Heartbreak Ridge

The United States Marine Corps disowned this film. The Defense Department initially supported the production; after a preview screening in November 1986 it withdrew backing, and the Marines announced they would not promote the picture. The objections came as a list. The film gives the impression that only the Marines took part in the ground action in Grenada, ignoring the Army's role in rescuing the American students. The absence of women in uniform, the overly comic tone, and above all the language and behaviour shown were all cited. In one scene Eastwood's sergeant shoots a wounded Cuban soldier in the back, which in reality is a court-martial offence. Against that, eleven Marines invited to a screening by the production told the Los Angeles Times the film was good for the Corps's public image and that the swearing was a hundred per cent representative of real Marines. A hard sergeant close to retirement is given an undisciplined reconnaissance platoon to train. Eastwood directed and starred. Who it is for: viewers who like 1980s military training films and Eastwood playing against his own image. Who it is not for: anyone wanting nuance. The film swears constantly, its women are thinly written, and its account of Grenada is historically contested.