[sglancy12]

I think we all agree that the invasion scenario for Red Dawn was like something out of the 1950s. 5 Soviet army groups come across the Bering Strait? From where to where? Until you get to Anchorage there's no logistical transport net to move materials south and east. We've had this discussion on this site many times before concerning TW2K's Aleutian Front invasion of Alaska. But let's put all the logistical suspension of disbelief aside for a moment.

What I remember about Red Dawn when it first came out was all the political hubbub about it. This was the same era that produced The Day After and Amerika as television events. People were ranting about how Red Dawn was some sick Reaganite fantasy being used to justify the massive military build up at the time. Such reactions were often coupled with people's fears that "The Gipper" was so addle-minded that he wasn't really running the country and that somewhere there was a cabal of advisers who were planning to comfortably sit out WWIII in bunkers filled with hookers and blow while the rest of us died while vomiting out our teeth.

Turns out we didn't blow up the world because the senile President thought he was in a movie. Turns out the Soviets went bankrupt trying to keep up with us. And it turns out that Red Dawn has more going on in it than just being an advertisement for the NRA.

At the time, I didn't think much of the film. The idea that the Soviet Army could kick the shit out the US Army on our home soil but couldn't get a grip on less than a dozen untrained kids was just downright stupid. But over the years I started to gain an appreciation for the incredible work that was done creating props for the film. The Soviet vehicles created were all top flight, especially the Hind-A helicopters. I also had to appreciate the director's attention to detail concerning all the firearms props. The films looks extremely good, especially considering the modest budget.

Ultimately though, I learned to love Red Dawn because of an interview with John Milius, the writer/director. Milius was always one of my favorite directors. He gave us the only good sword & sorcery film of that era (Conan the Barbarian), and really good period piece action films (like Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion and Jerimiah Johnson).

Anyways, Milius said in the interview that when he was a kid growing up in Colorado in the 1950s that he was subjected to equally heavy doses of Cold War Red Scare and frontier history. He and his friends spent a lot of time reading about frontiersman like Jim Bridger and the like. So when they went out to play, they would pretend that the Russians had invaded and that he and his fellow grade school commandos would have to defeat the Red Army using all that back-woods Indian lore they'd learned. Well, fast forward 30 years and somehow John Milius found money out in Hollywood to finance putting his childhood fantasy game on the big screen. That would be the same thing as any of us getting to make a movie out of our favorite Role-playing game.

On that level, I gained a new appreciation for Red Dawn.

A. Scott Glancy, President TCCorp, dba Pagan Publishing