IMDb > Red Dawn (1984)
Red Dawn
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Red Dawn (1984) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   15,082 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 24% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Milius
Writers:
John Milius (writer)
Kevin Reynolds (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Red Dawn on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 August 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Adventure | Drama more
Tagline:
A full scale military invasion by foreign troops begins. Total surprise. Almost total success . . . . more
Plot:
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers bands together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
Misunderstood? What's to misunderstand? more (325 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
114 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:Atp | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:18
Company:
Valkyrie Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the movie, a regional headquarters for the invasion forces is bombed by the Wolverine insurgents. On 8/3/06 the actual 107-year-old historical landmark used in the film, the "Center Block Building" in Las Vegas, NM, was destroyed as result of heavy thunderstorms. more
Goofs:
Miscellaneous: In the scene where Strelnikov and his special forces soldiers are parading down the street, the belt of the soldier behind the drummer on the far right breaks off. more
Quotes:
Robert: Wolverines! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Britney Spears (#25.19)" (2000) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
49 out of 89 people found the following comment useful.
Misunderstood? What's to misunderstand?, 24 January 2006
7/10
Author: Gungrave from United Kingdom

Well, I cant honestly say this movie evoked any sort of political argument or emotive response from myself, unlike a lot of some of the reviewers on here (in fact a few seem to have taken the film or its reviews as a personal affront!). The film was an entertaining, nostalgic and highly commercial action movie from a time past.....and on a base level I just plain enjoyed it. It made me smile! The trailer reminded me of a video game called Freedom Fighters (set in New York, you play the part of a plumber leading a resistance force against a Russian invasion) which I had enjoyed too, i liked the premise, so my flatmates and I (2 English, 1 Irish and 1 American) sat through the movie last night. Once the giggles from the girls had subsided (yes Swayze and Sheen look like babies and have not aged too well!) the opening parachute invasion got quite a buzz. Handled clumsily and probably with an extremely limited budget it took a good 20 minutes for the B-movie ethic to settle in, but once over that the premise really started to work, and you could actually begin to empathise with the kids in their situation. The story became a bit strung out in places, the action was cardboardy and basic and the acting was...well....not there really, but I don't think that was down to a lack of talent. But it hung together, and we all enjoyed it. Where peoples readings of political messages come from I have no idea. I understand that America has it's extremists who hide in the mountains, stash mountains of weapons and food for just such an event, but the movie certainly doesn't satirise them. The joke in the film of the NRA bumper sticker and the dead guys "cold, dead hand" falls flat if it was intended as a purposeful message and therefore seems more to be an attempt at acknowledging the certain irony of such events in the states. The rhetoric of the kids in their internal arguments is hollow and situational, not political, and just about manage to hold some water. The movie is and was just a great "what if.....?" and an amusing 80's Hollywood schtick action movie, no more, no less. If a backstory of a continued Cold War was introduced I can well see this being ripe for a remake, and perhaps then you can apply your knee-jerk reactionary theories to it with more basis then...who know?

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