Product Details

• Actors: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Darren Dalton
• Directors: John Milius
• Writers: John Milius, Kevin Reynolds
• Producers: Barry Beckerman, Buzz Feitshans, Sidney Beckerman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Full Screen, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: February 4, 1998
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (523 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792838041
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,505 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Red Dawn" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

Red Dawn opens with one of the most shocking scenes ever filmed; on a peaceful morning, through the windows of a high school classroom, students see paratroopers land on the varsity football field: the invasion of the United States has begun! As their town is overrun by foreign nationals, eight teenagers escape to the mountains. Taking the name of their high school football team, the Wolverines, they wage unremitting guerrilla warfare in defense of their parents, their friends and their country. Powerful, chilling and absolutely gripping, this outstanding film features some of today's most popular stars, including Patrick Swayze (Ghost), Charlie Sheen (Platoon), C. Thomas Howell (The Hitcher), Lea Thompson ("Caroline in the City"), Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) and veteran actor Harry Dean Stanton (Alien). When it comes to thrilling entertainment, Red Dawn wins the war with a vengeance!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

202 of 224 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wonder if some people even watched this movie... December 9, 2002

By "usarocketman"

Format:DVD

There have been a lot of dumb comments in these reveiws. All the questions are answered by just paying attention to the movie!

For example, NATO doesn't appear because it was dissolved. The bulk of the US military doesn't appear because the front lines are in the Dakotas, Utah, Montana, California, and the Mississippi river. We can't nuke Russia because they destroyed almost all of our nukes in their first-strike. Also, Washington DC and the other major centers of communication are destroyed in the first-strike. Finally, guerilla groups always have a large success rate when they begin. It's after the enemy figures out what's going on and how to counter it that they start getting losses.

But, to the review. I find this one of the best movies ever. Not because of some political statement (ever notice that the people who pan this like equal-caliber anti-American movies?, not because of the strong American support. No, I like it because it shows what would have happened if we were in the position of Afganistan 1979-89, or in the USSR 1941-44.

I am just thankful that this movie, and nothing like it, actually happened.

And, just for the heck of it: WOLVERINES!

80 of 93 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Brutal, Realistic, Shocking, but one Hell of a way to Deliver a Message November 7, 2006

By Thor

Format:DVD

I was walking around at the local dvd store yesterday looking for a nice movie to watch that same evening. My eye fell on Red Dawn, and I read what the back of the dvd said. I was tempted and it sounded like an interesting film, so I bought it and watched it.

Red Dawn follows the story of 8 teenagers that manage to escape an attack on their home town when world war III breaks out. They flee into the mountains and from there they attack the enemyforces with gurellia attacks. This leads to great, but also brutal action scenes, thrilling, but also disturbing situations and highly emotional scenes that show the human soul hurt and broke down.

As soon as the credits were rolling over the screen I was quiet and just gazed at the screen, thinking about what I had seen. The message had reached me loud and clear.

The casting of this film is well done. All of the actors act realistic and their emotion feels terribly real, which definitely helps you to feel for them. The cast contains famous stars that where all not that famous while starring in this film. It contains Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing, Road House, Ghost), Charlie Sheen (Platoon, Wall street), Lea Thompson (Back to the Future I, II and III) and Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing). The rest of the main cast is less famous (at least, to me), but still do one hell of a job bringing their characters to life that all feel like real personnes in stead of just a few movie characters.

The only thing that should have been different about this film is that you don't really get to know the characters before the war stars. After only about four minutes the attack starts, so you don't really know what kind of main characters you are dealing with. But when they are together and thinking what there can be done, you will see who is who and what kind of characters they are.

The film has a lot of action sequences and thrilling moments that will entertain action and war fans for sure. Also Drama fans are definitely on the right place with this movie cause it really touches you. Comedy fans will have to watch someplace else, cause there are only about two little jokes in the entire film, for the rest the film is shocking, realistic, even disturbing at some points and is definitely not for the faint of heart. It really shows what happens to people during war, how their feelings change, how their entire personality changes. The message is therefor loud and clear: war is terrible, changes people terribly and gives nothing more than destruction, pain and a lot of suffering.

The film has a true eighties look and helps to give the story a kind of gritty look. It is a well shot picture and although some of the camerapositions don't capture some expressions that well, it shows you what has to be shown. The sets are mostly outdoor and there are beautiful landscapes that help bring the story to life. It does not feel like being filmed in a backyard. The music is nice but isn't that present in all the scenes which is a pitty some times.

The film is still echoing in my mind. It sure left an impression on me and the film is an emotional journey that left me actually caring for the characters.

A film that I will remember for a long time to come.

How will it go with you? There is only one way to find out: watch this film and the message will be presented loud and clear to you.

254 of 310 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Some of these reviewers need to watch the movie again! August 15, 2001

By Dave Hilton

Format:DVD

I remember watching this movie when it first came out on VHS. As a kid, I thought it was a frightening movie, a possible scenario of World War III. After buying the DVD and watching it again, I must say that it still stirs emotions in me. This depiction of an attack on U.S. soil is possible, but improbable. To watch this movie and say that the events shown could NEVER happen is foolish and ignorant.

One previous reviewer asks what happened to NATO in the movie. Well, if the reviewer had paid attention, NATO had dissolved in the movie. Another IMPORTANT detail that some reviewers left out was the nuclear attack on most bases and federal headquarters. The communists did not just take all their planes and tanks and just march in. A nuclear "first-strike" was initiated to throw the U.S. completely off-balance. Powers Boothe, who plays a downed F-15 pilot, explains all of these events to the kids that are now acting as guerillas in the movie. As someone who served in the Air Force as a missle launch control officer, I got to see how strategies like the ones portrayed in this movie could work.

The whole story in this movie is about Russians and Cubans (along with Nicaraguans) invading the U.S. and how it affects the lives of some high school kids. These kids become "The Wolverines". Named after their high school mascot, they become guerillas, slowly taking out small enemy installations and equipment. They do not single-handedly destroy all the commies as some other reviewers think that was depicted! There were other guerilla units, too.

The film portrays war in a somewhat negative light, but preserves patriotism and acknowledges the legitimacy of the Second Amendment. I highly recommend buying this DVD because of that! The only blemish that it has is the sound quality. I expected better sound with Dolby Digital and DVD quality.