It is certainly not unusual for a film to strike a nerve that is related to current events. It is much rarer for a film to sit exactly at the intersection of two social concerns. Forty years ago, John Milius’ Red Dawn began with a brand new film rating that had suddenly been developed this year after controversy over violence in summer movies. Violence aside, the themes and content spoke directly to American anxiety about the ongoing Cold War. This is how Milius intruded into the cultural discussion.
In early 1984, the release of two films sparked an outcry over the level of violence depicted. Both films were rated PG (Parental Guidance) and both happened to be produced by Steven Spielberg. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (which Spielberg also directed) was released on May 23 and Gremlins (Directed by Joe Dante) will be in theaters on June 8th. Temple of Death was not necessarily more violent than its predecessor from 1981, Raiders of the Lost Arkin which Nazis melt and are dismembered by airplane propellers (albeit outside the picture), Temple of Death attracted more attention with a disgusting dinner scene and the tendency of the main villain Mola Ram to rip out the victims’ still beating hearts. The main complaints about Gremlins The focus is on the (admittedly impressive) scene in which Mrs. Peltzer (Frances Lee McCain) wipes out a group of the little monsters with kitchen utensils. However, Kate’s (Phoebe Cates) monologue about why she didn’t celebrate Christmas (because her father wanted to surprise the family dressed as Santa Claus, got stuck in the chimney and died) also made some parents angry.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Trailer (uploaded to YouTube by Paramount Movies)
Maybe it was because he was old enough to remember the congressional hearings on comic books in 1954, or simply because he studied film history and was an accomplished filmmaker, but Spielberg decided to intervene before the complaints led to any government action. Spielberg proposed to the then MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) that they create a new age rating between PG and R. This rating should be PG-13 (Parents Strongly Warned – Some content may be inappropriate for children under 13). The idea was that with the 13 rating, the onus was on the parents; with a little more information that a PG-13 film would be a little more intense, parents would have a little easier time deciding whether or not to take their children.
It was Spielberg’s old buddy John Milius who released the first film to receive the new age rating. The film was Red Dawna vision of what would happen if an alliance of the Soviet Union, Central American states, and members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the United States. It emerged when the culture was consumed by the fears of the Cold War: that particularly tense period in world history saw three different Soviet leaders between 1982 and 1984 and the shooting down of a Korean passenger plane by the USSR in 1983.
The original Red Dawn Trailer (uploaded to YouTube by Amazon MGM Studios)
Red Dawn was created with a script called Ten soldiers by Kevin Reynolds. Reynolds, who later directed Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves and 2002 The Count of Monte Cristoamong others, eventually brought the script to MGM. The MGM board brought Milius in to direct. Milius had one board member in particular who was an ardent fan: General Alexander Haig. Haig had been chief of staff under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and had served as Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan in 1981 and 1982. Haig was very interested in the military aspects of the story and helped Milius imagine what such an invasion might look like. Reynolds had originally conceived the film as more of an anti-war statement; in fact, that was Milius’s intention as well. But Haig’s involvement and the heavy emphasis on action changed the film’s focus and made it more appealing to viewers caught up in the “us versus them” struggle of the era.
In casting the young actors who make up the resistance fighters known as “The Wolverines,” the filmmakers relied on a number of actors who, as Lea Thompson put it in the 2024 documentary, Brats“Brat Pack Side by Side”. Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Darren Dalton appeared together in the original Brat Pack, The OutsidersThe brother of her outsider Co-star Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen joined the film as the brother of Swayze’s character. Brad Savage (best known for his terrifying scene as Danny Glick in the original TV series Salem’s Lot miniseries) also joined the cast. Lea Thompson, who starred outsider Co-star Tom Cruise in The right stepsJennifer Grey (in her second film) and Doug Toby completed the group. The adult actors were an impressive bunch, including Powers Boothe, Ron O’Neal (Superfly himself), Harry Dean Stanton, Lane Smith, Pepe Serna and Ben Johnson.
Whether it was the young cast, the curiosity about the idea of an invasion of America or the promise of action by the director of Conan the Barbarianthe film, with the odd new review, landed solidly. It landed at number 20 on the box office charts during one of the most successful years in American film history. Some critics were unkind, mostly because of perceptions of jingoism, but it resonated with audiences and enjoyed a strong second life on home video and premium and cable channels. The film has also resonated through references in other films, TV shows, and video games; a (poorly received) remake was made in 2012.
The Red Dawn Remake trailer (uploaded to YouTube by Amazon MGM Studios)
It is not often that a film takes place between two completely different cultural conversations, but Red Dawn did it. Considered an action film aside from these two aspects, it is still a real action film and does not mince words when it comes to the fate of its young actors. But the film’s most poignant legacy emerged almost 40 years later: During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was not uncommon to spray paint destroyed Russian armored vehicles with the same word that the film’s young heroes used for Soviet tanks: Wolverines.
