Poor Rocky, the weight of not only an entire nation on his shoulders, but also capitalism itself and the good cause of freedom. Not to mention the film's actual "plot". It is hard to to explain the 80's and the Cold War to those who didn't experience it, but it did give us some awesome movies.
If only Osama Bin Laden could put up a boxer or a decent hockey team the possibilities would be endless. Alas our nation still posses its nuclear arsenal and its populace still allows fear to rule public policy. Yet things have changed since the days when nuclear power was not an alternative fuel and the Soviet Union lurked over Europe providing a boogie man for movies from what I like to call the Cold War era. Some have not aged well and may seem a little silly now. But others remain classics.
Here are a few of my favorites. Feel free to comment and add your own:
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
I just saw this movie last year. Directed by Stanly Kubrick. If you don't know who that is, I truly pity you. Strangelove is a dark comedy of sorts and probably one of the best movies ever made. Cinematography, humor, acting, timing, the movie has it all.
Roger Ebert sums it up: ". . . based on a novel by Peter George, Kubrick made what is arguably the best political satire of the century, a film that pulled the rug out from under the Cold War by arguing that if a ``nuclear deterrent'' destroys all life on Earth, it is hard to say exactly what it has deterred."
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The movie may have been released towards the end of the Cold War, but it takes place in 1984. What else do you want besides Sean Connery, James Earl Jones (the real Darth Vader) and Alec Baldwin fighting to prevent or start nuclear war? It also won several Oscars.
Do we have a crazy submarine captain on our hands? Or does he just want a taste of good ole American democracy? I can't help but watch every time this shows up on T.V.
Red Dawn (1984)
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing girl) this movie was just packed with 80's star power. Was it good? Not really. However it certainly scared a generation of American kids. Russians for reasons I can't recall invade Midwest America and for reasons that don't really matter it is up to a group of scrappy teens to break through the oppressive bonds of communism and free their town.
It does sum up the time, the fear, the hatred and misunderstandings of the Cold War. Before Jack Baur and the Patriot Act we had an enemy and they had funny accents and from movies to wrestling they were targets.
There are certainly more, from Chuck Norris in Delta Force to Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyed in Spies Like Us, but allow me to highlight one other form of entertainment. Comics:
Before Borat, before Jeff Foxworthy, before Mencia there was Yakov Smirnoff. . .
If only Osama Bin Laden could put up a boxer or a decent hockey team the possibilities would be endless. Alas our nation still posses its nuclear arsenal and its populace still allows fear to rule public policy. Yet things have changed since the days when nuclear power was not an alternative fuel and the Soviet Union lurked over Europe providing a boogie man for movies from what I like to call the Cold War era. Some have not aged well and may seem a little silly now. But others remain classics.
Here are a few of my favorites. Feel free to comment and add your own:
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
I just saw this movie last year. Directed by Stanly Kubrick. If you don't know who that is, I truly pity you. Strangelove is a dark comedy of sorts and probably one of the best movies ever made. Cinematography, humor, acting, timing, the movie has it all.Roger Ebert sums it up: ". . . based on a novel by Peter George, Kubrick made what is arguably the best political satire of the century, a film that pulled the rug out from under the Cold War by arguing that if a ``nuclear deterrent'' destroys all life on Earth, it is hard to say exactly what it has deterred."
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
The movie may have been released towards the end of the Cold War, but it takes place in 1984. What else do you want besides Sean Connery, James Earl Jones (the real Darth Vader) and Alec Baldwin fighting to prevent or start nuclear war? It also won several Oscars.
Do we have a crazy submarine captain on our hands? Or does he just want a taste of good ole American democracy? I can't help but watch every time this shows up on T.V.
Red Dawn (1984)
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing girl) this movie was just packed with 80's star power. Was it good? Not really. However it certainly scared a generation of American kids. Russians for reasons I can't recall invade Midwest America and for reasons that don't really matter it is up to a group of scrappy teens to break through the oppressive bonds of communism and free their town.It does sum up the time, the fear, the hatred and misunderstandings of the Cold War. Before Jack Baur and the Patriot Act we had an enemy and they had funny accents and from movies to wrestling they were targets.
There are certainly more, from Chuck Norris in Delta Force to Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyed in Spies Like Us, but allow me to highlight one other form of entertainment. Comics:
Before Borat, before Jeff Foxworthy, before Mencia there was Yakov Smirnoff. . .
**Pictures from internet movie data base and www.moviewallpapers.net. Also thanks to rogerebert.suntimes.com for his review of Dr. Strangelove; done on 7/11/99.
~Seth Davis
~Seth Davis
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