tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post289083112356561044..comments2024-03-27T03:16:36.721-04:00Comments on Checkpoint Telstar: Red Dawn (1984)Tim Lehnererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02410878013331168436noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post-29653887764705781342016-05-30T23:08:56.794-04:002016-05-30T23:08:56.794-04:00The only thing stupider than remaking RED DAWN wou...The only thing stupider than remaking RED DAWN would be clumsily editing out all the references to the Chinese army attacking and turning it into North Korea with CGI once it became apparent that China wouldn't allow them to release the film there if they were the bad guys.<br /><br />They filmed the remake sorta-kinda near Casa Telstar and I started a new job three weeks before the casting call for extras. I wound up not being able to try out because nobody wants to ask for a week or two off for sitting in the background of scenes where the important people were talking.Tim Lehnererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410878013331168436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post-68168776017414289732016-05-22T22:45:56.864-04:002016-05-22T22:45:56.864-04:00The first time I saw Red Dawn, I watched it for th...The first time I saw Red Dawn, I watched it for the hardware. The Russian uniforms, smallarms, and most of the vehicles were highly-accurate for Russian Army of the early 1980s. Including the KVKV camos which had been issued only the year before and the models of AK were appropriate issue for the troops -- older AK47s for the regular garrisons and Latin American sepoys, AKMs for the Desant paratroops, and AK74s for the Spetznaz commandoes/counter-guerilla specialists.<br /><br />When I watched it for the second time, I realized what it was: RED DAWN IS A RUSSIAN WW2 MOVIE, "HEROIC PARTISANS" SUB-TYPE. It follows the plot and shticks and tropes of a Russian "Heroic Partisans" WW2 movie, just with roles reversed and reset into a near-future US. Inhuman invaders attack Mother Russia and occupy large sections of the Rodina. Russian people spontaneously organize into Partisan bands and start a guerilla war against the Invader. Almost all of them die by the end, but their sacrifice for the Rodina makes it possible for Russia to eventually throw out the Invader and win the war.<br /><br />Somebody really needs to do a YouTube mashup of visuals from Red Dawn with Mike and the Mechanics' "Silent Running"; the song's subject matter meshes exactly with the movie scenes.<br /><br />And there was an anecdote that while Red Dawn was being denounced in this country for Fascist Imperialist Redneck Warmongering, it caused a major panic party in GRU (Russian Military Intelligence). Apparently the war scenario in Red Dawn was very similar to an actual Russian contingency plan for war with America, and the Russians got paranoid that their was some sort of leak.<br /><br />Finally, the attempt to remake it in the early 21st should never have been done. There was no way to do it and have it work. Red Dawn was an artifact of the late Cold War, and after the Second Russian Revolution block-obsoleted a lot of future histories, the circumstances and background milieu no longer existed. Doing Red Dawn in the post-Cold War world would be like setting Atlas Shrugged "twenty minutes into the future" instead of a period piece.Headless Unicorn Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post-70591474142243506712013-05-28T19:28:37.272-04:002013-05-28T19:28:37.272-04:00That makes my "I'm sure someone involved ...That makes my "I'm sure someone involved in the Iraq war knew about this movie and learned nothing from it" comment sad and true. Thanks for the bringdown!Tim Lehnererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410878013331168436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post-47426983153581563732013-05-28T09:21:16.724-04:002013-05-28T09:21:16.724-04:00I thought this was a bit of sad irony, the mission...I thought this was a bit of sad irony, the mission to capture Saddam Hussein was called Operation Red Dawn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Red_DawnTim Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308052895565807898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715711610648154390.post-45491673190560983862013-05-27T23:28:50.940-04:002013-05-27T23:28:50.940-04:00I'm thinking I'd try a few choruses of War...I'm thinking I'd try a few choruses of War's "Why Can't We Be Friends" until the bullet with my name on it found me. W.B. Kelsohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06488705562652550244noreply@blogger.com