Product Description

A Marine Corps drill sergeant starts his last tour of duty before mandatory retirement and leads his men into Grenada.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 27-SEP-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2099 in DVD
• Brand: EASTWOOD,CLINT
• Released on: 2002-10-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The controversial, Reagan-era invasion of Grenada by U.S. troops is, oddly enough, at the center of this initially interesting story of a seasoned Marine sergeant (Clint Eastwood) routinely insulted by younger officers for being a symbol of the war that America "lost" in Vietnam. Looking for both a victory and a little redemption, Eastwood's character trains a squadron of scrappy pups and turns them into fighting grunts, just in time to follow White House orders and take the little island. Marsha Mason plays Eastwood's love interest, and Mario Van Peebles is funny as an undisciplined con artist who joins Clint's men and finally catches the spirit after getting his butt kicked a few times. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

An Eastwood Keeper
Yes, this film is about as formulaic as they come: a tough, no-nonsense, battle-tested sergeant turning a bunch of misfits into an effective fighting unit. On top of that, we are treated (again) to a romantic aspect of a story featuring a bitter, petulant ex-wife who still harbors emotional attachment to that no-good ex of hers.

Yet HEARTBREAK RIDGE delivers an entertaining story--along with some very amusing moments--thanks mainly to Clint Eastwood as the gravel-voiced Gunnery Sergeant Tom "Gunny" Highway. Sure, Eastwood brings brawn and plenty of knuckle sandwiches to this role, but also a fragile vulnerability that makes the character more three-dimensional. Eastwood carries this film, but that's no problem: those shoulders are plenty broad.

Marsha Mason as ex-wife Aggie gripes and complains at a healthy clip, while Mario Van Peebles as soldier "Stitch" Jones stands out from the rest of Gunny's dysfunctional Recon Platoon. HEARTBREAK RIDGE has action, drama, and plenty of laughs. Sounds like a winning Eastwood formula to me.
--D. Mikels

Clint Eastwood's Marines
Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the lead role of this film about a "salty," battle-hardened career sergeant who whips a platoon of new Marines into shape. Along the way, he attempts to repair his failed marriage and locks horns with the Marine Battalion's Operations Officer.

Eastwood is Gunnery Sergeant Highway, a Korea and Vietnam veteran who won the Medal of Honor and survived a horrific battle in Korea referred to as "Heartbreak Ridge" in the film. He's a warrior on the battlefield, but his aggressive, hard-drinking and "tell-it-like-it-is" personality has cost him promotion and his marriage. Nearing retirement, he receives orders to return to his elite specialty of Force Reconnaissance. Upon arrival, the battalion's operations officer treats Gunny as a washed-up old prima donna and he finds his new platoon comprised of misfits. On the personal side, Gunny's ex-wife still resides locally earning a living as a cocktail waitress.

Tackling his main problem, he commences to breathing fire into his young Marines, turning them into "heart-breakers and life-takers." During his off-time, he tangles with his ex-wife in an attempt to repair their failed marriage. All during this time, he's one step away from being under-mined and kicked out by his nemesis.

The film culminates with their deployment to intervene the crisis on the Island of Grenada (actual operation in 1983), leading the way into combat for the Marine battalion. It is here where the plot unfolds to reveal if Gunny's old-school training methods have worked, if his wife decides to return, and if he'll survive.

Overall, the movie has Eastwood's brand of humor and it's a likeable feature not to be taken too seriously. There are some technical flaws, such as an absence of other officers in the battalion, but this doesn't spoil the movie too much unless you're a proud member of the Marine Corps. Another item about this movie is the use of profanity; it's colorful and there's plenty of it. By rumor, this story was originally written for an Army Ranger battalion, but apparently the Army denied permission to portray their Rangers in this fashion. Whatever the case, it's enjoyable to watch and does touch upon some actual leadership values.

"You shouldn't litter, Fagetti; it's ecologically unsound."
When this film came out, aeons ago, a sneering newspaper reviewer called it an the utltimate "OC" movie, "OC" meaning "of course." He was referring to the fact that there isn't a single character or situation in "Heartbreak Ridge" that could be called remotely original -- it's basically a 1980s version of every 1940s, '50s, & '60s war movie you ever saw. His evidence:

1 - crusty yet somehow loveable sergeant
2 - crusty yet somehow loveable sidekick
3 - pencil-pushing jerk senior officer
4 - green platoon leader
5 - woman from past
6 - bumbling soldier who needs to grow up
7 - assorted Cental Casting platoon members
8 - generic training sequences
9 - generic trial by fire
10 - predictable ending

All this is completely true. I just don't care. The stupid reviewer was too busy being smug to understand that the reason this story has been told so many times is because it is a classic, and classics are timeless. Especially under the tender care of Clint "Shoot First, Ask Questions Never" Eastwood.

"Ridge" is the story of Tom Highway (as in "My Way Or The..."), a bullet-scarred, gravelly-voiced Marine sergeant who has fought in three wars, won a bucketfull of medals, and is now facing mandatory retirement. Ol' Gunny Highway ain't takin' it too well, either -- he drinks, fights with the cops, and gets yelled at by his superiors. Banished to a supply billet, all he yearns for is one last chance to lead combat troops, and before you can say "of course," he's packed off to his old unit -- you know, the same one he was kicked out of years before, for insubordination and conduct unbecoming (you know, the usual Eastwood Offences).

Of course, his old unit is run by an unblooded, chin-thrusting martinet named Powers, who is described at one point in the film as being the sort who consults the manual before he mounts his old lady. Powers hates Highway and wants to run him out of the Corps, so he saddles him with a platoon of losers and ungovernable misfits run by a nerdy and clueless lieutenant. Chief among these dolts is the slick-talking Corporal Stitch Jones, played with glib hustla's charm by Mario Van Peebles.

Of course, Highway's embittered yet sexy ex-wife is still in town, and of course, Highway is still in love with her, in his foul-mouthed way. When he's not getting shot down by his ex, Highway guzzles beer and reminisces with his old war buddy, Sgt Major Choozoo, who's even more foul-mouthed than Highway. There's even a foul-mouthed female bartender who sits around pouring beers and dispensing crusty Corps wisdom. Honestly, this movie has the best cursing I've ever heard.

Of course, Highway's tough love approach is a hard swallow for everybody. Powers is after his stripes, his ex-wife's boyfriend (the guy who played Buford Pusser in the latter two entires in the "Walking Tall" movie series) wants to clean his clock, and his Marines wish he would just seize up and die like an old lawnmower. Little do they know that his brutal regimen will one day save their lives! For unbeknownst to all, the villainous Fidel Castro has ordered his military to seize power on the tiny Caribe resort island of Grenada, which houses lots of drunken American medical students. President Reagan ain't takin' this too well, so before you can say "Semper Fi" Highway and company are choppering off to put theory into practice and kick communist butt.

Do Highway's boys perform up to spec? Will Powers get his commupance? Will the sexy ex-wife be waiting when and if Highway returns? Of course, of course, and of course. But who cares? This movie is hilarious and hugely entertaining. Eastwood's over-the-top alpha-male performance is about as subtle as a bullet to the solar plexus, but it's great fun. So is the glaring villainy of Powers, the charming nerdiness of Ring, the slick charm of Jones, and the crusty bulldog loyalty of Choozoo. These cliched characters are like old friends.

"Ridge" has some funny trivia attached to it. Originally, it was written for an army character, but it seems the army wanted to make the movie a commercial for all its latest weaponry, so Eastwood tapped the Corps instead. When the Marine brass saw it, however, they were so appalled by the language they withdrew their endorsement. And these are Marines we're talking about, the guys who may have actually invented 6 of the 7 words you can't say on TV. It just goes to show you that four or five years in the Pentagon can ruin anybody.

More interestingly, the movie's title, "Heartbreak Ridge" is a glaring anachronism -- Heartbreak Ridge was taken by the Army's 4th Infantry Division, not the Marines. Clint was too in love with the title to change it, so he threw in a line about how Highway fought in Korea with the army but "joined the Corps later." Clint never let logic get in the way of his storytelling, and the audience shouldn't either.

Now come on, you devil dogs, let's take this blankety-blank hill!