Red Dawn opens with one of the most shocking scenes ever filmed; on a peaceful morning, through the windows of a high school classroom, students see paratroopers land on the varsity football field: the invasion of the United States has begun! As their town is overrun by foreign nationals, eight teenagers escape to the mountains. Taking the name of their high school football team, the Wolverines, they wage unremitting guerrilla warfare in defense of their parents, their friends and their country. Powerful, chilling and absolutely gripping, this outstanding film features some of today’s most popular stars, including Patrick Swayze (Ghost), Charlie Sheen (Platoon), C. Thomas Howell (The Hitcher), Lea Thompson (“Caroline in the City”), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) and veteran actor Harry Dean Stanton (Alien). When it comes to thrilling entertainment, Red Dawn wins the war with a vengeance!
- Audio: English: Stereo 2.0 / Spanish: Mono / French: Stereo
- Language: Dubbed: French & Spanish / Subtitled: French & Spanish
- Theatrical Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 1.85:1
Disc 1:
- Widescreen Feature Film
- Carnage Counter: This feature on the DVD will keep a running tally of violent acts – deaths, bodily injuries, shots fired, etc. – at the top of the screen so that the viewer can keep count as the film plays.
Disc 2:
- Special Features:
- Red Daw Rising – a retrospective look at the making of the film.
- Building the Red Menace – what it took to make “World War III”
- Military Training – this piece explores the extensive training that the actors had to go through in order to become convincing guerilla fighters
- WWIII Comes To Town – This piece goes back to Las Vegas, New Mexico and finds out from locals and extras what happened when ‘Red Dawn’ came and turned their hometown into the fictional town of Calumet, Colorado and the center of World War III.
Truly ridiculous but somehow moving, this right-wing paranoid fantasy by John Milius (The Wind and the Lion) from 1984 concerns a Soviet takeover of the United States and a band of ragtag adolescents who metamorphose into freedom fighters. One can laugh at the notion of Nicaraguans, Cubans, and Russians having worked out a master plan to invade America, but Milius’s account of how such a grim day affects a small Western town really does get under one’s skin. The cast–most of whom were not yet stars (Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey had probably never heard of a script called Dirty Dancing at the time)–are quite persuasive as nice kids who come to recognize the tragedy of their lost innocence through fierce, uncompromising struggle. Powers Boothe is very good as a pilot who briefly comes to their aid, and Harry Dean Stanton is stirring as a solid working man and father who represents the virtues his sons are fighting for. The DVD release includes production notes, the original theatrical trailer, trivia, scene access, and an optional widescreen presentation. –Tom Keogh
Buy “Red Dawn “ For Only $10.91
May 7, 2008
#1
This must be one of the most profoundly dumb movies ever made. It has the rare distinction of being very, very bad on every level: writing, directing, acting–even the music is horrible. What might have been a good premise in the hands of an intelligent and skilled writer/director becomes laughably overblown, ridiculous, and downright embarrassing when John Milius is calling the shots.
“Red Dawn” is largely incoherent, lacking any dramatic structure. Many of the scenes are so awkward and full of weird, painfully stupid dialogue that one wonders if much of it weren’t (badly) improvised. I particularly like how the Wolverines are able to go in and out of their occupied town despite dire warnings that the Cuban (!) and Soviet invaders are searching for them. But the best scene of the whole movie is when Harry Dean Stanton screams, “Avenge me!” to his sons, who promise never to cry again. I kid you not.
Of course, one can’t overlook the political agenda of this film. It is an attack on liberals, gun control, and communism, conflating all three in a style that would make Ann Coulter (who probably considers this a masterpiece) proud. This movie is a chickenhawk’s dream!
Unfortunately, there’s one major hitch: the Soviet army was a paper tiger, and never a threat to the United States. When this film was being made, they were bogged down in Afghanistan, unable even to secure victory in a third world country with no organized opposition. Evil Empire? More pathetic than anything else. And the same goes for “Red Dawn.”
May 7, 2008
#2
The chuckleheads on Amazon who think this film is “awesome” are the reason western civilization is in decline. Of course their sins can be forgiven.. if perhaps they are only 18. When Red Dawn came out in 1984 I was 17, thinking of joining the military with my own subscription to Soldier of Fortune. I was gulable and naive and Red Dawn had a real impact on me. It seems bizzare now but for some reason I thought that the possibility of Cuba ganging up with Nicaragua to invade our southern border seemed plausable. Instead of the military I chose to go to college. That November I had just turned 18 and I cast my first vote for Ronald Reagan on the strength of the delusions of Red Dawn. I decided to major in history and political science and it didn’t take long until I realized just how misguided and wrongheaded I had been. My advise to the champions of this film is to open a history book and lean about American Foreign Policy or short of that rent the Erroll Morris film “The Fog of War”. Like I said it’s fine to like this film if you don’t know any better but alas it’s time to put childish thing away.
PS. this review deals with the political messege of Red Dawn it would take many more paragraphs to lay out the aestetic faults of this dog.
May 7, 2008
#3
I thought about giving this film an intellectual review, but that would have been a complete waste of time. Watching this film could be compared to listening to a C.W. McCall album with a bad case of nausea or perhaps something scatological. Simply pathetic. The only redeeming role was performed by William Smith, who was the ONLY actor who seemed to exhibit talent, putting Sheen and Swayze to shame as acting professionals. This film would only have value for students who are seriously studying Russian and at that would be applicable to Chapter 22 with Smith’s “I am a Hunter” speech. This film is a good example of how you can’t win a game when only one person on the team shows up.
May 7, 2008
#4
Just like Farenheit 9/11 is a despicable, demagogic movie of the left, so too is Red Dawn on the right.
I will say one good thing about this movie, in contrast to the ultra-boring Farenheit 9/11: the story of how six meat-eating, gun-toting, Ronald Reagan-supporting high school kids camp out in the Rockies and eventually save America from the Ruskies is hilariously entertaining, no matter how stupid.
It’s no stretch to say this is Patrick Swayze’s finest role ever.
May 7, 2008
#5
This film is such a joke, a completely dated piece of right wing, jingoistic propaganda. The 80′s was filled with “the Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!” propaganda. The MSM, Washington, DC, and Hollywood all made it sound like that dreaded Soviet invasion was going to happen anyday. Well, as far as I know, the Russians never invaded. They never dropped the bomb. We’re not all speakin’ Russian. This film was written and directed by John Milius, a filmmaker with a pro militaristic viewpoint. The film is unintentionally hilarious today, because of its totally unrealistic scenarios. This film is no different than any propaganda film you would see during wartime. Well, the Cold War is over, and we won thanks to Ronald Reagan, John Millius, Rambo, Arnold, Rocky IV, and Chuck Norris movies….