Customer Reviews

Reds (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Warren Beatty pulls off a difficult task in "Reds." He's got to juggle several epic stories, including the rise of the American left in the early 20th century, the Russian Revolution, and a personal story of two romantics in a relationship charged by passion both emotional and political.

Any of these story threads presents a difficult task for a filmmaker and Beatty weaves his multilayered tale together with skill. He pays close attention to detail, gives us a multitude of historical characters and events, and mixes his story telling with the words of real people. Beatty buttresses his scenes with deceptively simple "talking heads." These "witnesses" provide a real background to the John Reed/Louise Bryant story of "Reds," giving viewers a good grounding in the passions of the era. The attention to little details (Reed bringing Bryant lilies, the constant phrase "There's a taxi waiting," etc.) provide a rich portrait of two volatile human beings.

Beyond the personal, Beatty knows how to handle epic screen drama. The rousing montage that leads up to the overthrow of Russian government is sumptuous and envigorating. Don't be deceived thought; this is not a "pro-Bolshevik" film by any great stretch of the imagination. Reed's dissillusionment with the Soviet system is portrayed in agonizing detail. Emma Goldman's story, a really great history in and of itself, gives another point of view to the difficulty passionate people have when taking on governing authorities and social mores.

The performances are uniformally excellent. Beatty and Keaton are well matched and there's plenty of gems in the supporting roles. Standouts include Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neil, Maureen Stapelton as Emma Goldman, Edward Herrmann as Max Eastman, writer Jerzy Kosinski as Soviet bureaucrat Grigory Zinoviev and Paul Sorvino as Louis Fraina.

I love "Reds." It's one of my favorite films. Be forewarned, however, you could be lost and confused by the myrad of events in this film if you don't know much about political history of the radical left in early 20th Century America or the Bolshevik Revolution and its aftermath. On the other hand, if you're intrigued by the film you'll find yourself up to your eyeballs at the library reading about the true events and real people who inspired this film.

For those of us who appreciate movies that both entertain and educate, Warren Beatty's vastly underrated magnum opus "Reds" is a wonderful example of how well the two can be combined. Although it did not succeed at the box office, this magnificent spectacle concerning the involvement of an American socialist reporter in the Bolshevik revolution is a terrific movie, and also features Warren Beatty in the pivotal role of John Reed, an American journalist covering Soviet affairs for a progressive American socialist journal called "The Masses" who found his way into a series of important roles in the Soviet revolution and the regime that followed. Also found here is a especially memorable performance by Diane Keaton as the companion, love interest and protégé of Reed's who also served in a variety of roles in the new communist regime shortly after the revolution.

This movie is largely based on Reed's moving autobiographical portrait of his personal experiences during the October revolution in his best selling book "Ten Days That Shook The World". The movie opens by exploring Reed's relationship with Keaton's early feminist character, and chronicles their growth and evolution toward a socialist perspective and an eventual commitment to political journalism that took them to the streets of Moscow in the days just preceding the October revolution. Also prominently featured in the movie is Jack Nicholson as Reed's intellectual friend, novelist and playwright Eugene O'Neil. This is a quite entertaining, sophisticated, and historically accurate effort to show America's own flirtation with unionism, socialism and communism and the reaction of more conservative forces within the business and civic community. The exploration of lifestyles and constant questioning of tradition and conformity make this a terrific teaching tool by showing how critically we can look at the lessons of history. Enjoy!

Some films have a reputation for being overpraised, and as a result - paradoxically - they become underrated. This is one such film. Who cares that we now know communism failed in Russia? REDS is not meant to be a piece of Soviet apologism. It is about two people who take part in exciting and sweeping historical events. I certainly disagree with the politics of John Reed and Louise Bryant, but it doesn't matter. I envy the romanticism of the times they lived in (even if the romanticism isn't authentic), and that they were able to find, as one of the "witnesses" says at the end of the movie, "things worth living and worth dying for." The second half of the movie - where we see the price that must be paid for taking part in history - provides good dramatic balance to the more sentimental view of revolutionary politics we see in the first half. The cinematography is outstanding and the love theme by Stephen Sondheim is exquisite. As it is a film that should be seen on the big screen, I'm hoping that REDS will be re-released for its 20th anniversary in 2001.

I watched "Reds" the other night for the first time. I wondered how I may have perceived it had I seen it when it came out, a decade or so before the fall of the Soviet Union rather a a decade or so after it. I had to make a deal with myself; I was going to watch the movie and appreciate it as a movie rather than debate the merits of glorifying socialism. I must have succeeded in that approach because I gave the movie a 5 star rating. I felt an impressive aspect of "Reds" was the periodic inclusion of on-camera first person recollections. We saw the real witnesses of the persons, times, and events that we were watching. It certainly added credibility to what we were seeing unfold and it also added perspective. "Reds" is first and foremost a love story and the two lovers are (surprize!) Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton. I have to admit that the two of them did very good work. I have to give Beatty a good deal of credit for his role as director for which he, not surprizingly, won an Oscar. I'm sure that his hard work made it difficult to edit the film down to the normal two-hour feature film length. I'll admit that I watched the movie, on tape, over the course of three successive evenings but I don't think that I lost any appreciation of the film. I probably could have told you just what all could have been cut if I had watched it all in one sitting. I'll accept that some movies (and "Dr. Zhivago" comes to mind as a logical comparison) just need more time to tell a more expansive story.

Beatty plays Jack Reed who wrote "Ten Days that Shook the World" which did a lot of shaking of its' own when it came out. In pursuit of a combined socialist/journalist's dream, Reed found himself in Russia on the eve of the October Revolution. The scenes of that and other Russian events are quite impressive in "Reds". Long before we get to that point in time, we see a relationship develop between a class conscious writer and a wannabe class conscious writer. The emergence of love between the fighter of proletarian causes and the fighter of feminist causes makes for a different sort of love story. The expressed opinions don't always match up neatly with the heartfelt opinions. I give Beatty grudging praise for his ability and willingness to bring out this concept in "Reds" as well as his look at an imperfect political solution to a real social problem. While there is plenty of Leftist propaganda to duck, Jack Reed wasn't exactly going to morph into Ronald Reagan by the film's end. Yet Beatty allowed the passion of the Movement to come to life and the seeds of its' own destruction to also come to life in "Reds". The scene towards the end with Maureen Stapleton (another deserving Oscar-winner from "Reds") was brilliantly done with an economy of words that conveyed an abundance of nuance. Through it all is the oft-interrupted romance of Beatty and Keaton who seem to go to extremes in their seperations and reunions. I'm not sure I ever saw a "blockbuster" movie that was ever this passionate. The film's ability to maintain that passion over three houres is its' greatest strength

It's shocking that this isn't available on DVD, representing, as it does, perhaps Warren Beatty's greatest accomplishment as a filmmaker. This epic drama tells the story of John Reed, the only American buried in the Kremlin, and his enmeshment in the events surrounding the Bolshevik revolution...if it sounds like dry history, rest assured that it is far from...the film achieves a great balance between the historical context and the personal dramas of the characters' lives...and what great acting: Beatty gives one of his absolute best performances,and as for the rest of the cast including Diane Keaton, Paul Sorvino and Jack Nicholson (as playwright Eugene O'Neill), they are, without exception, magnicent...let's hope this makes it to DVD soon...epics like this are made for hi-def, big screen TVs!

Highly, highly recommended for those who enjoy lush, historical biopics, "Reds" skillfully and entertainingly combines intelligent, thoughtful political discourse and sweeping romantic drama, resulting in a movie that flies by despite its three hour-plus length.

Keep an eye out for how the mundane constantly clashes with the epic during the course of the movie: John Reed and Louise Bryant indulge in lofty political discourse on events that are changing the world as Reed is comically burning dinner in the kitchen; soap opera-ish affairs are entered into and abandoned as governments topple and new ones take their place; a critical meeting to assure the future of the socialist movement in the United States is missed because of a sick baby that needs tending. This constant and clever juxtaposition of the personal and the epic humanizes the sweeping events on display, reminding us that real people living real lives were at the heart of these world-shaking events, not just academic and political arguments.

To enjoy "Reds", one doesn't have to be a particular proponent of socialism past or present. I'm certainly not. You simply need to be someone who enjoys intelligent, involving movies that illuminate the people and events at the heart of notable periods of history. And "Reds" is certainly such a movie. Of course, it helps that John Reed and Louise Bryant are generally portrayed as sympathetic people whose motivations are admirable even if one doesn't agree with their politics.

This new, 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of "Reds" is well worth the modest price. The crisp yet warm widescreen visuals are almost startlingly clear; the original theatrical intermission break (in a small but nice touch) is preserved at the end of the first disc; and there are very generous extra features that further illuminate the topics covered in the film.

In short, this one's a keeper.

I love the fact that this film, one of my personal favorites and a film that made me fall in love with epics, is finally being released on DVD. I remember growing up embracing any film that was long (David Lean was also a personal favorite), and this is one that I've always loved. It's intelligent, thought provoking, articulate, well acted, directed, and just about everything else. It harks back to a time when Hollywood studios would take a chance and make an interesting, complex film. It runs 195 minutes, but it feels short, because it's so outstanding. I really liked the political discussions in the film. The characters of the film really believed in what they were saying, especially John Reed (Beatty) and Emma Goldman (played by Maureen Stapleton). Despite the fact that their idealism was short lived, you feel their passion. You also feel sympathy for Eugene O'Neil (played by Jack Nicholson). It turns out his cynical attitude towards politics was correct. Hollywood studios should realise that you can make films like this along with your usual assembly ones. Not everything should be dumbed down to the level of horny teenage boys. This is epic moviemaking at its finest, and I'm estatic that it's finally being released on DVD.

It's a brilliant movie really; romantic, funny, intelligent and sad, as well as historical. John Reed was a confused American, or perhaps just an inspired one. His real battle was for the American working man, an underpaid, over-worked breed of Americana who helped form this nation. Reed really just believe, if you break it down into bare essence, that men should be treated fairly. He was labeled a communist, and probably believed himself to be one on some level, but his views were really more socialistic. This was his basis, and that basis took him to Russia, where he became an unwitting spokesman for the communist regime, his words twisted and translated to meet the Party's needs. His heart was just with the working man, and a misguided feeling that life should be fair. His writing speaks for itself--read "Ten Days that Shook the World". Ah, but there's more behind Reed's Russian connection, far more. He, along with the people who formed his circle of friends, was a bohemian in all respects. They were people of art, and of talent, intellectual artists in their own right, and far ahead of their time. The movie touches upon it, and leads one to want to learn more about the man, and his time. His relationships with Gene O'Neill and Louise Bryant goes far beyond what is portrayed, but the movie does at least give one the insight into those relationships. In their time, Reed, Bryant, and O'Neill did much in America for American writers, and for American theatre. They were all people of art, and of deep emotion. In a time of growing comformity, they tossed comformity aside. Their lifestyles were not the lifestyles of "proper people" of the time, but they gave great emotion to merely living, and to living each day as it came. Each of them touched this world in some way, left something of themselves behind, and that's what Reds is really all about...what one leaves behind. John Reed is the only American ever buried in the Kremlin...hardly a matter to be left a faded shade in history. His belief was strong, and he stood by those beliefs, and that's something that most of us never achieve in the long run of things.

It's a good movie, and worth seeing, and worth remembering.

A DVD release of this film has been a long time coming with the studio waiting for Warren Beatty's involvement. He had been long resistant to doing DVD extras for his movies but seems to have changed his mind for this title perhaps because it was such a personal project. There are seven featurettes that can be viewed separately or altogether. For fans, there are brand new interviews with many of the major players: Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and others.

"Witness to Reds: The Rising" traces the origins of the film. Beatty was interested in making a film about the development of the American left from 1915 to 1920 and, in particular, John Reed and his incredible, albeit brief life.

"Witness to Reds: Comrades" features Beatty talking about he cast the movie. Beatty convinced Jack Nicholson to play O'Neill by saying that he was the only actor who could take Diane Keaton away from him in a movie.

"Witness to Reds: Testimonials" examines the testimonial segments in the film with people who actually knew the historical figures depicted in the movie. It was an interesting conceit that gave Reds a quasi-documentary feel and provided exposition that Beatty wouldn't have to dramatize.

"Witness to Reds: The March" examines the pre-production phase. Beatty almost got the chance to shoot in Russia but made a political faux pas and so he had to shoot elsewhere.

"Witness to Reds: The Revolution - Part 1" takes a look at the politics of the film. Fellow cast members talk about how Beatty's personal philosophy is mirrored in the movie.

"Witness to Reds: The Revolution - Part 2" examines Beatty's fascination with Reed's internal conflict between arts and politics. He stuck to historical facts and chronology whenever possible. The attention to period detail is also looked at.

Witness to Reds: Propaganda" examines the post-production and legacy of the film. The actor says that the studio was completely supportive of Reds but that he did not do any interviews for it at the time because he felt that he would just get in the way.

Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton deliver a surpassing performance in the Oscar winning movie "Reds."It follows the love affair of journalists John Reed and Louise Bryant as they support-and are quite active in- the wave of Communism in Russia. I enjoyed everything from the clever and sometimes bitter characters to the historically correct events. The on-again-off-again relationship between the two main characters is represented by the movie's theme song "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard." It is definitely the movie of an era not so long ago, and can captivate the hearts and emotions of moviegoers everywhere.