Reds

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Reds!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th July 2022

Lets talk about Warren Beatty for a minute.
To me, he is a man of two sides. One is the actor/ladykiller/'i'll-bang-anything-with-legs' and the other is the filmmaker: One who can produce, direct, is willing to take risks and is willing to back his own projects in order to make them happen. Of course, it is the latter side that interests me and the one that seems to less prominent in the mind of the public consciousness (and as such, less difficult to shake off).
So we come to this: A three hour biopic from 1981 which snagged Beatty an Oscar for Best Director. It tells the story of John Reed, a US writer who chronicled the Russian Revolution and even became involved in it. And, as a major selling point, the movie includes footage of people of the era (then aged considerably) describing John and the era this movie portrays.

Perhaps it is fitting that i mention Doctor Zhivago in last weeks post because I feel this is working from the same template: A three hour epic on the Russian Revolution with a romantic framework. And much like Doctor Zhivago I found myself more interested in the Revolution than the actual romance.
And it is with that that Beatty's talents as filmmaker shines through: In the terms of a history this movie is compelling and having the interview footage adds a lot to it with humanity and historical documentation. It may be slow to start with but this movie does indeed gather steam the more it goes on. And it is fascinating to see Reed grow from a passionate idealistic to being defeated by the system he supported.
Have to wonder though: Just how much did Reed resonate with Beatty? Obviously enough to get this movie made would be a suitable answer - But it's a story that Beatty wanted to tell so I'll give him that much.