Red Dawn

Red Dawn

The Ronald Reagan 1980s were all about going back to the future--rewriting the past to better suit Reagan's upbeat vision of the present. So, Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo (a psychotic, shell-shocked Vietnam vet in the original film, transformed into a flag-waving hero in the sequel) was able to go back to Southeast Asia and "correct" history by decisively (and single-handedly) winning that messy ol' war on behalf of America. Red Dawn is a paranoid cold-war cautionary tale that presents us not with a rosy alternative past, but with an ominous vision of the future, metaphorically plopping a piece of Russian-occupied Afghanistan into America's back yard. In this celebration of the Second Amendment, storm troopers from the Evil Empire descend upon the inadequately defended United States and hold America hostage. Stealthily avoiding the invaders, a motley group of red-blooded, small-town, gun-toting teenagers go underground to form the Wolverines, a guerilla resistance squad dedicated to making those Russkies rue the day they parachuted onto U.S. soil. It's a darn good thing those kids had the right to keep and bear arms, huh! Written and directed by macho filmmaker John Milius, the self-described "Zen fascist" who also cowrote Apocalypse Now, as well as the horrifying shark story Robert Shaw tells in Jaws. The cast includes Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey (a few years before she and Swayze took up Dirty Dancing), Charlie Sheen, Powers Boothe, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ben Johnson. Red Dawn was a commercial success, although audiences invariably split into two camps, finding it either patriotic or appalling. Whatever your verdict, the film remains a telling reflection of its era. --Jim Emerson

Genre: Action, Drama, War
Director(s): John Milius
Production: MGM/UA
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
6.4
Metacritic:
55
Rotten Tomatoes:
48%
PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Year:
1984
114
17,010 Views

Share your thoughts on Red Dawn's quotes with the community:

0 Comments

    Quote of the Day Today's Quote | Archive

    Would you like us to send you a FREE inspiring quote delivered to your inbox daily?

    Please enter your email address:

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this movie page to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Red Dawn Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.quotes.net/movies/red_dawn_quotes_9390>.

    Know another quote from Red Dawn?

    Don't let people miss on a great quote from the "Red Dawn" movie - add it here!

    Browse Quotes.net

    Quiz

    Are you a quotes master?

    »
    Who said: "The art of leadership is saying no, not yes – it’s very easy to say yes.’"?
    A Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    B Tony Blair
    C Donald Trump
    D Mao Tse-Tung