It doesn’t always have to be the European Football Championship. Fans of dramatic Hollywood epics and love stories will get their money’s worth today with Reds. The three-hour-long film adaptation of a true story is in the league of David Lean and Doctor Zhivago and features a star-studded cast including Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. There’s a good chance that many film fans have never heard of Reds. With this TV tip you can change that.
The TV tip Reds is based on a true story
Reds is the passion project of Bonnie and Clyde star Warren Beatty, who co-wrote the screenplay, directed it and played the lead role. He plays the American journalist John Reed. He rose to fame as a witness and chronicler of the October Revolution in Russia and wrote down his experiences in 1919 in the book “Ten Days That Shook the World”. The common thread of the film is the Love story of Reed and journalist and activist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton).
Paramount
Warren Beatty in Reds
Both want to change the world at the beginning of the 20th century, they fight for the rights of workers and women. John and Louise seem to be made for each other. Nevertheless, they are repeatedly torn apart. Great history and passion collide in the further plot when they meet again during the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
Interviews with contemporary witnesses enrich the plot, creating an unusual contrast: on the one hand, there is the idealistic spirit of optimism in a world where everything seems possible. On the other, there is the sometimes wistful look back, accompanied by the knowledge of what really happened.
Here’s how you can stream Reds now or watch it on TV tonight
If you want to catch up on the classic, you can do so on Pluto TV. The free provider recently launched our Moviepilot TV channel. Only films that have received good ratings from the Moviepilot community are shown here.
Reds is one of them. The film will be shown today, June 18th, from 8:05 p.m. on the live channel Moviepilot TV with Pluto TVwithout a subscription or additional costs. Alternatively, Reds is available as a stream in the also free on demand offer from Pluto TV. Other highlights in the program this week are Election, Blindspotting and Dämonisch.
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Why the historical epic is worth watching on Pluto TV
Today, it is hard to imagine a film like Reds – a Hollywood drama about a communist activist, with a considerable budget and a running time of 195 minutes (without the atomic bomb explosion). Warren Beatty could afford it at the time. The star of New Hollywood cinema had landed a hit with Heaven Can Wait and received a Budget, which today is equivalent to about 110 million dollarsBeatty hired the greats of his time both in front of and behind the camera.
Thanks to the elaborate set design and atmospheric camera work by Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now), an almost forgotten era is brought to life in the 1981 film. Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman and Maureen Stapleton breathe life into the story in supporting roles. Nicholson in particular shines as playwright Eugene O’Neill, who begins a turbulent affair with Louise. As if that weren’t enough, Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim refines the epic with his score.
Reds was a box office success and won awards at the Academy Awards for directing, supporting actress (for Stapleton) and cinematography. Today it is nevertheless hardly known in Germany and rarely seen on television.