By: MattInRC
RED DAWN offers a good (but not great) video and audio experience in a film that holds up fairly well...sort of.
As an 80's child who grew up on television's first forays into quality spy thrillers like Airwolf and The Equalizer, I can remember the release of the original RED DAWN as more of a yawnfest than a gritty interpretation of a conventional World War III. At the time, I remember thinking that invasion was not only a possibility but a certainty; The Day After had been released in 1983, occupying my nightmares for a week. But, the film never connected with me for some reason - perhaps its happy ending didn't match my new perceptions of war in the nuclear age. To be honest, I've hadn't watched either film since their initial releases because of my impulsive reaction to them. But with the release of the disappointing remake, a revisiting of the original Red Dawn now on Blu-ray made it a little more timely, watchable, and even relatable...if you can get over the good (not great) transfer.
The Movie - 3/5
As the United States moves closer to isolationism, partly due to a majority of NATO countries bowing out, the Russians, Cubans, and Western European Communists stage a bold invasion of our country, transporting troops on fake commercial jetliners, posing as Mexican illegal immigrants, and even obliterating cities like Washington DC while staging more conventional campaigns against places like Calumet, Colorado. There, a local high school becomes the center of the conflict, as airborne soldiers quickly overtake the population, killing many and imprisoning the survivors in re-education camps. High school senior Jed Eckert (Patrick Swayze, Roadhouse) escapes with several younger students, including his brother Matt (Charlie Sheen) and their friend Robert (C. Thomas Howell). Matt and Jed soon learn that their father (Harry Dean Stanton) has been captured and will soon be executed, who orders them through a fence to avenge his imminent death. Together with several other children including Toni (Jennifer Grey) and Erica (Lea Thompson), Jed, Matt, and Daryl form The Wolverines, named for their HS mascot and begin to wreck havoc on local Soviet roadblocks and convoys.
Desiring to take the country in one piece rather than risking a deadly nuclear conflict, Russia has split the US into thirds. Calumet is in "Occupied America" as opposed to Free America, and the enemy soon pushes back on The Wolverines by executing prisoners in an attempt to force the rebels to hault their attacks. Undeterred, they discover the downed US Air Force Pilot Andrew Tanner (Powers Booth), who assists them in further crippling the enemy's control. but the kids are being led into a false sense of security, as Mother Russia unleashes the full measure of their military might against them. As Wolverine causalities begin to pile up, the core group executes a bold plan to liberate Danny and Erica to liberated territory, leaving Jed and Matt to fight a Russian colonel, who in the end cannot bring himself to kill the boys. Mortally wounded, the brothers retreat to a local park where they played as kids, determined to die on familiar ground. As the epilogue rolls, we learn that the US did eventually repel the invasion, and that Danny and Erica survived to tell their story.
Like it or not, Director John Milius takes a decidedly pointed stance with Red Dawn, steering far away from the typical 80's Hollywood stance of cheap blondes and stories that drink easy like light beer. Whether one appreciated the final result or not is less important than the effort made to tell it. Granted, the film looks dated today, both in tone and feel; but its literary center remains intact, demonstrating the horrors of war and forest survival in a way not seen to that time. In fact, Red Dawn was so controversial in 1984 that it received the first PG-13 rating ever, a fact which might have hurt its potential box office performance. I doubt Milius cared about such minutia, as the film does still resonate as a cult classic. Whatever your perceptions of war and killing to defend one's land, one cannot deny that Red Dawn admirably faced that challenge to tell a stirring and cautionary tale.
The Video - 3.5/5
RED DAWN invades Blu-ray with a decent MPEG-AVC transfer that's definitely not perfect but passable for a low-cost library release. This version is a bit cleaned up from the DVD release, but still suffers from a myriad of issues including grain and dirt. The problem might be found in the lack of a clean master print from which to base the restoration, an absolute necessity when going down such a path. Although a company like Disney seems to have quite the handle on its animated restorations, Red Dawn is squarely the victim of circumstance, settling for a half-baked transfer rather than doing the film justice. And while definition, sharpness, and clarity improve drastically when the action shifts to the ground, the image still doesn't dazzle, but it won't terribly disappoint either. As we approach the 30-year anniversary of Red Dawn, perhaps the studio will revive a better master print to give the film the visual attention it deserves.
The Audio 3/5
Once again, audiences are treated to a fair DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack for Red Dawn that neither impresses nor disappoints. Gunfire and explosions come off as typical 80's sound effects, missing any real thunderous impact; hand-to-fighting effects also suffer, but given the limitations in sound at the time, the overall effect isn't as terrible as one might think. At some points in the movie, automatic weapons fire and tank and RPG shells actually get a better treatment than in other places, leading one to believe the entire audio field might have suffered from issues at the source, which would have resulted in the uneven soundfield. And while zero ambience seems to arrive in the rear speakers, dialogue is sharp throughout. Overall, it's a fair effort.
Supplements - 2/5
Perhaps the worst part of Red Dawn lies in its limp features which were ported over from the DVD release. There is no top menu available, and all features must be accessed during the film's playback. There's no retrospective, nor a commentary to be had. In fact, only one new feature (the trailer) is offered in HD. I haven't seen this sort of dropped ball since Blu-ray was introduced. I had hoped we would be over such humble beginnings, but the team in charge of Red Dawn obviously didn't think it was a problem.
Red Dawn Rising (23:00): A look-back at the movie, complete with acst and crew interviews.
Building the Red Menace (9:36): A featurette on Director John Milius' extensive military knowledge of hardware and the process of constructing Russian equipment for the film.
Training for WWIII (9:49): This section discusses how the actors were trained to fight and became familiarized with the weapons featured in the film.
WWIII Comes to Town (13:26): A good featurette showing how locations in New Mexico and Las Vegas were utilized for the film.
Red Dawn Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:16)
The Final Word - 3.5/5
Red Dawn was a kick in the teeth for its time, and its message still resonates. With the world seemingly spiraling towards some sort of armed conflict, it connects with the dangerous times in which we live, portraying a world where civilization itself could be upended. Debate still rages as to Red Dawn's merits, but its message started an entire genre that encapsulates so much of our current lives within it. And although this discounted library offering is lacking in almost every way, the script and performances are solid. Movies about death and war are commonplace today, but Red Dawn probably began the trend. If you want to see the genre in its earliest form, check out this release.
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