Heartbreak Ridge

Plot synopsis:
The story opens in the drunk tank of a small town jail. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway is sharing stories about his combat service with the other prisoners. At one point, he's interrupted by another prisoner who mocks Highway's military rank. Highway immediately beats the man, easily disarming him after he pulls a knife on the sergeant. The next day in court, Highway is given one last chance by the judge after being charged with public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. That doesn't sit well with the cop whose squad car Highway urinated on. He insults Highway, telling him his heroics are old news and that he doesn't give any serviceman discounts. Highway counters with an insult of his own and leaves.Highway returns to his base where he works in supply. He roughly turns down a bribe from another officer who offers him a supply of Cuban cigars. Highway reports to his commanding officer, who tells him he's being transferred to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where he'll be training unmotivated marines. Highway takes the bus to Camp Lejeune, meeting a young man, Stitch Jones, a budding rock guitarist who had just been kicked out of the club he was performing in for starting a fight with a group of locals. Jones is an instant irritation to Highway with constant chatter while Highway tries to get some sleep. When the bus stops at a roadside diner, Jones waits until Highway goes into the men's room and steals his bus ticket. The bus leaves before Highway can catch up with it and Jones.Highway arrives at Camp Lejeune and reports to his commanding officer. Before meeting with the man, Highway catches up with and old friend, Sgt Major Choozoo. Highway's & Choozoo's new CO, Major Malcolm Powers, used to work in Supply and was a big football hero at Annapolis. He is even stricter than Highway and immediately assumes that Highway, who has a history of conflict with superiors, will be trouble. Highway's past also includes an incident where he struck an officer who was classmate of Powers at Annapolis Academy. Powers assigns Highway to the battalion's "recon" (reconnaissance) platoon, one where the men are unmotivated, slightly out of physical shape, and have already gone through several sergeants who failed to get them up to the battalion's expectations. Making matters worse, Highway is saddled with Lieutenant Ring, a milquetoast officer who lacks the necessary stern nature of a platoon leader.Highway leaves the meeting and meets the recon platoon, finding them just as lazy as Powers said they would be. At first, the men are scornful of Highway and pay him little attention. Highway destroys their boom box and suggests they have one last night of freedom before he begins his regimen of training the next day. Just then, Stitch Jones walks into the rec room and is instantly recognized by Highway. Highway drags Jones by the ear to his bunk to pay him for the bus ticket he stole. When Jones' claims he's unable to pay back some money he stole from Highway, Highway rips out Jones' earring, telling the men to be ready by six AM for training. After Highway leaves, the men conspire to have their biggest unit member, Swede Johanson, currently serving time in the brig, to take care of Highway when he's released.Highway goes to the local bar and apartment house, meeting Little Mary Jackson, the wife of one of Highway's old combat buddies who was killed in Vietnam. She rents him a room and tells him that his former wife, Aggie, is working at a local bar popular with younger Marines. Highway goes there and finds Aggie, who is also seeing the bar's owner, Roy Jennings, a hulking man who hates Marines. While Highway tries to patch things up with Aggie, Stitch Jones performs live. He's heckled by a small group of Marines at one of the tables. Jones fires back easily at his hecklers. A fight nearly breaks out and despite Jones' own defusing of the other Marines, Jennings moves in, shoving the Marines around even after they've calmed down. Highway steps in threateningly, but Jones and Aggie talk the two men out of fighting each other. Jennings throws Highway and Jones out of the bar.The next morning, Highway wakes the recon platoon at five AM instead of six. When they complain, he tells them they need to adapt to any situation. He lines them up for physical training (PT) and orders them to take off their mismatched t-shirts, saying they'll all wear the same or none at all. The platoon begrudgingly complies and Highway orders them to run for the day.The next day, he orders the t-shirts off again, even though they were wearing the same ones. (HIGHWAY: Same as me?) While doing PT, Highway surprises them by shooting at them with an AK-47 assault rifle, announcing that it's the "preferred" weapon of their enemy & makes a "distinctive sound" when fired.When not training his Marines, Highway studies up on women's magazines, trying to understand how they think. He also keeps an eye on Aggie, who gets escorted home every night from the bar by Roy.One morning, the platoon refuses to muster, several of them mouthing off and Jones introducing Highway to Swede Johanson. Swede tries to hit Highway, who dodges and blocks the bigger man's blow, forcing him to his knees. Highway hits Swede once on the jaw, knocking him to the deck. The rest of the platoon, their plan foiled, runs out for muster. Swede regains his composure & tells Highway he'll wait for the MPs outside. Highway, knowing that his comrades were using Swede, tells him to join his platoon for PT, willing to forget the incident if Swede shapes up.Other little hints begin to form about Highway caring for his men. When Profile accidentally discharges his rifle at the target range and almost hits Major Powers, Highway stays with him while Powers makes him run circles around his marching platoon back to the barracks. Profile soon collapses from exhaustion. Highway says something quietly to his man and Profile suddenly gives a loud war cry and takes up his run again. When Powers asks Highway what he said to Profile, Highway growls "I told him 'Don't give the prick the satisfaction, Sir.' "When Aponte goes AWOL, Highway looks for him, only to find Aponte took a second job to support his wife and two kids. Instead of turning him in, Highway gives him some cash out of his own pocket to help.When Major Powers wants Recon to act as a target to sharpen 1st Platoon's skills, Highway goes off book and executes a mock ambush. Powers is ready to arrest him for insubordination, but Lt. Ring, feeling guilty about putting Highway in that position in the first place, took responsibility for it, saying he'd given Highway permission to freelance the men. Before Highway leaves Powers' office, he asserts that if recon went into combat improperly trained, at least half of them would die. Powers threatens to discharge Highway if he screws up again, saying it's in Highway's nature to do so.After his unit is called up for possible combat duty (which turns out to be a readiness drill), Highway goes to visit Aggie and tries to talk to her, asking her what he could have done to fix their marriage. She said he was Marine through and through and had a hard time changing. She even accused him of trying to get back in with her by changing up his tactics, throwing him out of her house. A pissed-off Highway gets drunk and ends up in jail, joined by Jones, who got arrested when he protested a fixed band contest at a local bar. (HIGHWAY: You can run me, you can starve me and you can beat me and you can kill me. Just don't bore me.) Aggie and Choozoo come to bail Highway out, and Aggie reads him the riot act about how hard it was for her to be married to him while he was fighting in Vietnam and not knowing if he would come home alive when so many others didn't. All of her anger came out, and she hits Highway, but she apologizes and breaks down crying in his arms. He holds on to her and comforts her.Highway leads his well-motivated Marines into a competition against 1st Platoon, parachuting to a designated target, the Marine Bear Pit, to earn a 72-hour liberty. He even got the afraid-of-heights Swede to skydive by admitting he was afraid of heights, too. (HIGHWAY: Jumping out of a perfectly-good aircraft is not a natural act, so do it right and enjoy the view.) Recon and 1st Platoon get there at the same time, and despite Powers' insistence Choozoo make 1st Platoon the winner, Choozoo goes to a tiebreaker: Matchup. Both units get in the Bear Pit and fight each other to remain there. The battle eventually comes down to Jones vs. 2 of 1st Platoon's men. They seemingly get Jones under control and haul him out of the Bear Pit until Jones grabs their crotches hard and pulls them out instead. Powers claims that 1st Platoon won because Jones cheated. Highway says Jones improvised, adapted and overcame. When Powers orders Choozoo to declare 1st Platoon the victor, Choozoo decides to let Highway and Powers battle. Despite his bragging that he'll defeat Highway, Powers is defeated by Highway and hauled out, clinching recon's victory.Powers sends Sgt. Webster, 1st Platoon's sergeant, who had been kissing up to Powers from day 1, to get statements from Recon that Highway used live ammunition on the training exercises, even bribing them with weekend liberty. Recon refuses to inform on Highway, having found new respect for their sergeant.Aggie finds Highway at a Commanding Officer's party and they enjoy a nice dance. Highway admits to reading the magazines and is trying to understand how women think, hoping he could reconcile with Aggie. However, Aggie tells him Roy asked her to marry him. Before Highway finds out her answer, his unit is immediately activated for mobilization for the 1983 invasion of Grenada.On the hangar bay of the USS Belleau Wood, Ring briefs the men of their mission: to helicast on the western side of the island of Grenada and recon in advance of the battalion landing team. Despite their nervousness about seeing real combat, Recon boards the UH-1 Huey and land on the island. While advancing inland they make hostile contact with forward patrols and machine gun fighting positions of Cuban soldiers and come under heavy fire. Highway improvises, ordering Jones and Fragetti to use a bulldozer to provide cover so they can advance on and destroy an enemy machine gun nest. The recon towards the university as ordered and secure the area, rescuing the captured students.Highway, Ring, and the platoon are then ordered on another recon mission: investigate a hill where air support spotted an enemy arsenal. They are also given strict orders by Powers not to take the hill until he and 1st Platoon arrive. Caught under fire, Ring and the platoon make the mistake of trapping themselves in a structure rather than staying out of sight. A blast from a HRAKM armored tank knocks out their radio and kills Profile. Ring is beside himself for leading the men into a trap and getting Profile killed, but Highway gets him to refocus. Ring finds a telephone they could use to order an air strike by calling Camp Lejeune long-distance, but Jones has to go on the roof to find where the line is cut, successfully reconnecting the line and letting Ring use his credit card to pay for the call to Camp Legune. Highway goes out to light a smoke marker to tell their position, not knowing if Ring was successful, and is hit by enemy fire. The men look to Ring to lead, which he does by leading them out to get the unconscious Highway. The air strike comes through, the enemy is routed and Highway is actually uninjured and ready to resume command.Buoyed by their success, Ring decides to take the hill, despite Powers' orders to the contrary. They make their way to the rebel position, destroy it, and capture the men inside while Highway enjoys a cigar he took off of a Cuban soldier, proud to see his men become real Marines. When Powers finds out, he bawls them out and threatens Highway with a court-martial, even ready to assault Highway himself, but Highway remains defiant, pointedly telling Powers that he bores him.Their commanding officer, Colonel Meyers, arrives, and Powers reports that Ring and Highway disobeyed direct orders. Meyers asks where Powers came from and Powers said he came from Supply and was good at it. Meyers then tells Powers to stick with Supply since Highway and Ring, despite disobeying orders, took the initiative & came out the victors, completing a difficult mission under harsh circumstances.Highway and his men return to the U.S. and are met by a warm reception. Aggie is there to welcome him back, too. To Highway's mock dismay, Stitch informs him that he is going to give up his music and make a career for himself in the Marines, while Highway takes his mandatory retirement. All of the Marines are celebrating with friends and family as Highway and Aggie walk off into the distance of airplane hangars.

Tags: cult, humor, comedy, violence, revenge

Review:
Clint Eastwood is at his best in the role of "Gunny Highway." This is mostly a really excellent flick about patriotic values, military camaraderie and old grizzled military veterans.
I have to say that I really enjoyed watching this movie.The grizzled, maverick war veteran, Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway must be one of Clint Eastwood's more comedic roles (apart from the 'every which way' films) He had me bursting out laughing every time he even opened his mouth.
As a matter of fact, there were plenty of 'laugh-out-loud moments in this film to keep everyone happy-like the smart-ass remarks from the punk cadets.The showdown between Highway and 'The Swede' was highly enjoyable, too.'Heartbrake Ridge' is certainly a lot more lighter and easier to swallow than the similarly-themed 'Full Metal Jacket'.This film certainly passes as perfectly adequate, undemanding popcorn viewing..
And the one-liners are perfectly attacked.I did find Mario Van Peebles character a little annoying, but then I suppose that was the whole point, and it's always good to see Marsha Mason, who I think is totally underrated as a screen actress.But this is Eastwood's movie, through and through and a real delight.
Eastwood plays Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway, a career United States Marine who won the Medal of Honor at Heartbreak Ridge in Korea.
As an active-duty Marine, from the moment I saw "colors" going at about 1630, with "Taps" being played (that goes at 2200), to the Company Commander screaming in a Gunny's ear (a CMoH winner), I knew this movie was gonna suck.
When I first started to watch Heartbreak Ridge, I expected another Clint Eastwood kicking but in some war movie.
Clint Eastwood is great as Tom Highway, a gunnery who must train troops and prepare for Grenada.
A military movie based on a true short story, of the conflict, a 'Hostage' crisis in the faulklen Islands, directed by the man himself, Clint Eastwood.
I watched in amazement, Clint is a dinosaur in this mean-as-nails-Marine film of hard driving male soldiers, who live on the edge.
Sure, it was quite jingoistic and patriotic but the language was NOT what the Marines want the public to hear...though in reality that sort of salty and politically incorrect dialog is exactly how the Marines I have known talk!The film centers around an aging and somewhat anachronistic Gunnery Sergeant, Highway (Clint Eastwood).
Clint Eastwood is one of the most talented people in Hollywood: Acting, Directing, Writing & Producing, he's excelled at them all and truly is "a living legend", so how the hell he came up with this rubbish I don't know?
He plays USMC Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway, hard as nails and vastly experienced but lacking motivation and still haunted by his experiences in The Korean War. His fire gets lit again as he takes over a platoon which has lost all discipline and prepares them for the Greneda invasion, in which he eventually leads them.
Likewise, the action will be all too familiar.Clint Eastwood portrays a hardened, grizzled old-time Marine who transfers into a training battalion, only to be confronted by an old-time rival and a commander who will top your list of people to despise, especially if you were ever in the service.Besides being sad, funny, and entertaining this movie is quite true-to-life.
Highway's one liners are some of Clint's best, and although this film isn't entirely serious, it is based on what the military unfortunately is really like without being too heavy.
He has to show these men how to be marines, while at the same time fighting against his superior officers, his new platoon and his feelings for his ex-wife.Heartbreak Ridge is a very gritty and realistic feeling movie, Eastwood delivers a typically brilliant performance, and his direction is very compelling.
The whole cast lends great support, but Eastwood undoubtedly steals most of the credit.Packed with humorous moments, clever and interesting dialogue and plenty of easy to like characters; not to mention some pretty decent action.8/10 A fine film.
Heartbreak Ridge is one of the most clichéd film I've ever seen.Its directing and editing are very weak, its cinematography is generally quite poor (apart from some Sergio Leone look-alike shots like this beautiful close-up on Eastwood's eyes), and its acting...
Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge" (1986) stars Eastwood as a tough, soon-to-retire Marine gunnery sergeant who conflicts with the brass and his former-wife (Marsha Mason) as he takes command of a spoiled recon squad.
If you can acclimate to this odd mixture, there's a lot to enjoy here.It helps that the movie hooks you in with the opening jail fight involving the hard-living Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway (Eastwood).
Some parts are kinda meh, but there's enough good here if you're in the mood for a military training flick in the form of "The Dirty Dozen" meeting "Top Gun" (1987) mixed with an edgier version of Gomer Pyle.The film runs 2 hours, 10 minutes and was shot at Camp Pendleton, Southern Cal, as well as Santa Clarita (café), San Clemente (bar), El Toro (airfield homecoming) and Vieques, Puerto Rico (Grenada).GRADE: B-.
In "Heartbreak Ridge", the U.S. Marines are the "lawn" and Eastwood (once again) isn't taking any prisoners.Basically, the film centers on a Marines Recon unit of the 1980s that, in all aspects, has "gone soft" in a time of peace.
No angel himself (Highway is shown instigating a prison riot at the beginning of the film), Highway goes about instilling into a rag-tag bunch of young men the kind of military values that he holds near and dear.Much like "Gran Torino", then, the most entertaining portion of this film is watching Eastwood embody that kind of old-world toughness that is on its way out (for better or worse) as the World War II and Korea veterans begin to pass away.
Whereas Walt bonds with a young boy who shows potential but just needs some strong leadership in his life, Thomas Highway runs the same emotional gamut with his Marines Unit.There are only a few things that keep this movie from "instant classic" status, those being Highway's rather un-interesting love life on the military base, as well as an ending that just seemed to fall a bit flat considering the entertainment that preceded it.
"Torino" was a bit more adept (and thus more deserving of a five-star rating) at handling the emotional drama of Eastwood's character, as well as providing a better send-off.Thus, whether you want to look at "Heartbreak Ridge" as a prequel to "Gran Torino", or "Torino" as a sequel to "Ridge", the similarities between both films are readily apparent.
One of Clint Eastwood's most accessible 80s movies, Heartbreak Ridge sees the gruff actor on very fine form.
For all its macho posturing and training routine shenanigans (you will wish we could have stayed at boot camp once Grenada arrives), at its heart is a very tender movie about a man who can't let the career go, and the wife (ex) who simply lived hell each day as her man was off at war (Korea/Vietnam et al).That said, it's the comedy that has made the film one of the most quoted film's of big Clint's career.
The film's title is a reference to the military campaign during the Korean War where Highway tells one character he went to college, but as we find out later, is where he earned the Medal of Honor."Heartbreak Ridge" might be the first film where Eastwood acknowledges his age.
Eastwood feels older than ever as he attempts to whip some ridiculously insubordinate Marines into shape before the invasion of Grenada, especially when he says to one of them, "Shut your face, hippie!" The main problem with the film is that we spend too much time with Highway and the recruits in boot camp.
Heartbreak Ridge stars Clint Eastwood who also produced and directed.Although now a two time Oscar winning Director.
War films were the rage in the mid 1980s but they were introspective as they looked back at Vietnam more critically.Eastwood plays Gunny Highway the tough, no nonsense marine sergeant who has to get his unit back in shape.
Clint Eastwood plays gunnery sergeant Tom Highway, a tough but rogue military man(and occasional alcoholic) who is often in trouble with his superiors, when he isn't getting in bar fights.
He is given one more assignment: to train an unruly and disorganized young platoon into shape, before they are sent off into action.Eastwood is believable as the profane and ultra no-nonsense sergeant, but this film is ultimately too long and predictable to succeed, and strangely resembles "Stripes", just from the military's point of view!
Don't know, but this movie surely would be a great way to test that question.An aging Clint Eastwood, playing a discipline-challenged U.S. Marine Corps gunnery sergeant named Tom Highway (as in, "it's my way or the Highway"), gets a new lease on military life by being assigned to lead a bunch of Marine recon soldiers who are even more lacking in the discipline department than he is.
Such an amazing actor and pretty good director made such a silly thing; the amount of nonsense in this film takes it to the bottom 100.But, lets not talk about what is wrong with this movie, lets talk what can be done to improve it.1) Highway should talk about Vietnamese prostitutes with his wife, not with some strangers in a prison.
And the film would be more spicy, Highway would have another reason to hate Power and vice versa.It's just a tiny bit of some ways to make it better.3/10 (still a few good jokes, pretty good acting and war scenes).
I admit that his latest work is really very good, not to say excellent, but movies like this one show that he had to go a long way before getting there."Heartbreak Ridge" is situated in 1983, when Gunnery Sergeant Tom 'Gunny' Highway (Clint Eastwood) rejoins his old recon unit in the Marines.
In the meantime he also tries to reconnect with his ex-wife, who still sees him as a gun-ho, who has always been more interested in the army than in her...What you'll see is the typical Clint Eastwood like we know from the Dirty Harry-movies.
Eastwood stars (and directed) the film as Thomas "Gunny" Highway, a very seasoned and highly decorated, but a troublesome U.S. Marine gunnery sergeant.
Highway begins what may be his last tour of duty and along the way, he deals with a rowdy and undisciplined bunch of recruits (Mario Van Peebles being the most sarcastic and cocky one among the bunch) and turns them into reliable soldiers, Major Powers (Everett McGill), a higher-ranking officer who totally dislikes Highway, and tries to revive his relationship with Aggie (Marsha Mason), his ex-wife who isn't afraid to tell him about the misery that she has suffered.
Some might argue, "Hey, it's a Clint Eastwood film, you know, The Man with No Name, Josey Wales, Dirty Harry", but in all of those films his co-stars had very good roles as well making the whole story very interesting.
Along with the main plot are subplots involving Clint Eastwoods character locking horns with a young Major who regards him as an antiquated military man and Marsha Mason as his ex wife (who was more convincing in her military spouse role in Cinderella Liberty) who still cares for him but grew tired of sharing him with his real true love The Marines.
Also a Marine Recon unit is an elite well trained well disciplined lot and their behavior would be nothing like that exhibited by this bunch led by Mario Van Peebles who does however turn in a great performance.
The movie centers around the training of a less-than-skilled recon platoon, facilitated by Clint Eastwood's Tom Highway character.
Clint Eastwood is very highly regarded in Hollywood via his performances in films like THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY and DIRTY HARRY .
He`s also well regarded as a director with films like PLAY MISTY FOR ME and UNFORGIVEN , but what a lot of people forget is Eastwood has starred in or directed plenty of poor films like FIREFOX , THE EIGER SANCTION , THE DEAD POOL and HEARTBREAK RIDGEThe worst thing about HEARTBREAK RIDGE is its totally unconvincing portrayal of the modern American marine corp.
I can`t say I rate the USMC as the best fighting force in the world but even so I reckon that any ex US marine watching this film would feel insulted by the way the troops are portrayed as being undisciplined wide boys and pop star wannabes .
Perhaps if you're a hardcore John Wayne fan you'll dig that piece of military propaganda, but even casual Clint Eastwood fans will find something enjoyable about Heartbreak Ridge, which embraces the Marines while also taking a good long snap at bureaucratic BS and people who get in the way of someone who is perpetually a hard-ass who gets everything right in his place.
But, and this is the biggest but, Eastwood is the more confident filmmaker and star, and with his film as a star vehicle as well as straightforward Recon-man-whips-men-into-shape-for-battle story he takes charge with plenty of good, witty lines and a sense of camaraderie with the male characters.
Around Hightower are a cast of near-classic misfits and complainers- chief among them the "Ayatollah of Rock-and-rolla" played with total glee by Mario Van Peebles in one of his best roles- and off they go in getting ready for a battle which takes place so quickly it fits just neatly (and awesomely) enough into the last half hour of the film.It's a given to see much of Eastwood's style as no nonsense.
I was embarrassed to watch this movie, for myself and Clint Eastwood, who I consider a great actor.
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) Plot In A Paragraph: Tom Highway (Eastwood) a hard nosed, hard drinking Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.Clint took time out from his busy schedule or being the Mayor of Carmel, to direct and star in another of my favourite Eastwood flicks.
The great problem with it is that it never reconciles these elements.The first strand is a cartoonish raw recruits training film containing all the stereotypes we have seen many times before: the wise cracking black one, the well built one, the nondescript one put in to be killed off (maybe?) and of course, the officious Major who hates the guts of the hero, the foul mouthed Gunny Highway as played by Eastwood.This training has all the verisimilitude of Police Academy, less so actually, since at least the police recruits knew that its not a good idea to threaten your superiors with physical violence as happens here.
I believe in the movie the Sergeant Major is in the bar looking at old pictures and telling the corporal about "Heart Break Ridge" and mention was made about he and Clint being in this battle as Army soldiers before they joined the USMC.
Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway (Clint Eastwood) wants to go out with action.
Eastwood gives a good "tough-guy" performance as Tom Highway, a no-nonsense, combat hardened Marine.It's a bit disappointing to see that many people who reviewed this film refer to Eastwood as a "drill sergeant", which he is not.
All our great actors enter their Autumns, when they can no longer play the roles we've come to love from them, and age forces them into some casting adjustments..For all the love of Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven", I prefer "Heartbreak Ridge"-where Clint still can flex his muscle, as a crusty old Gunnery Sergeant, short-timing it to mandatory retirement.
The relationship between Sgt. Highway and his former wife is why I put this movie as one of Eastwood's best.
I also don't think a recon unit would have ever had such bad discipline, as they should be the best of the Marines.Full of a lot of witty dialogue played with a straight face, military situation humour (such as the need of credit cards on the battle field), gay jokes (funny, but was not acceptable in the politically correct days of the 1980s, but more acceptable in the post south park era) and so on.The message ultimately is that soldiers are not people who love war, nor is their behaviour an acceptable part of modern civilized society, but they exist to serve the greater society.
Gunnery Sergeant Highway (Clint Eastwood, with a bristly crew-cut and an even bristlier voice)--a decorated career Marine with the usual personal problems--takes on a raw bunch of recruits (real "fire-pissers"), training them for battle and eventually invading Grenada.
Highway snarls at this goof-off platoon, "The Marines are looking for a few good men, and you guys ain't it!" If this doesn't sound familiar, it's because you haven't seen many movies.
My favorite Clint Eastwood film is Heartbreak Ridge.
Really good in their parts are Arlen Dean Snyder as Eastwood's best friend the sergeant-major on the post, Eileen Heckart as the widow of another of Eastwood's Marine Corps friends and his landlady as well and Mario Van Peebles the 'ayatollah of rock and roller'.One part I really liked, my favorite in the supporting cast is that of Boyd Gaines as the young lieutenant who is in charge of Eastwood's platoon.
Pretty good movie, with Eastwood playing Gunny Highway, a crusty old Marine Corps.
Gunny Highway is the most interesting of the many great misfit tough-guy characters Clint Eastwood has brought to the screen.
But I don't care really, I still enjoyed it.This movie was a perfect mix of comedy, action, and Clint Eastwood.
HEARTBREAK RIDGE (1986) **1/2 Clint Eastwood, Marsha Mason, Mario Van Peebles , Eileen Heckart, Bo Svenson.
Eastwood's ability to play a good tough guy makes this film.
Clint Eastwood plays the combat-hardened Gunnery Sgt., Tom Highway, who has a hard time staying out of trouble when he's not fighting a war.
Though this isn't one of the best military movies ever made, Eastwood's ability to play a good tough guy makes this film.