Red Dawn
Red Dawn mistake picture

Factual error: When the Russian tank rolls up to the two gas pumps, the crew have a choice of regular gasoline (as indicated on the pump), or Good Gulf (a premium gasoline). And in fact one of the tankers tells the attendant, "Gasoline." The trouble is, all Soviet tanks, from the T-34 up through the T-80, have diesel engines for safety reasons. (00:46:55)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Most variants of the T-80 use a Gas Turbine engine, which can use basically any flammable liquid.

Red Dawn mistake picture

Factual error: In the opening scene of the movie, the Soviet paratroopers are seen wearing smooth, black, leather parachute helmets. But Soviet Paratroopers have always worn tan, cloth parachute helmets with ridges that resembled tanker helmets. (00:05:00)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Actually no, The Soviet airborne would have had leather helmets when they jumped in circa 1984.

Red Dawn mistake picture

Continuity mistake: After the helicopter attack where Toni and Robert are killed, the Russian helicopters land about forty feet apart, the officers get out and walk to meet each other at the halfway point. For the rest of the scene, they are right next to one of the helicopters. (01:38:30)

Revealing mistake: When Col. Tanner is on top of the Russian tank, he is firing his pistol into it. After a few shots, you can see that the slide on his gun locks back, showing that the gun is empty. Tanner does not reload, but is none the less able to keep shooting afterwards. (01:11:25)

Twotall

More mistakes in Red Dawn

Col. Andy Tanner: You think you're tough for eating beans every day? There's half a million scarecrows in Denver who'd give anything for one mouthful of what you got. They've been under siege for about three months. They live on rats and sawdust bread and sometimes... on each other. At night, the pyres for the dead light up the sky. It's medieval.

More quotes from Red Dawn
More trivia for Red Dawn

Question: Where can I find out who the extras were in the movie? My uncle was one of the paratroopers at the beginning, I just want to know which one, and no I can't call him.

toby1kenobi

Chosen answer: I was one of the actual paratroopers in the movie. There were at least two different companies providing the extra's. The company that provided the actual paratroopers was Delta Productions, Inc. owned by John Early who owned the Parachute Center in Albuquerque, NM. John was a former Green Beret and professional soldier and was hired to be the technical adviser to the film. As far as I know, Delta Productions is no longer in business. The other company that hired extras provided the non-paratrooper extras. I do not have any information concerning that company but I do know that most were locals who lived in Las Vegas, NM. I know this because I met one of them in the Marine Corps years later. To answer your actual question, I have no knowledge if that information was kept other than those companies that hired them.

More questions & answers from Red Dawn

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.