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Red Dawn (1984)
The following weapons were used in the film Red Dawn (1984):
AKM
AKM rifles are used by Soviet and Cuban soldiers, and later captured by the Wolverines.
According to Long Mountain Outfitters (http://www.longmountain.com/movieguns/RedDawn), the AKMs used in the movie were actually Egyptian Maadi MISR semi-auto rifles (see below), some of the first semi-automatic Kalashnikov-type rifles ever imported into the United States (besides the Clayco AKM copies). 53 such rifles were used in the movie, 32 of which were converted to full-auto by Class 2 manufacturer Pearl Manufacturing specially for the film. These guns were later used in numerous other movies.
Note: They aren't MISRs. ACC/INTRAC of Knoxville,TN were the first importers of Maadi AKM style civilian guns in the 1980s. The models imported in the 1980s were the ARM and the RPM. After 1989 (and the first California Assault weapon ban) Pars International Corp. imported the "California Legal" RPL and RML model rifles with no barrel threading and thumbhole stocks (and to avoid the California ban on the name "ARM"). Throughout the 1990s, Century Arms International imported the Maadi model MISR (as well as stripped receivers stamped MISR and built into guns using part kits as the MISR-90). The MISR was an import variant built by Maadi but imported well AFTER the movie was made. People (and websites) refer to the MISR since it is the current Maadi semi automatic version of the AKM, but there were no MISRs in the country in the 1980s. The Guns were semi auto ARMs converted to full auto fire.
MoviePropMaster2008
- 'ARM' stands for 'Automatic Rifle MISR'. Perhaps I should have said 'semi-auto versions of the Maadi MISR' or something. The ones in the movie were imported by Steyr-Daimler-Puch. This site has even more info: http://www.avtomats-in-action.com/pro16.html
- The ones in the movie were imported by Steyr-Daimler-Puch. There's a much longer story to that but I won't go into that here (regarding the convoluted ways third party companies managed to import weapons, since it was illegal to purchase even civilian weapons from ANY Warsaw Pact nation at the time). I was trying to keep it to a 'reader's digest version'. But the fault is not the contributors here. The fault lies in those third party websites that are posting wrong information. I repeat. ARM does NOT stand for Automatic Rifle MISR! There was never any official translation of ARM (at least to those of us who were buying them in the 1980s), but everyone assumed that it was a twist on the original AKM "Avtomat Kalashnikov Modernizirovanniy" or Automatic Kalashnikov Modernized , thus assumed to be either "Automatic Rifle Modernized" or "Automatic Rifle Maadi". Either way, the ARM was a full auto firearm that was built in Egypt and only the semi auto version was imported into the U.S.
- That website you quoted got and distorted their info from Longmountain Outfitters, who also has erroneous info on their site. This is WHY I am doing this. There is too much wrong information that is out there and in time, bad information will be accepted as canon truth.
- Here are the facts: I just talked with Mike Papic and Syd Stembridge fifteen minutes ago and read the descriptions to them on the phone. Syd did the guns for Red Dawn! All of us concur. (a) Longmountain Outfitters has wrong info in their description. (b) The MISR did not exist at the time that Red Dawn was filming (c) the guns that Syd did for Red Dawn were converted ARMs and (d) ARM does NOT stand for Automatic Rifle MISR. Sorry, but those websites are written by firearms retailers or enthusiasts who may knowledgeable about many gun related things things, BUT, IMFDB is a movie gun site. Those of us who worked on the films listed here know what we did and what we used.
- MoviePropMaster2008
AKS-74
-used by Nicaraguan Paratroopers and Soviet Spetsnaz (actually the rifles in the movie were dummied up AKMs with skeletal stocks and a custom make muzzle brake that resembled the AK74. Also the magazines in the so called AK-74s in the movie were 7.62x39, not 5.45)
RPG-7
Used by Soviet and Communist Bloc soldiers, and later Charlie Sheen. The weapon itself is actually an RPG-2 which has been modified to look like an RPG-7. It is easy to tell the difference given the shape of the warhead and the slightly bulky nature of the optical sight.
Valmet M78
The Valmet M78 LMG was standing in for the Soviet RPK since none were available in the country when this movie was filmed. The M78 LMG was used by Russian Paratroopers in the beginning of the movie and, and later by the Wolverines, most notably by Jennifer Grey.
DShK heavy machine gun
-mounted on vehicles. The ones on vehicles were non-firing dummies. The only ones firing were actually converted American M-60s with a dummy 'DSHK' looking barrel on the front. This can be seen obviously when Lea Thompson is firing the gun during an ambush.
Jatimatic SMG
Used by Colonel Strelnikov (William Smith) when he is hunting Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze at the end of the film. It was supposed to resemble the Polish PM-63 but none were available in the country during the time of filming.
Colt SAA
Used by Patrick Swayze's character.
This revolver was a piece owned by director John Milius.
Winchester 1894
Used for a short time but not in actual combat. Doug Toby who played the character of Aardvark fires a single shot from the back of a pickup truck at Russian troops, after an American UH-1 helicopter attacks the Soviets on the ground using rockets.
FN FAL
Seen briefly in the hands of some Cuban troops during a "Wolverine" ambush.
Remington 870
One of the weapons grabbed by the boys from Mr. Morris' store at the beginning of the movie. Originally used in its' full sized version and then seen with the barrel cut down to just above the magazine tube after the first ambush of the Russian soldiers near the monument. Used pretty much exclusively by C. Thomas Howell's character Robert throughout the movie.