Red Dawn

Red Dawn is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius with a screenplay by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on an invasion of the United States by an alliance of Soviet, Warsaw Pact, and Latin American states. The story follows a group of teenage guerillas, known as the Wolverines, in Soviet-occupied Colorado. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey, with supporting roles played by Ben Johnson, Darren Dalton, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O'Neal, William Smith and Powers Boothe. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the film became a commercial success, grossing $38 million against a budget of $17 million. It was the first film to be released in the U.S. with a PG-13 rating under the modified rating system introduced on July 1, 1984. A remake was released in 2012. Plot In the town of Calumet, Colorado, a high school class is suddenly interrupted by a Soviet invasion. The students, including brothers Jed and Matt Eckert, escape the chaos as Soviet paratroopers attack them; Soviet, Cuban and Nicaraguan troops proceed to occupy Calumet. Jed and Matt, along with their friends Robert, Danny, Daryl and Arturo flee into the countryside after arming themselves at a store run by Robert's father. Encountering a Soviet roadblock, they are saved by a U.S. helicopter. After several weeks in the forests, the group learn that Mr. Eckert is held at a re-education camp at Calumet's drive-in. Visiting the camp, they speak to him through a fence and learn that Mrs. Eckert is dead; he orders the group to avenge him. The group visit the Mason family in occupied territory and learn that Robert's father was executed by the occupiers. The Masons ask Jed and Matt to take care of their granddaughters, Toni and Erica. Banding together, the group begins to attack the occupational forces, calling themselves the "Wolverines" after their high school mascot. The occupiers respond with brutal reprisals, which kill Mr. Eckert and Arturo's father but do little to deter the Wolverines. They meet USAF pilot Andrew Tanner, who informs them of the current state of the war.