|
|
|
|
| Special Features: |
Full-screen and widescreen letterbox formats.
Chapter selection.
Production notes.
Theatrical trailer.
|
| Video Format: |
Widescreen (1.85:1)
[DS-SL]
|
| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
French (Dolby Digital 2.0)
|
| Captions: |
English, Spanish, French.
|
| Sides: |
1-Disc Keep Case
|
Writer director John Milius is known for macho, balls-to-the-wall screenplays and movies. His ending for "Apocalypse Now" was to brutal for Coppola. His movie "Dillinger" is one of the best gangster films ever made. Oh Yeah, Milius was the guy who wrote the script for that peace loving San Francisco police detective Harry Callahan in a little known movie called "Dirty Harry." I like John Milius. Even though he tends to go overboard with his xenophobic paranoia every once in a while. His paranoid masterpiece has to be "Red Dawn" (1984). Made at the height of the Reagan administration, "Red Dawn" poses the what if question concerning an invasion of America by the Soviet block. These were the days in which the bad after taste of Vietnam and Watergate were being washed out of America’s collective mouth. President Reagan had publicly called the Soviet Union "The Evil Empire." "Red Dawn" was a patriotic breath mint to help teenagers feel proud of our country again.
What can you say about a film which has a high school teacher machine gunned to death in front of his students in the opening sequence? A lot of left-wing fanatics might rail against this movie as right wing propaganda. I just thought it was fun on first viewing. My complaints about the movie come from a recent viewing. Those complaints are all technical. I believe the viewing public has the good sense to see "Red Dawn" for what it is. A fantasy in which a group of high school kids hide out in the mountains of the American west and fight a guerrilla campaign against the Russian and Cuban soldiers who have parachuted into our backyard.
Yes the movie is an NRA wet-dream. It shows just what will happen if our freedom to bear arms is abridged! That was said tongue in cheek for those who aren’t regular readers. Bottom line is, "Red Dawn" is a pre-teen boys army man fantasy. The movie is fun. The movie is stupid. The battle scenes are well executed. Fans of Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen will enjoy it. Powers Booth has a nice cameo as a U.S. pilot who helps the kids. The always enjoyable Harry Dean Stanton also appears in a throw away part. Put your mind in neutral and enjoy.
Another popular 80s movie. Fair, but extremely popular movie, so-so picture, good sound. Reasonably price vanilla DVD.
Picture Quality: 7/10
MGM really didn't have a good film to start with. The photography in "Red Dawn" has been surpassed by many an independent filmmaker with Digital Video technology. The transfer is OK, but it is still a poorly photographed movie.
Sound Quality: 9/10
The surround sound is fairly good. You can hear the rockets and bullets flying over your head. Not great, but pretty good.
Menu: 6/10
OK use of images from the film. Nothing special. Easy to navigate.
Extra Features: 3/10
Not much there. A theatrical trailer and a few production notes.
The Final Word:
Popular movie. Vanilla DVD. At least it is priced to reflect the lack of extras. I've noticed that MGM better than any of the other majors does price vanilla DVDs in a reasonable manner.
Rusty White
|
|
|
 |
Sponsored by:
Warning: require(../../sponsors/mgm.php) [function.require]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /vz/home/einsider/public_html/templates/120x600.php on line 14
Warning: require(../../sponsors/mgm.php) [function.require]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /vz/home/einsider/public_html/templates/120x600.php on line 14
Fatal error: require() [function.require]: Failed opening required '../../sponsors/mgm.php' (include_path='.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /vz/home/einsider/public_html/templates/120x600.php on line 14
| | | | |
American Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to the hardest hit areas of Katrina’s destruction, supplying hundreds of
thousands victims left homeless with critical necessities. By making a financial gift to Hurricane 2005 Relief, the Red
Cross can provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need.
