Normally I try to post memorabilia from movies I like. But here are a pair of stills in my collection from one of my least favourite movies ever.

I saw the original version of Red Dawn when I was reviewing movies for the student newspaper at university. I hated it from the off, but felt duty bound to sit through the whole film for the purpose of writing my review. I came out of the cinema not quite sure I could believe what I had just seen and scratching my head as to how on earth a movie like Red Dawn ever got green-lit.

Red Dawn was written and directed by John MIlius, who also brought us Conan The Barbarian and had a hand in writing both Apocalypse Now and the Dirty Harry movies. He has never made any secret of his pro-war, right wing, gun-loving views. (In fact, Milius allegedly asked to receive a gun of his choice as part of his deal for directing Red Dawn, so go figure.)

The movie’s premise is beyond ludicrous: Russia invades America, along with its Commie South American allies. The action takes place in the mid-West. The evil Ruskies parachute in, round up the freedom lovin’ Americans into internment camps, and begin to brutally torture and execute anyone who gets in their way. That is, until a group of flag-waving all-American teens known as the “Wolverines” foil them by staging a guerrilla war.  

The movie firstly expects you to buy into the teen Rambo schtick hook line and sinker, then finally tries to move you to tears with the (spoiler alert – sorry, but if you choose to sit through this whole movie I have zero sympathy) noble deaths of hero brothers Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen at the end. Yes it really is that stupid and reactionary.

Red Dawn is very much a precursor of another very jingoistic, simplistic war movie I also hated – Pearl Harbour. (Which incidentally I had the bizarre experience of watching at the Japan premiere in Tokyo Dome, along with Ben Affleck and 30,000 no doubt bemused Japanese.) Sitting through both of these excruciating movies is 5 hours of my life that sadly I will never get back. As further proof of its questionable effect on the zeitgeist the operation to capture Saddam Hussein was code-named Operation Red Dawn. The fact that Hollywood also saw fit to produce a remake of it in 2012 (in which North Korea somehow invades the US) to me beggars belief. 

I’m posting this here simply because I find the image of the Russian soldiers (complete with bearskin hats, kalashnikovs and tank) outside McDonalds hilariously ridiculous (unintentionally I’m sure). The second still I have is of Powers Boothe, who plays an ass-kicking, cigar-chomping fighter pilot (aren’t they all?).