My Milius
Red Dawn (1984)
directed by John Milius
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
My enduring image of John Milius is the director zipping around the desert set of The Wind and the Lion on a dirt bike with an American flag on a short pole behind him. A nutcase, in other words. The Wind and the Lion was and probably still is my dad's favorite movie, and like a lot of movies I grew up with, I wear it near and dear. There's the Indianapolis speech from Jaws, of course, and Conan the Barbarian and the "ol' Potomac two-step, Jack" bit from the corrupt Presidente of Clear and Present Danger. So much good!
Red Dawn is ridiculous. The politics are offensive (registered gun owners are the first Americans the commies lock up, kids who took a beating from their dads are stronger for this new national nightmare, etc.), and, strained through Patrick Swayze's sobbing performance, funny to the point of unbearable. To Milius' credit, he obviously understands how outrageous it gets; once the Reds move in, the local cineplex shows Alexander Nevsky and advertises - what else? - free screenings. But a Russian soldier prying a handgun from the dead fingers of a man shot out of a truck with a "They Can Have My Gun When They Pry It From My Cold, Dead Fingers" bumper sticker is so far out of control, it's better to argue the merits one can argue back on planet Red, White, & Blue.
To that end, the opening sequence, and Milius' consistent on-location use of a uniquely American landscape (you can't mistake Alberta for New Mexico) sells a kind of deep-seated fear about foreign invasion that's honestly hard to imagine until you see paratroopers setting down outside a high school on the Great Plains. It's great moviemaking, however jingoistic the messenger. Plus: picture credits!
directed by John Milius
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
My enduring image of John Milius is the director zipping around the desert set of The Wind and the Lion on a dirt bike with an American flag on a short pole behind him. A nutcase, in other words. The Wind and the Lion was and probably still is my dad's favorite movie, and like a lot of movies I grew up with, I wear it near and dear. There's the Indianapolis speech from Jaws, of course, and Conan the Barbarian and the "ol' Potomac two-step, Jack" bit from the corrupt Presidente of Clear and Present Danger. So much good!
Red Dawn is ridiculous. The politics are offensive (registered gun owners are the first Americans the commies lock up, kids who took a beating from their dads are stronger for this new national nightmare, etc.), and, strained through Patrick Swayze's sobbing performance, funny to the point of unbearable. To Milius' credit, he obviously understands how outrageous it gets; once the Reds move in, the local cineplex shows Alexander Nevsky and advertises - what else? - free screenings. But a Russian soldier prying a handgun from the dead fingers of a man shot out of a truck with a "They Can Have My Gun When They Pry It From My Cold, Dead Fingers" bumper sticker is so far out of control, it's better to argue the merits one can argue back on planet Red, White, & Blue.
To that end, the opening sequence, and Milius' consistent on-location use of a uniquely American landscape (you can't mistake Alberta for New Mexico) sells a kind of deep-seated fear about foreign invasion that's honestly hard to imagine until you see paratroopers setting down outside a high school on the Great Plains. It's great moviemaking, however jingoistic the messenger. Plus: picture credits!
posted by NPK at 8:01 AM
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