Heartbreak Ridge

Heartbreak Ridge is a 1986 American war film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film also co-stars Marsha Mason, Everett McGill, and Mario Van Peebles, and was released in the United States on December 5, 1986. The story centers on a U.S. Marine nearing retirement who gets a platoon of undisciplined Marines into shape and leads them during the American invasion of Grenada in 1983. The title comes from the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge in the Korean War, where Eastwood's character had earned the Medal of Honor. Plot In 1983, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Thomas "Tom" Highway finagles a transfer back to his old unit, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Second Marine Division. En route, he meets fellow passenger and aspiring rock musician Corporal "Stitch" Jones, who borrows money from Highway for a meal at a rest stop and then steals his bus ticket, leaving him stranded. When Highway finally arrives, his new commanding officer, Major Malcolm Powers, seeing him as old-fashioned, assigns him to the Reconnaissance Platoon (part of his assault battalion) which by coincidence includes Jones. The platoon's previous sergeant, awaiting his retirement, had permitted their inactivity, but Highway quickly enacts a rigorous training program. Their desperate plan to intimidate him with resident body builder "Swede" Johanson, just released from the brig, fails after Highway easily overpowers Swede in a fight. Their conditioning provides positive results, and they develop esprit de corps and respect for Highway.