Movie Masterpiece: Reds

It's amazing the inspiration that can come from reading a book, and I must say Ken Follett's Fall of Giants has re-ignited my passion for history and drama. The book takes place in Europe during WWI and the Russian Revolution, it's one of my favorite time periods and the book is full of great historical insight. As soon as I finish I'll have a full report on the book.

Being so caught up in this time period lately, I thought it would be quite fitting to watch one of my all time favorite films, Reds. It's a historical romantic drama about John Jack Reed, an American journalist and politician who covered the Russian Revolution and tried to replicate in the United States. The story also focuses on his romance with fellow journalist and feminist Louis Bryant.

I first fell in love with this film when I lived in Chicago in 2008. At that time I wanted nothing more than to be a writer and involved in some type of romantic political revolution. The story of love and passion was something I could greatly relate to and I found it to be masterfully done. Ever since I have always considered it in my top ten favorite's list, (Top 25 Movies, Reds) however I've yet to give it an in-depth study. This film by Warren Beatty is truly a cinematic masterpiece.

The Historical Setting

I strongly feel some of the best dramatic or romantic stories come out of historical period pieces. For example Titanic, Schindler's List, Braveheart, Gladiator, all favorites of mine where the story puts a character in a historical setting. I suppose what makes this recipe so successful is that it encapsulates the audience into a period that we have only known of from school or books. To witness the time period of the 1917 Russian Revolution from an American and a Russian perspective is a true treat.

Beatty begins his story in America, covering the relationship of John Jack Reed (played passionately by Beatty himself) and Louis Bryant (played just as passionately by Diane Keaton). They begin their love in New York City, living in the radical, liberal neighborhood of Greenwich Valley, surronded by many other like-minded liberals such as Emma Goldman, Eugene O'Neil, and Max Eastman. Louis and John develop a toxic relationship, wanting to be independent yet also unable to go on without the other.

In an effort to get away from John, Louis travels to Europe to cover the great war. She is later convinced by John to join him in Russia to cover the revolution. The two once again fall in love as they witness the event, and support one another's writing. When they return to the states they are convinced to make their relationship work this time.

However John's passion continues to get the better of him, as he is convinced to bring Communism to the United States and replicate Russia's revolution. As he tries to form a political party, he is splintered away from different factions of the left, yet also his wife. In an effort to strengthen his party he returns to Russia to get backing, however instead is enlisted to join their propaganda machine. Without any hope of leaving Russia, John joins their political campaign. He is blinded by his heartbreak from Louis, and is slowly driven into madness. Louis bravely enters Russia and the two reunite one last time before his death. It is Shakespearian at it's core; a very tragic yet extremely highly romantic finish.  


The Characters

John Jack Reed: (played by Warren Beaty) He wass an extremely passionate person, an intellectual and especially a romantic. As a graduate of Harvard he took a liberal open approach to his journalism and quickly became a rising voice in leftist politics. Writing for various magazines, such as the Masses, he took on freelance jobs covering political events and strikes. One of his first early breakthrough's came in covering the Mexican Revolution in 1913. He later went on to cover the start of World War I in Europe.

By 1915 he was a well known journalist and on a visit to his hometown of Portland, Oregon he met and fell in love with Louis Bryant. From them on the two practically became synonymous with each other. Reed supported president Woodrow Wilson however was against the war from the beginning. In 1917 he traveled to Russia to cover the Revolution and wrote one of his most famous works, Ten Days that Shook the World.

After returning to America, Reed found a greater passion for communism and wanted to establish a similar revolution in the United States. This however became his downfall as he began to lose sight of his true passion which was writing. The more involved he got with Russian politics the further he got away from his wife, which eventually led to his death in Russia. He was only 32 when he died of typhus.

Louis Bryant: (played by Diane Keaton) After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, she became active in the women's suffragette movement. It was in 1915 that she met John Jack Reed, and left her husband to join him in New York City. She became all the more progressive through her new liberal society and continued to write. Her coverage of the Russian Revolution brought her further success and she was able to use that as her platform on politics and female equality. She was an extremely free spirit, well ahead of her time. She had several other lovers outside of John, such as the playwright Eugene O'Neill. After John's death she contniued to write and lecture, got remarried, yet began to drink more and died early at the age of 50.  

Emma Goldman: (Played by Maureen Stapleton) She was a Jewish Russian anarchist who grew to fame in New York City in the late 1890s, writing about anarchism, feminism, and social issues. In 1892 she convinced her husband to assassinate the wealthy Henrick Frick Clay as a spark in their revolution. However the plot fell short and her husband was arrested. Meanwhile Goldman continued her movement through the early 1900s by inciting riots and violent discourse.

In 1901 she was later accused again of murder in the 3rd degree, this time of President McKinley. She was however found innocent in this case, In 1907 she began publishing her Mother Earth which became her platform for anarchism and female rights. She also began to promote birth control at this time. She got in further trouble during WWI when she encouraged citizens to oppose conscription. As a result she was arrest and later deported to Russia.

She was supportive of Russia's revolution at first, yet later began to oppose their harsh tactics. She later went on to Spain to support the rise of anarchism during the Spanish Civil War and died a few years later at the age of 70.    

Eugene O'Neill: (played by Jack Nicholson) He is often considered one the most significant American playwrights best known for his work, Long Day's Journey Into the Night. During the 1910s he became a good friend of John Jack Reed, as well as other liberal artists of the area. He also had a brief romantic affair with Louis.

Max Eastman: (played by Edward Hermann) During the 1910s Max was one of the lead figures in the American socialist movement of New York City. His publication of the Masses became one of the most popular platforms that advocated radical liberal agenda. John Jack Reed was a good friend of his, and also one of his best contributors to the magazine. Later in his life, after witnessing Stalin's terrible asssceneion to power, he became less supportive of communism and more supportive of the free market.

Grigory Zinoviev: (played by Jerzy Kosinski) He was one of top Bolshevik leaders, under Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. He was the head of the Cominterm (Communist International) whose goal was to spread communism across the globe. Through use of propaganda he was able to spread the Bolshevik movement across eastern Europe and other parts of the globe. He was later executed during the political repression known as the Great Terror, in which Stalin took power and killed all those who opposed him, also including Trotsky.

The Score and Filming

Along with the historical setting, romantic story, and incredible acting came the brilliant directing of Warren Beaty. It was quite obvious that this was a personal project since he produced, wrote, directed, and starred in the project. The filming was a long drawn-out process shot in 5 different countries. Beatty was also obsessed with shooting many takes, which frustrated many of the actors. At the time he was dating his co-star Diane Keaton, and their emotional relationship made for a perfect on screen dynamic. Stephen Sondheim provided the score for the film, and his theme song, Goodbye for Now, has become quite iconic. I always enjoyed looping the film's DVD menu just to hear the theme song.

The film went on be nominated for 12 Academy Awards, of which 3 were won for Best Supporting Actress (Maureen Stapleton), Best Cinematography, and Best Directing (Warren Beatty). The film fell short in the Best Picture category to Chariots of Fire, however I'm glad Beatty got to win the best director award. This was clearly his magnum opus of a film and will always go down as a cinematic masterpiece.