I always loved how the Cuban officer lets them go at the end. He says throughout the movie that he was once a partisan and he recognized and respected them for what they were doing. It’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees
There is no parallel here. The communists in Cuba put everyone on their knees. Cuba has been an economic, spiritual, and political disaster since its inception. That Cuban officer has no clue about American freedom and the source of our God-given rights here in the USA.
He used to be a freedom fighter. He fought for his people and now he's become the oppressor and it bothers him right from the start. The brothers are his last straw and now he's out. If there were ever a sequel or spin-off, Colonel Bella has my vote
One of my skydiving friends, John Mulikin, was one of Russian/Cuban paratroopers in the beginning of the movie. He was also one of the coordinators that planned the airborne drop. He told me that one of the stunt jumpers accidently landed off target, 2-3 miles, in a tree on a local farmer's property. He was dressed as a Russian paratrooper, with gear and an AK-47 prop rifle. The family had no idea that a movie was being filmed in the area, held the guy at gun point, and called the local authorities. That guy had one hell of a jump story to tell!
Red Dawn wasn’t a low-budget film. It had a well-respected director/co-screenwriter. It was one of the first PG-13 movies released. The movie was definitely a product of its time-the height of the pro-American, anti-Soviet, anti-Communist Reagan era.
Red Dawn had such an impact on kids growing up in the 80's. Everyday our generation thought WWIII could start. When this movie came out we were able to visualize that fear. I still watch it every now and then. My teenage sons love it, but they'll never really understand how this movie made me feel when I was 12. Wolverines forever.
Cassie, to answer one of your questions, they got their weapons from the dead enemy. This movie resonated heavily with Gen X because they, myself included, were teens at that time. With the Cold War, and the Soviets firmly in our minds. Check out, "The Day After". It's about what would have happened if nuclear war had occurred. It was released around the same time as Red Dawn.
This movie had the distinction of being the first ever to get a PG-13 rating. A lot of the violence was very un-Hollywood. No big overdone explosions. People getting hit with bullets and actually bleeding. Considering these were a bunch of high school students, pre-Columbine, made it tough for folks to handle.
Yeah, I noticed when the Russian helicopter got hit and she wondered where the big explosion was… in real life not everything turns into a fireball immediately.
You should definitely be seeing what the Russians and Cubans are saying. It really helps you understand the movie if you didn't grow up in these times.
As a kid growing up in the 80s in the rural countryside, we would all run through the woods shouting "Wolverines" and building booby traps and forts. We were armed with slingshots, BB guns, and the occasional bottle rocket bazooka. 😂
There was an post that said, "Everyone wanted to be Jed". Shoot when I was a kid watching this and watching Robert's transformation after they killed his father, I always wanted to be him and he went out hard.
Growing up in the 80's in Texas, this movie galvanized a lot of us kids at the time. Considered jingoistic and over the top by some, a lot of us embraced it for what it was. And we all still remember this movie fondly with no apologies, especially the ending that implies that while we won WW III, it was not without sacrifice. As a 12 yr old back then, we were all Jed. At least we hoped we were.
We had the exact same experience of being the same age in the 80's in Texas, and I can attest to what you are saying. Looking back, the premise is pretty ridiculous.
@@76063co2 perhaps a bit ridiculous but wars have begun for far less. Lol The actual supposed series of circumstances that precipitated it would be a bit worrisome. And back in the '80s it was a bit more believable to us.
Hell ya in my little kid naïveté I wished they would invade. I figured we'd have them beat in the mountains and backwoods of SW Washington. I knew how to shoot and was good at it. I knew where food was in nature. Keep that wolverine spirit no matter who the enemy is!
I grew up in Texas also. I was 40 when I saw this pathetic piece of patriotic propaganda. I was old enough and intelligent enough to know that we were the bad guys. We were the invaders, never the invaded. We were the enemies of democracy.
I think you had to have grown up during the Cold War to understand this movie. We all lived the back story. As a teen, this movie rocked. My friends and I constantly watched this movie
I was like bring 'em on I'll kill every MF'n one of them. We would play cowboys and Indians, ww2 and RED DAWN! The plain fact is as soft as we've gotten the USA would make the invaders pay a heavy price. Yamamoto is credited as saying ''you can not invade the mainland USA there would a rifle behind every blade of grass'' God bless America and the constitution!!
This is a prime example of a movie that was perfect in the context of its release. When we were kids in the 70s and 80s we were in the midst of the Cold War and knew that WWIII could start at any moment. This movie was playing hard on those thoughts and fears. It hits just right for those of us who were there when it came out. For you, it’s different
Well, as a Marine whose job it was to stop Russian tanks in the late 70's and early '80''s, I never tire of this movie. I do think those who lived through the Cold War can relate to this movie better than those who didn't. Got to have the subtitles to fully get the movie. Finally, as far as "Avenge me!" being a cheesy line - not hardly!
I was a Captain stationed in Korea when this movie came out. I was there when the Russians shot down a Korean Airliner. We thought we were going to war!
My buddy TC Manning and I did a review of Red Dawn. If you want a couple of military nerds (He was Army Arty in the aughts, I was 90s Navy Intel) check it out: ruclips.net/video/rpGoI9aDEN8/видео.html
for some reason, I see Cassie running out into the open & yelling this at soldiers, expecting her words would make a lick of difference and then she would get blown up...i do not think she would do well in war lmao
As a teenager in the 80s (greatest decade, btw), this movie was so poignant and eye-opening and enraging. It was the height of the Cold War. And this movie (and a couple others) just helped push it deeper into your consciousness and kept it at the fore-front of your mind for a number of years. Also, it gave a sense of belonging to many people who were like the people in the movie. Small-town America was mostly forgotten as the decadence of the 80s, and the whole Yuppie thing was evolving in big cities across the country (but mainly in NYC and L.A.) and taking over society and the news. But this movie was a stark reminder that even small towns aren't immune from the horrors of war. On the contrary, it hits them harder because of their size and population. To this day, I still watch this movie with part young teenager eyes and part grown-up eyes. The teenager part likes the movie for what it is. The grow-up part quietly and mentally takes notes. WOLVERINES!!!
Totally agree with these statement :"80s (greatest decade, btw)" and this still holds true...."Small-town America was mostly forgotten as the decadence of the 80s, and the whole Yuppie thing was evolving in big cities across the country (but mainly in NYC and L.A.) and taking over society and the news."
I agree that Colonel Bella is probably the most interesting character in this movie. Trying to resolve a struggle from within, having been the revolutionary in his younger days, to becoming the exact type of tyrant he fought against so many years ago.
16:05 Fun fact early in the Ukrainian war, destroyed Russian tanks started appearing in the news with graffiti that said “Wolverines”. Almost 40 years later this movie is still remembered and having an impact!
I was born and raised in Colorado and in high school when this movie was released. They are my people. This movie freaked me out worse than any horror movie could have.
This was made in the 80's and those of us who are older lived the backstory. Must be hard to grasp coming along after the cold war was over. It definitely wasn't high budget. Just to clear up a few mistakes. He didn't throw dirt in her face, he threw the plate over his shoulder to scare her. The weapons, and everything else, would be scavenged from the enemy. The spoils of war. Also, yes, you didn't have subtitles on.
The Cold War is not over. In fact, it's a very, very Warm War. We're closer to annihilation than we ever were in the 80s. For some reason, people don't understand meddling with Ukraine brings us closer than we ever have. They just don't bother with nuke drill PSA's anymore because hiding under a desk isn't going to prevent the blast radius of a megaton bomb.
It's hard to describe what it was like growing up during the Cold War with the threat of nuclear war hanging over your head every second of every day. You go about your day because you don't have any choice, but you always know in the back of your head that your life could be snuffed out in an instant with little to no warning. If you were lucky. It was like living with a wasp perched on the tip of your nose. You ignore it as best you can, but you know that at any instant and for any reason (or for no reason at all) he could sting you. Every international incident was like that wasp shifting his feet. You held your breath wondering if this is it, if the missiles would fly. This was normal for us. We were born to it. We didn't know anything else. I was in high school when this came out. I grew up on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains on the outer edge of suburbia. That high school could have been mine. Those kids could have been us. My friends and I had plans for every type of emergency, tornadoes, fires, car accidents, blizzards, and yes, even nuclear war. No one ever considered invasion as a possibility. We had no plan for what to do if that happened. After this film we made one.
@@jimfowler5350 You made a solid choice there. My love for the first one and Chris Hemsworth convinced me to watch the remake. That was 2 hours of my life that could have been spent better.
The remake stunk. It was delayed because the original bad guys were Chinese, then they sat on the film then turned the bad guys into North Koreans. No way the North Koreans could stage a large invasion by themselves. Besides, the kids in the remake all had cell phones. Even back in the early 90's people could be tracked by their cell phone signal. In the Ukraine they used the Russians cell phone's GPS in order to bring in artillery on them. With drones and thermal vision, kids in the remake wouldn't have been so effective.
I've seen this a thousand times and still tear up at Partisan Rock. The director, John Milius, is a genius at this type of movie. I especially recommend his Theodore Roosevelt duo, "The Wind And The Lion" and "Rough Riders"
Oh definitely the wind and the lion Sir Sean Connery was amazing despite being a Scotsman and not a Moroccan sheik which is where his character Al raisuli is from 😂 and Brian Keith had the best portrayal of teddy Roosevelt that I’ve seen so far and I definitely felt that everything he did and said teddy would’ve said and done them in real life. Also I loved his monologue that completely sold me on his performance where his daughter tells him that she would like that he would bring raisuli in front of him in chains and he says he would like that too but NOT in chains and then asks him if he likes raisuli and jp Morgan (who’s a famous pirate) and he says yes of course but they’re his enemies and he says that sometimes one finds that his enemies are a lot more admirable than his friends and that the road traveled by great men is dark and cruel and dangerous and lit by other great men and sometimes those great men are his enemies. I loved that scene so much and it kinda made me a fan of teddy and made me want to read up on him and see that there’s a reason they called him America’s manliest president that he’s a real man’s man which something I very much admire in a guy and unfortunately is not really looked upon favourably nowadays but then again who gives a shit?😉 Also if you watch the documentary on John milius it has people who know him say that if you want to understand the man watch the wind and the lion because a lot of what’s told in the movie is what John milius believes in heck he took GREAT care in doing research on teddy because he loves him a lot and that teddy in the wind and the lion is quintessential John milius
@@mohammedashian8094If you haven't seen "Rough Riders" you should do so at once. Tom Berenger gives an outstanding Roosevelt and everyone else is phenomenal. And Milius directed this love letter too.
It's not an often discussed fact but Milius was also the screenwriter of Apocalypse Now and his original script has some really interesting differences to the filmed version
Cassie, you have to remember when this film was made and what was going on in the world. Those of us that grew up during the Cold War didn't need a back story. We knew all about what the Russians could do and knew they were tight with the Cubans. We knew if anything kicked off, the Cubans, Russians, North Koreans and Iran would all try and gang up on us. We practiced drills where we hid under tables in preparation for a nuclear strike; people built underground survival bunkers in their backyards; every major American city had hardened shelters ready to go at a moment’s notice. Reagan worked on Star Wars, Iran Contra happened, the Cuban Missile Crisis and more. We all knew that it was coming, we just didn't know when. Then this movie came out and our worst fears were realized on screen. We cheered the Wolverines, rooted for them, egged them on and wanted more dead Russians. Jed’s father screaming “Avenge me!” was what we all felt at that moment. It might seem corny now, but back then it was a real fear and real emotion on the screen and we all felt it with the actors. Jed’s “You lose” at the end was what we all wanted to hear. And while we were sad at the thought of their deaths, they died free and died fighting for freedom. There was no more noble cause than that. And that’s why Red Dawn will live for eternity. Cause it represents a real fight for both survival and freedom. It’s why America has the greatest volunteer fighting force in the world. The themes throughout the movie represent America’s independent spirit and our fight to keep it that way. Bill Pulman’s (the President) speech in Independence Day would fit right in this movie without a hitch. That’s why both of those movies are so beloved by so many.
"We knew if anything kicked off, the Cubans, Russians, North Koreans and Iran would all try and gang up on us." Cuba and Iran were going to team up? On what planet? And all North Korea could do in those days was invade South Korea, not threaten the U.S. in the slightest way. Neither was Cuba ever threatening to invade the U.S. (Though the missile threat during the Cuban Missile Crisis was entirely real; but missile attack and invasion are entirely different things.) How the hell was Iran going to either invade or missile or threaten the U.S. in any way other than by sponsoring terrorism? "Jed’s father screaming “Avenge me!” was what we all felt at that moment." Well, if you were kind of insane, sure.
After this came out, and even into the mid 90's, just about every North American male of a certain age had two plans. His Zombie Apocalypse plan, and his Red Dawn plan, and before the Wall fell, this seemed like a completely plausible scenario.
@@robertcampbell8070 Because we watched this and Dawn of the Dead over and over. I haven't even seen the remake of this and I've only seen the Dawn remake twice.
I graduated HS in 1984. It may seem funny now, but we lived everyday with the threat of nuclear war back then. I remember how rattled people were by the TV movie The Day After. Every youngster saw this movie, it was like a rite of passage in those days.
Yes, I thought maybe it may not happen exactly like this, but it could happen. I was also a kid, so it seemed a lot more realistic. It's crazy how influential it was on me, though. Makes me wonder about current movies these days for younger people
It absolutely wasn’t a low-budget film. Interestingly, it was the very first PG-13 rated film ever released. You mentioned perhaps “missing something”. I’d say, likely, context. Specifically the context of the era. This was a film everyone “got” in 1984. Even myself at age 10. It was a film most people loved and still hold in fond, if not high regard.
As a person who was born in the '50s in a small western town just east of the mountains in Colorado this movie hit home quite hard. We had missile silos near town and having known of the Cuban missile crisis, watching the assassination of JFK, having family members in the military during Viet Nam and served myself at the end of that conflict this was a fear we all lived with as a possibility. This is the one reason I am glad of our constitution it has kept this as only a possibility but if we lose it the possibility will become a reality.
I was 19 or 20 when this movie came out (about the same age as Jed's character), and was serving overseas in my first tour in the US military. So yeah, it was a pretty impactful film for me. FYI, you missed a LOT of context without sub titles.
I suspect part of Cassie's disconnect is that the US military is so powerful today that it's hard to imagine that we could be invaded or lose a war, but back in 1984, a the height of the Cold War, it was a real fear. The US had been humiliated in Cuba, lost in Vietnam, kicked out of Iran by the Ayatollah, and the military barracks in Beirut was destroyed in a terror attack. Our enemies, especially the Soviet Union, looked ascendant. When this movie came out, every one of my friends could relate to the idea that we might have to be the next generation to fight, so every teenaged character in the movie felt real even without individual backstories.
Are you kidding? The idea that Cuba or Nicaragua or Russia could invade North America/the U.S. was always nuts and nobody ever ever ever ever thought that could happen in reality. The movie is a complete fantasy. What was real was people worrying about NUCLEAR MISSILE ATTACK, not land invasions of the U.S. (The USSR invading *Europe*, *that* was an actual fear.)
@@NoHandleGrr Perhaps you were just too sheltered, but the idea of an invasion of the US was a real concern. The entire premise of this movie was based on CIA and War College studies of weaknesses in the US defenses at the time. In other words, people with actual military knowledge of American Defenses and Soviet capabilities saw it as a plausible scenario, despite your claims of "nobody ever ever ever ever thought it could happen in reality."
Also most of the war games done by military studies at the time showed that NATO would not hold in Europe for more than a few weeks before having to use tactical nuclear weapons. My friend who served as a guard for some of the generals during these war games often saw NATO and US forces just get rolled over before any US troops could reinforce Western Europe. This would in turn mean the US would be alone not long after war began. So yes a movie like this just reflected the fears of such a War. Oh and at the time China did look like they would be on our side.
fun fact , the soviet vehicles are only mock ups , but they were so accurate the us government visited the set to find out where the production got them from
I had never heard that before, but it doesn't surprise me. I did remember hearing that after one of his early novels (either Red Storm Rising or Hunt for Red October) - Tom Clancy had a meeting with the FBI and had to prove that his data on ship capabilities all came from legitimate sources.
@@fenix6297 heard that too, I think it was Red October. Turned out he'd just been really good at collating information from open sources and putting all the pieces together.
“They’re just doing this to a school?” I used to think a military targeting a school was something unimaginable; an exaggerated act of evil and cruelty, as a piece of propaganda made to paint the enemy worse. After Ukraine I know better.
This movie totally plays different for me as an adult than it ever did as a kid. As a kid it was an action movie with no consequences but as an adult, it’s super serious (even with the cheesy lines).
Yeah, I think I first watched it when I was something like 16. I'm now 33, I fought in Afghanistan, I've lost friends and seen violence, and I now live in relative peace. It's a wildly different experience.
I get really tired of mocking the sincerity/intensity of the 80's as "cheesy"..... The very thing that made these movies and songs memorable is treated with derision.
I've been a military analyst and historian for forty-five years, and one thing I have learned is the cheesiest lines were actually said by somebody, and that the more outlandish a situation seems, the more likely it is to have happened.
I was 23 when this movie came out. I had grown up overseas as during the cold war. My dad was one of the various types of Naval intellegence. I paid attention. Red Dawn was in particular ways difficult to believe but in general tone, background and the nature of war of civilian populations was right on. Mental coldness was essential for survival.
@@airgunfun4248 The Military Industrial Complex's propagandists did their job. I'll bet the military recruiters had a field day, bringing in the suckers who believed this BS
For the love of God Cassie, turn on the subtitles! I highly recommend you turn around and watch this again with them on. The Russians and Cubans have a lot of interesting things to say. Col. Bellas love letter to his wife brings me to tears…xoxo
The best version of Red Dawn! The first time I ever watched this as a kid in the 80s I was sobbing at the end & then was terrified of something happening like this for YEARS!!! We all grew up so scared of Russia, well all my Gen X’ers know what I mean??
I was only 8 years old when this movie came out. I had to convince my parents to let me see it. We were literally on the way to the theater when my father changed his mind and I never got to see it at the movies. My parents were concerned about the violence. I watched it a few years later on VHS. Maybe I was around 10 or so. I think what scared me is that I actually thought that an invasion by the Soviets was possible. The movie felt realistic to me.
The media was trying to talk people out of seeing the movie at the time, but I saw it as a kid at the theater and it was unforgettably real. Cassie has to realize they didn't have digital film or fancy computer generated effects at the time. Red Dawn was as real as it got.
This was never ever even a remote possibility. We were lied to about the "missile gap". There was a huge gap alright, but we had the advantage, not the soviets. At no point was there ever the possibility of Cuba invading. We were and have always been the invaders. We have been the enemy of democracy. We are not the good guys, and probably never have been.
Yes everyone who calls this unrealistic, Doesn't realize it's just one scenario out of so many that we envisioned. Wasn't how I pictured it going down exactly, But gave me some ideas that i didn't think about before. The whole point was a possible Invasion was always on our minds. Whether that be nuclear war first and then invasion, or Europe first, war was on put minds much more, and we were not always the favorite to win. It's hard for people these days to fathom that.. You can read about it in a book, but it just doesn't have the same effect as experiencing it
Being a child of the cold war, the 60s and 70s, the ever present prospect of war with Russia was a constant concern. This movie was a perspective on how a conflict might actually occur and be waged on US soil with only limited nuclear force. I understand how it might not feel as real to generations who never experienced that era. Cassie I always enjoy your movie watches and reviews. Keep up the good work, I'll keep watching 😊
During the early days of the current war in Ukraine, there was a picture of a burned out Russian tank, destroyed by Ukrainian resistance fighters.... across the back of the tank was spray painted "WOLVERINES".... Almost 30 year old movie, and it was enough to inspire cold, hungry, Ukrainians fighting for THEIR homeland against Russians to paint that on a tank they destroyed. It's not Citizen Kane or anything, and it was a low budget movie... but, it's got it's moments and resonating themes.
The back story of the characters is subtly told. Like when Mr Mason says " them sons of bitches tried having their way with them" might explain why the girls have no empathy for Russians. Or why Erica goes off on Matt at the campfire. AND Danny tells Col Tanner "something happened to her". Also, they got their weapons from the Russians they'd killed. The movie does have flaws, but it's still a favorite of mine. Thank you for reviewing it, Cassie.
You cant be serious. This will never be a realistic scenario. Geographically and logistically speaking its impossible to invade the lower 48 states. It would be impossible to move that amount of men and hardware without being detected and destroyed before even reaching the border.
I thought the scenes of young Sheen and Swayze as they portrayed brothers which is hard in unique ways. Their final scene was bittersweet and beautiful. I'll never forget, "I'll hold on to you Matty...as long as I can....but I'm so tired... so tired."
This movie came out right after I went through tanker training. The part where the girl blows up the tank by tossing in a grenade really hit home with me.
A lot of us 80s kids grew up on this movie. Memorized the lines. To this day my friends, family, and i all admire Robert's last stand (the Star Wars hat he wore in the beginning was also a big plus). MIght've had something to do w/ growing up in Texas and the Cold War environment back then but between country upbringing, stories of the Alamo, and movies like this influenced us greatly. Many of us ended up in the military. And the subtitles are a must. Love the channel!
I saw this as a kid and loved it. It takes a lot of liberty with the whole Soviet invasion being that successful and it did have a small budget. The industry hated John Millius (despite his contributions) and this isn't his best script but it still holds up in my opinion. You definitely should have had subtitles.
You can really tell how much the comies in Hollywood hated Millius because when they did give him work, the movies made money. Nothing spells out hate like burning money.
To us who grew up in the cold war and 80s, we figured out the situation almost immediately. We had been conditioned all of our lives that such a war could happen, and many felt it was inevitable.
Being of the post cold war era, this was the first cold war 'what if' film I ever saw, what an experience. It really catches the bleak horrors of war and their effects on the youthful resistance fighters. Also loved the subplot with Colonel Bella and his duty as a soldier and his sympathy for the resistance, having once been a partisan himself engaged in guerrilla warfare.
Growing up in the US during the waning years of the Soviet Union (class of '88), there was a specific reality that would be lost on anybody born since. Through grade school, I recall several nuclear bomb drills having taken place, with the threat of such an occurrence as real as that of a tornado, severe storm, or fire.
Cassie, You’re looking at this movie with fresh eyes as opposed to people who have watched this for many years. I can see your point and agree it’s probably not the best movie and hasn’t aged well.
@@wjcottingtonNuclear bomb drills in the 70s or 80s? Where did you grow up, NORAD? I WAS BORN earlier, and we never saw a drill. Heard of them from the 50s, but not us.
@@gravitypronepart2201the last one I recall would have been in 1983 or early 1984. This was ~35 miles from the very middle of Detroit. I think I only had the one in the early 80s and the other (2?) having taken place in the late 70s.
This movie is definitely a product of it's times. I'm not surprised Cassie didnt really get it. If you grew up during the cold war, this was the horror story that went along with that. Ukraine is going through it right now.
Ukraine is going through this right now because the US/NATO backed an illegal right wing coup. We financed the attacks on the Russian speaking Ukrainians in the east who rebelled. Once again, we're backing the bad guys.
"I'm not surprised Cassie didn't really get it". She appeared to 'get it' just fine - she just called out its quite obvious stupidity. As an action film it is a product of its time; as a piece of political theatre it's grossly Reaganite, and problematically jingoistic in the extreme. I've no doubt that Cassie, as a Canadian, has a slightly different perspective on the film than, perhaps, an older American viewer...
Sidenote: this has to be the greatest unintentionally hilarious Cass reaction EVER! The sheer perplexity in her face at each increasingly ludicrous plot point / detail was 👌🏻🤣
Great movie. It is a movie of it's time. I was in the US military when this came out and a war with the soviet union was a real possibility. A year after this movie Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago, The Soviet boxer movie came out. The cold war era was something you had to live through I guess to appreciate these types of movies.
Easiest thing to show to get people to relate to world events. What would you do if the shoe was on the other foot. Then that line, "because we live here" It wouldn't matter who, what or why somebody else had their military in your country people would fight back as the standard response. So for the times, the hillbilly in Vietnam in pajamas or the one in Afghanistan in the caves or the ones in this film living in the mountains. They all seem the same. Just taking a gun from the enemy to turn it back on him. Easy to understand seeing home town suffer the same, even if people think it's unrealistic. Then that commander living long enough to become what he fought. A warning there. The writing back home, or letting the brothers go as he is done with killing. Low budget but dropping gold in the subtitles. From when the wall fell to to 30 years later and people acting without consequence like nobody could stand up to them. That small warning swings both ways probably.
One of the few movies I watched twice in a row at a theater. I was so blown away after I saw it, I stayed in the same theater and watched it all again.
QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER! Great cast, great story, western that takes place in Australia, and a love story as well! Stats nuf said. Why doesn't ANY reactor consider this fine film. 😊
I think as a general rule most reactors don’t watch that many western themed movies for some reason. I agree that this is a great film. High Road to China is another awesome film starring Tom Selleck…which is an adventure/love story that I’m sure she would enjoy.
Start your personal supply if you haven't already. It doesn't have to be a lot all at once, it could be as simple as adding an extra can of corn to your grocery order. Or a second of something else on your order. But make sure it is something you will already have on your list that is shelf stable. Dont waste money on something you wont eat. Watch videos on what to stock up on, there are things you wont think of.
I remember leaving the theater when I was in middle school feeling a very strong sense of National Pride and a little scared if this could really happen
"So this is just occupied by Russia/Cuba now? They just say 'We own you' and that's it?" Getting your first look at absolute power is always an eye opener.
@@NoHandleGrr - Except the U.S. did not roll into North America. illegal immigrants... er, I mean colonists invaded and stole the lands from the Native Americans then pretty much said everybody else needs to keep out.
The fact that we allow foreign countries to buy up american farms, towns, companies is ridiculous, they don't need to send troops, why shed blood when you can cut a check
You are right. This is supposed to have foreign langauge subtitles to translate what is being said. But you aren't missing anything that would be critical to understand the movie. The main back story about the enemy, was that the Cuban commander was sympathetic to the insurgents (the kids) because he too used to be the insurgents. He was warning the Russian commanders against mass executions, because he knew, as an ex insurgent, that this just fueled the hate necessary for the Wolverines to make more attacks. And you guessed right. That last Russian Commander they sent in to the area, was a specialist. He was sent there to defeat the insurgency. He said he would find and kill them because unlike the other soldiers and military, he was a hunter. And he knew his prey. The Wolverines. He knew you had to be cunning to defeat such an animal, not just brutal. Then they used the tracker, and stuff started falling apart. In one of the final scenes the Cuban Commander has a shot, but he doesn't take it. He knows the insurgency has already been effective, but he also knows that the brothers have lost that last battle, and he lets them walk to find their own end rather than shooting them himself. You hear this same cuban writing letters to his wife, and expressing frustration at his position. This is all from memory, but that is the gist of it. The movie stands tall even without the subtitles, but they do add to the understanding of the enemy perspective and some of the backstory. This is kind of a guy movie, even though they showed the girls being just as tough smart and effective. But it is still basically a guys fantasy of how he would fight back against tyranny. It is also a very American Movie, and I don't think people from some parts of the world really understand that a large part of the population, even now, but especially back then, would rather die than live under tyranny. Unfortunately, the brainwashing and indoctrinaters are doing a find job of eliminating this sort of attitude. And we are taught now that we serve at the pleasure of our good government, whereas in my generation we were taught that the government serves the good People of the United States, who as a whole, outrank and outclass the government that we have hired to represent our interests. This is ALMOST considered a subversive concept in 2023. Give them a few more years of our current leadership and it will be. They are already arresting people for disagreeing with the government, attempting to imprison political opponents on, no pun intended, Trumped up charges. Like following legal resources and methods to question election irregularities, which is considered sedition and terrorism, unless you are a member of THE party. Databyter
Don't let the haters convince you this is a pro-fascist, anti-immigrant or racist film - anyone who says that has literally never seen the movie or is just being obnoxious. This film is CRIMINALLY under-rated.
I remember when my parents finally bought our first VHs player, I went and rented this movie, and it became one of my favorites all time. Wolverines!!!!
Me too. and I remember they would show it on Memorial day which made some people mad because it was ficiton instead of movies portraying real events and real battles.
@@mikef2811 I did the same thing. I don't know how many times I rented this on VHS. I do know that I can probably recite the entire movie. I don't even need the subtitles for the other languages.
When they were talking in their languages, they were talking about getting 4473s. Form 4473 is the form you fill out at a gun store for a firearm transfer. It has info like name, address, etc. They wanted to go after the guns.
As a boy growing up in the Midwest in the 70's / 80's this move was epic in my eyes. Played lots of Army, baseball and did a lot of hunting and fishing. So making a heroic last stand with the Army or hitting a home run in game seven of the world series are things I imagined.
This was based in the Cold War mentality (1984). Written by John Milius. He also wrote Jeremiah Johnson (which you recently watched), Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian (Schwarzenegger), and a lot of other war and hero type stuff. The film might've been an attempt to help out with president Reagan's re-election. Yes, you miss a lot without subtitles. In the first night of the invasion, Col. Bella (Ron O'Neal) gives orders to get the records from the sporting goods store so they can find out who has guns. In the scene where the three Soviet soldiers go up to the mountains for a day of goofing off, the one who translates the Arapaho National Forest monument totally butchers it. (That's supposed to be comic relief.) You're right, Bella does indeed say that the invaders should try to "win their hearts and minds." When Strelnikov (William Smith) comes in to deal with the Wolverines problem and is haranguing the troops, he's saying that reprisals against civilians only make the revolution stronger (the same thing that Bella had begun saying), and instead they have to seek out and kill ONLY the Wolverines. The voiceover of the letter that Bella had been writing to his wife just before the last attack by Jed and Matt said that he was sick of war, and especially of being on the invading side rather than on the side of the homeland patriots, and he was going to post his resignation. So, at the end, he let Jed get away. The 2012 remake (which you probably don't want to bother with) originally had Communist China as the primary invader. But that would've sabotaged a good share of the international market, so they spent a couple years in postpro CGI changing the uniforms and stuff over to North Korean.
huh.... North Korea? the version I watched it was the chinese invasion of Australia. I've only watched that version once so there might have been some north korean's troops in it but I don't remember any. But I wouldn't be surprised if they released another version for the chinese market.
This IS the movie where we got the line "Avenge me!" You nailed it. All my generation used it often, usually to get a laugh, but obviously NOT funny in this movie.
You absolutely are supposed to have on-screen subtitles for the Cubans and Russians. You miss a LOT not having them! Especially the character arc of the Cuban commander! His final soliloquy as his voice reads over the letter to his wife, is beautiful.
Too bad we never moved on past this fear post soviet collapse. We had a chance to make russians our enemies but instead we instigated the ukrianian war with our meddling in ukraine
The dialogue was cheesy, but imagine the high school aged kids you knew, being in this situation...Their gonna say a lot of cheesy stuff, thinking they're being deep and grown up.
I was in the Army on a tank when this came out and soldiers watching and shouting out vehicle types, T-72, ZSU 24-4 etc... They got their equipment as all guerrilla warriors do, from your dead enemy, at the start they were using hunting rifles and shotguns, later you see them with Russian AK 47s and RPG-7s (Automatic Rifles and Rocket Launchers). Many people didn't like this movie because there was no happy ending but life doesn't always have a happy ending.
Its an incredible movie with very powerful themes throughout. I think the fact that its kind of unapologetic about its brutality is a reflection of the true nature of war in some way. The remake replaced this dark kinda message with angsty teen nonsense. Like trying to save a certain characters girl causing a crapfest. Great video once again enjoyed your reaction. ❤️
Also unapologetic about the ruthlessness of guerilla warfare. After Vietnam, a lot of people abandoned the idea that you could fight a war like "the good guys."
C. Thomas Howell said that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey did not get along in the making of Red Dawn. He also said there was a love scene written for their characters. Patrick lobbied to not have it in the movie and eventually it was not included. Thomas said it was a five page character development for her, and when she learned of it being scrapped, they didn’t speak for the rest of filming. Thomas said that was about 3-4 weeks of filming left.
@@paulmartin2348 Right. They were the first choice due to their chemistry but didn't want to work together. They were both going to lose the roles and Swayze called a truce to get the film done.
@paulmartin2348 wrong. Jennifer Grey did not like Swayze during the filming of Red Dawn. However, she loved him in Dirty Dancing, because he told her that he would make sure she was safe during the dancing scenes. Check out Being Patrick Swayze. A good documentary about him.
@@Lonejustice1 They started off still hostile to each other in Dirty Dancing but made up over the course of the movie. He thought it was funny she couldn't dance despite being the daughter of a famous Broadway dancer.
Red Dawn was not a movie, it was an instruction manual. In the Ukraine they are showing this movie to trainees in their boot camps. It's been reported that someone is spray painting “wolverines” on destroyed Russian vehicles. As a Gen Xer and Clod War survivor I love hearing that.
Early on in the war in 2022, I saw photo's of several knocked out Russian tanks and APC's that were spray painted with "Wolverines". I haven't seen any in the last couple of years.
This is one of my favorite movies. The fear of invasion during the Cold War was very real. Most people think this is an action movie, but its more of a psychological movie about the effects for war and occupation on these young adults and teenagers. Its one of things that the remake with Chris Hemsworth failed to capture. Growing up in the 80s stuff like this was always talked about and with America's history even if a country successfully invaded we'd never talk peace or negotiate. Its why I understand how Ukrainians must feel with Russia occupying some of their country. Great reaction!
This is pure propaganda and fear mongering. There was never any chance of the US being invaded. We are always the invaders, not the invaded. We have been the enemy of democracy in the world. At the time this garbage was being filmed, we were financing, training and supporting the Contras to terrorize liberation movements in Central America.
This was never talked about. It's pure fantasy. It was a Reagan talking point, and those in the administration were laughing at the rubes who bought their line.
I am a late baby boomer and found the movie ridiculous. Definitely not a winner for me. I was age 21 when the movie was released and thought the movie absolutelty ludicrous.
Rest in peace, Patrick Swayze, he'll be forever missed. Apparently, he and Jennifer Grey didn't get on well on the set of this film, which carried over to Dirty Dancing, where they played love interests. However, Grey was devastated by Swayze's death in 2009, suggesting that they'd patched things up eventually.
@@jscan4442 That makes sense. I was never a huge Jennifer Grey fan so never watched any of her interviews.....just figured I would have heard something in passing and never did. thanks for the info.
The story is that Swayze took his method acting a little too far, and was ordering people around, and it didn't go down well with Grey in particular. That was why she didn't like him and almost turned down the role in Dirty Dancing.
Being from washington state, born in 1970 this was what we used to play . We were partisans in the forrest. When this movie came out it was like someone read our minds. Custom tailored.
Me too out in the country in SW Washington we were like let them come! I was probably 11 when I first saw this. I could shoot and was good at it. I knew a little about foraging and was an expert at stealth and camouflage. I figured we'd have 'em beat and cover ourselves in glory. Sure naive but remember Yamamoto is credited as saying ''you can not invade the mainland USA there would a rifle behind every blade of grass'' God bless America and the constitution!!
@@airgunfun4248 Same here in Sweden. All the men in the town were part of the home guard and took us kids with them when they did their yearly exercises. Then of course when we finished high school all young men had to to military service and become real soldiers. ''you can not invade Sweden there would be a Swede with an anti-tank rifle behind every tree' -See Ukraine for reference, we gave them a few.
Fun part on the movie, the Russian officer was ex CIA that spoke fluent Russian. He NEVER spoke to the kid cast on set and they were actively afraid of him that led to more realistic reactions.
WELL DONE🤩 Thanks for letting me "re-watch' this again. 1. Harry Dean Stanton😇 was one of the best character actors I've ever seen. Deep portfolio, including, but not limited to, Alien, Pretty in Pink, Christine, Escape from New York and the Green Mile. He even had a part in Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke. It was when the boys went to jail and he was an inmate, but the footage was cut. 2. Loved Patrick. 😇 He started out a professional ballet dancer but injured his knee so went to acting. 3. Charlie Sheen Can play other than funny.
Harry Dean Stanton made an appearance in Avengers as the security guard in the scene after Hulk falls from the carrier. I get the impression his "avenge me" line is an inside joke.
It was implied there was more than an emotional bond between Lea Thompson's and Powers Boothe's characters. Lea Thompson said the original cut featured a love scene between her and Powers Boothe but it "was cut out after some previews because of the age difference.
Fun Fact: This was the first film to receive the PG-13 rating. Also, Red Dawn is a favorite of mine. Teenagers fighting for their freedom and their lives really hit me pretty hard. It's well acted and the special effects are solid! It's well worth a second view.
I always loved how the Cuban officer lets them go at the end. He says throughout the movie that he was once a partisan and he recognized and respected them for what they were doing. It’s better to die on your feet than to live on your knees
There is no parallel here. The communists in Cuba put everyone on their knees. Cuba has been an economic, spiritual, and political disaster since its inception.
That Cuban officer has no clue about American freedom and the source of our God-given rights here in the USA.
He was Super Fly.
Was Ron O'Neil even Cuban?
I’m not at the end yet but thanks for blurting it out
He used to be a freedom fighter. He fought for his people and now he's become the oppressor and it bothers him right from the start. The brothers are his last straw and now he's out. If there were ever a sequel or spin-off, Colonel Bella has my vote
One of my skydiving friends, John Mulikin, was one of Russian/Cuban paratroopers in the beginning of the movie. He was also one of the coordinators that planned the airborne drop. He told me that one of the stunt jumpers accidently landed off target, 2-3 miles, in a tree on a local farmer's property. He was dressed as a Russian paratrooper, with gear and an AK-47 prop rifle. The family had no idea that a movie was being filmed in the area, held the guy at gun point, and called the local authorities. That guy had one hell of a jump story to tell!
Wow, that guy was super lucky he didn't get shot.
Good people lol. That's the right response even knowing the film story hah "It's a costume!" Yeah sure buddy! haha
Red Dawn wasn’t a low-budget film. It had a well-respected director/co-screenwriter. It was one of the first PG-13 movies released. The movie was definitely a product of its time-the height of the pro-American, anti-Soviet, anti-Communist Reagan era.
A much better era. Now Hollywood is anti-American and pro-communism/socialism.
$17 Million filming budget. Not exactly low-budget for the time. Inflated to 2023, that's over $50 Million.
the script was a full on rated R war film... but it got changed into a watered down popcorn movie
It was the 1st PG-13 film
it was THE FIRST PG-13 film. There were others before that spawned the idea of PG-13, but Red Dawn was the first released film with the rating.
Red Dawn had such an impact on kids growing up in the 80's. Everyday our generation thought WWIII could start. When this movie came out we were able to visualize that fear. I still watch it every now and then. My teenage sons love it, but they'll never really understand how this movie made me feel when I was 12. Wolverines forever.
Accurate. Wolverines forever.
when I was a little kid this movie made me wish the b@stards would invade. No fear blood lust
Wolverines!!!
We kinda just expected this to happen any day. Either this or all out nuclear war. Ahhh, the 80s.
it was literally a pentagon propaganda movie.
Cassie, to answer one of your questions, they got their weapons from the dead enemy.
This movie resonated heavily with Gen X because they, myself included, were teens at that time. With the Cold War, and the Soviets firmly in our minds.
Check out, "The Day After". It's about what would have happened if nuclear war had occurred. It was released around the same time as Red Dawn.
Watch "Threads" instead. I like em both, but "Threads" .. well, that's just another gear.
@@bghammockTHE MOST horrifying and depressing movie I've ever watched.
@@RidgeR5 it absolutely is
Second on "The Day After". You will not look at nuclear war the same again.
Threads is much more intense than The Day After, for sure.
This movie had the distinction of being the first ever to get a PG-13 rating. A lot of the violence was very un-Hollywood. No big overdone explosions. People getting hit with bullets and actually bleeding. Considering these were a bunch of high school students, pre-Columbine, made it tough for folks to handle.
Yeah, I noticed when the Russian helicopter got hit and she wondered where the big explosion was… in real life not everything turns into a fireball immediately.
You should definitely be seeing what the Russians and Cubans are saying. It really helps you understand the movie if you didn't grow up in these times.
Was wondering about that too. When i originally watched it on VHS, it was always text on the screen.
You can KINDA tell what they're talking about with their body language in some scenes, but yeah...
I think between the lack of subtitles and her mention of the bad quality picture and sound it looks like she may have gotten a bootleg?
@@eurofritz4617 lol almost definitely
For sure! I have never not one time ever seen this movie WITHOUT subtitles.
As a kid growing up in the 80s in the rural countryside, we would all run through the woods shouting "Wolverines" and building booby traps and forts. We were armed with slingshots, BB guns, and the occasional bottle rocket bazooka. 😂
You are are last hope.
@@thomaswilliamson298 Now we have better weapons. 😏
I love the way C. Thomas Howell’s character changed. Was the most realistic of the bunch.
There was an post that said, "Everyone wanted to be Jed". Shoot when I was a kid watching this and watching Robert's transformation after they killed his father, I always wanted to be him and he went out hard.
That's coz he's a Soul Man!
I always wanted to be robert as a kid. He was the ultimate badass for kids of that generation
Growing up in the 80's in Texas, this movie galvanized a lot of us kids at the time. Considered jingoistic and over the top by some, a lot of us embraced it for what it was. And we all still remember this movie fondly with no apologies, especially the ending that implies that while we won WW III, it was not without sacrifice. As a 12 yr old back then, we were all Jed. At least we hoped we were.
We had the exact same experience of being the same age in the 80's in Texas, and I can attest to what you are saying. Looking back, the premise is pretty ridiculous.
@@76063co2 perhaps a bit ridiculous but wars have begun for far less. Lol The actual supposed series of circumstances that precipitated it would be a bit worrisome. And back in the '80s it was a bit more believable to us.
Hell ya in my little kid naïveté I wished they would invade. I figured we'd have them beat in the mountains and backwoods of SW Washington. I knew how to shoot and was good at it. I knew where food was in nature. Keep that wolverine spirit no matter who the enemy is!
I grew up in Texas also. I was 40 when I saw this pathetic piece of patriotic propaganda. I was old enough and intelligent enough to know that we were the bad guys. We were the invaders, never the invaded. We were the enemies of democracy.
Here in Kentucky we 80's kids seen this a a training film. We are still prepared to this day for WW III with China this time.
I think you had to have grown up during the Cold War to understand this movie. We all lived the back story. As a teen, this movie rocked. My friends and I constantly watched this movie
Best comment! Listen to this Cassie!!!!!
I was like bring 'em on I'll kill every MF'n one of them. We would play cowboys and Indians, ww2 and RED DAWN! The plain fact is as soft as we've gotten the USA would make the invaders pay a heavy price. Yamamoto is credited as saying ''you can not invade the mainland USA there would a rifle behind every blade of grass'' God bless America and the constitution!!
Nothings changed ask a Ukraine citizen
@@andreww1225 Watch R Kennedy Jr. and Viveck swami(whatever) speak on what that war is really about.
@@airgunfun4248 well Putin is a nut job
This is a prime example of a movie that was perfect in the context of its release. When we were kids in the 70s and 80s we were in the midst of the Cold War and knew that WWIII could start at any moment. This movie was playing hard on those thoughts and fears.
It hits just right for those of us who were there when it came out. For you, it’s different
Remember the EBS tests? Part of it went "in case of an attack" and that part really scared me as a kid.
@@deeanna3335 oh yeah. I can still hear the tone 😂
Well, as a Marine whose job it was to stop Russian tanks in the late 70's and early '80''s, I never tire of this movie. I do think those who lived through the Cold War can relate to this movie better than those who didn't. Got to have the subtitles to fully get the movie. Finally, as far as "Avenge me!" being a cheesy line - not hardly!
Definitely!! USMC 1984-1988 SFMF!!
That line might seem cheesy in some movies but Red Dawn earns it. He wasn’t being overly dramatic, he meant it literally and seriously.
I was a Captain stationed in Korea when this movie came out. I was there when the Russians shot down a Korean Airliner. We thought we were going to war!
My buddy TC Manning and I did a review of Red Dawn. If you want a couple of military nerds (He was Army Arty in the aughts, I was 90s Navy Intel) check it out: ruclips.net/video/rpGoI9aDEN8/видео.html
YOU CAN’T JUST ROCKET LAUNCH AT RANDOM CITIZENS!!😂 Cassie you’re the best! 🚀
for some reason, I see Cassie running out into the open & yelling this at soldiers, expecting her words would make a lick of difference and then she would get blown up...i do not think she would do well in war lmao
They were armed military aged males attempting to flee. Fair targets.
Tell it to the Ukrainians.
🤣😂🤣
@@bobsmith-tf2wb absolutely not!! LOL Karen vibes don't work well vs. soldiers and artillery
As a teenager in the 80s (greatest decade, btw), this movie was so poignant and eye-opening and enraging. It was the height of the Cold War. And this movie (and a couple others) just helped push it deeper into your consciousness and kept it at the fore-front of your mind for a number of years. Also, it gave a sense of belonging to many people who were like the people in the movie. Small-town America was mostly forgotten as the decadence of the 80s, and the whole Yuppie thing was evolving in big cities across the country (but mainly in NYC and L.A.) and taking over society and the news. But this movie was a stark reminder that even small towns aren't immune from the horrors of war. On the contrary, it hits them harder because of their size and population.
To this day, I still watch this movie with part young teenager eyes and part grown-up eyes. The teenager part likes the movie for what it is. The grow-up part quietly and mentally takes notes.
WOLVERINES!!!
Totally agree with these statement :"80s (greatest decade, btw)" and this still holds true...."Small-town America was mostly forgotten as the decadence of the 80s, and the whole Yuppie thing was evolving in big cities across the country (but mainly in NYC and L.A.) and taking over society and the news."
I agree that Colonel Bella is probably the most interesting character in this movie. Trying to resolve a struggle from within, having been the revolutionary in his younger days, to becoming the exact type of tyrant he fought against so many years ago.
yes, but film viewers need to understand Spanish to understand his thoughts and struggles. CASSIE didn't understand the Colonel's second thoughts.
@@hughjorg4008The movie has subtitles, not sure why it didn't for her.
@@retropyroI'm noticing that some of movies that originally had English translations subtitles don't have them anymore 😕 this is dumb
@@retropyrothe one I recently tried to watch didn't have them for the translations, either 😒
and ending up hating war
16:05 Fun fact early in the Ukrainian war, destroyed Russian tanks started appearing in the news with graffiti that said “Wolverines”.
Almost 40 years later this movie is still remembered and having an impact!
Now that's hilarious! 'Wolverines!'✌🤣
Ukrainians are Russian. Redundant.
Maybe they saw the remake? 😂
@@ZenzeroCAM Pretty sure even in Ukraine they're were honoring the first movie. Most people try to forget the second.
@@ZenzeroCAM Us older folks don’t talk about that remake
I was born and raised in Colorado and in high school when this movie was released. They are my people. This movie freaked me out worse than any horror movie could have.
Same
I just wonder how you reacted when Denver was "under siege" in this.
This was made in the 80's and those of us who are older lived the backstory. Must be hard to grasp coming along after the cold war was over. It definitely wasn't high budget.
Just to clear up a few mistakes. He didn't throw dirt in her face, he threw the plate over his shoulder to scare her. The weapons, and everything else, would be scavenged from the enemy. The spoils of war. Also, yes, you didn't have subtitles on.
I came into the comments to say the same thing. I loved this film when it came out because we thought it could happen.
It was weird growing up during the Cold War when we thought, at any moment, a nuclear war would destroy the earth.
The Cold War is not over. In fact, it's a very, very Warm War. We're closer to annihilation than we ever were in the 80s. For some reason, people don't understand meddling with Ukraine brings us closer than we ever have. They just don't bother with nuke drill PSA's anymore because hiding under a desk isn't going to prevent the blast radius of a megaton bomb.
It's hard to describe what it was like growing up during the Cold War with the threat of nuclear war hanging over your head every second of every day. You go about your day because you don't have any choice, but you always know in the back of your head that your life could be snuffed out in an instant with little to no warning. If you were lucky.
It was like living with a wasp perched on the tip of your nose. You ignore it as best you can, but you know that at any instant and for any reason (or for no reason at all) he could sting you. Every international incident was like that wasp shifting his feet. You held your breath wondering if this is it, if the missiles would fly. This was normal for us. We were born to it. We didn't know anything else.
I was in high school when this came out. I grew up on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains on the outer edge of suburbia. That high school could have been mine. Those kids could have been us.
My friends and I had plans for every type of emergency, tornadoes, fires, car accidents, blizzards, and yes, even nuclear war. No one ever considered invasion as a possibility. We had no plan for what to do if that happened. After this film we made one.
@@maingun07you mean, like today?
Better than the remake by far.
I wouldn't even watch it. Some movies are better left alone,
@@jimfowler5350 You made a solid choice there.
My love for the first one and Chris Hemsworth convinced me to watch the remake.
That was 2 hours of my life that could have been spent better.
You could believe, especially in the early 80's, the Soviet Union could invade the United States. North Korea? Not at all.
yea think so
The remake stunk. It was delayed because the original bad guys were Chinese, then they sat on the film then turned the bad guys into North Koreans. No way the North Koreans could stage a large invasion by themselves. Besides, the kids in the remake all had cell phones. Even back in the early 90's people could be tracked by their cell phone signal. In the Ukraine they used the Russians cell phone's GPS in order to bring in artillery on them. With drones and thermal vision, kids in the remake wouldn't have been so effective.
I've seen this a thousand times and still tear up at Partisan Rock. The director, John Milius, is a genius at this type of movie. I especially recommend his Theodore Roosevelt duo, "The Wind And The Lion" and "Rough Riders"
I do also. Only now at 50, I imagine it will be my kids doing the fighting
Oh definitely the wind and the lion Sir Sean Connery was amazing despite being a Scotsman and not a Moroccan sheik which is where his character Al raisuli is from 😂 and Brian Keith had the best portrayal of teddy Roosevelt that I’ve seen so far and I definitely felt that everything he did and said teddy would’ve said and done them in real life. Also I loved his monologue that completely sold me on his performance where his daughter tells him that she would like that he would bring raisuli in front of him in chains and he says he would like that too but NOT in chains and then asks him if he likes raisuli and jp Morgan (who’s a famous pirate) and he says yes of course but they’re his enemies and he says that sometimes one finds that his enemies are a lot more admirable than his friends and that the road traveled by great men is dark and cruel and dangerous and lit by other great men and sometimes those great men are his enemies. I loved that scene so much and it kinda made me a fan of teddy and made me want to read up on him and see that there’s a reason they called him America’s manliest president that he’s a real man’s man which something I very much admire in a guy and unfortunately is not really looked upon favourably nowadays but then again who gives a shit?😉
Also if you watch the documentary on John milius it has people who know him say that if you want to understand the man watch the wind and the lion because a lot of what’s told in the movie is what John milius believes in heck he took GREAT care in doing research on teddy because he loves him a lot and that teddy in the wind and the lion is quintessential John milius
@@mohammedashian8094If you haven't seen "Rough Riders" you should do so at once. Tom Berenger gives an outstanding Roosevelt and everyone else is phenomenal. And Milius directed this love letter too.
It's not an often discussed fact but Milius was also the screenwriter of Apocalypse Now and his original script has some really interesting differences to the filmed version
Cassie, you have to remember when this film was made and what was going on in the world. Those of us that grew up during the Cold War didn't need a back story. We knew all about what the Russians could do and knew they were tight with the Cubans. We knew if anything kicked off, the Cubans, Russians, North Koreans and Iran would all try and gang up on us. We practiced drills where we hid under tables in preparation for a nuclear strike; people built underground survival bunkers in their backyards; every major American city had hardened shelters ready to go at a moment’s notice. Reagan worked on Star Wars, Iran Contra happened, the Cuban Missile Crisis and more. We all knew that it was coming, we just didn't know when.
Then this movie came out and our worst fears were realized on screen. We cheered the Wolverines, rooted for them, egged them on and wanted more dead Russians. Jed’s father screaming “Avenge me!” was what we all felt at that moment. It might seem corny now, but back then it was a real fear and real emotion on the screen and we all felt it with the actors. Jed’s “You lose” at the end was what we all wanted to hear. And while we were sad at the thought of their deaths, they died free and died fighting for freedom. There was no more noble cause than that.
And that’s why Red Dawn will live for eternity. Cause it represents a real fight for both survival and freedom. It’s why America has the greatest volunteer fighting force in the world. The themes throughout the movie represent America’s independent spirit and our fight to keep it that way. Bill Pulman’s (the President) speech in Independence Day would fit right in this movie without a hitch. That’s why both of those movies are so beloved by so many.
"We knew if anything kicked off, the Cubans, Russians, North Koreans and Iran would all try and gang up on us."
Cuba and Iran were going to team up? On what planet? And all North Korea could do in those days was invade South Korea, not threaten the U.S. in the slightest way. Neither was Cuba ever threatening to invade the U.S. (Though the missile threat during the Cuban Missile Crisis was entirely real; but missile attack and invasion are entirely different things.)
How the hell was Iran going to either invade or missile or threaten the U.S. in any way other than by sponsoring terrorism?
"Jed’s father screaming “Avenge me!” was what we all felt at that moment."
Well, if you were kind of insane, sure.
Well said, sir. This movie is a product of it's time, which is hard to really get if you weren't there.
After this came out, and even into the mid 90's, just about every North American male of a certain age had two plans.
His Zombie Apocalypse plan, and his Red Dawn plan, and before the Wall fell, this seemed like a completely plausible scenario.
Grew up in the seventies and was a teen through the eighties. I agree with everything you wrote.
@@robertcampbell8070 Because we watched this and Dawn of the Dead over and over. I haven't even seen the remake of this and I've only seen the Dawn remake twice.
I graduated HS in 1984. It may seem funny now, but we lived everyday with the threat of nuclear war back then. I remember how rattled people were by the TV movie The Day After. Every youngster saw this movie, it was like a rite of passage in those days.
Even now, The Day After hits hard
Yes, I thought maybe it may not happen exactly like this, but it could happen. I was also a kid, so it seemed a lot more realistic. It's crazy how influential it was on me, though. Makes me wonder about current movies these days for younger people
16:00 The way they acquired all those supplies is called (S)trategic (T)ransfer of (E)quipment to (A)lternative (L)ocation.
It absolutely wasn’t a low-budget film.
Interestingly, it was the very first PG-13 rated film ever released.
You mentioned perhaps “missing something”. I’d say, likely, context. Specifically the context of the era.
This was a film everyone “got” in 1984. Even myself at age 10.
It was a film most people loved and still hold in fond, if not high regard.
As a person who was born in the '50s in a small western town just east of the mountains in Colorado this movie hit home quite hard. We had missile silos near town and having known of the Cuban missile crisis, watching the assassination of JFK, having family members in the military during Viet Nam and served myself at the end of that conflict this was a fear we all lived with as a possibility. This is the one reason I am glad of our constitution it has kept this as only a possibility but if we lose it the possibility will become a reality.
We have already lost our Constitution my brother.
And definitely lost Colorado😢
I was 19 or 20 when this movie came out (about the same age as Jed's character), and was serving overseas in my first tour in the US military. So yeah, it was a pretty impactful film for me.
FYI, you missed a LOT of context without sub titles.
“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.”
― Winston S. Churchill (among others)
Actually George Orwell, but if Churchill didn't say it, he should have.,
"Hey look I'm smart because I quoted Churchill!"
We'd all sleep much safer if no violent men existed.
@@Mustanaamio7 If you read history, you could be smart too, or at least look smart.
"War Is A Racket" Major General Smedley Butler
I suspect part of Cassie's disconnect is that the US military is so powerful today that it's hard to imagine that we could be invaded or lose a war, but back in 1984, a the height of the Cold War, it was a real fear. The US had been humiliated in Cuba, lost in Vietnam, kicked out of Iran by the Ayatollah, and the military barracks in Beirut was destroyed in a terror attack. Our enemies, especially the Soviet Union, looked ascendant. When this movie came out, every one of my friends could relate to the idea that we might have to be the next generation to fight, so every teenaged character in the movie felt real even without individual backstories.
Don't forget the Operation Eagle Claw, the disastrous attempt to rescue the American hostages in Tehran.
But invading here just was too far fetched. No one I knew believed it could happen
Are you kidding? The idea that Cuba or Nicaragua or Russia could invade North America/the U.S. was always nuts and nobody ever ever ever ever thought that could happen in reality. The movie is a complete fantasy.
What was real was people worrying about NUCLEAR MISSILE ATTACK, not land invasions of the U.S. (The USSR invading *Europe*, *that* was an actual fear.)
@@NoHandleGrr Perhaps you were just too sheltered, but the idea of an invasion of the US was a real concern. The entire premise of this movie was based on CIA and War College studies of weaknesses in the US defenses at the time. In other words, people with actual military knowledge of American Defenses and Soviet capabilities saw it as a plausible scenario, despite your claims of "nobody ever ever ever ever thought it could happen in reality."
Also most of the war games done by military studies at the time showed that NATO would not hold in Europe for more than a few weeks before having to use tactical nuclear weapons. My friend who served as a guard for some of the generals during these war games often saw NATO and US forces just get rolled over before any US troops could reinforce Western Europe. This would in turn mean the US would be alone not long after war began. So yes a movie like this just reflected the fears of such a War. Oh and at the time China did look like they would be on our side.
'You can't just rocket launch at random citizens!' Gotta love that indignant tone. Awesome! 😀
fun fact , the soviet vehicles are only mock ups , but they were so accurate the us government visited the set to find out where the production got them from
They also wanted to know where they got the Cubans from.
@@pistonburner6448 Miami
I had never heard that before, but it doesn't surprise me.
I did remember hearing that after one of his early novels (either Red Storm Rising or Hunt for Red October) - Tom Clancy had a meeting with the FBI and had to prove that his data on ship capabilities all came from legitimate sources.
@@fenix6297 heard that too, I think it was Red October. Turned out he'd just been really good at collating information from open sources and putting all the pieces together.
@@SeanHendy Yep. My understanding is it ended up with a lecture at the Naval Academy for it.
RIP Patrick Swayze.
And Powers Booth.
From a straight male I love & miss Patrick Swayze! ROADHOUSE was a movie my father raised me on.
And the great Harry Dean Stanton
Star-Lord died?!
And Jennifer Grey's nose
“They’re just doing this to a school?” I used to think a military targeting a school was something unimaginable; an exaggerated act of evil and cruelty, as a piece of propaganda made to paint the enemy worse. After Ukraine I know better.
The Russians had it done to them by the Chechens 20 years ago.
This movie totally plays different for me as an adult than it ever did as a kid. As a kid it was an action movie with no consequences but as an adult, it’s super serious (even with the cheesy lines).
Yeah, I think I first watched it when I was something like 16. I'm now 33, I fought in Afghanistan, I've lost friends and seen violence, and I now live in relative peace. It's a wildly different experience.
I get really tired of mocking the sincerity/intensity of the 80's as "cheesy"..... The very thing that made these movies and songs memorable is treated with derision.
I've been a military analyst and historian for forty-five years, and one thing I have learned is the cheesiest lines were actually said by somebody, and that the more outlandish a situation seems, the more likely it is to have happened.
I was 23 when this movie came out. I had grown up overseas as during the cold war. My dad was one of the various types of Naval intellegence. I paid attention. Red Dawn was in particular ways difficult to believe but in general tone, background and the nature of war of civilian populations was right on. Mental coldness was essential for survival.
That's right put the ''it's ok for boys to cry'' BS away and get the job done. Collaborators get got done deal.
@@airgunfun4248 The Military Industrial Complex's propagandists did their job. I'll bet the military recruiters had a field day, bringing in the suckers who believed this BS
"Red Dawn" was considered the most violent movie ever when it came out, as it had more acts of violence per minute than any other film.
Which is weird with slashers before it, the exorcist, and dawn of the dead where far more brutal
For the love of God Cassie, turn on the subtitles! I highly recommend you turn around and watch this again with them on. The Russians and Cubans have a lot of interesting things to say. Col. Bellas love letter to his wife brings me to tears…xoxo
The best version of Red Dawn! The first time I ever watched this as a kid in the 80s I was sobbing at the end & then was terrified of something happening like this for YEARS!!! We all grew up so scared of Russia, well all my Gen X’ers know what I mean??
Very true, this was worse then ANY horror movie.
I was only 8 years old when this movie came out. I had to convince my parents to let me see it. We were literally on the way to the theater when my father changed his mind and I never got to see it at the movies. My parents were concerned about the violence. I watched it a few years later on VHS. Maybe I was around 10 or so. I think what scared me is that I actually thought that an invasion by the Soviets was possible. The movie felt realistic to me.
But Mooom, I need to be ready to stop the Russian Nicaraguan advance....
The media was trying to talk people out of seeing the movie at the time, but I saw it as a kid at the theater and it was unforgettably real. Cassie has to realize they didn't have digital film or fancy computer generated effects at the time. Red Dawn was as real as it got.
During the height of the cold war everyone wondered how it could/would play out. This movie gave us one scenario.
This was never ever even a remote possibility. We were lied to about the "missile gap". There was a huge gap alright, but we had the advantage, not the soviets. At no point was there ever the possibility of Cuba invading. We were and have always been the invaders. We have been the enemy of democracy. We are not the good guys, and probably never have been.
Yes everyone who calls this unrealistic, Doesn't realize it's just one scenario out of so many that we envisioned. Wasn't how I pictured it going down exactly, But gave me some ideas that i didn't think about before. The whole point was a possible Invasion was always on our minds. Whether that be nuclear war first and then invasion, or Europe first, war was on put minds much more, and we were not always the favorite to win. It's hard for people these days to fathom that.. You can read about it in a book, but it just doesn't have the same effect as experiencing it
Being a child of the cold war, the 60s and 70s, the ever present prospect of war with Russia was a constant concern. This movie was a perspective on how a conflict might actually occur and be waged on US soil with only limited nuclear force. I understand how it might not feel as real to generations who never experienced that era. Cassie I always enjoy your movie watches and reviews. Keep up the good work, I'll keep watching 😊
I came up then, and we never worried about being invaded. Nuked, maybe, but not invaded.
Yup. Red Dawn was essentially the Soviet Afghanistan experience but in an American setting.
@@gravitypronepart2201We did....after seeing this movie. 😁
The version I saw in the theatre had subtitles for the spoken foreign languages
During the early days of the current war in Ukraine, there was a picture of a burned out Russian tank, destroyed by Ukrainian resistance fighters.... across the back of the tank was spray painted "WOLVERINES"....
Almost 30 year old movie, and it was enough to inspire cold, hungry, Ukrainians fighting for THEIR homeland against Russians to paint that on a tank they destroyed. It's not Citizen Kane or anything, and it was a low budget movie... but, it's got it's moments and resonating themes.
39 year old movie. It was the first PG-13 film I went to.
Hell yeah. Art and life influence one another
This movie should be mandatory in every School in the west.
@@Merecir My friends and I used to joke about this movie being a training video for future generations.
Ron O’Neal letting the brothers walk away at the end of the film always impressed me.
he just gave up on war a few minutes ago writing the letter to his wife
That character is one of the core elements of this movie, like Faramir in Lord of the Rings.
I mean, he knew they were both dead anyways, he just didn't want to be the one to finish them off.
The back story of the characters is subtly told. Like when Mr Mason says " them sons of bitches tried having their way with them" might explain why the girls have no empathy for Russians. Or why Erica goes off on Matt at the campfire. AND Danny tells Col Tanner "something happened to her". Also, they got their weapons from the Russians they'd killed. The movie does have flaws, but it's still a favorite of mine. Thank you for reviewing it, Cassie.
Hilarious how this went from being a relevant fear, to being a quaint and passé premise form a bygone era, to now being somewhat relevant again.
Lol no. The war in Ukraine has shown us that the russians are useless at war..
It's been relevant since Russia invaded Georgia.
You cant be serious. This will never be a realistic scenario. Geographically and logistically speaking its impossible to invade the lower 48 states. It would be impossible to move that amount of men and hardware without being detected and destroyed before even reaching the border.
Well, it's about local guerillas fighting an occupying army, so the sad truth is it's always been relevant for someone.
That's....well, that's how it always works.
I thought the scenes of young Sheen and Swayze as they portrayed brothers which is hard in unique ways. Their final scene was bittersweet and beautiful. I'll never forget, "I'll hold on to you Matty...as long as I can....but I'm so tired... so tired."
This movie came out right after I went through tanker training. The part where the girl blows up the tank by tossing in a grenade really hit home with me.
A lot of us 80s kids grew up on this movie. Memorized the lines. To this day my friends, family, and i all admire Robert's last stand (the Star Wars hat he wore in the beginning was also a big plus). MIght've had something to do w/ growing up in Texas and the Cold War environment back then but between country upbringing, stories of the Alamo, and movies like this influenced us greatly. Many of us ended up in the military. And the subtitles are a must. Love the channel!
it keeps me warm
I saw this as a kid and loved it. It takes a lot of liberty with the whole Soviet invasion being that successful and it did have a small budget. The industry hated John Millius (despite his contributions) and this isn't his best script but it still holds up in my opinion. You definitely should have had subtitles.
You can really tell how much the comies in Hollywood hated Millius because when they did give him work, the movies made money. Nothing spells out hate like burning money.
The Russians never change. Who would've thought Joe was going full Ronnie on them 40 years later?
@@Carandini The Rus. "Still crazy after all these years, yeah still crazy...." 🎶
I agree with the subtitles needing to be on. It gives you a greater idea how much of an impact the Wolverines we're having on the invasion locally.
@@CarandiniActually, they didn't like him because he was a very difficult man to work with and did things like wave a gun in a Producers face.
To us who grew up in the cold war and 80s, we figured out the situation almost immediately. We had been conditioned all of our lives that such a war could happen, and many felt it was inevitable.
Being of the post cold war era, this was the first cold war 'what if' film I ever saw, what an experience. It really catches the bleak horrors of war and their effects on the youthful resistance fighters. Also loved the subplot with Colonel Bella and his duty as a soldier and his sympathy for the resistance, having once been a partisan himself engaged in guerrilla warfare.
Growing up in the US during the waning years of the Soviet Union (class of '88), there was a specific reality that would be lost on anybody born since. Through grade school, I recall several nuclear bomb drills having taken place, with the threat of such an occurrence as real as that of a tornado, severe storm, or fire.
POST cold war...oh..the OLd one ;-P
Cassie, You’re looking at this movie with fresh eyes as opposed to people who have watched this for many years. I can see your point and agree it’s probably not the best movie and hasn’t aged well.
@@wjcottingtonNuclear bomb drills in the 70s or 80s? Where did you grow up, NORAD? I WAS BORN earlier, and we never saw a drill. Heard of them from the 50s, but not us.
@@gravitypronepart2201the last one I recall would have been in 1983 or early 1984. This was ~35 miles from the very middle of Detroit. I think I only had the one in the early 80s and the other (2?) having taken place in the late 70s.
This movie is definitely a product of it's times. I'm not surprised Cassie didnt really get it. If you grew up during the cold war, this was the horror story that went along with that. Ukraine is going through it right now.
Ukraine is going through this right now because the US/NATO backed an illegal right wing coup. We financed the attacks on the Russian speaking Ukrainians in the east who rebelled. Once again, we're backing the bad guys.
Seeing pictures of destroyed Russian armor last year with "Wolverines!" spray painted on the side gave a lot of people a big smile.
I don't know. This movie seems pretty relevant today, all thing considered.
"I'm not surprised Cassie didn't really get it". She appeared to 'get it' just fine - she just called out its quite obvious stupidity. As an action film it is a product of its time; as a piece of political theatre it's grossly Reaganite, and problematically jingoistic in the extreme. I've no doubt that Cassie, as a Canadian, has a slightly different perspective on the film than, perhaps, an older American viewer...
@@Johnny6666 Yeah just say you're edgy and didn't get it next time, okay?
Sidenote: this has to be the greatest unintentionally hilarious Cass reaction EVER! The sheer perplexity in her face at each increasingly ludicrous plot point / detail was 👌🏻🤣
This is the reality of war ....a very accurate depiction all normality is gone weapons were taken from dead enemy
I watch this movie as a kid. I was 9 years old when it came out in theaters. It influenced me to learn wilderness survival and independence as a kid.
Great movie. It is a movie of it's time. I was in the US military when this came out and a war with the soviet union was a real possibility. A year after this movie Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago, The Soviet boxer movie came out. The cold war era was something you had to live through I guess to appreciate these types of movies.
As a young kid in the eighties I used to wonder if I'd have to do this someday. What a time to grow up!
Same
This is what happens in other countries all the time. It's only shocking/unrealistic to us from the American / Canadian perspective.
Easiest thing to show to get people to relate to world events. What would you do if the shoe was on the other foot. Then that line, "because we live here" It wouldn't matter who, what or why somebody else had their military in your country people would fight back as the standard response. So for the times, the hillbilly in Vietnam in pajamas or the one in Afghanistan in the caves or the ones in this film living in the mountains. They all seem the same. Just taking a gun from the enemy to turn it back on him. Easy to understand seeing home town suffer the same, even if people think it's unrealistic. Then that commander living long enough to become what he fought. A warning there.
The writing back home, or letting the brothers go as he is done with killing. Low budget but dropping gold in the subtitles.
From when the wall fell to to 30 years later and people acting without consequence like nobody could stand up to them. That small warning swings both ways probably.
What we have here the West is an annomaly that can end at any moment. What we have is not the common standard for a majority of the planet.
One of the few movies I watched twice in a row at a theater. I was so blown away after I saw it, I stayed in the same theater and watched it all again.
I did the same.
QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER! Great cast, great story, western that takes place in Australia, and a love story as well! Stats nuf said. Why doesn't ANY reactor consider this fine film. 😊
You're not alone. I've recommended Quigly several times to a few reactors. It's a great movie, people are missing out.
And Alan Rickman!
Just watched it a couple days ago. Never had much use for one, didn't say I didn't know how to use one. Rip Alan rickman
@@dr.burtgummerfan439 Quigley Down Under was the movie that made me notice Alan Rickman......
I think as a general rule most reactors don’t watch that many western themed movies for some reason. I agree that this is a great film. High Road to China is another awesome film starring Tom Selleck…which is an adventure/love story that I’m sure she would enjoy.
Start your personal supply if you haven't already. It doesn't have to be a lot all at once, it could be as simple as adding an extra can of corn to your grocery order. Or a second of something else on your order. But make sure it is something you will already have on your list that is shelf stable. Dont waste money on something you wont eat. Watch videos on what to stock up on, there are things you wont think of.
I remember leaving the theater when I was in middle school feeling a very strong sense of National Pride and a little scared if this could really happen
"So this is just occupied by Russia/Cuba now? They just say 'We own you' and that's it?"
Getting your first look at absolute power is always an eye opener.
Almost like the U.S. rolling into Iraq or Afghanistan or, well, North America.
Almost like all the right wing dictators instilled across Latin America to ruthlessly suppress workers movements
Coming soon to a town near you. Hopefully not.
@@NoHandleGrr - Except the U.S. did not roll into North America. illegal immigrants... er, I mean colonists invaded and stole the lands from the Native Americans then pretty much said everybody else needs to keep out.
The fact that we allow foreign countries to buy up american farms, towns, companies is ridiculous, they don't need to send troops, why shed blood when you can cut a check
You are right. This is supposed to have foreign langauge subtitles to translate what is being said. But you aren't missing anything that would be critical to understand the movie. The main back story about the enemy, was that the Cuban commander was sympathetic to the insurgents (the kids) because he too used to be the insurgents. He was warning the Russian commanders against mass executions, because he knew, as an ex insurgent, that this just fueled the hate necessary for the Wolverines to make more attacks. And you guessed right. That last Russian Commander they sent in to the area, was a specialist. He was sent there to defeat the insurgency. He said he would find and kill them because unlike the other soldiers and military, he was a hunter. And he knew his prey. The Wolverines. He knew you had to be cunning to defeat such an animal, not just brutal. Then they used the tracker, and stuff started falling apart. In one of the final scenes the Cuban Commander has a shot, but he doesn't take it. He knows the insurgency has already been effective, but he also knows that the brothers have lost that last battle, and he lets them walk to find their own end rather than shooting them himself. You hear this same cuban writing letters to his wife, and expressing frustration at his position. This is all from memory, but that is the gist of it. The movie stands tall even without the subtitles, but they do add to the understanding of the enemy perspective and some of the backstory. This is kind of a guy movie, even though they showed the girls being just as tough smart and effective. But it is still basically a guys fantasy of how he would fight back against tyranny. It is also a very American Movie, and I don't think people from some parts of the world really understand that a large part of the population, even now, but especially back then, would rather die than live under tyranny. Unfortunately, the brainwashing and indoctrinaters are doing a find job of eliminating this sort of attitude. And we are taught now that we serve at the pleasure of our good government, whereas in my generation we were taught that the government serves the good People of the United States, who as a whole, outrank and outclass the government that we have hired to represent our interests. This is ALMOST considered a subversive concept in 2023. Give them a few more years of our current leadership and it will be. They are already arresting people for disagreeing with the government, attempting to imprison political opponents on, no pun intended, Trumped up charges. Like following legal resources and methods to question election irregularities, which is considered sedition and terrorism, unless you are a member of THE party. Databyter
apparently it still inspires a few Ukrainians today, they painted wolverines on destroyed russian tanks at the start.
Don't let the haters convince you this is a pro-fascist, anti-immigrant or racist film - anyone who says that has literally never seen the movie or is just being obnoxious. This film is CRIMINALLY under-rated.
I grew up on this film. Watched it so many times on HBO in the 80s.
I remember when my parents finally bought our first VHs player, I went and rented this movie, and it became one of my favorites all time. Wolverines!!!!
Me too.
and I remember they would show it on Memorial day which made some people mad because it was ficiton instead of movies portraying real events and real battles.
In the 80s, there were two ways to answer the "Have you seen Red Dawn?," question:
1) "no"
2) "oh, yeah. Like 10 times."
@@dard4642 #truth
@@mikef2811 I did the same thing. I don't know how many times I rented this on VHS. I do know that I can probably recite the entire movie. I don't even need the subtitles for the other languages.
Growing up in the Cold War...this was a very timely, very scary movie for us. I still enjoy watching it.
If you turn on Closed Captions set for English, it should translate for you.
When they were talking in their languages, they were talking about getting 4473s. Form 4473 is the form you fill out at a gun store for a firearm transfer. It has info like name, address, etc. They wanted to go after the guns.
🤔
More exactly, the gun owners
That was the name of our battalion back in the day. The 94th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) "Wolverines!" U.S. ARMY
There are movies, like this one, that it's okay to just roll with... don't have to overthink it. Just enjoy / accept it as it is.
As a boy growing up in the Midwest in the 70's / 80's this move was epic in my eyes. Played lots of Army, baseball and did a lot of hunting and fishing. So making a heroic last stand with the Army or hitting a home run in game seven of the world series are things I imagined.
This was based in the Cold War mentality (1984). Written by John Milius. He also wrote Jeremiah Johnson (which you recently watched), Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian (Schwarzenegger), and a lot of other war and hero type stuff. The film might've been an attempt to help out with president Reagan's re-election.
Yes, you miss a lot without subtitles. In the first night of the invasion, Col. Bella (Ron O'Neal) gives orders to get the records from the sporting goods store so they can find out who has guns. In the scene where the three Soviet soldiers go up to the mountains for a day of goofing off, the one who translates the Arapaho National Forest monument totally butchers it. (That's supposed to be comic relief.) You're right, Bella does indeed say that the invaders should try to "win their hearts and minds." When Strelnikov (William Smith) comes in to deal with the Wolverines problem and is haranguing the troops, he's saying that reprisals against civilians only make the revolution stronger (the same thing that Bella had begun saying), and instead they have to seek out and kill ONLY the Wolverines. The voiceover of the letter that Bella had been writing to his wife just before the last attack by Jed and Matt said that he was sick of war, and especially of being on the invading side rather than on the side of the homeland patriots, and he was going to post his resignation. So, at the end, he let Jed get away.
The 2012 remake (which you probably don't want to bother with) originally had Communist China as the primary invader. But that would've sabotaged a good share of the international market, so they spent a couple years in postpro CGI changing the uniforms and stuff over to North Korean.
Dude you know to much about this movie.
@@playedout148you could never know too much about this movie.
huh.... North Korea? the version I watched it was the chinese invasion of Australia. I've only watched that version once so there might have been some north korean's troops in it but I don't remember any. But I wouldn't be surprised if they released another version for the chinese market.
@@FaithlessDeviant You're probably thinking of the movie "Tomorrow, When the War Began" and not the Red Dawn remake.
Just saying but Reagan didn't need much help to bury Mondale. That said, the flick was a surprise because Hollywood leans decidedly left...
They couldn't send the boy with the tracker back to town. The bad guys would've just interrogated him until he gave up where/how to find the others.
This IS the movie where we got the line "Avenge me!" You nailed it. All my generation used it often, usually to get a laugh, but obviously NOT funny in this movie.
That opening... so freaking good, the music and the buildup really make this movie memorable.
Didn't realize subtitles weren't just a part of the movie. There's actually a lot of exposition that's missed without them.
You absolutely are supposed to have on-screen subtitles for the Cubans and Russians.
You miss a LOT not having them!
Especially the character arc of the Cuban commander!
His final soliloquy as his voice reads over the letter to his wife, is beautiful.
It was so different being a kid in the 80s and seeing this movie. We lived in fear of the Russians all the time.
Cassie has no idea what it was like. We were set to bug out at the first sign of trouble.
If so it because of this stinker of a movie! We werent on the brink in the 80s!
Too bad we never moved on past this fear post soviet collapse. We had a chance to make russians our enemies but instead we instigated the ukrianian war with our meddling in ukraine
@@R.Tafolla nothing you just said makes any sense.
@@gravitypronepart2201 maybe because you haven’t read up on it. Look up victoria nuland and maidan Revolution.
What's ironic is that we have a Red Dawn situation going on right now- only it didn't parachute in... it sprung from our universities.
Yup.
Gonna end the same way, too. Commies can never leave anyone alone.
And flooding from the borders
Word! 🧐
One of my favorite movies growing up. Total 80s. Watched this a million times cause it was always on regular cable
The dialogue was cheesy, but imagine the high school aged kids you knew, being in this situation...Their gonna say a lot of cheesy stuff, thinking they're being deep and grown up.
For an Australian take on the same scenario check out 'Tomorrow, when the war began' (2010).
One of the themes in the movie when it came out was the portrayal of how gun registration could be used to round up gun owners.
We don't need a movie to inform us of that.
Yeah it's already happening
Hell yes!!!!!
The combination of Red Dawn and The Road Warrior dominated my play time as a child.
The Road Warrior was much better.
And Conan the barbarian
I was in the Army on a tank when this came out and soldiers watching and shouting out vehicle types, T-72, ZSU 24-4 etc... They got their equipment as all guerrilla warriors do, from your dead enemy, at the start they were using hunting rifles and shotguns, later you see them with Russian AK 47s and RPG-7s (Automatic Rifles and Rocket Launchers). Many people didn't like this movie because there was no happy ending but life doesn't always have a happy ending.
Its an incredible movie with very powerful themes throughout. I think the fact that its kind of unapologetic about its brutality is a reflection of the true nature of war in some way. The remake replaced this dark kinda message with angsty teen nonsense. Like trying to save a certain characters girl causing a crapfest. Great video once again enjoyed your reaction. ❤️
Also unapologetic about the ruthlessness of guerilla warfare. After Vietnam, a lot of people abandoned the idea that you could fight a war like "the good guys."
Great take on the remake. I hated it too, but never could really put my thumb on what bugged me so much about it besides some specific plot points.
The director called it an Anti-War War Movie. He wanted to make it exciting but didn't want to glamourize anything.
Think it was just an 80’s movie
@@waterbeauty85
People like who? What do you know about the military or the use of tactics? Obviously not much
C. Thomas Howell said that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey did not get along in the making of Red Dawn. He also said there was a love scene written for their characters. Patrick lobbied to not have it in the movie and eventually it was not included. Thomas said it was a five page character development for her, and when she learned of it being scrapped, they didn’t speak for the rest of filming. Thomas said that was about 3-4 weeks of filming left.
Swayze could not stand Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing either. Their relationship in that movie was pure "acting".
@@paulmartin2348 yes, I remember that as well. I can’t remember if they eventually “made up” in some fashion or apologized.
@@paulmartin2348 Right. They were the first choice due to their chemistry but didn't want to work together. They were both going to lose the roles and Swayze called a truce to get the film done.
@paulmartin2348 wrong. Jennifer Grey did not like Swayze during the filming of Red Dawn. However, she loved him in Dirty Dancing, because he told her that he would make sure she was safe during the dancing scenes. Check out Being Patrick Swayze. A good documentary about him.
@@Lonejustice1 They started off still hostile to each other in Dirty Dancing but made up over the course of the movie. He thought it was funny she couldn't dance despite being the daughter of a famous Broadway dancer.
Red Dawn was not a movie, it was an instruction manual. In the Ukraine they are showing this movie to trainees in their boot camps. It's been reported that someone is spray painting “wolverines” on destroyed Russian vehicles. As a Gen Xer and Clod War survivor I love hearing that.
Early on in the war in 2022, I saw photo's of several knocked out Russian tanks and APC's that were spray painted with "Wolverines". I haven't seen any in the last couple of years.
This is one of my favorite movies. The fear of invasion during the Cold War was very real. Most people think this is an action movie, but its more of a psychological movie about the effects for war and occupation on these young adults and teenagers. Its one of things that the remake with Chris Hemsworth failed to capture. Growing up in the 80s stuff like this was always talked about and with America's history even if a country successfully invaded we'd never talk peace or negotiate. Its why I understand how Ukrainians must feel with Russia occupying some of their country. Great reaction!
This is pure propaganda and fear mongering. There was never any chance of the US being invaded. We are always the invaders, not the invaded. We have been the enemy of democracy in the world. At the time this garbage was being filmed, we were financing, training and supporting the Contras to terrorize liberation movements in Central America.
Man, it just wasn'trealistic. No European power, or anyone would never invade us. They knew better than to try.
This was never talked about. It's pure fantasy. It was a Reagan talking point, and those in the administration were laughing at the rubes who bought their line.
Did you buy a pirated copy? it had subtitles in the theater. Great pick!
Good for you to give your honest opinion on this. Gen X-ers like me love this one, but to each his own. Not every movie is a winner to everybody.
I am a late baby boomer and found the movie ridiculous. Definitely not a winner for me. I was age 21 when the movie was released and thought the movie absolutelty ludicrous.
Rest in peace, Patrick Swayze, he'll be forever missed. Apparently, he and Jennifer Grey didn't get on well on the set of this film, which carried over to Dirty Dancing, where they played love interests. However, Grey was devastated by Swayze's death in 2009, suggesting that they'd patched things up eventually.
I didn't know they didn't get along - I'd never heard that before.
Patrick Swayze was a cousin of a family friend. Never got to meet him.
@@fenix6297 She talked about it for years in interviews. I think time and maturity heal all wounds and they still respected each other in the end.
@@jscan4442 That makes sense. I was never a huge Jennifer Grey fan so never watched any of her interviews.....just figured I would have heard something in passing and never did.
thanks for the info.
The story is that Swayze took his method acting a little too far, and was ordering people around, and it didn't go down well with Grey in particular. That was why she didn't like him and almost turned down the role in Dirty Dancing.
@@SeanHendyalso he was just SO much older than her. They didn’t really want them together as the leads in Dirty Dancing.
Being from washington state, born in 1970 this was what we used to play . We were partisans in the forrest. When this movie came out it was like someone read our minds. Custom tailored.
Me too out in the country in SW Washington we were like let them come! I was probably 11 when I first saw this. I could shoot and was good at it. I knew a little about foraging and was an expert at stealth and camouflage. I figured we'd have 'em beat and cover ourselves in glory. Sure naive but remember Yamamoto is credited as saying ''you can not invade the mainland USA there would a rifle behind every blade of grass'' God bless America and the constitution!!
@@airgunfun4248 Same here in Sweden. All the men in the town were part of the home guard and took us kids with them when they did their yearly exercises.
Then of course when we finished high school all young men had to to military service and become real soldiers.
''you can not invade Sweden there would be a Swede with an anti-tank rifle behind every tree'
-See Ukraine for reference, we gave them a few.
@@airgunfun4248 also the other comment attributed to Yamamoto was why not invade? "Because there's a 270 in every closet"
Fun part on the movie, the Russian officer was ex CIA that spoke fluent Russian. He NEVER spoke to the kid cast on set and they were actively afraid of him that led to more realistic reactions.
WELL DONE🤩
Thanks for letting me "re-watch' this again.
1. Harry Dean Stanton😇 was one of the best character actors I've ever seen. Deep portfolio, including, but not limited to, Alien, Pretty in Pink, Christine, Escape from New York and the Green Mile. He even had a part in Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke. It was when the boys went to jail and he was an inmate, but the footage was cut.
2. Loved Patrick. 😇 He started out a professional ballet dancer but injured his knee so went to acting.
3. Charlie Sheen Can play other than funny.
Platoon and Wall Street come to mind...
Harry Dean Stanton made an appearance in Avengers as the security guard in the scene after Hulk falls from the carrier. I get the impression his "avenge me" line is an inside joke.
Let's not forget Cadence, with his dad and brother.
"The Avengers" didn't come out until 2012, so that's doubtful. @@timmooney7528
As a kid when this came out I thought it was an awesome action movie. As an adult today it just speaks to the horror and futility of war.
Watch Dana Coverstone's dreams. He saw China and Russia on American soil.
There was fear of WW3 during the 80's. This movie touched a nerve. I would still suggest FailSafe (1964). That movie still gives me chills.
It was implied there was more than an emotional bond between Lea Thompson's and Powers Boothe's characters. Lea Thompson said the original cut featured a love scene between her and Powers Boothe but it "was cut out after some previews because of the age difference.
As an adult that would feel wrong but as kids we girls were all crushing on Powers Booth!
Fun Fact: This was the first film to receive the PG-13 rating.
Also, Red Dawn is a favorite of mine. Teenagers fighting for their freedom and their lives really hit me pretty hard. It's well acted and the special effects are solid! It's well worth a second view.
Yes it is. It's about cracking an egg into a leaky radiator then refilling it.
For me, it's well worth a 30th view. :)
Yeah, teen movies were kind of all over the place in the 80s.
Red Dawn was also the name given to the operation when the United States captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003.
@@StephenLuke Thank you for the information.