Born American

Born American (Finnish: Jäätävä polte; also known as Arctic Heat) is a 1986 Finnish film directed by Renny Harlin. It was originally supposed to star Chuck Norris 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 first banned the movie, because of 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 was December 19, 1986. The success of the film in the United States allowed Harlin to get his foot in the door in Hollywood.

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.

Cast

 * Mike Norris ... Savoy
 * Steve Durham ... Mitch
 * David Coburn ... K.C.
 * Piita Vuosalmi ... Nadja
 * Vesa Vierikko ... Kapsky
 * Thalmus Rasulala ... Admiral
 * Albert Salmi ... U.S. Ambassador
 * Ismo Kallio ... Zarkov
 * Marjo Vuollo ...Tamara

North America Box Office
Born American was released in North America over the Labor Day 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.