Reds
October 23rd, 2006
Marvelous. We missed the 25th anniversary screening at the NYFF, where Warren Beatty held court afterwards, but we knew the DVD was on the way. I find it comforting that there are still great sweeping epics around that I’ve never seen, and this is one of the better ones. A love triangle between Beatty, Diane Keaton, and Jack Nicholson as Eugene O’Neill, before the backdrop of the unfolding Russian revolution–how could this not be great? The “Internationale” montage that ends part one (oh yes, there’s an intermission) is enough to make Ayn Rand misty-eyed, but my favorite moment was Jack’s plea: “Honey, can’t we just get out of New York? Let’s just go somewhere and write what we want to write.” Reds is Jack Reed’s story, played as slightly goofy idealist by Beatty, but it seems that Louise Bryant’s life was every bit as fascinating–where’s her biopic?
Reds. Warren Beatty, 1981. ****
October 24th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Yeah, this left a big impression on me. I was dragged to this as a kid (and, like, I was seven) and even if I couldn’t follow it all I got a sense that I was seeing something really cool. I remember my mother’s parents and us watching this on VHS (spread out over a couple of nights) then hearing my grandfather talk about how *he* remembered it. (He was a few years younger than Reed, but in Russia and cognizant in 1917 — his mother a member of the Party.) Like a shmuck, I wasn’t taking notes on what he said (’cause, like, Grandpa will always be there, right?) but I recall a few things.
For one: everyone was hungry all the time. And there were no doctors. You got a cold, that probably meant you’d be dead soon.
Anyway: the movie: it’s terrific. Is there extra crap on the DVD?
October 24th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Oh:
And here’s a link — I saw this recently on TCM:
Reds review
October 25th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Haven’t dug into the special features yet, but there’s more “witness” footage, from what I can’t tell. Lots more reviews halfway down this page.