‘Red Dawn’ 40th anniversary: Remembering the first-ever movie to receive a ‘PG-13’ rating
During the summer of 1984, parental outrage over the unexpected gore and graphic violence in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Gremlins” led to a ratings change by the Motion Picture Association of America. Encouraged by Steven Spielberg, director of “Temple of Doom” and producer of “Gremlins,” on July 1, 1984, the MPAA introduced the “PG-13” rating, indicating that “parents are strongly cautioned to give special guidance to children under 13.” A few weeks later, on August 10, 1984, “Red Dawn” became the first American film released with the new rating. Although it got mixed reviews upon its debut, it has become a cult classic both for featuring a group of young actors who went on to become some of the biggest stars of the decade, and for its themes that are reminders of the real fear Americans felt over the Cold War. Read on for more about the “Red Dawn” 40th anniversary.
Writer Kevin Reynolds’ original script was called “Ten Soldiers” and was intended to be a small-budget “art” picture. But MGM studio executives wanted a summer teen flick, and the head honchos brought in John Milius, who had scored a writing Oscar nomination for “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and had most recently written and directed “Conan the Barbarian” (1982), to direct. General Alexander Haig, who had served as Chief of Staff under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and as Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan, had acquired a seat on the MGM board of directors, and took an interest in this film, teaming with Milius on a rewrite that focuses on military strategy.
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With Haig’s counsel, Milius reworked the script into a doomsday scenario in which a Soviet invasion splits the United States, igniting WWIII. Instead of a straight battle-filled war film, they developed a story around a group of Colorado teens, who join forces to counterattack the invaders after their high school and town are infiltrated with Soviet occupiers. The group of friends call themselves the “Wolverines” after their high school mascot, and are comprised of a group of actors who helped defined the “it” group of 1980s pop culture.
The decade was a prime time for young actors, with teen films a hot commodity at the box office. A few would rise above the rest to become teen idols and to have long-lasting careers. In the summer of 1984, most of the young stars of “Red Dawn” were relatively unknown, although some had appeared in the 1983 hit coming-of-age film “The Outsiders,” with C. Thomas Howell becoming a breakout star for his portrayal of Ponyboy Curtis. His costar from that film, Patrick Swayze, also costars in “Red Dawn” as Jed, whose brother Matt is portrayed by Charlie Sheen — whose real-life brother Emilio Estevez, coincidentally, was also one of “The Outsiders.” “Red Dawn” is also an early effort for Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey, who would further cement their cinema legacy with films like the “Back to the Future” franchise (Thompson) and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (Grey). Although Swayze and Grey clashed on the set of “Red Dawn,” four years later the pair lit up the screen with “Dirty Dancing.”
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For these actors, and for those of us who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, the “second wave” of the Cold War brought the very real threat of nuclear war and possibility of a Soviet attack. Haig advised Milius on the backstory in which the invasion takes place, helping to determine which countries would fall, and which would ally with each side of the war. The cast went through eight weeks of military training before filming began. The final cut contains 134 acts of violence per hour, averaging to 2.23 per minute. “The Guinness Book of Records” deemed it the most violent film up to that time.
In the 40 years since the release of “Red Dawn,” the world has changed in many ways, with the fall of the Soviet Union somewhat lessening the Red Scare that loomed over Americans for decades. But different evils have emerged, and the fictional group of teens who called themselves “Wolverines” have become a symbol of the fight. The operation to capture Saddam Hussein was dubbed “Operation Red Dawn,” and its targets “Wolverine 1” and “Wolverine 2.” As the Ukraines fight the invasion of Russia into their country, Russian armored vehicles destroyed by resistance fighters have been spray-painted with the word “Wolverines.” “Red Dawn” has a lasting legacy not only as a bit of trivia as the first “PG-13” film, but also as a symbol of the outnumbered underdog fighting the good fight.
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