The slugline caught my attention: "A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States."
Can anyone here recommend it or should I go in expecting McCarthyism/reductionist takes?
Edit: thanks to everyone for the advice!! I'm definitely gonna watch it sometime this week.
Good but long, also mostly focused on the romance part, also it's half documentary. And yes, it's very much red sympathetic.
It's good and I'm named after Jack Reed because my mom loved this movie so much
Just look up the best clips on YouTube. Lenin cameo, Trot***, the Soviet workers, the trial in the senate, the train attack. It’s a long movie, but good.
I think it's based on 10 days that shook the world which is a good book. No idea about the movie.
i haven't seen it since it came out but i actually remember it being ok...?
Yeah all things considered it was pretty good for what it was. Didn't need a second one, however.
One question this thread has raised is- is that the last ok Bruce Willis vehicle? Looper maybe, Moonrise Kingdom he's a bit player.
God his recent resume is so depressing
Yeah seems like it is lol. I haven't seen any of the newer Die Hard movies so I can't speak to those.
Yeah, it's a good movie if you like older films with slower pacing and a longer running time than you'd typically find today. You should also read John Reed's Ten Days that Shook the World about his firsthand experience covering the revolution. It's only like 200 pages or something.
From what I've heard, it sticks close to the text it's based on and portrays the revolution and John Reed really sympathetically. I also see this scene get shared which is based
Comrade! I see your low quality slightly out-of-sync audio and raise you 1080p and in sync!
It's probably up there with Matewan as the most left-wing movie that can possibly come out of Hollywood. It nevertheless still can't outright endorse the October Revolution and in the second half takes the arc of "the revolution is being perverted and isn't turning out how we hoped it would".
Overall the film is actually pretty good history. It portrays little-known events of left-wing history like the split with the Socialist Party of America, and the ensuing initial split between CPUSA and the Communist Labor Party. It also accurately portrays Zinoviev as a shithead prima donna.
Ironically, the first half climax that shows the October Revolution in montage is one of the most emotionally moving scenes I've ever watched, but is not accurate history on how that revolution unfolded lol
It’s good but save it for a day when you got nothing to do and feel like watching a four hour movie
It contains one of the best scenes of all time just before the intermission. I never get tired of it.
