Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Heartbreak Ridge Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Sgt. Thomas Highway
as Aggie
as Maj. Powers
as Sgt. Webster
as Little Mary
as Roy Jennings
as Lt. Ring
as Stitch
as Choozoo
as Fragetti
as Aponte
as Profile
as Quinones
as Collins
as "Swede" Johnson
as `Swede' Johanson
as Colonel Meyers
as Major Devin
as Quartermaster Sgt.
as Mrs. Aponte
as Emcee
as Reese
as Jail Binger
as Bar Tough Guy
as Bar Tough Guy
as Marine
as Student in Shower
as Telephone Operator
as Waitress
as Deputy
as Bouncer in Bar
Critic Reviews for Heartbreak Ridge
All Critics (18) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (3) | DVD (3)
Heartbreak Ridge offers another vintage Clint Eastwood performance.
The film belongs to Eastwood. Now looking increasingly like an Easter Island statue, he has a voice pickled in bourbon, a tongue like razor wire, and a body so full of shrapnel that he can't walk through airport metal detectors.
As the gritty, raspy-voiced sergeant, Mr. Eastwood's performance is one of the richest he's ever given.
A few Cubans with AK47s isn't exactly "The Guns of Navarone." At the end, you can't decide whether Eastwood and his platoon should get medals or merit badges.
We have seen this story in a hundred other movies ... But Eastwood, as the producer, director and star, caresses the material as if he didn't know B movies have gone out of style.
To tell the truth, the Grenada Incursion looks even sillier on film than it did in the headlines. War is not hell, it's big box office.
Audience Reviews for Heartbreak Ridge
Maybe because it's dated now, but I didn't think it was Eastwood's best performance.
Super Reviewer
Being a lifelong Eastwood fan, I re-visited Heartbreak Ridge after reading that it was produced after Louis Gossett Jr. won an Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman. In my opinion, Eastwood was at least equal to Gossett's performance, but Heartbreak Ridge garnered no Oscar attention. I wish Eastwood had made more movies like this one, something like John Wayne in Sands of Iwo Jima as a role model. Like "Iwo Jima," this is a sort-of basic training to battlefield story but with more of a back story to its protagonist. Its not a political film nor a comedy, although there many comedic moments. Mario Van Peebles adds several of them, and his pairing with Eastwood, while odd at first, works well in an opposites though strangely alike sort of way. The love story subplot is awkward, more humorous than poignant. This is Clint Eastwood, at his gravel-voiced toughest, getting relationship advice from women's magazines. I enjoyed Marsha Mason as Aggie, Gunny Highway's ex-wife and new flame. (Figure that out) Eastwood also displays his soft hearted side with compassion toward one of his troops with family issues. So, Gunny Highway , trying to re-claim his lost youth and saddled with military politics and ego cashes, succeeds in making "life takers and heart breakers" out of a bunch of cast-off misfits and reclaims American military superiority. Is Heartbreak Ridge clichéd? Absolutely, yes. Does that matter? No, it works great as an action/war movie and maybe even better as a hilarious commentary on the generation gap. Still looking for a reason to watch: I just like hearing the word "clusterfuck" as well.
Super Reviewer
Almost like the counterpart to A Few Good Men for some reason. This showcases the hard as nails Clint Eastwood as a drill sergeant who will do anything to whip his platoon into shape. He goes out of his way to trick and create schemes in order to hurt/help his men, making for a really classic bit of Clint. I think it's interesting to have a movie that's not really in the war genre, but not solely about training. It's more of a multi-layered drama that doesn't get enough credit. People either get bored with the lack of killing or lack of stereotypical Clint Eastwood catch phrases, but given the chance, it's a really cool movie.
Super Reviewer
Heartbreak Ridge Quotes
| "Swede" Johnson: | I'm gonna rip off your head and shit down your neck. |
| Deputy: | You're gonna pay full price Rummy. I don't give any serviceman's discount. |
| Tom Highway: | Too bad, your old lady does. |
| Tom Highway: | Why don't you just sit there and bleed awhile before you taste some real pain. |
| Tom Highway: | Why don't you just sit there and bleed a while before you taste some real pain. |
| Tom Highway: | You're dead marine! You just got your legs blown off, and we have to send a search party out for your testicles. |
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