John Milius

The discovery of the murder of an American businessman, Peter Hardin, and his family, outrages U.S. President Edward Bennett (Donald Moffat), Hardin's personal friend. When Hardin is found to have been connected to a Colombian drug cartel, from which he skimmed over $650 million, Bennett tells James Cutter (Harris Yulin), his National Security Advisor, that the cartels represent a "clear and present danger" to the United States, tacitly instructing him to use force against the men responsible for his friend's murder. Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford), appointed acting Deputy Director of Intelligence after Vice Admiral Jim Greer (James Earl Jones) is stricken with cancer, asks Congress for increased funding for ongoing CIA operations in Colombia, believing the funds to be for advisory purposes only. Congress is concerned that the FBI has asked for similar funding increases in the past to carry out covert military ops against state enemies. But Ryan gives a personal assurance that that's not the case. $75M is issued. Keeping Ryan in the dark, Cutter turns to CIA Deputy Director of Operations Bob Ritter (Henry Czerny) to take down the cartel. Ritter insists on Cutter giving him a written authorization before he conducts any covert operations on foreign soil. Ritter assembles a black operations team code-named RECIPROCITY with the help of John Clark (Willem Dafoe). Clark also knows this is black ops and demands payment into his bank account before he moves. The whole thing has been hidden from the U.S. Congress. The team inserts itself into Colombia, with Clark running logistics and Captain Ricardo Ramirez (Benjamin Bratt) of an SF-ODA team commanding the squad on the ground in clandestine search-and-destroy missions against the drug cartel. Their team carries out several hits on planes full of drugs, planning to ship to the U.S. All of them belong to Escobedo. Ryan finds that 3 years ago, Hardin received a large infusion of foreign capital that he invested in shopping malls in the U.S. and posted record profits. It is clear to Ryan that Hardin was laundering money for the Columbian drug cartels. Meanwhile, Bennett sends Ryan to Colombia to investigate Hardin's cartel connection and also to retrieve the $650MM sitting in Hardin's offshore accounts. Ryan would need to establish who Hardin was working for before the U.S. Govt. could seize the money. Greer knows that Ryan has been trapped and tells him to lean on Clark in case he gets into a mess. Jean Fowler (Belita Moreno) is the FBI officer in charge in Bogota and tells Ryan about Escobedo's operations, including Cortez (for whom they don't have a picture). Ryan meets Clark, but Clark doesn't tell Ryan about the hits. Clark takes Ryan seriously when he says he is Greer's man. The cartel leader responsible for Hardin's murder, Ernesto Escobedo (Miguel Sandoval), is enraged when the U.S. attempts to claim the $650 million that was stolen from him and has his intelligence officer, Félix Cortez (Joaquim de Almeida), try to retrieve the funds. Cortez did not agree with Escobedo's strategy to kill Hardin since he was a politically connected figure in the U.S. Cortez visits the U.S. and has a new connection, Moria Wolfson (Ann Magnuson), whom he uses as cover for his spying activities. Cortez is careful to hide himself from Moria's friends whenever he meets her. Moria is on Jack Ryan's FBI team investigating the Hardin murders. Meanwhile, Ramirez's team starts cleaning out Escobedo's cocaine factories hidden in the jungles. Bennett sends FBI Director Emil Jacobs (Tom Tammi) to meet Ryan in Colombia and negotiate with the Columbian Govt. for the money (after Ryan had told Bennett that the link between Escobedo and Hardin was established (Hardin was buying coffee from Escobedo, but was paying $6200 per pound), but Columbia would want to keep a large portion of the funds), and when Cortez discovers this (from Moria, whole unwittingly discloses Jacobs plans to Cortez), he plans an ambush, engineering it so that suspicion will fall on Escobedo. Ryan barely escapes the ambush by cartel hit-men (Cortez kills Moria after travelling to the U.S.), but the remainder of the entourage is killed. Ryan returns to the U.S. Escobedo then summons a meeting with other cartel leaders, which Clark's team hits with an airstrike, but Escobedo arrives late and survives. Several women and children also die in the attack. Ryan finds it strange that Moria was killed the same day as Emil. He checks her answering machine and finds a recorded message from a Latin sounding guy. Sound analysis provides a match with Cortez. Ryan also finds that Ritter ordered the airstrike on the cartel meeting. Cortez discovers the American involvement in the strike and meets with Cutter (he faxes Cutter that he knows American troops are in Columbia fighting an illegal war and threatens to expose it) to broker a deal (the meeting happens in Panama). Cortez will assassinate Escobedo and take over the cartel, promising to reduce drug shipments to the U.S. and allow American law enforcement to make regular arrests to make it appear as if the U.S. is winning the drug war. In exchange, Cutter will shut down all U.S. operations in Colombia and allow Cortez to hunt down Clark's soldiers. Cutter agrees and orders Ritter to get rid of all evidence of their operations and cut off the troops in Colombia from all support. Ryan is played a recording of the conversation between Cutter and Cortez. He hacks Ritter's computer and discovers the conspiracy unfolding in Colombia. The Reciprocity team is ambushed in Colombia by Cortez's mercenaries. Ritter had shut down the satellite link so Clark could not contact the men as they screamed for help. Cutter and Ritter tell Clark that Ryan found out everything and threatened to expose them if they didn't shut it down. They say that Ryan is on his way to Bogota, and if Ryan is out of the way, they are back online. Basically, Ritter and Cutter recruit Clark to kill Ryan for them. Ryan arrives and convinces Clark to allow him to help. Clark calls Ritter and says he killed Ryan and wants the satellites turned back on. But Ritter hangs up on him, proving Ryan's point. They find the team's sniper (Ryan buys a helicopter for $2M and goes searching in the jungles with Clark), Chavez (Raymond Cruz), who tells them that Ramirez and a squad mate have been captured and the remainder have been killed. Ryan visits Escobedo's mansion and shares his intelligence on Cortez. Enraged, Escobedo confronts Cortez but is killed by Cortez's associate. Ryan, Clark, and Chávez rescue the prisoners, kill Cortez, and escape. Ryan confronts the President and tells him he intends to inform the Congressional Oversight Committee about the conspiracy despite the damage it could do to his career. As he walks out of the Oval Office, Cutter asks to speak with him, but Ryan ignores him. Ryan then begins his testimony to Congress.

The story of the Apache chief and his armed resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people. On December 5, 1886, Geronimo surrendered to a detachment of US cavalry on the border between Arizona and Mexico. Barely more than 30 men remained of his once proud following. This was preceded by a five-year struggle between the rebellious Apache chief and his white adversaries. Those who were commissioned by the state to hunt down and kill Geronimo were themselves merely the henchmen of a misguided policy. Young Lieutenant Charles Gatewood and his superior, General Crook, are well aware of this-Geronimo's defeat is a bitter victory for them. —ZDF The Apache Indians have reluctantly agreed to settle on a US Government approved reservation. Not all the Apaches are able to adapt to the life of corn farmers. One in particular, Geronimo, is restless. Pushed over the edge by broken promises and necessary actions by the government, Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack team which humiliates the government by evading capture, while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs. —Rob Hartill

During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi. After his bombardier is killed, Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson)', a carrier-based Intruder pilot, questions the purpose of Navy bombing missions. He finds an ally for his cynicism in Virgil Cole, a bombardier on his third tour of duty, and together they ponder the notion of one unsanctioned mission "downtown", to "Sam City" in North Vietnam. —Marg Baskin <marg@asd.raytheon.ca> On September 10, 1972, an American A-6 "Intruder" aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson), bombs a non-strategic target in Vietnam. While flying at low altitude to avoid enemy radar, bombardier Lieutenant Morgan "Morg" McPherson (Christopher Rich) is struck by gunfire from an armed peasant. Hoping to save his comrade, Jake returns the plane to the aircraft carrier, Independence, but Morgan is already dead. The next day, Jake writes a letter to Morgan's wife, admitting that her husband's death was needless. Meanwhile, new recruit Lieutenant Junior Grade Jack "Razor" Barlow (Jared Chandler), and Lieutenant Commander Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe), a veteran on his third tour of duty, join the crew. During a private meeting with Razor, Commander Frank Camparelli (Danny Glover) warns that, despite his African-American appearance, he is "third-generation mafia," and not a man to be trifled with. Aware of Virgil Cole's notoriety among Navy pilots, Camparelli cautions him to be on his best behavior. Elsewhere on the ship, Jake discusses the rumored stockpile of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in Hanoi, North Vietnam, with Guffy (Douglas Roberts), who maps bombing targets. While Guffy does not deny the rumor, he reminds Jake that attacks on the enemy capital have been forbidden throughout the history of the war. Later, Virgil, Razor, Jake, and a pilot named Boxman (Tom Sizemore) spend the evening at a naval base in the Philippine Islands. Jake visits the McPherson home to find war widow Callie Joy (Rosanna Arquette) packing the family's possessions. She cynically assumes Jake is making a courtesy call on behalf of his superiors, until he explains his close friendship with Morgan. That evening, the airmen attend a disreputable saloon, where they brawl with a group of belligerent merchant seamen. After evading arrest, Jake meets Callie at the officers' club, where they dance until closing, then retire to her home to make love. Jake spends the following day with Callie and her young daughter before returning to the ship. When Virgil is assigned as Jake's new bombardier, the pilot suggests an unauthorized raid on Hanoi. Virgil appreciates Jake's intentions, but discourages the idea, certain that it would result in a courts martial. However, during their next mission, Boxman is killed by a SAM, and Virgil agrees to Jake's plan. While viewing newsreel footage from Hanoi, they notice a number of SAMs on display in the background. Their research is interrupted by Guffy, the phantom prankster who has been leaving excrement in the executive officers' quarters. In exchange for Jake and Virgil's silence, Guffy reveals the exact location of the missiles. Following their next mission, Jake and Virgil take a detour to Hanoi and destroy the stockpile. The North Vietnamese government issues a false statement, saying the raid destroyed a children's hospital, and Camparelli berates the airmen for compromising peace negotiations. At the ensuing inquiry, Virgil takes a flippant attitude, declaring the war a pointless endeavor. Jake defends his actions, believing he saved American lives, and is ready to accept the consequences. However, when President Richard Nixon orders "unrestricted bombing of all military targets in North Vietnam," charges are dropped against Jake and Virgil. Regardless, Camparelli considers the airmen untrustworthy and confines them to the ship until they can be transferred. The next day, Camparelli is stranded behind enemy lines during a daylight raid. With the executive officer's permission, Jake and Virgil go to their commander's rescue, but they are also stranded after their airplane is shot down. While Jake attends to the injured Camparelli, Virgil is shot by a Vietnamese soldier. Certain that he is dying, Virgil ignites a smoke grenade, signaling the rescue team to strafe and bomb the area. As napalm falls around them, Jake and Camparelli take refuge in a narrow valley, where they are followed by an enemy soldier. After signaling a rescue helicopter, Jake dispatches the soldier, allowing himself and Camparelli to be pulled to safety. Sometime later, as U.S. involvement in the war draws to an end, Jake smiles as he reads a letter from Callie. Camparelli is offered the command of his own ship, and hopes to have Jake as a crew-member.

Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems - nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director. Documents the sensational events surrounding the making of Apocalypse Now (1979)' and Francis Ford Coppola's struggle with nature, governments, actors, and self-doubt. Includes footage and sound secretly recorded by Eleanor Coppola, wife of Francis. —Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au> In the late 1970s, as renegade filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola struggles to complete an epic allegory of the Vietnam War, "Apocalypse Now (1979)," his wife, Eleanor, films his daily travails with a camera of her own. The documentary based on her footage details the difficulties of the large production -- from weather-related delays in the Philippines to star Martin Sheen's heart attack while filming -- and it provides unprecedented behind-the-scenes clips of one of Hollywood's most-acclaimed films. —Jwelch5742

A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries. When they were kids Texas Ranger Jack Benteen used to be best friends with drug kingpin Cash Bailey. At present, however, the only element linking them together is Jack's girlfriend Sarita, who used to be with Cash. She returns to Cash as a voluntary hostage to make certain that Jack keeps his hands off the drug lord's operation. On top of that, there is a meticulously planned drug bust, in which both Jack and Cash butt heads with CIA-funded paramilitary Maj. Paul Hackett, following his own agenda. —Anonymous

"Red Dawn" envisions an alternate history of mid-1980's America. A few title cards that precede the opening credits tell of famine in the Soviet Union, leading to food riots in Poland. The USSR subsequently invades Poland. Troubles in Central America include Cuba and Nicaragua building their armies to immense, unprecedented numbers and invading the nations of El Salvador and Honduras. A Communist revolution breaks out in Mexico. In Europe, political divisions in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) lead to the dismantling of nuclear weapons. Finally, NATO dissolves, leaving the United States with no allies or support. The story is set in a small Colorado mountain town called Calumet. Before an autumn school day in September a young man named Jed Eckert (Patrick Swayze) is dropping his younger brother Matt (Charlie Sheen) and their friend Arturo (Doug Toby) off at school. While giving a lecture on Genghis Khan's tactics in conquering Asia, their history teacher (Frank McCrae) notices paratroopers landing outside in the school football field. Thinking they may be American soldiers who are off course, he leaves the classroom to investigate and is immediately shot and killed by one of the soldiers, who then open fire on the classroom, killing at least one student. Matt and Arturo ("Aardvark") escape the chaos when Jed pulls up, having quickly returned. They are also joined by their friends Daryl (Darren Dalton), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and Danny (Brad Savage). They drive through town, witnessing more of the invasion. Arturo's father is seen being chased by the invaders and tries to reach them but is apprehended in the street. The group drives out of town to Robert's father's gas station on the highway. Robert's father tells them to gather supplies for camping and gives them a few rifles and ammunition. They escape to the mountains; Jed's plan is to camp out there until the conflict is over. Back in Calumet, a Cuban colonel named Bella (Ron O'Neal) oversees the hasty occupation of the town. American forces have moved in from all sides and are attacking relentlessly. Bella orders his Cuban and Nicaraguan troops to defensive positions and orders another of his men, a Russian KGB agent, to acquire documents from the gun store identifying local citizens who possess privately-owned firearms. The boys arrive in the mountains and set up camp. An argument erupts between Jed and the high school class president, Daryl (the Calumet's mayor's son), who insists they go back and turn themselves in. Jed orders him to leave, however, Daryl relents and stays with the group. The group also discovers that their radio has been destroyed when they were shot at, so their contact with the outside world is essentially cut off. While hunting deer, Robert makes a kill and drinks some of the deer's blood as part of a ritual that Jed, Matt & their father all took part in. Jed also suggests that everyone will notice a change in Robert from then on. A few weeks later in October, Jed, Matt, and Robert slip into Calumet to find out what has happened in their absence. They talk to a store owner, Alicia, who tells them that the Russians know who they are and tells them that the boys are being blamed for a series of violent crimes in the town. She also tells them that many people have been remanded to a holding camp at the town's drive-in theater. The boys go to the camp that evening and find that it's a communist re-education camp. Jed and Matt's father (Harry Dean Stanton) is a prisoner; when they see him, he has been severely beaten. Telling his sons that he was hard on them for an occurrence like this, he also implores them to avenge him. The next morning, the group next goes to the ranch of their father's friend, Mr. Mason (Ben Johnson), whose property lies far enough outside Calumet to go unnoticed. Mason informs the boys that a large portion of the central United States has been occupied by Soviet and Cuban forces and they are all 40 miles behind enemy lines. Beyond the Soviet/Cuban front lies "FA" or "Free America". They also tell Robert that his father was killed by the enemy; while gathering their supplies at his father's store before fleeing to the mountains, the group also took several rifles. The Soviet authorities had Robert's father publicly executed for providing insurgents (the boys) with weapons. Mason doesn't know what happened to Robert's mother. Robert breaks down and a distressed Jed feels obvious guilt for their deaths. Mason tells the boys that they are not at fault and that the lesson learned from the incident (symbolizing that of US government registration of privately-owned firearms) should sink in to them all. Before they leave, Mason gives them a radio and also asks that the boys take his teenage granddaughters with them. The two new additions are Toni (Jennifer Grey) and her sister Erica (Lea Thompson) who ride back to the camp with them on a few horses Mason gives them. Meanwhile, Daryl's father, Calumet's mayor, Bates (Lane Smith), a collaborationist of sorts, tries to appease the occupation authorities under Colonel Bella. He offers his assistance in getting the citizens of his town to adhere to the new laws that Bella imposes. Back in the woods, the group hears a radio announcement from the Free Zone that tells them the war is far from over ("John has a long mustache") and the combat is at a standstill ("The chair is against the wall"). The next day, the group sees a Russian patrol of three soldiers headed toward their position. While taking in the sites, the patrol sees the group and attempts to arrest them. Jed, Robert & the others kill them all. Robert later talks of his enjoyment of killing them, probably seeking revenge for the deaths of his parents. Jed remarks that they cannot return to town ever again because they'll be hunted. In reprisal, Colonel Bella orders the killing of several of the town's residents after they dig graves for the dead Soviets. A mass execution takes place, one that Matt witnesses from a distance. Among those killed are his and Arturo's fathers. Also present is Daryl's father, who is visibly sickened. Jed later tells everyone not to cry over their families' deaths. In retaliation, the teens continue their guerrilla campaign, dubbing themselves "Wolverines" after their high school football team's mascot. They ambush Soviet and Cuban patrols, shoot up armored columns, and raid local armories to steal weapons such as AK-47 rifles, sniper rifles, ammunition, land mines and RPG launchers, among many other weapons. A month later, Erica, while on patrol, sees a pilot land nearby by parachute. The pilot is an Air Force Colonel, named Andy Tanner (Powers Boothe), who joins the team and fills them in on the events of the war. The occupying forces are made up of Cuban and Soviet commando forces who invaded from both Mexico and Canada. The Soviet forces crossed into Alaska (cutting the Alaska oil pipeline). Tactical nuclear weapons were used to take out key U.S. nuclear missile and communication locations. However, by this time the front lines of combat have mostly stabilized. Tanner tells the teens that the United States' only allies are Great Britain, who are suffering huge defeats, and about 600 million Chinese. When Daryl says that China's population is supposed to be over one billion, Tanner implies that they've been defeated by the Soviets as well, perhaps by mass slaughter in combat or by nuclear weapons. The team invites the Colonel to join their guerrilla efforts. Tanner also teaches them basic tactics for attacking larger targets; they attack an airbase located near the re-education camp. They free the prisoners and destroy a few key military targets. Tanner later notices Robert carving hash marks into the stock of his AK-47 rifle for every enemy soldier he kills. Tanner tells the boy that "all that killing is gonna burn you up inside." Robert replies, "Yeah, but it keeps me warm." Jed takes Tanner to meet Mr. Mason where he tells them both that there are rumors of the Soviets dropping special forces units into the occupied zone to hunt the Wolverines. There is also talk of sending in American Special Forces troops to aide them. Jed believes their only chance to survive the war is to cross the front lines into Free America. Tanner decides to show them the way out of the occupied territory. They go to the front lines of combat where an M1 Abrams American tank is engaged in a fierce battle with a few Soviet T-62 tanks. Tanner tells Jed that they'll have to cross the no-man's land between the tanks to reach the free zone where Soviet jets are dropping napalm. As they prepare to move forward, another Soviet tank moves up to their position, unaware that Tanner and the team are nearby. The tank begins to fire on the American tank and Tanner sees an opportunity to disable the enemy. In the skirmish, Arturo is killed and Tanner is critically wounded by a grenade. Before he succumbs to his injuries, he is able to mark the tank with a colored smoke bomb, making it visible to the American forces. They destroy the tank and Tanner along with it. Back in camp, Erica becomes deeply depressed over his loss, having been attracted to him. A small funeral is held for Tanner and Arturo. Their names are carved by the team into a nearby rock as a memorial. Meanwhile, Colonel Bella and his superior, the Russian Cossack Major General Bratchenko (Vladek Sheybal), call in a Soviet special forces team to hunt the Wolverines. Before they move in, their commander, Major Strelnikov (William Smith), orders the forces in the area to cease their reprisals and atrocities against the local population, saying terror tactics like those will not win the conflict for them in the long term. The Soviet commandos move into the mountains, using a tracking device to find the Wolverines, however, the teens are waiting for them and kill most of the commandos. One is left alive and is interrogated by the group. They discover the tracking device, which reveals that the Daryl is a traitor, having stolen away from the team and into town to see his father despite Jed's strictest orders. While there, he had been forced to swallow a tracing bug and reveal his and his friends' location in the mountains. The team makes a tough decision to execute both Daryl and the Soviet prisoner. Jed, enraged by the Soviet invasion, kills the soldier and turns his gun on Daryl, but is unable to kill him. Robert steps up and very casually and coldly shoots Daryl, leaving the team horrified at his callousness in executing a friend. By March of the following year, after five months of fighting, the Wolverines are physically and emotionally weakened, however, by the attacks and other events, and their morale erodes as the war of attrition continues. Even though the American civilians are increasingly resistant to Soviet rule, the occupation forces are pushing the resistance of the Wolverines to the breaking point. A few days later, while observing a small detachment of Soviet vehicles, Jed notices that they drop a few cartons of food and calls off their attack. They scrounge what's there and take it back to their camp. However, apparently the food had somehow been bugged and three heavily armed Soviet Mi-24 Hind helicopters move in and attack the group. Toni is shot immediately and is taken to cover by Jed. The rest of the group also scatter on their horses and try to make it to cover, however, Robert's horse is shot out from under him. He makes a final stand, damaging one Mi-24 chopper with an RPG, killing the door gunner, and firing his rifle at a second. He is killed in a hail of gunfire. After the three Soviet helicopters leave the scene, Jed and the seriously wounded Toni share a final moment and Jed leaves her a grenade. Later, when Soviet ground troops arrive and find her dead body, the grenade that had been left live under her goes off, taking at least one Russian soldier with it. Jed adds Toni's and Robert's names to those already on the memorial rock. Tired and demoralized by the loss of their friends, Jed and Matt prepare a suicidal attack on the Soviet headquarters in Calumet itself which will serve as a diversion allowing Erica and Danny to escape to Free America. During the climactic final battle, many Soviet, Cuban, and enemy soldiers and officers are killed during the fighting. Jed and Matt kill Bratchenko and blow up his communications trailer with RPGs. While trying to escape on a nearby train, Matt is shot by the pursuing Strelnikov. Jed sneaks up on Strelnikov and the two shoot each other simultaneously at close range. Strelnikov is killed and Jed is wounded in his side. Colonel Bella sees Jed holding his brother, but does not shoot them and lets him pass. Jed takes his fatally wounded brother to a bench in the town's empty, snowy park square and cradles him as he dies. Jed refuses to leave the dead Matt behind and stays, holding his dead brother while waiting to die from his own wounds or for the Soviet troops to find and finish him off. At the same time, Bella, equally war weary and hoping to leave the prolonged conflict, returns to his office headquarters and finishes writing out a letter of resignation from the Cuban Army. The film closes with Erica and Danny being the only two survivors of the original team. They make their way to Free America territory in the Great Plains. Erica narrates the final scene of the film, saying that the war ended an indeterminate time later. She adds that she often visits a memorial to their friends called "Partisan Rock", but no one else ever visits. The memorial has an inscription that invokes the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The memorial, its inscription, and the presence of an American flag indicate America eventually won the war. The plaque reads: "In the early days of World War III, guerrillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock. They fought here alone and gave up their lives, so that this nation should not perish from the earth."

Ten years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, U.S. Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos. A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese. Led by his father (a retired Marine Colonel) and supported by a rich businessman whose son is also a P.O.W., the group engages in a dangerous and violent adventure trying to rescue the P.O.W.s, and at the same time, re-direct their lives. —Luis Alvarez A Marine Colonel who was dismissed because he wouldn't give up on the notion that his son, who's an M.I.A. in Vietnam is still alive. Nearly ten years after his son went missing, he obtains evidence of where he might be, a P.O.W. camp. So with financial backing from the father of another P.O.W., he recruits some men who served with his son. With photos he obtained, he makes a replica of the camp and they work out a rescue operation. But the government tries to stop them, and when they are about to go, their weapons are confiscated. So they have to find other weapons. —rcs0411@yahoo.com

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December 13, 1941. One week after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and on a beach in northern California, a young woman, part of a 'Polar Bear' swim club, goes for a swim in the ocean alone and naked to only to find a Japanese submarine surfacing under her. She holds on to the periscope as it rises. The submarine is the I-19, and the sub commander Akiro Mitamura (Toshiro Mifune) with some of his crew arrive out on deck to survey the coastline. Accompanying them is a hard-line German naval captain named Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt (Christopher Lee). Commander Mitamura tells Von Kleinschmidt that he has crossed the Pacific Ocean with the intent to destroy something honorable on the U.S. West Coast since missing the other activities the Japanese Navy has done in the past week. The bickering German officer agrees and suggests that they travel south along the coast to a place called Hollywood located on their chart map and hope to evade detection. As the submarine prepares to submerge, a Japanese crew member looks up at the naked girl clinging to the periscope, and yells: "Hollywood! Hollywood!" At this point, the submarine crew realizes they have arrived where they intended to be, and the vessel submerges once again while the girl swims to safety. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, dishwasher Wally Stephens (Bobby Di Cicco) tells his co-worker Dennis Desoto (Perry Lang) about his plans to enter a dance contest with his ex-girlfriend Betty Douglas (Dianne Kay), against her father's wishes. Tank crew chief Sgt. Frank Tree (Dan Aykroyd), along with his crew Private Foley (John Candy), Private Reese (Mickey Rourke), Private Hinshaw (Walter Olkewicz), and Corporal Sitarski (Treat Williams) are also at Wally's restaurant having breakfast. Sitarski takes an instant dislike to Wally after they meet when Wally serves him some coffee and a scuffle breaks out as Sitarski used to be a police officer before he was drafted and recognizes Wally who served time in a juvenile hall for auto theft. The fight is broken up by Sgt. Tree who takes his men out of the diner. Wally tries to persuade his boss to let them have the night off, but when his boss refuses and Willy keeps badgering him for the night off, both Wally and Dennis get fired from their jobs. Across town, Betty Douglas, along with her friend Maxine (Wendie Jo Sperber) are in training as taxi girl dancer for an upcoming USO show at the local nightclub that has been taken over under the tutelage of USO liaison Mrs. Fitzroy. Wally and Dennis go to a local department store where Wally tries on a zoot suit to wear and seeing that he doesn't have the money to pay for it, he has Dennis sound an air raid siren in the store. In the resulting panic, Wally walks out of the department store wearing the zoot suit, while Dennis has a run-in with two attractive looking twin ladies whom he pretends to help them out. Meanwhile somewhere in Death Valley California at 12 noon, Captain Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi), a manic US Army Air Force officer lands his stolen Curtis P-40 fighter to refuel at a local gas station where he claims to the gas matron and the patrons that he's tracking a Japanese air squadron. But when he takes off after his plane is re-fulled, he accidentally blows up the gasoline station when he drops his lighted cigar. Back in Los Angeles, the stuffy Major General Joseph Stilwell (Robert Stack) attempts to bring order to the hysteria and insanity gripping the region, while the general's new secretary Donna Stratten (Nancy Allen) as well as his assistant Captain Loomis Birkhead (Tim Matheson) have other ideas. Birkhead takes an instant liking to Donna and after learning from a colleague that Donna will only respond when she is aboard an airborne plane. At a nearby airbase, while General Stilwell gives a press conference about the impossibility of the Japanese bombing Los Angeles, Birkhead approaches Donna and takes her into the cockpit of a nearby B-17 bomber where he attempts to seduce her by simulating the plane taking off and flying. But Donna stops him by saying that it's not the same thing as being airborne and will only respond to his sexual advances in a real airborne plane. When Birkhead refuses to back away from her, she punches him, he falls back and accidentally releases a bomb door lever in which a large bomb drops out and rolls towards General Stilwell and the press conference and a panic ensues when the rolling bomb hits the stand and detonates. But all the people run to safety before it explodes. At the Douglas family home on the coast, Wally arrives to meet with Betty in his newly stolen zoot suit to ask her out, but she tells him that the club has been taken over by the USO and is accessible only to servicemen. Wally is confronted by Mr. Douglas (Ned Beatty) and his wife Joan (Lorraine Gary), where it's revealed that they are still angry at Wally since he stole and previously destroyed their car during a date he had over one year ago with Betty which landed him in jail. Betty and Maxine fall into a pit which was dug by Mr. Douglas three obnoxious and bratty younger sons whom have also gotten caught up in the war hysteria. Soon after, Sgt. Tree and the tank crew arrive to deliver a large AA gun to the Douglas property, where Corporal Sitarski also spots Betty and takes a liking to her as well. However, Maxine also spots Sitarski and takes a liking to him too, which he declines the overweight lady's offer to attend the USO show with her. When Wally attempts to persuade Betty to accompany him to the dance anyway, Sitarski and the tank crew beat up Wally and throw him in the back of a passing garbage truck. Nearby, at the home of Mr. Douglas neighbor Angelo Scioli (Lionel Stander), he has built an armored car against the protest of his nagging wife. Angelo, a former serviceman having joined the Civil Defense Force, persuades his friend Claude Crumn (Murray Hamilton) to take his friend Herbie (Eddie Deezen) to perch themselves atop a Ferris wheel at a local Santa Monica pier that Angelo owns to be air raid spotters. With rifles in hand as well as binoculars, and a telephone, Angelo puts them in on one of the Ferris wheel carts and moves the wheel to the top where Claude and Herbie will spend all day to look for approaching Japanese planes. Claude and Herbie do not get along at all because of Herbie's nagging and eccentricity, which makes matters worse when Herbie brings along a ventriquilist dummy with them where he also talks though the obnoxious and ratting dummy. Meanwhile, Japanese submarine becomes lost trying to find Los Angeles when the ship's compass is broken. Commander Mitamura sends a landing party ashore where they capture a local timber merchant, Hollis "Holly" Wood (Slim Pickens). Despite the language barrier, since none of the Japanese crew, nor Von Kleinschmidt speak any English, Hollis knows that he's a prisoner, but he also slow to understand of their destination. Upon a search of his belongings, one Japanese crewman discovers a small compass in a box of Cracker Jacks that he has. But Wood grabs and swallows the small compass rather than let it fall into the hands of the Japanese. The Japanese spend several hours torturing him by forcing him to drink prune juice to make him defecate the compass. But Wood manages to turn the tables on his captors where he manages to escape and swim ashore. In Los Angeles at nightfall, Wally arrives at the nightclub where he and several Latino zoot suit members are kept out of the nightclub by the military guards posted there. Just then, Sitarski arrives with Betty as his date and forces the guards to keep Wally and the rest of the zoot suits out. When Wally sees Dennis dressed as a sailor with the twin ladies at his side going into the USO club, he gets an idea. Wally knocks out a Shoreman Patrol officer, steals his uniform, and gains access to the nightclub where he tries to get Betty's attention by bringing her onto the dance floor. But a while dancing up a storm with Betty, gaining the attention of the MC as well as a Hollywood talent agent, a huge brawl erupts when Sitarski begins a fight with Wally, and the underwear clad Shore Patrol officer arrives which leads to a huge riot out on the streets. When Captain Birkhead learns from General Stilwell about the renegade Colonel "Madman" Maddox (Warren Oates) isolating himself at the Barstow Air Force base and having airplanes, he gets the idea of going there with Donna and stealing a plane to fly and to seduce Donna. While Stilwell goes to the local theater to watch the feature film 'Dumbo', Birkhead and Donna drive to the Barstow airbase where they nearly get shot by the lunatic Maddox's solders whom he has told that every person approaching the base is a Japanese. But both Birkhead and Donna are disappointed when Colonel Maddox tells them that he has no bombers or fighter planes at the base, only an old C-47 transport plane, which Birkhead is happy to take on the ruse that he intends to fly over Los Angeles to spot any Japanese airplanes. But when Birkhead and Donna manage to take off, they realize that the plane they are flying in does not have a radio and they have no way of contacting anyone on the ground. Shortly afterwards, Wild Bill arrives with his P-40 to refuel and learns from the insane Maddox about spoting Japanese planes all over the place. As Wild Bill prepares to take off again, Maddox asks him to fire the guns from his plane just to listen to the gunfire. Wild Bill does, and in so doing, shoots up part of the airbase's buildings, and also cutting the telephone lines, which now means that Maddox and his men have no way of contacting Civil Defense in Los Angeles to inform them about Birkhead and Donna's airborne plane, or of Wild Bill's plane as well. Back in Los Angeles, the riot between the Army soldiers, Marines, sailors, and zoot suit guys is getting worse when Sgt Tree arrives in his tank with his crew, along with the latest addition, the Negro Private Ogden Johnson Jones (Frank McRae) to disrupt the riot and he gives a speech to the rioters about them turning against each other in this time of war. Just then, Los Angeles goes to Red Alert when the Civil Defense radar stations spot an "unknown aircraft" in the air. As Birkhead and Donna fly over Los Angeles just as he finally begins to seduce her, civil defense AA batteries open fire at their plane. The chaos continues as Wild Bill flies in and joins in the chase. Wild Bill manages to hit Birkhead and Donna's plane which crash lands into the La Brea Tar Pits area. Meanwhile, Ward Douglas spots the Japanese submarine lurking off shore near his home and decides to use the AA gun left behind by Sgt. Tree to fire at it. On top of the Ferris wheel, Claude and Herbie also spot the submarine, but they accidentally drop their telephone to the ground and have no way to contact anyone. So they open fire on it with their rifles, keeping the Japanese crewmen pinned down and creating some panic for them. But Claude and Herbie accidentally shoot at Wild Bill's plane that flies overhead after mistaking it for a Japanese Zero fighter. Wild Bill's plane comes crashing to the ground at Hollywood Boulevard where he gets out and tells everyone about spotting a Japanese submarine off shore. Wally hears this and when Sgt. Tree accidentally hits his head, Wally, with Betty in tow, commandeers the tank and rides off to where Wild Bill told them about the sub's location. Left behind, Sitarski and Maxine hitch a ride with Wild Bill riding on a motorcycle and a chase through the streets begins with Wally riding the tank over a few cars and even shooting up a policeman's car after recognizing the officer as the man who arrested him. The tank crashes though a paint factory and then a turpentine factory. Meanwhile, Ward Douglas begins firing at the Japanese submarine, but destroys his house in the progress with his bad aim. When Angelo sends one of Ward's sons to the pier to rescue Claude and Herbie stuck in the Ferris wheel, the brat accidentally turns on the entire lights for the amusement park..... illuminating it for the I-19 Japanese submarine. "Fire at the industrial structure!" yells Mitamuro. The I-19 begins shelling the amusement park, not realizing its little-use potential. The Ferris wheel is hit which rolls down the pier and into the water. Claude and Herbie (as well as the dummy) manage to swim ashore. But the nervous and bickering Captain von Kleinschmidt has had enough and wants to submerge, and he draws a gun on Mitamuro. But Mitamuro overpowers the German officer and throws him overboard. Kleinschmidt manages to swim ashore where he is later captured by Hollis Wood himself (the only U.S. "victory" of the movie). When Wally and the tank crew arrive at the amusement park and drive onto the pier to open fire on the I-19. The Japanese sub turns toward the shore and fires a torpedo at the pier, destroying it and sending the tank and all its occupants into the water. Wild Bill drives his stolen motorbike onto the pier just as it collapses into the water. Deranged to the last, Wild Bill swims to the submarine and boards where he is captured by the crew. Commander Mitamuro, believing that his honorable mission has been accomplished, orders his crew to submerge and return home with their prisoner of war Wild Bill, who undaunted, he declares, "Turn this tub around! You're takin' me to Tokyo!" The following morning on Sunday December 14, General Stilwell arrives at the devastated Douglas home where he is informed by Sgt. Tree, Wally, Betty, Claude, Herbie, Dennis, plus the entire tank crew about their harrowing experiences the night before. Also in custody with Stilwell's men is Birkhead and Donna, as well as Sitarski and Maxine, as well as the captive Captain von Kleinschmidt with his former captive-turned-captor Hollis Wood, and Colonel Maddox in a straightjacket on his way to the local funny farm. Ward delivers a short and inspirational speech to those present, vowing that Christmas will not be ruined; to punctuate his point, he nails a wreath to his front door, jarring the unstable house so that it collapses and slides into the ocean. The amused Stilwell mutters, "It's gonna be a long war," and walks away as everyone begins arguing and fighting in front of the foundations of the destroyed Douglas home.

Malibu, California, 1962. Matt 'the Enforcer' Johnson (Jan-Michael Vincent), Jack Barlow (William Katt), and Leroy 'the Masochist' Smith (Gary Busey) are the three best surfers of the beach. On the morning of the South swell Matt is drunk, but he borrows a board from a little boy and succeeds in giving an excellent performance anyway. The three friends usually take their boards for free from Bear (Sam Melville), a man that believes in their success and who owns illegally a shop in a hut on the pier. One day, Jack meets Sally (Patti D'Arbanville), a nice girl from Chicago, in the cafe where she works as a waitress. He takes her to his home, to a frantic and chaotic party which a brawl ensues when a group of party crashers arrive and cause a ruckus. Another time later, Matt, Jack and Leroy go for a trip to Tijuana, Mexico, where Peggy (Lee Purcell), Matt's girlfriend, announces to the group that she is pregnant: she and Matt will have a baby. Matt, Jack, Leroy, Sally and Peggy have a good time, and but get into a barroom brawl at a strip club. They all manage to escape from the local police, but they find their car stripped and broken-into. They manage to replace the stolen tires and return to Malibu. A short time later, the Malibu police make Bear's shop close: the pier will be demolished. Three years later, 1965; The Western Swell. Jack, the most serious of the three, is working as a lifeguard on the beach, and is still with Sally. Matt lives with Peggy and their little daughter; he's the greatest surf champion, but he is always drunk and depressed: he hates being a hero. While drunk, he provokes a road accident in front of the beach and Jack hits him and throws him off the beach. The three friends, as many others, have received the draft notice, and this means being sent to Vietnam... to fight an unpopular war. Bear has gotten rich: he owns a new bright surf shop in downtown Malibu and is about to marry. At his wedding, he speaks to Jack about the importance of friendship: Matt and Jack make peace. The Malibu guys have all to show up at the induction on the same day. In order to dodge the draft, Leroy pretends to be mentally insane to the Army psychologist (Joe Spinell) that interviews him. At the same time, Matt simulates a serious problem in his leg. Waxer (Darrell Fetty) (another friend from the beach) pretends to be homosexual, but he's not believed. Jack doesn't do anything: he probably thinks it's his patriotic duty. Matt and Leroy succeed in avoiding it. Jack and Waxer are drafted into the US Army. In a flash forward to 1968, it is revealed that Waxer has died in Vietnam. Matt now works as a swimming pool lifeguard. He's invited to the premiere of a surf documentary, with some scenes about him. But upon seeing the film, he is disappointed: the film shows how his style has been overcome by a new surf hero, (Gerry Lopez, as himself). Bear has lost all his money, and his wife has left him. Jack comes back home from Vietnam, but Sally is not waiting for him. While he was fighting far from home, she married another man, (Steve Kanaly), one of the guys who were at the party in 1962. In the cemetery, in front of Waxer's grave, they remember their dead friend and recall nostalgic memories of the past. Three years later in 1971. Bear has become a drunkard and a homeless, but is still proud of his surfer friends. The greatest swell ever is coming. On the day of its utmost intensity (Big Wednesday) lifeguards warn people to stay off the beach. Matt, Jack and Leroy meet on the shore and go surfing one last time for old times sake. So does Lopez, the new surfer, who looks at them with admiration and respect. They are still great, but Matt slips off his board and seems to disappear under a gigantic wave. When he reappears, on the beach, he and his two friends are ready to acknowledge the supremacy of Lopez, the new champion surfer. The film ends with Matt, Jack and Leroy leaving the beach for the last time and leaving them their past and their youth which is no more.

While investigating a murder, inspector Harry Callahan realizes the killers are police who have vowed to rid the city of crime by any means - even killing fellow police officers.

The opening scene depicts an early Rocky Mountain riverside trading post bustling with activity. Indians, trappers and traders of all stripes freely mingle. A young ex-soldier named Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford), fleeing civilization, equips himself with the needed foodstuffs, gear and pack mule required for life as a solitary mountain man. After a short time in the high mountains, Johnson finds himself critically short on both food and basic survival skills. While comically struggling to retrieve an elusive trout from a swift mountain stream, Johnson is startled to discover a bemused Indian brave silently watching him. The brave quietly rides downstream. After failing in his attempt to kindle a warming fire in the deep snow, Johnson comes upon a dead mountain man, frozen against a tree. A note attached to the dead man's coat identifies him as Hatchet Jack and explains that he was mauled and disabled by a grizzly bear. He bequeaths his prized .50-caliber rifle to whoever finds him. Johnson uses the gun to bag his first deer. Johnson awakens the next morning to find that his horse has died in the night. He continues through the deep snows on foot, leading his pack mule. He is soon surprised by a venerable old mountain man whose bear hunt he has inadvertently spoiled. The old mountain man, Bear Claw (Will Geer), patiently teaches Johnson the ways of the mountains. While hunting elk, Johnson and Bear Claw are surrounded by a Crow Indian party, but Johnson successfully barters their way out of trouble. The leader of the Crows is the same brave who observed Johnson's abortive fishing attempt earlier. After parting with Bear Claw, Johnson comes across a cabin where an Indian band has killed several white settlers. One child survives, along with his grieving, traumatized mother who has clearly gone mad. She frantically places her equally traumatized son in Johnson's charge, apparently intent on killing herself. Since the boy is unable to speak his own name, Johnson names the boy Caleb. As their journey continues, the pair comes across another mountain man, Del Gue (Stefan Gierash), buried up to his neck in burning sand by the same Blackfoot raiding party that attacked the settler cabin. Johnson rescues him and they track down the raiding party, intent on recovering Gue's horses and weapons. Against Johnson's wishes, Gue ambushes the Blackfoot party that night, and the Indians are killed with Johnson's reluctant assistance. Del Gue scalps the dead Blackfeet. This works to Johnson's advantage when they are subsequently surrounded by Flathead Indians, who are the Crows' blood enemies. Seeing the captured Blackfoot ponies and fresh scalps and believing Johnson to be a great warrior, the Flathead chief honors Johnson by giving his daughter to him as a bride. Del Gue goes his own way, and Johnson leads his newfound family deeper into the wilderness. Despite a mute "stepson" and a wife he cannot communicate with, Johnson finds fulfillment in his new life. They build a fine cabin alongside a mountain stream before Johnson leaves to hunt for buffalo. A few days after his return, a cavalry detail arrives at the cabin looking for a mountain guide. A small wagon party has become stranded in the high country and is in danger of starving in the freezing cold. Johnson is goaded into leading the rescue attempt. Once in the high mountains, the party encounters a sacred Crow burial ground blocking a mountain pass. Johnson explains they will have to go around, adding considerable distance to the journey. The cavalry officers are skeptical, explaining that the detour could result in many dead settlers. Against his better judgement, Johnson tells the troopers to stay quiet and follow along in single file through the burial ground. It is of no use; the Indians soon know of the desecration. After locating the wagon train, Johnson parts with the white men and traverses the burial ground again, suddenly becoming spooked. He rushes back to his cabin to find his wife and stepson dead, murdered by the Crows. Johnson is wracked with guilt and grief. After some time, he tenderly places the boy and his wife in the bed, covers them, and sets fire to the cabin. Johnson tracks down the murderous group of six or seven Crow warriors and attacks their campsite, without concern for his own life. He wipes out the entire group, becoming wounded in the process. His reprisal invites a seemingly endless series of solitary attacks upon Johnson as he travels the mountains. One by one, the Crow warriors ambush him, only to die in the process. Johnson himself is wounded many times. He becomes a living legend among the Indians and the white settlers alike. During this period, Johnson crosses paths once again with both Bear Claw and Del Gue, who are aware of his predicament. They wish him well and take their leave. After months of attacks, a weary Johnson sees one more Crow warrior approaching in the distance. He warily cocks his rifle and readies for a fight. Suddenly, the Indian raises his hand in tribute and in peace. It is over. Johnson breaks into a wide grin- it is the same Crow who watched him struggle to catch a trout long ago.