Red Dawn: Classic 1980's War Movie

Wolverines! Guerrilla Warfare! Parachuting Cubans! You know the movie that I'm talking about, Red Dawn. It was an action packed 1980's war movie that was the answer to all those liberals who didn't understand what the cold war was all about. Red Dawn followed a group of high school students from a small Colorado town who hold off the Russian and Cuban armies in an attempt to preserve freedom and the American way of life. At the box office, Red Dawn suffered from negative movie reviews and few would have guessed at the time that it would be considered it to be one of the classic movies of the 1980's, but a classic it has become.

Red Dawn starts out with the students in a classroom while their teaching is talking about how Genghis Khan would wage warfare. As the teacher is lecturing, paratroopers are seen landing in the schoolyard. The inquisitive teacher leaves the classroom to inquire about the paratroopers and is promptly shot. General mayhem ensues as the Cuban paratroopers shoot up the school. A group of students are able to escape with Jed, a former high school quarterback, up to the hills. After a few twists and turns, the young group of students, augmented by two girls taken in as a favor, turn to guerrilla warfare. It's a simple premise to an action packed movie.

Like many great war movies, there's a definite message in this movie. It's a strong critique on war and the costs of war. While it is from a conservative perspective, even liberal patriots can see and appreciate the message you get from the memorial at Partisan Rock. This was a message that resonated in my family when we watched it every Thanksgiving afternoon.

Backed up by a who's who of young actors, Red Dawn was an instant classic, despite the fact that newspaper movie reviews were less than flattering. How can liberal movie critics understand a patriotic movie like Red Dawn? It should be noted that consumer movie reviews at the time were positive. Movie reviews aside, time has proven that Red Dawn is one of those classic movies with a timeless message. It was pure and simple freedom fighting and guerrilla warfare. For those of you who haven't gotten a chance to see Red Dawn yet, you can still get out there and buy the movie. I put some places where you can buy it at the end of this article so have fun.