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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The controversial, Reagan-era invasion of Grenada by U.S. troops is, oddly enough, at the center of this initially interesting story of a seasoned Marine sergeant (Clint Eastwood) routinely insulted by younger officers for being a symbol of the war that America "lost" in Vietnam. Looking for both a victory and a little redemption, Eastwood's character trains a squadron of scrappy pups and turns them into fighting grunts, just in time to follow White House orders and take the little island. Marsha Mason plays Eastwood's love interest, and Mario Van Peebles is funny as an undisciplined con artist who joins Clint's men and finally catches the spirit after getting his butt kicked a few times. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
Clint Eastwood is dynamic as a grizzled Marine gunnery sergeant and seasoned combat veteran nearing the end of his service to the Corps. Saddled with training a platoon of misfits, Eastwood will have to hammer his bottom-of-the-barrel unit into a fighting force before the invasion of Grenada while trying to reconnect with his ex-wife (Marsha Mason). With Mario Van Peebles, Everett McGill, Moses Gunn. 130 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French; theatrical trailer.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When this film came out, aeons ago, a sneering newspaper reviewer called it an the utltimate "OC" movie, "OC" meaning "of course." He was referring to the fact that there isn't a single character or situation in "Heartbreak Ridge" that could be called remotely original -- it's basically a 1980s version of every 1940s, '50s, & '60s war movie you ever saw. His evidence:
1 - crusty yet somehow loveable sergeant
2 - crusty yet somehow loveable sidekick
3 - pencil-pushing jerk senior officer
4 - green platoon leader
5 - woman from past
6 - bumbling soldier who needs to grow up
7 - assorted Cental Casting platoon members
8 - generic training sequences
9 - generic trial by fire
10 - predictable ending
All this is completely true. I just don't care. The stupid reviewer was too busy being smug to understand that the reason this story has been told so many times is because it is a classic, and classics are timeless. Especially under the tender care of Clint "Shoot First, Ask Questions Never" Eastwood.
"Ridge" is the story of Tom Highway (as in "My Way Or The..."), a bullet-scarred, gravelly-voiced Marine sergeant who has fought in three wars, won a bucketfull of medals, and is now facing mandatory retirement. Ol' Gunny Highway ain't takin' it too well, either -- he drinks, fights with the cops, and gets yelled at by his superiors. Banished to a supply billet, all he yearns for is one last chance to lead combat troops, and before you can say "of course," he's packed off to his old unit -- you know, the same one he was kicked out of years before, for insubordination and conduct unbecoming (you know, the usual Eastwood Offences).
Of course, his old unit is run by an unblooded, chin-thrusting martinet named Powers, who is described at one point in the film as being the sort who consults the manual before he mounts his old lady. Powers hates Highway and wants to run him out of the Corps, so he saddles him with a platoon of losers and ungovernable misfits run by a nerdy and clueless lieutenant. Chief among these dolts is the slick-talking Corporal Stitch Jones, played with glib hustla's charm by Mario Van Peebles.
Of course, Highway's embittered yet sexy ex-wife is still in town, and of course, Highway is still in love with her, in his foul-mouthed way. When he's not getting shot down by his ex, Highway guzzles beer and reminisces with his old war buddy, Sgt Major Choozoo, who's even more foul-mouthed than Highway. There's even a foul-mouthed female bartender who sits around pouring beers and dispensing crusty Corps wisdom. Honestly, this movie has the best cursing I've ever heard.
Of course, Highway's tough love approach is a hard swallow for everybody. Powers is after his stripes, his ex-wife's boyfriend (the guy who played Buford Pusser in the latter two entires in the "Walking Tall" movie series) wants to clean his clock, and his Marines wish he would just seize up and die like an old lawnmower. Little do they know that his brutal regimen will one day save their lives! For unbeknownst to all, the villainous Fidel Castro has ordered his military to seize power on the tiny Caribe resort island of Grenada, which houses lots of drunken American medical students. President Reagan ain't takin' this too well, so before you can say "Semper Fi" Highway and company are choppering off to put theory into practice and kick communist butt.
Do Highway's boys perform up to spec? Will Powers get his commupance? Will the sexy ex-wife be waiting when and if Highway returns? Of course, of course, and of course. But who cares? This movie is hilarious and hugely entertaining. Eastwood's over-the-top alpha-male performance is about as subtle as a bullet to the solar plexus, but it's great fun. So is the glaring villainy of Powers, the charming nerdiness of Ring, the slick charm of Jones, and the crusty bulldog loyalty of Choozoo. These cliched characters are like old friends.
"Ridge" has some funny trivia attached to it. Originally, it was written for an army character, but it seems the army wanted to make the movie a commercial for all its latest weaponry, so Eastwood tapped the Corps instead. When the Marine brass saw it, however, they were so appalled by the language they withdrew their endorsement. And these are Marines we're talking about, the guys who may have actually invented 6 of the 7 words you can't say on TV. It just goes to show you that four or five years in the Pentagon can ruin anybody.
More interestingly, the movie's title, "Heartbreak Ridge" is a glaring anachronism -- Heartbreak Ridge was taken by the Army's 4th Infantry Division, not the Marines. Clint was too in love with the title to change it, so he threw in a line about how Highway fought in Korea with the army but "joined the Corps later." Clint never let logic get in the way of his storytelling, and the audience shouldn't either.
Now come on, you devil dogs, let's take this blankety-blank hill!
1 - crusty yet somehow loveable sergeant
2 - crusty yet somehow loveable sidekick
3 - pencil-pushing jerk senior officer
4 - green platoon leader
5 - woman from past
6 - bumbling soldier who needs to grow up
7 - assorted Cental Casting platoon members
8 - generic training sequences
9 - generic trial by fire
10 - predictable ending
All this is completely true. I just don't care. The stupid reviewer was too busy being smug to understand that the reason this story has been told so many times is because it is a classic, and classics are timeless. Especially under the tender care of Clint "Shoot First, Ask Questions Never" Eastwood.
"Ridge" is the story of Tom Highway (as in "My Way Or The..."), a bullet-scarred, gravelly-voiced Marine sergeant who has fought in three wars, won a bucketfull of medals, and is now facing mandatory retirement. Ol' Gunny Highway ain't takin' it too well, either -- he drinks, fights with the cops, and gets yelled at by his superiors. Banished to a supply billet, all he yearns for is one last chance to lead combat troops, and before you can say "of course," he's packed off to his old unit -- you know, the same one he was kicked out of years before, for insubordination and conduct unbecoming (you know, the usual Eastwood Offences).
Of course, his old unit is run by an unblooded, chin-thrusting martinet named Powers, who is described at one point in the film as being the sort who consults the manual before he mounts his old lady. Powers hates Highway and wants to run him out of the Corps, so he saddles him with a platoon of losers and ungovernable misfits run by a nerdy and clueless lieutenant. Chief among these dolts is the slick-talking Corporal Stitch Jones, played with glib hustla's charm by Mario Van Peebles.
Of course, Highway's embittered yet sexy ex-wife is still in town, and of course, Highway is still in love with her, in his foul-mouthed way. When he's not getting shot down by his ex, Highway guzzles beer and reminisces with his old war buddy, Sgt Major Choozoo, who's even more foul-mouthed than Highway. There's even a foul-mouthed female bartender who sits around pouring beers and dispensing crusty Corps wisdom. Honestly, this movie has the best cursing I've ever heard.
Of course, Highway's tough love approach is a hard swallow for everybody. Powers is after his stripes, his ex-wife's boyfriend (the guy who played Buford Pusser in the latter two entires in the "Walking Tall" movie series) wants to clean his clock, and his Marines wish he would just seize up and die like an old lawnmower. Little do they know that his brutal regimen will one day save their lives! For unbeknownst to all, the villainous Fidel Castro has ordered his military to seize power on the tiny Caribe resort island of Grenada, which houses lots of drunken American medical students. President Reagan ain't takin' this too well, so before you can say "Semper Fi" Highway and company are choppering off to put theory into practice and kick communist butt.
Do Highway's boys perform up to spec? Will Powers get his commupance? Will the sexy ex-wife be waiting when and if Highway returns? Of course, of course, and of course. But who cares? This movie is hilarious and hugely entertaining. Eastwood's over-the-top alpha-male performance is about as subtle as a bullet to the solar plexus, but it's great fun. So is the glaring villainy of Powers, the charming nerdiness of Ring, the slick charm of Jones, and the crusty bulldog loyalty of Choozoo. These cliched characters are like old friends.
"Ridge" has some funny trivia attached to it. Originally, it was written for an army character, but it seems the army wanted to make the movie a commercial for all its latest weaponry, so Eastwood tapped the Corps instead. When the Marine brass saw it, however, they were so appalled by the language they withdrew their endorsement. And these are Marines we're talking about, the guys who may have actually invented 6 of the 7 words you can't say on TV. It just goes to show you that four or five years in the Pentagon can ruin anybody.
More interestingly, the movie's title, "Heartbreak Ridge" is a glaring anachronism -- Heartbreak Ridge was taken by the Army's 4th Infantry Division, not the Marines. Clint was too in love with the title to change it, so he threw in a line about how Highway fought in Korea with the army but "joined the Corps later." Clint never let logic get in the way of his storytelling, and the audience shouldn't either.
Now come on, you devil dogs, let's take this blankety-blank hill!
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By LMB
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
In Heartbreak Ridge, Clint Eastwood brings the story of whipping a group of slacker marines into shape to life. Although Clint still packs plenty of great one-liners (which are hilarious), his character shows many other sides as well. The other characters are also very colorful, and display a great transition toward the end of the movie. A must-see for Clint fans as well as anybody else.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I don't take this movie as seriously as Saving Private Ryan, for example, but I don't think the movie takes itself so seriously, either. In fact, it is pretty darn funny in a subtle way. There is enough variety of characters as comic relief to overcome any factual inaccuracies in the film. It is the classic "New commander whips the boys into shape" story.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good movie - Recommended
I always enjoy this movie. One of those that makes me feel good. You do have to over look the gross inaccuracies related to all things military. Read more
Published 7 days ago by C. Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie...
I love this movie! Clint plays an old school Marine where he turns a bunch of misfits into a mean, lean fighting machine.
Published 8 days ago by J. Frank
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartbreak Ridge
I really like the theam song and the way that Clint earns the respect of the men and the way they put the leader in his place at the end of the movie.
Published 11 days ago by Larry A. Worden
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Good
I expected a war movie from Clint Eastwood, and instead got a second-tier movie that at best serves as a recruitment ad for the USMC. A big disappointment.
Published 14 days ago by Miles P. Seeley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie, accurate portrayal of Marine Corp life...good story and...
Would definitely recommend this to friends and family. Sent to straighten up a slacker group of Marines, Clint's character is both a hard ass Marine with no time for his... Read more
Published 17 days ago by SUSAN G. CRUZAN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clint
Clint Eastwood demonstrates such a great acting skills. This movie is proof of his talents. Great movie I hope he makes more.
Published 21 days ago by jaabqn79
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Movie
Love this movie. Was trying to find it on DVD and found this movie to add to my movie collction.
Published 23 days ago by CarolynvWerning
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Eastwood!
He proves the old adage," when you have them by the -----, their hearts and minds will follow." Everyone wants to test someone in authority to see if they are worthy of... Read more
Published 28 days ago by Thomas William Malicoat
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you don't like this movie you are communist and should die!
If you don't like this movie you are communist and should die! This movie is pretty much amazing incase you didn't know!
Published 1 month ago by socalnw
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good war movie
Clint Eastwood does a bang up job getting his troops ready for battle while at the same time dealing with a Lieutenant he doesn't see eye to eye with.
Published 1 month ago by Richard Anderson
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