10/10 Reds is Warren Beatty's masterpiece. As a director, he has only four films under his belt, but Reds easily trumps the other three in seriousness, substance, and importance. It concerns the early 20th century journalist/radical revolutionary John Reed and his various relationships and dealings in politics. Reed (Beatty) was a converted socialist who believed that he could make a difference with his journalism and his direct involvement in party politics in both the U.S. and Bolshevik Russia and he was right. His book Ten Days That Shook the World is a classic in political journalism and his direct involvement in the U.S. and Russian socialist parties was ambitious and sincere. This film was obviously a labor of love for Beatty and it shows in every frame on the screen. Only someone obsessively fascinated with this story could have made a film this detailed and emotionally satisfying. At over three hours, never does it feel obligatory or boring. Interspersed with the fictionalization of the story are various short reminiscences of people who knew John Reed personally, and this adds gravity and humanism to an already humanistic story. But as John Reed travels the road of socialism to its logical conclusion in communist Russia, he eventually finds that the authoritarian system there is as insidious and malicious as the capitalism in his native land. Diane Keaton is just as impressive in her role as Reed's wife Louise Bryant, ever suffering and ever caring. Jack Nicholson is strangely enough perfectly suited to the role of famous playwright Eugene O' Neil, onetime paramour of Bryant and friend of the Reed's. This is a film that almost certainly would not get made today, with the intense vilification of Socialism in America since even before this film was made. It is, in fact, something of a miracle this film even got made at the time that it did. It treats the subject of socialism fairly and sympathetically while at the same time recognizing that authoritarian systems of all kind, whatever the name, are corrupt by nature. This film is something to be admired and treasured and deserves its place in the world film canon. Essential!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Movie Review: Reds(1981)
10/10 Reds is Warren Beatty's masterpiece. As a director, he has only four films under his belt, but Reds easily trumps the other three in seriousness, substance, and importance. It concerns the early 20th century journalist/radical revolutionary John Reed and his various relationships and dealings in politics. Reed (Beatty) was a converted socialist who believed that he could make a difference with his journalism and his direct involvement in party politics in both the U.S. and Bolshevik Russia and he was right. His book Ten Days That Shook the World is a classic in political journalism and his direct involvement in the U.S. and Russian socialist parties was ambitious and sincere. This film was obviously a labor of love for Beatty and it shows in every frame on the screen. Only someone obsessively fascinated with this story could have made a film this detailed and emotionally satisfying. At over three hours, never does it feel obligatory or boring. Interspersed with the fictionalization of the story are various short reminiscences of people who knew John Reed personally, and this adds gravity and humanism to an already humanistic story. But as John Reed travels the road of socialism to its logical conclusion in communist Russia, he eventually finds that the authoritarian system there is as insidious and malicious as the capitalism in his native land. Diane Keaton is just as impressive in her role as Reed's wife Louise Bryant, ever suffering and ever caring. Jack Nicholson is strangely enough perfectly suited to the role of famous playwright Eugene O' Neil, onetime paramour of Bryant and friend of the Reed's. This is a film that almost certainly would not get made today, with the intense vilification of Socialism in America since even before this film was made. It is, in fact, something of a miracle this film even got made at the time that it did. It treats the subject of socialism fairly and sympathetically while at the same time recognizing that authoritarian systems of all kind, whatever the name, are corrupt by nature. This film is something to be admired and treasured and deserves its place in the world film canon. Essential!
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