Reds (1981)

The story of John Reed (Warren Beatty), an American communist, whose love affair with feminist writer Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) unfolds against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution. Co-written, produced and directed by Warren Beatty. An unapologetic communist protagonist is a rather daring subject for a Hollywood financed movie epic. It's the film's politics which differentiate it from another epic set during the same time period, David Lean's DOCTOR ZHIVAGO. Lacking ZHIVAGO's romanticism and Freddie Young's stunning cinematography, REDS' sincerity takes center stage. While never boring, Beatty's film nevertheless suffers from a leisurely pacing that threatens to bury the film under its own sense of importance. The acting is fine all around with Maureen Stapleton (in an Oscar winning performance) as Emma Goldman most imposing. The movie's piece de resistance is a group of elderly people knows as The Witnesses, people who knew Reed and Bryant or lived during that period and wrote about it or were active in the labor and/or communist movements and comment frequently throughout the narrative. It brings an authenticity to the film. The minimalist score is by Stephen Sondheim. With Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Edward Herrmann, Paul Sorvino, William Daniels, Bessie Love and Ian Wolfe.