Invasion U.S.A. (1985 film)
Invasion U.S.A. | |
---|---|
Directed by | Joseph Zito |
Screenplay by | James Bruner Chuck Norris |
Story by | Aaron Norris James Bruner |
Produced by | Menahem Golan Yoram Globus |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | João Fernandes |
Edited by | Daniel Loewenthal Scott Vickrey |
Music by | Jay Chattaway |
Distributed by | Cannon Releasing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $12 million[1][2] |
Box office | $17.5 million (US)[3][4] |
Invasion U.S.A. is a 1985 American
It involves the star fighting off a force of Soviet/Cuban-led guerrillas.Both Chuck Norris and his brother,
Plot
A group of
Eventually, the real Coast Guard finds the boat with the murdered American Coast Guardsmen off the coast of Florida. The
Later that day, hundreds of additional guerrillas land on the beaches of
Later that night, the guerrillas start a shootout and bomb threat at a mall at which people are doing their
Alarmed by the threat, the government establishes a special theater command for the
Cast
- Chuck Norris as CIA Agent Matt Hunter
- Richard Lynchas Mikal Rostov
- Melissa Prophet as Dahlia McGuire
- Alexander Zale as Nikko Kador
- Alex Colon as Tomas
- Eddie Jones as FBI Agent-In-Charge Cassidy
- Jon DeVries as FBI Agent Johnston
- James O'Sullivan as FBI Agent Harper
- Billy Drago as Mickey Seidman
- Jaime Sánchez as Castillo
- Dehl Berti as John Eagle
- Stephen Markle as Flynn
- Shane McCamey as Kurt Schnell
- Martin Shakar as CIA Agent Adams
- James Pax as Koyo Gotoda
Production
The film was the first in a six-film contract Chuck Norris signed with
Norris said he got the idea to make the film after reading an article in Reader's Digest that said hundreds of terrorists were running loose in the United States. "I thought, 'Boy, that's scary,'" he said. "'What if some guy on the order of a
"We're trying to make a statement here", he added. "This is about the people of the United States."[10]
The film was given a $12 million budget, twice what Norris films had normally gotten before. There was a sequence in the everglades costing $2 million.[2] Norris' fee was almost $2 million.[2] Shooting took ten weeks.[10]
Norris says he wanted the role of the female journalist to be played by Whoopi Goldberg who had been an extra in A Force of One. Goldberg was enthusiastic. However, the director, Joseph Zito, overruled Norris. "Needless to say I have never used that director again", wrote Norris later.[11]
According to the 2014 documentary Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, the scene in which terrorists destroy homes in a suburb with rocket launchers featured explosions in actual houses. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was going to bulldoze an entire suburban neighborhood to extend a runway, so the filmmakers were allowed to destroy the existing homes. Similarly, part of Avondale Mall was being rebuilt, so the filmmakers were allowed to destroy everything in the actual mall.
Norris said this sequence cost $5 million. "There are tanks firing, and helicopters flying among the real buildings", he said. "It's a battle like in Gone with the Wind, one of the best action battle scenes that's ever been done so far."[12]
Reception and legacy
Box office
The film debuted at number one at the box office with $6.9 million.[13]
Critical response
Roger Ebert gave the film 0.5 stars out of 4 and called it "a brain-damaged, idiotic thriller, not even bad enough to be laughable."[14] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "a 'Wake Up, America!' movie of a goofiness to make one long for the sanity and conviction of John Milius's Red Dawn," adding that though Chuck Norris "seemed on the verge of becoming a kind of benign Clint Eastwood character, he loses all credibility in this awful film. Even though Mr. Norris collaborated on the screenplay and helped to choose the director (Joseph Zito), the movie treats him as if it wanted to prove that he has absolutely no future on the screen."[15] Variety wrote, "A brainless plot would be almost forgivable were it not for the perverse depiction of innocents butchered in Invasion U.S.A. Star Chuck Norris, who co-wrote the script and has recently chiseled a popular niche with his 'Missing in Action' and 'Code of Silence' pictures, hits his nadir with this vicious-minded commodity from the Cannon Group. The 'Rambo' audience will blink at this one. Yes, it will make some money."[16] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 1 star out of 4 and wrote that it "has a terrific premise but no script."[17] Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times called it "a brutal, one-note, sadistic affair (though it has, to its credit, non-stop action, a good score and a chilling performance by Lynch)."[18] Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote, "'Invasion USA' might actually be fun in a campy way if it weren't so dourly exploitative", and called Norris "an actor whose most evocative facial expression is his beard."[19]
On
Norris later said some sequences were "a little . . . too much. You see, when you're making a movie, it takes over five months. Not until you bring it down to an hour and an half do you see just what you've done. It was . . . too much, unfortunately."[23]
Other media
OCLC 12863653 | |
Novel
A novelization was released in October 1985 by
LP record
Jay Chattaway's score was released by Varèse Sarabande on LP in 1985. It was later re-released, remastered with many minutes of new material, on CD in 2008 from Intrada Records. This was a limited edition of 1,000 copies.
See also
References
- ^ SPIN – Google Books. September 1985. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ ProQuest 425368258.
- ^ Andrew Yule (1987). Hollywood a Go-Go: The True Story of the Cannon Film Empire. Sphere Books. p. 111.
- ^ Invasion U.S.A. at Box Office Mojo
- ^ "Longtime King Of The Karate Flicks Is Finally Winning Over The Critics". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ^ "Chuck Norris Is An All-out Star, With The Scars To Prove It". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
- ^ McCormick, James (11 May 2017). "Ninjas, Break Dancing and Filmmaking: An Interview With Director Sam Firstenberg". That's Not Current. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ProQuest 1823063591.
- ProQuest 389649438.
- ^ ProQuest 154169712.
- ISBN 9780805444216.
- ProQuest 276613906.
- ProQuest 435365834.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (September 27, 1985). "Invasion U.S.A. movie review". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (September 27, 1985). "Film: 'Invasion U.S.A.'" The New York Times. C6.
- ^ "Film Reviews: Invasion U.S.A.'" Variety. September 25, 1985. 14.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (September 27, 1985). "'Invasion U.S.A.' is not worth repelling". Chicago Tribune. Section 7, page C.
- ^ Wilmington, Michael (September 27, 1985). "Invasion U.S.A." Los Angeles Times. Part VI, p. 8.
- ^ Attanasio, Paul (September 28, 1985). "Fizzled 'Invasion'". The Washington Post. G2.
- ^ "Invasion U.S.A." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ "Invasion U.S.A (1985) reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ 20 Essential Films For An Introduction To The Cannon Cult Films - Page 2 - Taste of Cinema
- ^ Mike McGrady (Nov 30, 1986). "Chuck Norris: A Hero Hazards Comedy". Newsday. p. 9.
External links
- Invasion U.S.A. at IMDb
- Invasion U.S.A. at AllMovie
- Review with clip, screenshots and sounds
- Official Trailer Video on YouTube