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Aug 29Liked by Robert Dean Lurie

I'll never forget watching Red Dawn — in part because I was in my cousin's basement in a suburb of Ottawa and my annoying sister ran full-tilt into the patio door screen, bounced off and landed on her back a considerable distance away. They made things better back in 1984, both patio doors and revenge.

Sure, Red Dawn was far-fetched, but it captured that Cold War feeling of peril that kept 12-year-old me awake at night wondering if the missiles would fly. I'd love to watch it again.

I won't, however, subject myself to Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger's aural awfulness. I have a vague memory of the title, and of a chorus floating somewhere in that space deep in the mind where you shove traumatic experiences. But I think it was overshadowed by Say, Say, Say.

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Red Dawn is definitely worth a revisit. It's startling to see the "Brat Pack" deployed in a gritty war thriller, and they really pull it off! You should also check out the documentary "Milius" if you haven't seen it yet. I can't imagine a guy like that being able to operate within the Hollywood system today.

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Aug 31Liked by Robert Dean Lurie

None other than Bill Kauffman has written about Milius! https://www.theamericanconservative.com/john-milius-a-real-wolverine/

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Brilliant. And once again, a Kauffman aside yields new avenues to explore, in this case "cranky Idaho Old Rightist Vardis Fisher."

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