Red Scorpion

For the gang, see Red Scorpions.

Red Scorpion
File:Red scorpion poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joseph Zito
Produced by	Jack Abramoff
Written by	Jack Abramoff Robert Abramoff Arne Olsen
Starring	Dolph Lundgren M. Emmet Walsh Al White T. P. McKenna Carmen Argenziano Alex Colon Brion James
Music by	Jay Chattaway
Cinematography	João Fernandes
Edited by	Daniel Loewenthal
Production company	Abramoff Productions
Distributed by	Amsell Entertainment Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment
Release dates	October 25, 1988 (1988-10-25) (MIFED Film Market; Italy) April 19, 1989 (1989-04-19) (United States)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$16,000,000
Box office	$4,192,440 (US)

Red Scorpion is a 1988 film directed by Joseph Zito starring Dolph Lundgren.

Plot

The plot centers on Lundgren's character Nikolai Petrovitch Radchenko, a Soviet Spetsnaz operative who is sent to an African country where Soviet, Czechoslovakian and Cuban forces are helping the government fight an anti-communist rebel movement. He is tasked with the mission to assassinate the rebel leader. In order to infiltrate the rebel movement and get within striking distance of his target, he stirs up trouble in the local bar and gets arrested for disorderly conduct. He is put in the same cell as a captured resistance commander and gains his trust in facilitating the escape. Upon finally reaching the rebel encampment he is met with distrust by the rebels. During the night he attempts to assassinate his target but does not succeed when the distrustful rebels anticipate his actions.

Disgraced and tortured by his commanding officers for failing his mission, he breaks out of the interrogation chamber and escapes to the desert, later to be found by native bushmen. He soon learns about them and their culture, and after receiving a ceremonial burn scar in the form of a scorpion (hence the title), he rejoins the freedom fighters and leads an attack against the Soviet camp after a previous attack on the peaceful bushmen. Nikolai obtains an AO-63 from the armory, confronts his corrupt officers and hunts down General Vortek, who attempts to escape in a Mil-24 Hind only to be shot down after takeoff. Nikolai defeats and kills Vortek, as the freedom fighters finally defeat the Soviet oppression.

Cast

• Dolph Lundgren as Lt. Nikolai Rachenko
• Al White as Kallunda Kintash
• M. Emmet Walsh as Dewey Ferguson
• T. P. McKenna as Gen. Vortek
• Carmen Argenziano as Col. Zayas
• Alex Colon as Sgt. Mendez
• Brion James as Sgt. Krasnov
• Ruben Nthodi as Ango Sundata

Production and controversy

After being denied the right from filming in Swaziland and a search for other locations, the film was made in Namibia (then South-West Africa). Warner Bros., who had a negative pickup deal to release the picture, pulled out for the breach of their contract with the production. Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid then condemned the production for breaking the international boycott against South Africa. The film allegedly received help from the South African government as part of its propaganda efforts to undermine international sympathy for the African National Congress (see International Freedom Foundation).

With all the delays and productions issues, the film went over budget by 8-10 million dollars (approximately twice the initial amount).

Abramoff later claimed that he did not intend the film to contain so much violence and profanity, blaming the director. He established a short-lived "Committee for Traditional Jewish Values in Entertainment" to release films more in line with his values, but later abandoned the project, feeling it would be unfeasible.

A sequel, Red Scorpion 2, appeared in 1994, although the story is largely unrelated to the first installment.

Release

Red Scorpion had a world premiere at the 1988 MIFED film market, and was first released theatrically in South Korea in late December 1988, then Germany and Japan in January 1989, then domestically USA on April 21, 1989. The movie was released theatrically worldwide except in the United Kingdom (where it went "direct to video" in January 1990).

The movie was released domestically on VHS and Laserdisc in August 1989 through Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment Home Video. In 1993, a budget tape of the film was released by Starmaker. The movie has had at least two Region 1 DVD releases. The first DVD was released in 1998 by Simitar and the second DVD was released in 2002 by 20th Century Fox. In 2005, Tango Entertainment released a UMD of the film for the Sony PlayStation Portable. The two DVDs are now discontinued.

The film has been released on Blu-ray special editions in the U.K. by Arrow Video on 6th Feb 2012, and in the U.S. by Synapse Films on June 12, 2012.

Reception

The movie gained a negative reaction from critics, but, on the other side, gained a positive reaction from fans of action films and moviegoers in general, becoming a cult action classic in the years after its theatrical release.

External links

• Red Scorpion at the Arrow Video UK Forum
• A blast from the past at the Wayback Machine (archived May 1, 2009)
• Red Scorpion at IMDb