Patrick Swayze was way too old for his part
Red Dawn’s Jed Eckert, the big brother of Charlie Sheen’s Matt, was one of Patrick Swayze’s first major leading roles. However, despite his youthful looks, Swayze was too old to play a character meant to be a fairly recent high school graduate. Jed’s age is never specified in Red Dawn, but it’s fair to assume he’s younger than 32, Swayze’s real age at the time.
It’s written by the director of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld
Red Dawn was the brainchild of screenwriter Kevin Reynolds. He originally gave it the title Ten Soldiers, envisaging it as a fairly small-scale drama in the vein of Lord of the Flies which he intended to direct it himself. However, while Reynolds would go on to direct the blockbusters Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld, in 1984 he wasn’t established enough for studio MGM-UA.
Director John Milius changed it from an anti-war to a pro-war movie
Kevin Reynolds’ original Red Dawn script was staunchly anti-war. However, when John Milius (director of Conan the Barbarian and writer of Apocalypse Now) came on board to direct, he set about rewriting the script to fit his more conservative, pro-war leanings. Milius radically changed the script’s tone and content until it became a gung-ho, rather than anti-war, movie.
The filmmakers were advised by the US military and a former Secretary of State
Former MGM-UA executive Peter Bart admits Red Dawn was intended to be “the ultimate jingoistic movie.” This was at least partly down to one man on MGM-UA’s board of directors: Alexander Haig. A former US Army General, Haig had previously been the White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Nixon and Ford, and was later Secretary of State under Reagan, before resigning in 1982.
The script drew on genuine military research from a conservative think tank
MGM’s Alexander Haig reportedly took a liking to John Milius, and advised the director via actual research on potential invasion tactics enemy forces might employ, according to conservative think tank the Hudson Institute. Milius drew heavily on the Hudson Institute data whilst rewriting the Red Dawn screenplay.
The Pentagon viewed the film as a way to recruit kids into the military
When Milius’s first rewrites made it look likely that Red Dawn would be rated R, he was instructed to tone down the violence and swearing for a less restrictive rating. Reportedly, this advice came direct from the Pentagon itself, who saw the film as a recruiting tool for the US armed forces, and wanted younger teens to be able to see it for that reason.
The cast had military training and learned to handle real firearms
Before shooting Red Dawn, the cast underwent eight weeks of intensive military training with real Green Berets. They were trained to handle real guns with live ammunition, to make them appear entirely natural for the film’s action scenes. So serious was the approach, reportedly the actors would only be fed at the end of the day if their instructors felt they’d given all they could.
John Milius asked actresses whether they’d be willing to kill a rabbit to survive at the audition
Red Dawn shows Lea Thompson’s Erica and Jennifer Grey’s Toni fight as equals alongside their male cohorts. Reportedly, John Milius made sure his actresses had the steel for it by asking at their audition, “What would happen if you were in the wilderness and you were starving? Could you kill a bunny?” Candidates who were squeamish about this went straight to the ‘no’ pile.
The shooting location was so cold Patrick Swayze got frostbite
Most of Red Dawn was shot outdoors on location in New Mexico during the winter. Apparently the temperature on the set got as low as 0.14 Fahrenheit, or -17.7 degrees Celsius. Although the cast and crew were given Everest assault suits for warmth, it was still a struggle – among others, Swayze got frostbite. As such, when the actors appear to be shivering, they’re not pretending.
Strelnikov actor William Smith was formerly a Russian linguist for the CIA
For the role of Soviet commander Strelnikov, Milius cast William Smith. Viewers of Milius’s films will recognise Smith as Conan’s father in Conan the Barbarian, but he was also a real-life military veteran. Smith served in the US Air Force during the Korean war, later flying secret missions over Russian airspace for the NSA, and working as a Russian linguist for the CIA.
Several paratroopers were blown way off course shooting the opening invasion sequence
The eerie opening of Red Dawn sees scores of Soviet paratroopers soar down into the streets of Calumet, Colorado. This sequence was realised using real paratroopers jumping from overhead aircraft. According to reports, the wind blew several of them way off course.
The CIA investigated the set because one Russian tank replica was so convincing
Red Dawn’s prop department went to lengths to ensure the weapons and vehicles used in Red Dawn were as accurate as possible – which led to them being briefly investigated by the CIA. Reports reached the agency about a T-72 Soviet battle tank being seen in Nevada, where the film was being shot. In fact, the ‘tank’ was only a replica, but a very convincing one.
Lea Thompson and Powers Boothe originally had a love scene
Powers Boothe is one of Red Dawn’s few adult good guys as Lt. Col. Tanner, who develops a close bond with Lea Thompson’s Erica. In the film’s first cut, this relationship was more explicitly romantic, and included a love scene between the 36-year old Boothe and the 23-year old Thompson. However, this scene was deleted as test audiences were uncomfortable with the age difference.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey didn’t get along at all during filming
Red Dawn actors Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey would become arguably the most iconic screen couple of the 80s when they reunited in Dirty Dancing. However, it is well known that at the time they could barely stand one another in real life. It was their experience filming Red Dawn together which gave birth to Swayze and Grey’s infamous tension, as they fell out early.
John Milius named Swayze his ‘Lieutenant’ during the shoot
Part of the tension between Grey and Swayze was because of Swayze constantly bossing her and the other actors around. Swayze explained later he did this at Milius’ behest: “we had to call him The General. And he called me and he says, ‘Swayze, you’re my Lieutenant… I’m directing these little suckers through you.’ So he put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.”
It was the first movie ever released with a PG-13 rating
The plan to get Red Dawn to younger audiences paid off, as it was the first film released under the new certificate aimed specifically toward viewers in their early teens: the PG-13. Red Dawn was the very first film to open with this certificate attached, on August 10th 1984. Other early PG-13 movies include The Woman in Red, Dreamscape and The Flamingo Kid.
It contained ‘the most acts of violence’ in film history at the time
Although Red Dawn was deemed mild enough for a PG-13, it was by no means entirely family-friendly. Not long after its release, Red Dawn was declared to be the most violent film of all time. Guinness calculated that Red Dawn averaged out at 134 acts of violence per hour, or 2.23 per minute, more than any other movie made at that time.
The studio was forced to apologise to Alaska because of an inaccurate poster tagline
The poster art for Red Dawn proclaims, ‘no foreign army has ever occupied American soil – until now.’ This, however, did not take into account the Aleutian Islands campaign, when the Alaskan territory was invaded and occupied by Japan between June 1942 and August 1943. Because of this oversight, studio MGM-UA issued a public apology to Alaska and its war veterans.
It was widely condemned for promoting warfare to a young audience
Milius insisted he did not intend Red Dawn to be a pro-war film, but many critics not felt otherwise. The film and its makers faced widespread criticism for glamorizing gun violence and warfare to young audiences. The New York Times called it “rabidly inflammatory,” The Hollywood Reporter said it was “[bordering] on the self-parodic,” whilst Roger Ebert blasted it as “corrupt from beginning to end.”
The cast distanced themselves from the film’s politics – all except for Charlie Sheen
On release, most of the cast – including Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze – tried to distance themselves from Red Dawn’s politics. Charlie Sheen, however, felt otherwise, bluntly declaring, “I am fed up with the Soviets. If they ever walked in, I’d be armed and ready.” He also mocked his liberal father Martin Sheen, jeering, “he thinks he’s f***ing Gandhi.”
John Milius claims he was blacklisted by Hollywood because of the film’s political overtones
John Milius later claimed the liberal backlash against Red Dawn took its toll on him professionally. Struggling to get hired as a director, he returned to writing for hire full time in the 90s. He lamented in 1992, “If you don’t share the politically correct vision, then you are an outlaw, you are hunted and there is a price on your head.”
The real military operation to capture Saddam Hussein was inspired by the movie
Red Dawn had an unexpected impact on military history in 2003, when the military operation to locate and capture Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was named Operation Red Dawn, in homage to the movie. The primary target – Saddam himself – was even code-named ‘Wolverine 1.’ John Milius later remarked of this, “I was deeply flattered and honored. It’s nice to have a lasting legacy.”
Soviets boycotted the Summer Olympics in 1984
The film Red Dawn was released during a time in which cold war tensions were at a high. Due to this, the Soviet team boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984 – the very same year that Red Dawn was released. The statement from the Soviets claimed the reason was due to ‘anti-Soviet hysteria […] being whipped up’.
John Milius was rejected for military service
While director John Milius crafted this iconic war film, he never actually saw any action himself. Milius attempted to volunteer for action during the Vietnam War but was rejected because of his asthma. He was really upset by this news, calling it ‘totally demoralizing’ in one interview.
John Milius was the inspiration for a character in The Big Lebowski
Many people know and love Joel and Ethan Coen’s iconic film The Big Lebowski. Released in 1998, the film has gone on to win five awards and be nominated for another 18. However, you may not know that John Goodman’s character Walter Sobchak was actually based on Red Dawn director John Milius.
The director was known to carry a loaded pistol onto the set
Milius’ film is full of guns, explosives, and violence but the on-set antics weren’t too different from the fiction. Milius is a gun fanatic and so apparently always carried a loaded pistol onto the set with him at all times. The Coen Brothers claimed that “Whenever we saw him, he’d invite us out to his house to look at his guns — although we never took him up on it.”
It was due to Steven Spielberg that it got a PG13 rating
Director Steven Spielberg is a Hollywood legend for far more than the films he’s released. Red Dawn wouldn’t have received the PG-13 rating it did without Spielberg calling the president of the Motion Picture Association to suggest there should be a rating between R and PG. That’s how Red Dawn became the first film to receive a PG-13 rating.
The film launched various film careers
For a film with such a strange plot and only one nomination, the number of careers that Red Dawn launched is impressive. It was one of the first feature film credits for many actors including Charlie Sheen. Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey all also got their stars in this film before going on to bigger motion pictures like Dirty Dancing.
They apparently removed a scene due to a mass murder
Sometimes trailers will feature scenes or shots that don’t make it into the final film. This may be due to timing or tonal inconsistencies, but it’s usually not due to mass murder. In the original Red Dawn trailer there was a scene of a tank arriving at a McDonald’s. In 1984 before the film was released 21 people were killed in a massacre at one of the fast food establishments.
The film was shot on location in New Mexico
Most of the events of Red Dawn take place in Calumet, Colorado. However, the majority of the film was shot in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The 2012 remake however switches locations and has the majority of the action taking place in Spokane, Washington. The Wolverine’s secret hideout was actually filmed inside an abandoned Safeway.
Parachutist Jon Fisher had to convince a town he wasn’t a terrorist
According to those on set, five parachutists were blown off course while filming the opening scene of Red Dawn. One of the parachutists Jon Fisher was blown a mile off course and while caught in a tree in a small town in the US he tried to convince locals he was not an enemy force but simply making a movie, shouting “I am not a Russian soldier!”
The poster of Genghis Khan isn’t actually Khan
In a fun piece of trivia, set dressers played a little joke. They swapped out a poster of the founder of the Mongol empire Genghis Khan with a caricature of the film’s director John Milius. This can be seen on a classroom wall at the beginning of the movie.
Swayze actually cried during filming
Sometimes great actors will pull from their real life to make their performances more compelling. Patrick Swayze went above and beyond for Red Dawn, actually crying on set when his character Jed had to say goodbye to his father. Swayze claimed this was real and authentic as he had never been able to say goodbye to his own father so the tears were real.
Charlie Sheen suffered an injury on set
As careful as you may try to be, injuries happen – especially on movie sets (just think about the number of iconic injuries actors suffered while filming The Lord of the Rings franchise). While filming Red Dawn actor Charlie Shen injured his cornea. He couldn’t work for four entire days.
C. Thomas Howell used to be a rodeo cowboy
C. Thomas Howell brought far more to Red Dawn than just his portrayal of Robert. The actor helped teach the rest of the cast how to ride horses due to his experience as a professional rodeo cowboy. The actor’s father had been a professional bull rider and Howell claimed he always wanted to be a professional cowboy.
The plot was based on US weaknesses
The plot of Red Dawn (Soviet occupation of America and a Cuban invasion from Mexico) was based on actual weaknesses the US faced at the time according to the CIA and War College studies. The film was based on an alternate America, but officials believed this could have become a real possibility.
Every explosion on set was real
Red Dawn features a lot of explosions and violence, with one reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes claiming that ‘The whole point of “Red Dawn” is to blow up a lot of buildings.’ So you may be surprised to learn that each and every explosion was real, with no computer graphics utilized. Each blast was actual size too, with no miniatures used.
Lea Thompson loved filming the movie
There’s something about knowing that an actor really enjoyed the process of creating a film that makes the audience love it even more. This is why it’s a delight to find out that American actress Lea Thompson loved filming Red Dawn. She claimed that it was the best time she’s ever had filming a movie.
Calumet, Colorado is a real place
The plot of Red Dawn concerns a group of youths deciding to fight against the invading Soviets in their small town of Calumet, Colorado. This town is actually real, but instead of a vibrant local community, it’s a small mining town that is now a ghost town after being abandoned in the 1970s.
Blasts caused damage to set
Explosions on the set were all practical effects which meant that when an exploding jet went off, five trailers were affected by the blast. They were entirely knocked off of their foundations, causing major damage and destruction. If you’ve seen the film, you may believe the carnage was worth it.
Powers Boothe’s character was changed
Andy Tanner is one of the main protagonists of Red Dawn, however, the character was initially written as being very different. Powers Boothe’s character was originally supposed to be anti-war and the voice of reason for the group, however, by the time shooting began he was much more of a conventional warrior.
Many fighting techniques came from native tribes
Most of the fighting and violence that takes place on screen is done through weaponry like guns and explosives. But for the hand-to-hand fighting sequences, a lot of the moves were taken from Native American tribes, like the Apache. This was a touch for Red Dawn that set its fighting techniques apart from other films.
The crew actually built a gas station
You can actually still go and visit one of the shooting locations for Red Dawn – and it’s one that was built exclusively for the movie. For one scene the film required a gas station so the crew built one at an intersection in Las Vegas. It was so convincing that tourists stopped to get gas there, believing it was real.
There’s a reference to the film in Call of Duty
The teenage guerillas in the film who band together the fight back the invading Soviet forces name themselves the ‘Wolverines’. This has become an iconic term of defiance, utilized by Ukrainian forces against the Russians’ recent conflicts, and was also used in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to name a campaign where the Russians invade the United States.
The Russian leader is a reference to Doctor Zhivago
There’s a nod to David Lean’s infamous 1965 film Doctor Zhivago in 1984’s Red Dawn. In Milius’ film, the leader of the Soviet forces is named Strelnikov which is also the name that schoolteacher Pasha Antipov uses when he becomes the leader of the Red Partisans in Doctor Zhivago.
The film features an in-joke that may have been missed
There’s a joke within the script about two of the actors that may go unnoticed by many fans. Erica attempts to identify the airman by ascertaining his nationality. She does this by asking him to identify the capital of Texas. He says Houston, and Erica tries to correct him (wrongly) by saying Austin. Powers Boothe is from Texas and Patrick Swayze was from Houston.
The NCASF denounced the film
Modern audiences may find the Soviet-American Friendship Centre that Toni blows up quite bizarre, but in fact there were organizations who attempted to focus on positive relations between the nations. The National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (NCASF) denounced the film finding it paranoid and militarist.
The film was banned in Finland
During the Cold War, many films were banned in Finland due to their political content. The original Red Dawn was banned in Finland on its first release due to excessive violence. The Manchurian Candidate was also banned due to political reasons. Finland attempted to pursue Cold War neutrality, but did ban various films which could offend the Soviet Union like Red Dawn.
Red Dawn marked the film debut of Charlie Sheen
Before he became a household name with the sitcom Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen took his baby steps in Hollywood by playing Matt Eckert, younger brother to Patrick Swayze’s Jed. It was Sheen’s solid performance in Red Dawn that laid the groundwork for success in classic 80s films including Platoon and Wall Street.
The title ‘Red Dawn’ was borrowed from military jargon
The title ‘Red Dawn’ was not a mere dramatic concoction. It was, in fact, derived from the military term “red dawn alert,” signifying an urgent warning of impending danger. The title perfectly encapsulates the underlying tension and fear in the film, acting as a foreboding for the foreign invasion that turns the American characters’ lives upside down.
The filmmakers used authentic Soviet equipment
The filmmakers went the extra mile to make Red Dawn as authentic as possible. They managed to acquire real Soviet equipment, including weapons and uniforms, to dress the invading forces. This commitment to authenticity added a chilling layer of realism to the film, making the fictional invasion feel all too real.
Patrick Swayze went method for the film
When filming Red Dawn, Patrick Swayze proved his commitment to his role by adopting an immersive method acting approach. Instead of limiting his character, Jed Eckert, to shooting hours, he embodied him at all times, bringing a unique intensity to his performance.
Swayze acted as the director’s proxy on set
Emphasizing his leading role not only on screen but behind the scenes, director John Milius relayed most of his instructions to the cast through Swayze. According to Swayze, Milius saw his leading man as his “Lieutenant of the Art,” stating, “I’m directing these little suckers through you.” While this role brought extra responsibility, Swayze took it in his stride, regardless of it sometimes causing friction with his fellow actors.
Red Dawn stands as one of the coldest film productions on record
The cast and crew of Red Dawn had to adapt to some seriously bone-chilling temperatures during production. On several occasions, the temperature reportedly got down to 0.14°F. This is particularly evident in the final school playground scene, where the relentless cold brings an additional layer of intensity and urgency to the action.
Everest assault suits were a necessity due to the freezing conditions
The cold conditions were so severe during the filming of Red Dawn that the cast and crew had to don Everest assault suits just to keep warm. These high-tech, insulated outfits, designed to withstand the harsh conditions of mountain expeditions, were a lifesaver in the sub-zero temperatures encountered on the Red Dawn set.
The film was initially set in Calumet, Michigan
The original script of Red Dawn was intended to be set in Calumet, Michigan. However, the filmmakers decided to shift the location to a fictional version of Calumet, Colorado. The central placement of Colorado within the United States was seen as a better fit for the narrative of an invading force spreading across the country.
A deeper love story between Jed and Toni was dropped from the final cut
Red Dawn could have had a more intricate love subplot between Patrick Swayze’s Jed and Jennifer Grey’s Toni. However, Swayze felt that an elaborate romantic angle might not mesh well with the overall plot of the film, leading to its omission from the final cut. Swayze and Grey would later strike up an iconic on-screen romance in Dirty Dancing.
The actors’ meals during boot camp were at the mercy of their instructors
During their rigorous boot camp training, the actors were only allowed to eat if their instructor deemed they’d earned it. This tough love approach not only helped forge a stronger bond among the cast members, but also served as a crash course in the harsh realities and sacrifices of military life that their characters would have to endure.
Getting the film to the big screen was a challenge
Despite its later cult status, Red Dawn initially had a rocky path to distribution. It faced considerable pushback due to its controversial political themes and high violence quotient. But much like the characters in the film, the team behind Red Dawn refused to back down, and their determination eventually won the day when the movie was finally released.
The film came under fire for its caricatured villains
While Red Dawn may be remembered for its high-stakes action and patriotic fervor, it also drew flak for its simplistic portrayal of the Soviet and Cuban enemies. Critics argued that these characters were painted with too broad a brush, making them seem more like cartoon villains than real people. They felt this lack of nuance played into stereotypes and did little to promote a more complex understanding of the geopolitical tensions of the time.
The film was a box office success
Despite the film’s mixed reviews and political controversy, it still managed to make a profit at the box office. Red Dawn was made on a budget of $17 million, a sizeable sum for its time, especially for a war film with relatively unknown young actors in leading roles. However, the film’s unique premise and thrilling action sequences managed to draw audiences to the theaters, and it grossed $78 million worldwide.
The US flag used in the movie has only 48 stars
The makers of Red Dawn paid careful attention to details, as can be seen from the US flag featured in the classroom at the start of the movie and other scenes. Instead of the current 50-star flag, a 48-star version was used. This was the flag used during World War II, perhaps serving as a symbolic reference to the movie portraying the start of an imagined World War III.
The film displays a significant Soviet-era film in a movie theater
The movie theater featured in Red Dawn is not just a background element; it contains a subtle and symbolic nod to historical cinema. The theater is seen to be showing Alexander Nevsky (1938), a Soviet-era film about a Russian prince who successfully defends his lands against an invading army.
The film’s tanks were driven backward for authenticity
Making the film as authentic as possible was clearly a priority for the production team, and this even extended to the tanks used in the film. Most modern tanks have their sprocket wheel at the rear. Since the Soviet equipment depicted in the film was primarily replicated using American M-48 tanks, they were driven backward, and a fiberglass turret was added to lend the replicas a more realistic look.
In 2022, some abandoned Russian tanks in Ukraine were spray painted with ‘Wolverines’
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, some abandoned Russian tanks found in Ukraine were spray-painted with the word ‘Wolverines’. The moniker is drawn from Red Dawn, in which the students, resisting a Russian invasion, adopt Wolverines as their resistance group’s title.
The war in Red Dawn may have been shorter than you think
Have you ever noticed that the characters in Red Dawn don’t seem to age throughout the film? If you look closely at the final scene at Partisan Rock, it’s apparent that the characters look almost the same as they did at the start of the war. This suggests that the war depicted in the film may have only lasted a year or two, a stark contrast to the typical time frame associated with such conflicts.
The original script carried a different title
Every film starts with an idea, and Red Dawn was no exception. Penned by Kevin Reynolds during his student years, the script underwent numerous transformations before it hit the big screen. Interestingly, the initial draft was named ‘Ten Soldiers’, a far cry from the eventual title that has now become iconic in pop culture.
There was a remake in 2012
The influence of Red Dawn didn’t end in the 1980s. In 2012, a remake of the film was released with a fresh cast including Chris Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson. While the enemy forces were updated from Soviet invaders to North Koreans, the spirit of youthful resistance remained. However, unlike the 1984 version, the remake didn’t hit the mark with audiences and ultimately flopped at the box office.
The remake stoked tensions between the US and China
Originally, studio MGM-UA had the US being invaded not by Russia, but China in the 2012 remake. This prompted a furious reaction from the state-run Chinese media, threatening international relations. Shot in 2009 and unreleased for three years, the remake opened in 2012, heavily re-edited and digitally augmented to turn the Chinese villains into North Koreans.
John Milius refuses to watch the remake
Dan Bradley’s remake of Red Dawn may have starred Hollywood action heroes like Chris Hemsworth, but that doesn’t mean John Milius has given the film any attention. In 2014, Red Dawn 1984 director Milius stated that he hadn’t seen the 2012 remake of his movie and didn’t intend to.
