged with Wolverines graffiti, there is a highway sign in the background (with a large fish on it) advertising Storrie Lake - this is a NM state park area about 5 miles north of Las Vegas.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Colonel Bella's subordinate always addresses him with "Si, Senor." In the Cuban army, he would call his superior officer "Mi Coronel."

Quotes:

Jed Eckert: [in the mountains] Matt and I have been coming up to these mountains with our dad our whole lives. We can hunt, we can fish, we can stay up here a long, long time.
Robert: How long, Jed?
[fighters and bombers pass overhead]
Jed Eckert: [indicating the jets above them] Until we don't hear *that* no more.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) (VG)

Historical coincidence?

Has anyone posted yet that, coincidentally, Wolverines, was the name to be given to the Nazi resistance fighters who were going to combat allied occupation forces once formal hostilities ended in Germany in 1945. I just came across this as I was reading about the German resistance to the Soviets. I think some you got this right in pointing out this was a movie, meant as entertainment, and not a documentary. It is enjoyable as the story of resistance fighters taking on, and defeating superior forces. Not great acting and some preposterous concepts but I believe it was Hitchcock who said that, to enjoy a movie, one had to suspend disbelief.