Red Dawn (1984)
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A group of teenagers must become guerrilla fighters after a Soviet-led invasion of their Colorado town.
The story
Set during a fictional World War III between an increasingly isolated United States and the Soviet Union, the film follows a group of teenage guerrillas, known as the Wolverines, fighting against a joint Soviet-Latin American invasion force in Colorado. After high school students in Calumet, Colorado, witness a surprise Soviet-led invasion of their town, brothers Jed and Matt Eckert and their friends flee into the countryside. They evade a Soviet roadblock and retreat into the mountains where they go into hiding. As they struggle to survive in the wilderness, they must navigate the dangers of the occupation while attempting to evade the forces that have seized their home.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the 1980s, the United States is isolated after NATO's dissolution, while the Soviet Union, facing economic collapse, invades several nations. In Calumet, Colorado, a Soviet-led invasion occurs. Brothers Jed and Matt Eckert, along with friends Robert, Danny, Daryl, and Arturo, flee into the mountains with supplies. They eventually learn that Robert's father is in a re-education camp and his wife is dead. They begin guerrilla warfare as the 'Wolverines.' They encounter pilot Andrew Tanner, who informs them of the global war's scale. During a raid to free prisoners, Tanner and Arturo are killed. Later, a Soviet Spetsutz commander, Colonel Strelnikov, tracks them. After a series of skirmishes and the death of several members, including Robert and the pilot, the group faces a final confrontation. Jed and Matt are mortally wounded while fighting Strelnikov, but Jed manages to kill him. The remaining friends, Danny and Erica, escape to safety. The film ends with a memorial for the fallen teenagers.
- First release year
- 1984
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish; Russian
- Directors
- John Milius
- Writers
- Kevin Reynolds · screenplay; John Milius · screenplay; Kevin Reynolds · story
- Cast and characters
- Patrick Swayze; C. Thomas Howell; Lea Thompson; Ben Johnson; Harry Dean Stanton; Ron O'Neal; William Smith; Powers Boothe
- Genres
- action; drama
- Themes
- resistance; patriotism; war
- Tone and mood
- action; serious
- Premise and plot tags
- war; invasion; guerrilla warfare; coming-of-age
- Source material / true-story basis
- Ten Soldiers
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, becoming the first film released in the U.S. with a PG-13 rating under the new system in 1984.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 48% · scale: percentage · review count: 27; Metacritic · score: 53 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- It was the first film to be released in the United States with a PG-13 rating under the modified rating system.; The film was once considered the most violent film by the Guinness Book of Records and the National Coalition on Television Violence.; The film's name was used for a real military operation to capture Saddam Hussein.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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