Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

Director:

Clint Eastwood

Writer:

James Carabatsos (written by)

Release Date:

5 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | War

Tagline:

Clint Eastwood is Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway, career Marine and combat veteran. He is a man whose life has been defined by war. Korea and Vietnam taught him how to survive. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor but found public apathy and military bureaucracy. He is a hard-drinking loner but he's trying to reorganize his life and understand the woman he loves. He is a traditionalist who has to shape up his ragtag troops and he'll get the job done. His integrity is unwavering. His past is Heartbreak Ridge. He is ready for another battlefield and his finest hour. It will come.

Plot:

A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.

Plot Keywords:

Ex Wife | Korean War | Military | Grenada | Veteran

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Sergeant Thomas Highway
Marsha Mason	...	Aggie
Everett McGill	...	Major Malcolm A. Powers
Moses Gunn	...	Staff Sergeant Webster
Eileen Heckart	...	Little Mary Jackson
Bo Svenson	...	Roy Jennings, Palace Bar Owner
Boyd Gaines	...	Lieutenant M.R. Ring
Mario Van Peebles	...	Corporal 'Stitch' Jones
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Sergeant Major Choozoo
Vincent Irizarry	...	Fragetti
Ramón Franco	...	Private Aponte (as Ramon Franco)
Tom Villard	...	Profile
Mike Gomez	...	Private Quinones
Rodney Hill	...	Private Collins
Peter Koch	...	'Swede' Johanson

Also Known As:

Heartbreak Ridge (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Le maître de guerre (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
El sargento de hierro (Spain) [es]
Elitesoldaten (Denmark) [da]
Gunny (Italy) [it]
Halálhágó (Hungary) [hu]
Heartbreak Ridge (Finland) [fi]
O Destemido Senhor da Guerra (Brazil) [pt]
O Sargento de Ferro (Portugal) [pt]
O stratiotis (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Australia:R | USA:R (certificate #28415) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1986) | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Jay Weston Productions

Trivia:

The sequence involving the bulldozer is based on a real event. The officer who actually did what Eastwood portrays was John Abizaid, at the time a Captain and a Ranger Company Commander. Abizaid recently retired as the Commander In Chief of Central Command, in charge of all U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Midway into the film Stitch Jones is surprised to learn that Gunny Highway is a Medal of Honor recipient. Yet up to this point Jones has had ample opportunity to observe the decoration on Highway's uniform. As the nation's HIGHEST military decoration it is placed on the left breast, first and highest above all others. Equally hard for any of the recon members to miss would be the sight of Highway's superiors (like Maj Powers) being obliged to initiate the salute to the lesser ranking Highway - a privilege, by tradition, extended to MoH recipients.

Quotes:

Swede Johanson: [Gunny Highway has decked the much-larger Swede Johanson, who rises slowly from the floor, expecting appropriate punishment; but Highway, recognizing the potential in the man, has other ideas] Sir, I'll wait outside for the MPs to come.
Highway: Negative, Johanson! You're going to become a Marine, right now.
Swede Johanson: [incredulous look as he realizes he will not be sent to the stockade]
Highway: [softly] Fall out...
Swede Johanson: Yes, sir.
[rushes outside to join the platoon]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Ghosts (#3.1)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

A Very Precious Love

Vintage Clint!

Clint Eastwood is at his best in the role of "Gunny Highway." This is mostly a really excellent flick about patriotic values, military camaraderie and old grizzled military veterans. Gunny Highway comes across as the exact fellow you would want covering your ass in any tough situation you could possibly imagine. And Eastwood plays him perfectly with steely resolve, devotion, humor and a healthy touch of irreverence. Its great to see the transformation of Highway's squad, as well as the final moment of judgment for the totally hateful, obnoxious and bureaucratic Maj. Powers. (Oh, if only such b*****ds would get their deserved comeuppance in real life in such a manner, what a beautiful world it would be!)

The only real fault is the attempt to compare a minor police action in Grenada with Vietnam and Korea, "I guess we're not 0, 1 and 1 anymore." I mean, give me a break, Korea and Vietnam went on for years and killed millions! Grenada involved a couple of hundred casualties over a couple of days. Please! But I suppose in 1986 the American people were desperate for some kind of heroes. Its just that that kind of jingoism would have been much more appropriate after Desert Storm than Grenada. That being said, its still a very good movie with a fundamental message about values, loyalty and comradeship that we could easily have more of these days, besides, Clint is just great!