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Heartbreak Ridge

Heartbreak Ridge

War · Drama · 1986

A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.

Movie details

Heartbreak Ridge

“...the scars run deep.”

1986 War · Drama 2h 10m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Heartbreak Ridge?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Clint Eastwood

Written by

Dennis Hackin · James Carabatsos · Joseph Stinson

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Gunnery Sgt. Tom 'Gunny' Highway

Marsha Mason

Marsha Mason

Aggie

Everett McGill

Everett McGill

Major Malcolm A. Powers

Moses Gunn

Moses Gunn

Staff Sergeant Webster

Mario Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles

Corporal 'Stitch' Jones

Eileen Heckart

Eileen Heckart

Little Mary Jackson

Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson

Roy Jennings

Court is in session

Put Heartbreak Ridge on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.