Hard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.Hard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.Hard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total
- Aponte
- (as Ramon Franco)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe use of a credit card to place a long-distance landline fire support is based on an actual event in the Operation Urgent Fury Grenada action. A U.S. Navy S.E.A.L. rescuing the Governor General placed a calling card call to S.O.C.O.M., which brought an AC-130 gunship to bear on an A.P.C. that was firing on them.
- GoofsEven if he did not like the individual, it is extremely unprofessional for a Marine officer like Major Powers to not render the proper courtesies towards a Medal of Honor recipient, which Highway was.
- Quotes
Jail Binger: I don't like soldier boys.
Highway: Say what?
Jail Binger: If you wanna pop that puppy's can you don't have to grease him so hard, jarhead.
Highway: Well, it sounds like you're a man of experience.
Jail Binger: What the hell's that supposed to mean, grunge shit.
Highway: It means: Be advised. I'm mean, nasty and tired. I eat concertina wire and piss napalm and I can put a round in a flea's ass at 200 meters. So why don't you go hump somebody else's leg, mutt face, before I push yours in.
Jail Binger: Ain't gonna be so smart with your balls stuffed in your mouth, jarhead!
Highway: [hands cigar to the young man] Hang on to this, boy. I think war's just been declared.
- Crazy creditsThe opening Warner Bros. logo is black and white.
- Alternate versionsTheatrical version included a scene where Gunny Highway stands in front of one of the Marines at the target practice, forcing him to shoot straight. Reportedly, this scene doesn't appear in the video release.
- SoundtracksSea of Heartbreak
Written by Hal David and Paul Hampton
Performed by Don Gibson
Guitar by Hank Garland (uncredited)
Courtesy of Hickory Records
I also found that his character is his most interesting. A hard, no-nonsense gunnery sergeant who looks for advice in women's magazine is a dream characterization. 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. See it, but don't take the ending too seriously.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El guerrero solitario
- Filming locations
- Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, USA(Camp Talega, Recon Quonset Huts)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $42,724,017
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $8,100,840
- Dec 7, 1986
- Gross worldwide
- $42,724,017
- Runtime2 hours 10 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1