''Born American'' (Finnish: ''Jäätävä polte''; also known as ''Arctic Heat'') is a 1986 Finnish film directed by

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born Renny Lauri Mauritz Harjola; 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, Europe, and Cinema of China, China. His best-known film ...

. It was originally supposed to star

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

but he backed out when filming was delayed by funding problems and his son, Mike Norris, landed the lead instead. A Finnish production, this was at that time the most expensive film ever to have been made in Finland. The

Finnish Board of Film Classification The Finnish Board of Film Classification (; ) was an official institution of the Finnish Ministry of Education. From 1946 until the end of year 2011, the VET/SFB was responsible for inspecting and rating the content of movies and video games. I ...

initially banned the movie due to its excessive violence and anti-Soviet elements. Because of that, the movie had to be shortened 3.5 minutes before it was finally accepted for distribution October 29, 1986 with the Supreme Court decision. The

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

was December 19, 1986. The success of the film in the United States allowed Harlin to get his foot in the door in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, giving him his first American directorial work in the 1987 horror film ''

Prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

''. In his 2008 book ''Kohti sinipunaa'', Juhani Suomi revealed that the request to ban the movie originated from Vladimir Sobolev, the Soviet Union's ambassador to Finland.

Plot

Three college friends—born leader Savoy, fun-loving Mitch, and intellectual KC—head to Finland for winter break. They make the unfortunate decision to cross the borderline into the Soviet Union, and end up clashing with corrupt leaders in a small village before being arrested and taken to a prison facility. Once there, the KGB agents in charge of the prison torture the three young men until they confess to being American spies (they also pin the rape and murder of a young woman by a depraved priest on them) and throw them into the brutal general population. Savoy and a black-market running prisoner try to help KC, who is suffering from an infection that leaves him bedridden, while Mitch is forced into a sick "chess match" where prisoners fight amongst each other to the death. The U.S. Ambassador arrives at the prison and Savoy begs him for help, but the Ambassador later tells the Russian prison administrator that it would be best if the young Americans simply disappeared. The prisoner arranges a meeting between Savoy and a VIP prisoner known as The Admiral, a former secret agent who has comfortable living space and luxuries because the KGB wants him to defect to their side, unaware that his plan is to release all of his American and Russian secrets once he escapes with Savoy's health. The fixer performs a mercy killing on an invalid KC, and Savoy rages at the loss before starting his own escape mission. He enlists a young female Russian prisoner, rescues Mitch from the death matches, and reaches the Admiral before they start a gun battle that kills many security officers but also costs Mitch his life. Savoy and the young woman get near the Finnish border, kill the prison administrator, and get out of the USSR for good. A postscript reveals that the Admiral escaped to an unknown location, Savoy and his love interest are somewhere in the United States, and both Washington and Moscow have erased the entire story by both denying that there were ever prisoners or any escape by them.

Cast

* Mike Norris as Savoy Brown * Steve Durham as Mitch Sheppard * David Coburn as K.C. * Piita Vuosalmi as Nadja Kulakova * Vesa Vierikko as Kapsky *

Thalmus Rasulala Thalmus Rasulala (born Jack Crowder; November 15, 1939October 9, 1991) was an American actor with a long career in theater, television, and films. Noted for starring roles in blaxploitation films, he was also an original cast member of ABC's soa ...

as Admiral *

Albert Salmi Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions. Early life Salmi was born and raised ...

as US Ambassador Drane * Ismo Kallio as Zarkov * Marjo Vuollo as Tamara * Laura Munsterhjelm as Irina * Antti Horko as Cossack * Pauli Virtanen as Sergei * Jone Takamaki as Interrogator * Inkeri Luoma-Aho as Female Guard * Markku Blomqvist as Irina's Father * Sari Havas as Girl At Party * Rapa Ripa as KGB Agent (uncredited) *

Mats Helge Olsson Mats Helge, stage name of Mats-Helge Olsson (born 10 May 1953) is a Sweden, Swedish independent filmmaker, best known for movies such as ''The Ninja Mission'' (1984), and he is one of the most productive independent Swedish directors ever, with al ...

as Priest (uncredited) *

Stack Pierce Robert Stack Pierce (June 15, 1933 – March 1, 2016) was a Hollywood actor who was previously a boxer and professional baseball player.Speakers InternationaStack Pierce His acting career began in the early 1970s with television roles in the ser ...

as Admiral (voice) (uncredited) *

as Man's Voice From Ship's Loudspeaker (voice) (uncredited)

North America box office

''Born American'' was released in North America over the

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

Weekend in 1986. It was the ninth biggest movie that weekend, earning $2.2 million in 1,071 theaters. The film's overall box office take was $3,388,020.

References

External links

* * *
Fedorov, Alexander. The Analysis of Stereotypes of Politically Engaged Media Texts in Media Studies in Student Audience (by the Example of Renny Harlin’s films “Born American” (1986) and “Five Days of War” (2011)
{{Renny Harlin 1986 films 1986 action films English-language Finnish films 1980s English-language films Cold War films Films directed by Renny Harlin Films set in the Soviet Union Films shot in Finland 1986 directorial debut films Finnish action films English-language action films 1980s Finnish films