Reds 25th Anniversary Edition (1981)

"...a richly textured drama that successfully blends history, romance and reminiscenes in its portrait...  Frederic & Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
"...powerful filmmaking...  Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress
"Epic telling of Communism roots...  Steve Crum, Video-ReviewMaster.com

Editor's Note Riding high after the box office success of SHAMPOO and HEAVEN CAN WAIT, Warren Beatty used his seemingly limitless power to write, produce, direct, and star in this epic historical romance. The film recounts a particularly eventful period in the life of notorious American communist John Reed (Beatty), who journeyed to Russia to witness the Bolshevik Revolution firsthand. Before that, he met the already wed Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton) in Portland in 1915. However, they shared such a mutual attraction for words, and each other, that soon Bryant was living with Reed in New York City. It was here where they befriended some of the early 20th Century's most recognizable faces: Eugene O'Neill (Jack Nicholson), Emma Goldman (Maureen Stapleton), Max Eastman (Richard Herrmann), and Horace Whigham (George Plimpton). Yet Reed's commitment to his craft caused an endless friction in the relationship, until Louise found her own journalistic voice, leading the couple to Russia at a crucial moment in history. But just when they appeared to have come to a perfect place in their relationship, tragedy struck. REDS is one of the last vestiges of early Hollywood, a broad, sweeping spectacle that is simultaneously thought provoking and unabashedly entertaining. Beatty inserts fascinating interviews with actual participants from that earlier era throughout the film to provide even more context and insight. At a time when Ronald Reagan had just become the president of the United States, Beatty's sympathetic portrait of notorious American communist John Reed seemed even more daring. Yet, as it continues to age, the film only continues to grow in relevance, assuring its rightful place at the top of the Hollywood canon.

	Diane Keaton
	Edward Herrmann
	Gene Hackman
	George Plimpton
	Jack Nicholson
	Maureen Stapleton
	Paul Sorvino
	Warren Beatty
	Al Bryan, et. al. - Original Music By
	Dede Allen, et. al. - Editor
	Trevor Griffiths, et. al. - Writer
	Vittorio Storaro - Cinematographer
	Warren Beatty - Producer
	Warren Beatty - Director

Warren Beatty's award winning epic mixes drama and interviews with major social radicals of the period. "Reds" tells the story of the love affair between activists Louise Bryant and John Reed. | Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous start of the twentieth century, the two journalists' on-again off-again romance is punctuated by the outbreak of WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution. Louise's assignment in France at the outbreak of the war puts an end to their affair. John Reed's subsequent trip to Russia, and his involvement with the Communist party, rekindles their relationship. When Louise arrives in Petrograd, she finds herself swept up in the euphoria of the Revolution. Reed, however, eventually becomes disillusioned with Communism when he sees his words and intentions augmented and controlled by the growing Soviet propaganda machine. Variety
"...Courageous and uncompromising..." 12/02/1981

New York Times
"...Keaton is nothing less than splendid....REDS is an extremely fine film." 12/04/1981 p.C8

Entertainment Weekly
"A rabble-rousing tour de force....The movie is political, educational, provocative...It is also intellectually stirring..." -- Grade: A 10/20/2006 p.63

New York Times
"REDS remains a superior history lesson, thanks to Mr. Beatty's thorough command of the material and to his inclusion of real-life 'witnesses' to the life and times of Reed." 10/04/2006 p.E1

Rolling Stone
"Beatty's passion is indisputable." 11/30/2006 p.96

Entertainment Weekly
Included in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 DVDs Of The Year" -- "[T]he movie has only increased in power and relevance." 12/29/2006 p.112

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "Beatty and Keaton give career-best performances and Jack Nicholson, as ever, steals all his scenes..." 05/01/2007 p.122

Sight and Sound
"There is plenty to admire here....It takes a certain gumption to make a three-hour Hollywood epic centered on the Russian revolution." 04/01/2007 p.86-7

eFilmCritic.com 10 of 10
Up to this very day, Reds continues to divide critics and audiences, with the supporters claiming is Warren Beatty's best film to date and one of the finest epics ever made, and its detractors slamming it as a preachy, self-indulgent, overlong, and excessive film about an American Communist! I couldn't actually see why the mere fact that this film is about an American communist would be enough to bash this film (Making a film about Saddam Hussein wouldn't?). At any rate, I simply loved this film the moment I saw it. It's a very engrossing film, filled with superb performance, impressive photography, and strong direction.

Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
The heart of the film is in the relationship between Reed and Bryant. There is an interesting attempt to consider her problems as well as his. She leaves Portland because she is sick unto death of small talk...So [Beatty] gives us people. And they are seen here with such warmth and affection that we sense new dimensions not only in Beatty and Keaton, but especially in Nicholson. In "Reds", understating his desire, apologizing for his passion, hanging around Louise, handing her a poem, throwing her out of his life, he is quieter but much more passionate than in the overwrought "The Postman Always Rings Twice". - Roger Ebert