Red Dawn is a 1984 action war film that dramatizes the possibility of a Soviet invasion of the continental United States. Directed by John Milius, the film stars Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey as a group of mostly teenagers who become resistance fighters against the occupying force. The film is notable for the amount of effort put into accurately depicting modern Soviet armor and weaponry particularly during the time of the Cold War. A remake of the film is scheduled for release in the near future.
The Nicaraguan Captain (Judd Omen) holds a Walther PP Pistol as he hunts for Jed and Matt. It is meant to be a PM Makarov, but that is explained below.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingPost war Walther PP Pistol - .32 ACPError creating thumbnail: File missingThe Nicaraguan Captain (Judd Omen) holds a Walther PP Pistol as he hunts for Jed and Matt - .32 ACP. He would later be blinded by Matt's RPG back blast. The Walther PP was standing in for the Makarov, which was unavailable at the time of filming.
Smith & Wesson Model 15
A Smith & Wesson Model 15 (denote by its tapered barrel) with Pachmayr grips is the 'survival pistol' belonging to USAF Colonel Andrew Tanner (Powers Boothe) but it is taken away from him by Erica. Interestingly enough, the Model 15 was the issued revolver to USAF Security Police from 1962-1985 so it is feasible for a USAF Colonel to wield one. Combat pilots were given a wide latitude of the personal sidearm they could carry, with many opting for small revolvers, like the Airweight, or traditional semiauto pistols like the M1911.
An M1911A1 pistol is first seen in the "cold dead hands" of an American who resisted the Soviet invasion. The pistol is pulled from the hand of the man and inspected by a Soviet Paratrooper who stuffs it behind his webbing belt. The M1911A1 seen in this scene is a commercial blued version. A parkerized M1911A1 is also used by Colonel Andrew Tanner during the final snow battle.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingColt 1911 Series 70 - .45 ACPError creating thumbnail: File missingIn the lead up to seeing the first M1911A1 we see this iconic bumper sticker - this saying was popular during the 1970s and 1980s and indicated most American gun owner's disdain for draconian gun control.Error creating thumbnail: File missingIn one of the most famous (and morbid) twists on a pop culture phrase, a Soviet Paratrooper prepares to take a blued commercial M1911A1 from the dead hands of a Colorado resident who decided to fight back
Later in the film, despite having his Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolver, Colonel Tanner ends up with a military M1911A1 pistol, seen during the snow battle. It is assumed that he picked it up somewhere along the way, like the previous Soviet Paratrooper, since none of the occupying forces would be carrying that pistol.
The leader of the Soviet Paratroopers, in the attack on Calumet High School, motions to his troops with an original CZ 75 handgun, and not one of the later "B" models.
One of the officers does have an actual Tokarev TT-33 Pistol (several viewings of the clip verified it, even though the actor whips it back and forth). He stands next to another paratrooper firing an RPG - with those bright yellow and blue rockets.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingTokarev TT-33 - 7.62x25mm TokarevError creating thumbnail: File missingSoviet Airborne officer tells another paratrooper where to aim his RPG-7. The officer in the back holds up his Tokarev TT-33 pistol. This handgun was well obsolete by this time for front line troops in the USSR.
Submachine Gun
Jatimatic Submachine Gun
The Jatimatic SMG was used by Colonel Strelnikov (William Smith) when he is hunting Matt and Jed at the end of the film. It was supposed to represent the Polish manufactured PM-63 machine pistol as none were available in the country at the time of filming due to the Cold War.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingJatimatic - 9x19mmError creating thumbnail: File missingColonel Strelnikov actually wears the Jatimatic on a custom holster during his speech to the assembled Soviet and Cuban officers. It is a bit strange for the Colonel to wear his submachine gun on his hip when he is making a speech, however, always having the Jatimatic near him at all times, differentiated Col. Strelnikov from all other Soviet officers.Error creating thumbnail: File missingColonel Strelnikov brandishes the Jatimatic when he hunts for Jed and Matt at the train station.Error creating thumbnail: File missingColonel Strelnikov fires his Jatimatic submachine gun at Matt Eckert, who is hiding on a freight trainError creating thumbnail: File missingColonel Strelnikov reacts to being shot by Jed Eckert's Single Action Army revolver while firing his Jatimatic submachine gun
Shotguns
Winchester Model 1912
The Shotgun that Robert takes from his father's Gas Station/General Store is initially a Winchester Model 1912 with a field barrel (28"). Robert Morris (C. Thomas Howell) uses it in the first encounter with Soviet soldiers in the National park.
In a continuity break, the Winchester Model 1912 previously seen morphs into a Remington 870 Wingmaster. The Remington 870 Wingmaster is first seen when Robert is sawing down the long barrel to make a short barreled shotgun. The cut down 870 is used pretty much exclusively by Robert for the rest of the film.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingRobert cuts down the barrel of his Remington 870 Wingmaster. Legal note: Viewers have often pondered as to the legality of actually sawing off a shotgun barrel for the film. Since the actual Remington 870 firing gun from the armorers was already a short barreled shotgun, installing a long barrel on it and then cutting it down (while being filmed by the cameras) is not an illegal act, since the gun is not being converted into a something that it is not already.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRobert fires his short 870 along with Matt and his AKM.
Rifles & Carbines
Maadi ARM
According to Long Mountain Outfitters (http://www.longmountain.com/movieguns/RedDawn), the AKM rifles used in the movie were actually Egyptian Maadi MISR (imported into the US as the ARM) semi-auto rifles, some of the first semi-automatic Kalashnikov-type rifles ever imported into the United States (besides the Clayco AKM copies). 53 such rifles were used in the movie, 32 of which were converted to full-auto by Class 3 manufacturer Pearl Manufacturing specially for the film. These guns were later used in numerous other movies. These weapons are not to be confused with the post-1989 imported firearms called "MISR" which were modified to comply with the federal import ban.
Fake AKS-74s are used by Soviet paratroopers in the first attack on the school and Soviet Spetsnaz during the battle in the snow. They are actually Maadi ARMs that were very cleverly mocked up with bakelite plastic magazines, skeleton stocks, and custom-made muzzle brakes that resemble that of the AK-74.
Cuban and Nicaraguan soldiers can be seen carrying FN FAL rifles as their main weapons.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingFN FAL 50.00 - 7.62x51mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingA quick but clear shot of the FAL rifle being brandished by the Cuban / Nicaraguan troops during an ambush. Most of the time the soldiers held the rifles close to their bodies, making a clear view difficult
Ruger Mini 14 GB
A Ruger Mini-14 GB is briefly seen being handed out to freed prisoners at the re-education camp, and later seen obviously by an escaping 'political prisoner' during the night raid.
A few M16A1 rifles can be briefly seen being handed out to freed prisoners at the re-education camp, and later seen by another running 'political prisoner' during the night raid.
The Marlin Model 336C lever action rifle was picked up from the store just after the invasion. Arturo "Aardvark" Mondragon (Doug Toby) fires a single shot from the back of a pickup truck at Russian troops, after an American UH-1 helicopter attacks the Soviets on the ground using rockets. He also uses it in some of the ambushes later in the film.
Jed (Patrick Swayze) picks up a Savage 110 bolt action rifle from Mr. Morris' store at the beginning of the film. He uses it as a sniper rifle during some of the ambushes. The Savage is a likely candidate since the tapered barrel seen in the film more closely matches the stock barrels of the Savage 110 series, more than rifles such as the Remington 700. He also appears to have mounted a .22 rimfire scope on the rifle but the caliber of the rifle is unknown.
Seen in the gun rack above Jed's Savage 110 bolt action rifle is a Remington Model 572 Fieldmaster pump action rifle. The 572 is a pump action 22 that will shoot 22 shorts, 22 long, or 22 long rifle cartridges. Ammunition is supplied by a tubular magazine under the barrel which holds 15-20 rounds depending on the caliber used. This ability to use all three cartridges is a major difference with other pump action 22s which use only the long rifle cartridge. The Remington 572 is a popular plinker and small game rifle which would be ideal as a survival weapon although it did not see additional use in the movie.
The Valmet M78 LMG was standing in for the Soviet RPK since none were available in the country when this movie was filmed. The M78 LMG was used by Russian Paratroopers in the beginning of the movie and, and later by the Wolverines, most notably by Toni Mason (Jennifer Grey).
At the time of filming there were no DShK heavy machine guns available for use in movies, so the armorers mocked up DShKs from M60D machine guns. Apparently the size difference between a 7.62mm gun and a .50 cal gun wasn't enough to distract people during the movie.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingM60D machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingThe first time we see the DShK Heavy machine guns, mocked up out of M60D machine guns is when one is mounted on a faked T-72 Tank. What is confusing is that there is an Airborne officer 'commanding' a Main battle tank, which would not be the case. Blue was the color of shoulder boards and collar tabs for Airborne soldiers, Black was the color for Armored Units.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA better angle of the Fake DShK where we can see the M60 origins. The Airborne officer with the blue beret and goggles is Fred Rexer, the former Green Beret (and personal friend of Director John Milius), who trained all of the young actors playing the Wolverines in guerilla warfare.Error creating thumbnail: File missingWhen American prisoners are executed, including Jed and Matt's father, Tom Eckert (Harry Dean Stanton), we see Soviet Tankers firing their fake DShKs into the line of menError creating thumbnail: File missingIn the snow battle, we clearly see the fake DShKs mounted on the fake T-72 tanks that are made from M60DsError creating thumbnail: File missingErica (Lea Thompson) first uses a fake DShK during the ambush.Error creating thumbnail: File missingIn the ambush on the Spetnaz troops in the snow, Lea Thompson can clearly be seen firing a mocked up M60D, posing as a DShK.Error creating thumbnail: File missingOne of the fake DShK heavy machine guns is seen mounted as a door gun on the fake Hind helicopter gunshipsError creating thumbnail: File missingDuring the final battle we get a good look at just how LONG and slender the faked DShK barrel is, when mounted on the M60D as a platform
Error creating thumbnail: File missingM60D machine gun - 7.62x51mm NATOError creating thumbnail: File missingRobert (C. Thomas Howell) fires a Mocked up Goryunov SGM Machine Gun that was built up from an M60. The rate of fire was increased to around 1100 rpm versus the more standard 750 round per minute and the design of the gun was disguised by wrapping it in white cloth.Error creating thumbnail: File missingRobert's position during the snow battle has a fake Goryunov, mocked up from yet another M60 Machine Gun. The white wrapping has fallen off, exposing the M60s' pistol grip lower receiver, whereas the SGM has spade grips.
Browning M2HB Heavy Machine Gun
Seen briefly but never used is a knocked out Browning M2HB heavy machine gun, mounted on a destroyed M42 "Duster" anti-aircraft vehicle.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingBrowning M2HB on vehicle mount - .50 BMGError creating thumbnail: File missingMatt, Jed and Robert run past a destroyed M42 Duster with a Browning M2HB Heavy Machine gun, lying cockeyed off of it's mount, presumably inoperable, or else the Russians would not have left it out in the open
GE M134 Minigun
An abandoned GE M134 Minigun, possibly from a crashed vehicle/chopper can be seen on the abandoned battlefield. It is noteworthy that there seem to be many 'abandoned' weapons, from .50 cal machine guns to .30 cal machine guns, however, it must be assumed that these are damaged and inoperable, or else the Soviets would never just leave them for anyone to pick up.
Colonel Tanner uses a stick grenade to destroy one of the YAK-36 VTOL fighters parked near the re-education camp. Though it is cool, it seems strange that the Soviet Navy would have VTOL fighters parked so close to an internment camp, unless they were using the Americans as human shields against long range missile strikes or aerial bombardment. The stick grenade is a mockup, however it could be either a fake of the RGD-33 stick grenade or the RKG-3 anti-tank grenade.
Fake RPG-7s are used by Soviet and Communist Bloc soldiers, and later Matt (Charlie Sheen). The weapon itself is a fabricated prop, utilizing a vintage 1950s era RPG-2 as a base. A flared rear blast cone and a second 'fake' pistol grip was added as well as a fake PGO-7 scope that was fabricated out of plastic (it's a bit too large and wrongly shaped for the real PGO-7 scope). The rocket warhead is a plastic and rubber fabrication and not an RPG-2 rocket head. The fuse tip itself is the cap from a Crest toothpaste tube!
On another note, the rocket of the fake RPG-7 (like many other films that use rocket launchers) is a foam rubber fake when firing around actors. Prior to the advent of CGI in films, they were fired with real Estes rocket motors and guided along wires to their targets. Below we see a frame of film where we can clearly see the wire that will guide the foam rubber rocket head to its intended target.
A mocked up SA-7 Grail (built from metal tubing and plastic) is used by a Cuban soldier at an attacking American UH-1D Helicopter. The mockup of the SA-7 is quite accurate. However, in the film a Cuban soldier, firing a heat seeking surface to air missile, cannot hit a slow moving UH-1 "Huey" (The post Vietnam "G" model with twin turbines). This is not likely unless the weapon was fired in completely the wrong direction.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingSA-7 Grail aka Russian Strela-2 surface to air missile - 70mmError creating thumbnail: File missingCuban Soldier readies to fire his mocked up SA-7 "Grail" Surface to Air Missile at attacking American UH1G Helicopters. This is an excellent movie mockup.Error creating thumbnail: File missingSA-7 "Grail" Surface to air missile is fired at night in the downtown suburb of Calumet, CO. (actually a street in the small town of Las Vegas, New Mexico).
Fake UB-32 Rocket Pods (on Fake Hind Gunship)
Fake 32-round UB-32 rocket pods for the Russian S-5 unguided air-to-ground rocket are seen on the mocked up Hind-A helicopter gunship, along with wing mounted hardpoints with mocked-up twin launch rails for fake AT-2 "Swatter" anti-tank missiles.
The "Mil Mi-24 Hinds" seen in the film are excellent mockups of Hind-As (painted with winter camo) built up from French Aerospatiale Pumas and were later used again in other movies such as Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III. The version depicted was the earliest incarnation of the Hind, the Model-A with the blunt angular "greenhouse" side-by-side cockpit rather than the later twin in-line "double bubble" canopy. The Hind-A was also seen in the film Firefox, however those were 1/12th scale radio controlled flying models. For the film Red Dawn, three Pumas were modified (and all seen on film) and all had a fake Hind-A 'nose' sections built with darked tinted windows that slipped over the front end of the real Puma helicopter. (If you looked closely, you could see the real nose of the Puma 'underneath' the Hind nose section through the tinted windows. This, however, limited pilot vision and also restricted motion - quick turns were not possible lest the fake nose front end be ripped off the helicopter. Later incarnations of the same modified Puma helicopter removed the extended Hind-A nose sections, but kept the fake wings and rockets pods (as these were sturdy modifications and didn't adversely affect the aerodynamics of the helicopter.)
Error creating thumbnail: File missingTwo of the three faux "Hind" helicopters chase the Wolverines in the beginning of the assault.Error creating thumbnail: File missingOne part of the PUMA helicopter that could not be modified was the bulging pods for the rear landing gear/wheels. The real Hinds are smooth sided, with retractable landing gear, to make them more sleek and aerodynamic in attack maneuvers.Error creating thumbnail: File missingSeen on the nose is a mockup of the single barreled 12.7mm heavy machine gun that was standard on the Hind-A helicopter. Only the later models of the helicopter upgraded to 12.7 mm YakB gatling gun (which in turn was later replaced by a twin 30mm autocannon setup on the right side of the forward fuselage).Error creating thumbnail: File missingIn real life, use of the Hind-As are a bit anachronistic, since the ubiquitous Hind-D (the version we see today with the twin tandem nose canopies) replaced all previous Hind gunships in active service beginning in 1974. The Hind-As had design problems which forced their replacement by the Model D and had been replaced in most front line units by 1977.
In several shots, we can see the actual nose assembly of the original PUMA helicopter underneath the tinted glass windows of the extended "faux" nose.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingVisible is the original nose of the Puma Helicopter under the tinted glass. The filmmakers just mounted the fake nose on top of the real helicopter nose.
An M42 "Duster" SPAAG that has been knocked out of action is prominent in the ghost battlefield sequence. Of course what is noticeably missing from the plethora of destroyed vehicles on the battlefield are main battle tanks like M1 Abrams or infantry fighting vehicles. The M42 "Dusters" were built on obsolete M41 Walker Bulldog light tank chassis that were outfitted with twin 40mm AA guns and were used by ground troops in Vietnam, before being retired from regular Army service in 1972. The M42 was then only found as a Corps Level asset in National Guard units until it was fully retired in 1988.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingJed, Robert and Matt walk past a knocked out M42 "Duster" - 40mm Main armament with a Browning M2HB mounted on the back.
A Fake Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun was built on an American M8A1 Cargo Tractor chassis by Veluzet Armored Vehicles, out of Newhall, California. This ZSU-23 replica was also used in 1988's Rambo III as well as the 1991 John Milius directed film Flight of the Intruder.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe faux Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn during the night attack. Unlike the film Flight of the Intruder (which mounted a real quad 50 comprising Browning M2HBs), this ZSU-23 only has fake mockup AA guns, so it is never seen firing in the movie.Error creating thumbnail: File missingBehind the Scenes: Inside the Veluzat Tank shop, the M8A1 Cargo Tractor has a steel frame welded into place that will eventually become the Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn.Error creating thumbnail: File missingBehind the Scenes: The faux Soviet ZSU-23 Self Propelled AA gun seen in the film Red Dawn is parked as mechanics do some last minute testing.
Fake Soviet T-72 Main Battle Tank
The Fake T-72 tanks from the film were built on the chassis of a surplus M8A1 Cargo Tractor, which itself was a stretched version of the M41 Walker Bulldog with four return rollers and six roadwheels per side instead of three return rollers and five roadwheels. These mockups would later be used in 1988's Rambo III.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingA beautifully painted Faux T-72 Tank rolls up to the snow battle. The 125mm main gun is an aluminum and fiberglass tube that mounted a black powder charge in front to simulate firing. Note four return rollers in two pairs rather than the five of an M48 Patton or three of an M41 Walker Bulldog.Error creating thumbnail: File missingBehind the Scenes: The fiberglass turret of the faux Soviet T-72 built for and seen in the film Red Dawn has been painted with a different paint scheme. In all the Fake T-72s impersonated multiple tanks with different paint schemes, most seen is the green urban, the field camo and the winter camo patterns.
Trivia
Morris's Market
As many viewers remember, there was a large rack of sporting/hunting long guns in Mister Morris's Gas Station/General Store and Mister Morris hands out food, guns and ammunition to the boys and tells them to leave and "don't look back." However, none of the long guns in Mister Morris's gun rack can be identified due to the dark lighting in the shot.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingA view of the dark gun rack in Mister Morris's Market. It is extremely difficult to identify the weapons in the rack due to the dark shadowy lighting in the scene.
Inaccurate Captioning on the DVD
During the planning of the attack on the re-education camp, Col. Tanner mystifies most of the Wolverines with his military jargon. Apparently the jargon is unknown to the people doing the captioning of the DVD as well. He refers to grazing fire at a defilade (using the verb as a noun to refer to an area which the Soviets have prepared in such a way as to protect the position from enfilading fire). Erica Mason (Lea Thompson) responds with "Devolay?". The Closed captions on the DVD incorrectly quotes Tanner as saying "duffle-A" which makes no sense.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe Caption of this scene incorrectly quotes Tanner as saying "duffle-A" when in fact he says "Defilade" (which is a real military term).
