This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the iconic Cold War thriller Red Dawn. This film is a film by a conservative Hollywood director who expresses his patriotism and love for the American military, and warns of the dangers of gun control. But the film also taught its creators a deep lesson about the liberal Hollywood mentality.
Amanda Milius, the daughter of the film's director, spoke to FOX News Digital about the film's 40th anniversary, its legacy, and what the film revealed to her father. “Red Dawn,'' released in 1984, depicts the story of the Soviet Union's invasion of the United States and a conventional ground battle within the United States. The film featured some of the most popular actors of the time and has been considered a cultural touchstone of the Cold War era.
“I don't think Hollywood liked it very much,” Amanda Milius told Fox News Digital about the film's unabashed patriotism.
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The cast of the original version of “Red Dawn” fought against the invading Soviet Union. (MGM/UA)
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The younger Milius, a filmmaker and former Trump administration official, talked about what his father learned from making movies.
“What he taught me and my brothers… was that all Hollywood cares about is whether or not it makes money,” she said. “That's not true. That movie made a lot of money and they said, 'Don't ever pick up a camera again until you calm down.'
She added, “Many have argued that it was because of Red Dawn's politics that he was not able to finish his career in the prolific way that he should have.'' …It wasn't the kind of movie that Hollywood expected.” I was interested in putting it out at that point. ”
John Milius, co-writer of “Apocalypse Now'' and director of “Conan the Barbarian,'' suffered a stroke in 2010. When asked about her health, Amanda told Fox News Digital, “I can't speak as well as I used to.'' . But overall, “he's doing well…he's doing what he's supposed to do. He's stable, he's happy.”
Red Dawn premiered on August 10, 1984 and starred Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, and Powers Boothe. The film revolves around a group of teenagers, mostly high school students, who fight back against the invasion of the Russian military.
Amanda Milius has reflected on the 40th anniversary of the release of her father John Milius' Cold War thriller “Red Dawn,” saying Hollywood is outraged by the film's patriotic overtones. (Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for EPIX)
When asked why the film resonated and continued to resonate for more than a generation, the younger Milius explained why Swayze's character is about young people fighting desperately to protect America from harsh odds. I quoted a passage from the movie that sums it up. “Because we live here,” he explained simply.
“that [scene] It means “we have to do this.” We have to protect this country…this is our responsibility,” she said. My high school friends and I got in the truck and went to defend it in any way we could. ”
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John Milius is a former Director of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and “Red Dawn” featured scenes in which the Soviet Union used gun registration lists to seize weapons. Young Milius said of his father and the scene: “I think 'Red Dawn' is the movie where he was able to do as much as he wanted without interference, because there's a lot of things he did in that movie that he could never do today.” , which means you can never do it. ”
She called the gun confiscation moment her father's warning to “beware of government overreach,” adding, “I think most people love that scene. I love it too. Well, I think it was pretty spot on. I think so,” he added.
The film quickly created a bond with many conservatives. Al Haig, former Secretary of State for Ronald Reagan, told the Los Angeles Herald Examiner on August 15, 1984, that the film “captures the stress of patriotism, the feeling of love, and most of all, the futility of war.” praised the movie.
“Red Dawn” also starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray. The two would later team up again in 1987's Dirty Dancing. (Photo courtesy of Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
But liberal Hollywood didn't react so well. famous critic Roger Ebert's review infuriates At the time: “I think this movie is corrupt from start to finish. And one of the problems I had with this movie is that it makes a very clear political statement. …There was a whole lot of right-wing ideology that was not present in this movie itself.” ”
Amanda Milius puts it this way: “Can you even imagine that a movie this left-wing would be a problem for Hollywood? In fact, I can't think of a movie that's too left-wing for Hollywood.” Of the disdain, she added, “That's exactly what Hollywood thought the whole thing was about. Too patriotic.”
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A remake of the infamous 2012 Red Dawn. changed the villain After this movie was shot, it was passed on from the Chinese to the North Koreans. Asked about her father's reaction, she said she was “directly ordered” not to watch it, adding: “None of us paid a dime to see a single frame of it.” .
She added that even the remake version is not allowed in her house.
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