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Heartbreak Ridge

(1986)

PLOT | AUDIO | TRIVIA | CAST | CREDITS | PURCHASE

"...the scars run deep."


Plot

Further exploring and expanding his iconic screen persona, producer-director-actor Clint Eastwood stars as Tom Highway, a Marine Corps Sgt. who drinks too much and is constantly getting in trouble. Nearing retirement age, having alienated most of his superiors, Highway asks to end his career where it began and is transferred to perform gunnery sergeant duties in his old outfit. There, the small reconnaissance platoon he is to train proves to be a group of lazy malcontents who feel that they've been duped by the slick military advertising on television. Earning the admiration of these young hotshots by besting them physically and mentally at every turn, Highway proceeds to whip them into a self-respecting fighting unit that knows how to work as a team. This newfound purpose is tested when Highway and his men are sent off to a small Caribbean island to rescue American medical students from a hostile Marxist government backed by Cuban troops.


Audio
Play RealAudio Clip

Listen as Clint Eastwood talks candidly about this film including why he found it interesting to make.


Trivia
  • The US Defense Department originally supported the film, but withdrew their backing after seeing a preview in November 1986. Nevertheless, members of the Marine Corps have vouched for the film's authenticity.
  • Marsha Mason, who plays Highway's estranged wife, had been due to appear alongside Clint in City Heat before she walked away from the part.
  • The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound.
  • This was the first of three films Clint made while he was Mayor of Carmel.
  • There are clear resonances of the John Wayne film The Sands of Iwo Jima.
  • Jack N. Green, who had worked as a camera operator for fifteen years under Bruce Surtees, was promoted to director of photography. He has been a regular ever since.

Cast
Tom Highway
Aggie
Major Powers
Sgt. Webster
Little Mary
Roy Jennings
Lt. Ring
Stitch
Choozoo
Fragetti
Aponte
Profile
Quinones
Collins
'Swede' Johanson
Colonel Meyers
Major Devin
Quartermaster Sgt.
Mrs. Aponte
Judge Zane
MCs
 
Reese
Sarita Dwayne
Jail binger
Kid in jail
Jail crier
Woman Marine officer
Bar Tough Guys
 
Marines
 
Bus drivers
 
Student in shower
Telephone operator
Waitress
Deputy
Sgt. Major in court
Bouncer in bar
Marine Corporal
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Clint Eastwood
Marsha Mason
Everett McGill
Moses Gunn
Eileen Heckart
Bo Svenson
Boyd Gaines
Mario Van Peebles
Arlen Dean Snyder
Vincent Irizarry
Ramon Franco
Tom Villard
Mike Gomez
Rodney Hill
Peter Koch
Richard Venture
Peter Jason
J.C. Quinn
Begonia Plaza
John Eames
Thom Sharp
John Gallagher
John Hostetter
Holly Shelton-Foy
Nicholas Worth
Timothy Fall
Jon Pennell
Trish Garland
Dutch Mann
Darwyn Swalve
Christopher Michael
Alex M. Bello
Steve Halsey
John Sasse
Rebecca Perle
Annie O'Donnell
Elizabeth Ruscio
Lloyd Nelson
Sgt. Major John H. Brewer
Michael Maurer
Tom Ellison

Credits
Executive Producer
Producer/Director
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Editor
Music
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Fritz Manes
Clint Eastwood
James Carabatsos
Jack N. Green
Joel Cox
Lenny Niehaus


Purchase

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