|
|
The Movie:
Written, directed and produced by Warren Beatty, "Reds" was honored with 12 Academy Award noms in 1981. The epic drama stars Betty as John Reed, the real-life journalist and author of "Ten Days That Shook the World". The picture opens in Portland in 1915, with Reed meeting artist/activist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton). She's married, but the two quickly fall for one another and she soon joins him in New York City to persue a writing career.
Once there, the two join left-wing supporters such as Eugene O’Neill (Jack Nicholson), Max Eastman (Edward Herrman) and Emma Goldman (Maureen Stapleton). Louise and Reed protest the war, but they soon find themselves having a falling out, which results in her leaving him for O'Neill. Still, the relationship holds a spark, as she heads with Reed to Russia as he cover the Russian Communist revolution. Despite worsening health issues, Reed attempts to establish an American Communist party, eventually heading back to Russia.
"Reds" shares the focus between the relationship between the main characters and its look at Reed and his place in history. Keaton and Beatty turn in passionate, enjoyable performances and, despite the frequent bickering between the two characters, their relationship - as portrayed here - doesn't become tiring. Supporting performances from Herrman, a terrific Jack Nicholson, Stapleton (who won an Oscar) and others are excellent.
The film also shows a number of clips of real-life witnesses who share their memories, as well. These short clips provide some insights and details about the time period and help shape Beatty's look at the time period. The film's length of 195 minutes, however, does start to become an issue: while pacing picks up in spots, this is otherwise an epic film that feels it. While it feels it, it also looks it: award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro ("Apocalypse Now") superbly captures the scope of the film's many locations (London, Finland, Spain, California, and many other locations)
While "Reds" does start to feel like a long sit on occasion, the film still remains a mostly interesting look at this part of history, with strong lead performances and a remarkable array of locations.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Reds" is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen on this new edition of the film. The presentation does show some minor flaws at times, but when it looks good, it looks exceptional - to the point where I had to remind myself this was made 25 years ago. Sharpness and detail remained superb throughout much of the picture; while there were a few minor instances of softness in some of the more dimly-lit interiors, the majority of the movie looked crystal clear.
As for flaws, the movie did show a few minor specks and the occasional mark, but the elements used were mostly spotless. No edge enhancement, pixelation or other faults were seen. Colors are intentionally subdued, but look accurately presented here, with no smearing or other issues. Black level remained solid, while flesh tones looked accurate. This was an absolutely marvelous transfer.
SOUND: The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is largely dialogue-driven, although the occasional action-driven scene does open up the sound a bit. Audio quality was fine, with crisp dialogue, effects and music.
EXTRAS: The only extra on the first disc is a trailer for the DVD. The second disc offers "Witness to Reds", a multi-part ("Witness to Reds: The Rising", "Witness to Reds: Comrades", "Witness to Reds: Testimonials", "Witness to Reds: The March", "Witness to Reds: Revolution Parts 1 and 2", "Witness to Reds: Propaganda") documentary that goes for about an hour. This is a terrific, enjoyable and informative piece that looks into nearly every aspect of the picture. It starts off with Beatty providing an amusing introduction, discussing why he's commenting for the documentary, despite his being against the whole idea of DVD extras. Afterwards, we hear more about how Beatty was able to secure financing, casting (Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, Hermann and others share their thoughts in new interviews), more background on the history and characters explored in the film, shooting certain scenes on location, scoring and the release of the picture.
Final Thoughts: While "Reds" does start to feel like a long sit on occasion, the film still remains a mostly interesting look at this part of history, with solid lead efforts. The DVD presentation offers excellent video quality, fine audio and an excellent supplement.
Film Grade
The Film B
DVD Grades
Video 94/A
Audio: 88/B
Extras: 82/B
|