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Reviews
Red Dawn (1984)
Unrealistic but Stirring
OK, so this is not the most realistic war film ever (lots of ***SPOILERS***)... First, it is based on a scenario where, during the 80's, Ronald Reagan either does not become President of the US, and/or the Reagan doctrine is not applied. The Reagan doctrine was the policy of challenging Soviet expansionism by the funding of guerrillas whose aim it was to topple Soviet-backed states (the most notable application of this policy was in Nicaragua where the US sponsored the Contras) and sponsoring states that were challenged by Communist guerrillas. In any case, the West continues the 70's policy of detente and shrinks back from conflict with the Soviets and MacNamara's "Domino Theory" becomes reality in Central America with all those states (even Mexico) becoming Communist.
If you accept that as a possibility, than you must accept premise #2 -- the Soviets and their allies are able to quickly invade and take over roughly a third of U.S. territory without tipping their hand and revealing their plans to U.S. forces prior to the invasion. Moreover, the U.S. nuclear deterrent is not unleashed as both sides know it would be the end of life on earth.
Finally, the U.S. stands alone against the Communists -- Europe has turned pacifist. They are seemingly content to sit out and watch WWIII from the sidelines.
So if you suspend disbelief and accept all of these premises, you can then proceed to evaluate the film on its relative merits. Here are some highlights:
1. The film shows how ordinary citizens (high school) students become transformed into guerrilla fighters. During the transformation, each character suffers loss, shows bitterness, anger, resolve, weakness, exhilaration, and exhaustion. The group has to resolve external and internal conflicts.
2. The film both alternately glorifies and disparages war. Victories for the Wolverines come easily and some come bloodlessly for their side. However, the Wolverines do suffer losses (although not as high as history would suggest is appropriate for guerrillas as some reviewers have correctly pointed out - for instance, the Vietcong and Majahadeen suffered appalling losses against their Superpower foes). There is a Lord of the Flies undercurrent as to the evil that lurks within people as some of the characters become hardened fighters.
3. The plot is generally weak. There is no lead-in to movement in plot lines. For example, when the downed pilot is taken back to the front lines so that he can cross the lines and return to free America, there is no lead-in to this. It is not explored why he is going back (why did he stay with the Wolverines so long in the first place?) or what effect this may have on the group. When the Wolverines go into town (on a couple occasions) it is preceded by a short discussion of "We are out of food", "OK, let's go into town".
4. The action is exciting. Yes, the military tactics aren't the most realistic -- for instance, how could a group of 8 or 9 guerrillas attack a heavily armed reeducation camp and free all the detainees? Why would the Soviet fighter planes try to take off? Where does the group get the RPGs and all the explosives from? And yet, it is thrilling to see the patriotic US kids take on the enemy. We all wish we would have their determination and resolve against such poor odds.
5. Some dialogue of the communists is over-the-top. For instance, at one point, the communists talk as if they have never fought against guerrilla insurgents in the past in any of their previous conquests. This seems unlikely. This suggests Americans have a unique brand of patriotism (doubtful) and/or is a result of Americans having greater access to guns (certainly true). The film implies both are true.
6. The acting is ok. To me it seems neither fantastic nor terrible either. There isn't a whole lot of character development. When I first saw the move in the 80's, it wasn't exactly clear to me which characters were which. Before all the young actors went on to various fame/fortune, they seemed somewhat of a relatively interchangeable bunch (Patrick Swayze, as Jed - the leader of the group - is one of the few to stand out). Seeing this film again in recent years (after not having watched it since the 80's), I know who all the actors are and it makes their characters stand out more.
7. There are some very memorable scenes. For example - Americans in reeducation camps. American civilians shot by firing squad. The Wolverines on the run from the Helicopters. The execution of one of their own group members for being a traitor. The tank battle near the front lines. The scenes in the mountains in the snow all feel very cold. The desolation and isolation the group feels shines through.
This film represents a snapshot in time of the 80's to some degree also. At that time, Reagan's saber-rattling (for example, when he called the Soviet Union an "Evil Empire") and standing up to the Soviets by reinforcing the Contras (and guerrillas elsewhere), and deploying intermediate range nuclear missiles in Europe, just to list a couple examples, had many foes. There were fears that nuclear armageddon was near (hence, why Reagan simultaneously pursued the SDI anti-missile defense system or "Star Wars" to help allay such fears). There were widespread pacifist protesters in Europe who did not support US policies. The Soviets did exploit US history by pointing out the poor treatment of Native Americans - they typically did this whenever the US criticized them on their human rights record.
During the 80's, Americans were more worried about a Communist takeover since anytime since the 50's. The communists were on a march around the world -- they had imposed martial law in Poland to defeat the Solidarity trade union strike and had invaded Afghanistan. Mikhail Gorbachev had not yet come to power in Moscow. As silly and far-fetched as these fears may seem now, they were real at the time and did exist. The miniseries "Amerika" - shown on broadcast TV in 1987 represents the swan song of such fears implemented in film.
Communism was and is an evil system. This film is criticized by some because it shows some of the devices that the Soviets actually used (reeducation camps, brutality toward and repression of civilians). Such criticism is surprising to see. The communists system was and is a totalitarian system based on force and fear. It is difficult today to see how anyone could defend it (if you disagree with this, please read up on the history of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, or the Chinese during the Cultural Revolution). Yes, capitalism has its flaws and the US government sometimes demonstrates hypocrisy in its policies worldwide, but we and other western democracies clearly have the best form of government on the planet today.
Taken together the movie is not great, but very memorable and worth watching. Like some other reviewers, I though of this movie after September 11th if only because of the rise of American patriotism and the shock of the attack on American soil. If you can suspend your disbelief on a number of key points, this is a feel-good film where ordinary Americans rise up to defeat their foes against unseeming odds.
Probe (1988)
Thought-provoking Series
Although I haven't seen this series since it debuted, I remember it as good thought-provoking, interesting, and humorous TV. My sister and I were fans of Parker Stevenson going back to the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew series of late 70's fame and, hence, why we were initially drawn to this show.
In retrospect, this show may have been somewhat ahead of its time -- as issues explored in it (scientific exploration of paranormal, seemingly unexplainable phenomena) later would become the basis for the Fox hit, The X-Files. In Probe, Parker Stevenson played a similarly quirky but brilliant character role later immortalized by David Duchovny's portrayal of the Fox Mulder character in X-Files. Stevenson's character was more quirky and less conventional though - falling more into the eccentric genius type of character. Likewise, similar to the X-Files, the secretary who worked with the main character on cases provided the role of the surprised/amazed skeptic -- the perfect foil for Stevenson's odd antics and bizarre theories.
Unfortunately, the show was put up against The Cosby Show (which was at the height of its popularity at the time) and therefore had no chance to gain an audience. Having debuted on an established network (not sure just which one) with no reason to gamble on such a concept (as Fox later did), the show died a quick death. Unfortunate.
I would be interested to see any of these episodes again because I wonder what my impressions of it would be now.