Red Dawn - 1984

United Artists, Valkyrie Films

Directed by John Milius

Cast:

• Jed Eckert – Patrick Swayze
• Mattie Eckert – Charlie Sheen
• Robert – C. Thomas Howell
• Erica – Leah Thompson
• Daryl – Darren Dalton
• Toni – Jennifer Grey
• Danny – Brad Savage
• Aardvark – Doug Toby
• Mr. Mason – Ben Johnson
• Mr. Eckert – Harry Dean Stanton
• Strelnikov – William Smith
• Lt. Col. Andy Tanner – Powers Boothe
• Col. Bella – Ron O'Neal
• The Mayor – Lane Smith

Story: We're in Calumet, Colorado, a small town in the Midwest where life is pretty normal. Jed drops off his brother, Mattie and their friend, Aardvark at the local high school and drives off to work in his pickup. All of sudden, during a lecture on Ghengis Khan, the teacher notices something unusual out the window. Men are dropping out of the sky in parachutes. Within seconds the school grounds are transformed into a battlefield and Jed swoops back in to pick up his brother and several other young men who jump into the back of his pickup. As they head for the mountains, they stop by a convenience to grab survival gear and head out on the road, but they encounter a roadblock. As Jed heads across the field, a U. S. helicopter crew intervenes and they escape to the mountains to wait out the battle. Inevitably they are drawn into the fight and become a guerrilla band known as the Wolverines. Their campaign is to harass the enemy and cause as much confusion as possible. This is a classic tale of American resistance and resolve.

Review: Wow, I was browsing through my collection and came across this one. My first thought was how do I relate this film to the present. After all, the Soviet Union and the Cuban Communist threats have faded into history. I guess this is why they are remaking this film using North Korea as the aggressor instead of the Soviet Union. Well, no matter, since the plot of the film is still viable, war from the perspective of the civilians who are trapped behind enemy lines. Patrick Swayze leads a very competent cast in portraying Jedidiah Eckert, a young man in his 20's who must bear the burden of survival for five boys who are with him from the high school. Charlie Sheen does well as his brother (this is long before he decided that life would be better with a drug induced perspective), and C. Thomas Howell is dynamic as the boy who becomes a man. Jennifer Grey and Leah Thompson add a dimension of women in combat, and both do well in the roles, although Thompson fails to convey the angst of a girl who has been molested by the invading soldiers. Powers Boothe gives us a look at a fighter pilot hoping for the best and believing the worst. His plane has been shot down, he doesn't know if his family is still alive, and still he fights to the best of his ability “How did you get yourself shot down?” “It was five to one, I got four!” Harry Dean Stanton gives a brief but powerful performance as Mr. Eckert, Jed and Mattie's father. The photography and scenery are magnificent, and the attention to detail is exceptional. While the violence is enough to keep the pre-teen set away from the screen, the language is good and there are no scenes of nudity or drug use.