Director Flattered as Iraq Stars in 'Red Dawn' Sequel

LA Times ^ | 12/16/03 | Bob Baker

[RightWingAtheist]

I actually found Red Dawn kind of boring. Millius is a much better writer than he is a director (he's responsible for most the best dialogue in Jaws-the parts where QUint describes the sinking of the Anapolis and where he and Dreyfus swap scar stories), and his best work has been for TV (the excellent Rough Riders telefeature especially).

It's best to view Red Dawn as a deliberate satire of war propaganda films (the same way some view Paul Verhoeven's desecration of Heinlein's Starship Troopers) Millius directly borrows cinema techniques used in the Soviet propaganda films of the 20s and 30s (such as Earth, Potemkin and the Battle of St.Petersburg) and manages to (counter)subvert them.

[Deb]

Quite a happy coup for JM. I bet this is his best Christmas present.

[McGavin999]

He really needs to write the story of the troops who captured Saddam. Now that would be a fitting tribute to the men who love his work.

[Travis McGee]

He'd be the perfect producer/director for the screen adaptation of my novel. MO

[CaptRon]

I believe he also did "Rough Riders", about Teddy and the Boys, made for TNT. I have it on VHS. I don't think it's on DVD but I wish it were.

[Travis McGee]

But getting it into JM's hands, that's another story...

[Kaslin]

[Guillermo]

I remember watching Red Dawn when I was about 13 and feeling so proud to be an American and how proud I was that Ronald Reagan was my President.

Compare this to what Democrats want Americans to feel: That this is a lawless country of bullies, imperialists and oppressors.

They never met an anti-American dictator they didn't want to adore and appease.

[Pappy Smear]

Some cohorts of mine on a Marshall University football message board were talking about this. A Marshall alum said that back in 84, the Marshall Young Democrats went down to the movie theatre to march and protest the movie because it was "Reagan propoganda".

At least the "Ds" are consistent, I'll give 'em that.

[Hazzardgate]

I wish MGM would release a special edition DVD with the deleted scenes. Of particular interest is the scene where Russian paratroopers overtake a McDonalds.

[archy]

Spoiler! What was Milius's ending? Have you read Dispatches by Michael Herr? Some scenes from A.N. were borrowed from the novel. Herr also wrote Williard's monologue in the first scene.

Milius also picked up a few details- including the dialogue regarding the Montagnard kids whose arms were cut off if they were caught by the VC after having received innoculations from US medics- from Dr. Fred Rexer, a former Special Forces NCO in Vietnam in the early days of US *Advisers*. It was Freddy Rexer who played the Russian T-72 tank commander in Red Dawn.

And I expect Fred made some of the introductions between Milius and some of the guys who were on the Son Tay raid, the subject of a forthcoming Milius movie. It'll be real interesting to see how close they get to the real character of Col. Simons, who led that little *project.*

[archy]

But getting it into JM's hands, that's another story...

Paging Dr. Rexer....

-archy-/-

[Callahan]

No kidding. I own the bare bones disc and it could really use a commentary track. This flick is totally under-rated by the libs. Never gets mentioned without the word "propaganda" in the same sentence--as if their aren't 2 zillion lefty propaganda flicks out there.