"Reds" was Warren Beatty's ambitious passion project of 1981, the film that was supposed to clean up at the Oscars that year. The Academy ended up being fairly cool toward it, giving it only three awards out of 12 nominations, but it did finally recognize Beatty for his balls if nothing else by giving him the Best Director Oscar.

It's a good film that holds up well, even if it can be a bit dry at times. Beatty (Oscar nominated) is compelling as Communist revolutionary John Reed, who worked tirelessly to bring a Socialist revolution to America, but he's outshone in the acting department by Diane Keaton (also Oscar nominated), who gets a chance to shed her Woody Allen persona and prove what a good dramatic actress she could be. I could have done with less of the domestic squabbling that drags down the middle part of the film, and found the parts detailing the couple's experiences in Russia to be the most engrossing. The movie has a whopper of a running time (3 and a half hours) but even at the slower parts I never felt especially impatient with its length.

Maureen Stapleton won an Oscar for her fiery performance as Emma Goldman, and Vittorio Storaro won his second Oscar for cinematography (bookended by his work on "Apocalypse Now" and "The Last Emperor"). The film's other nomination were for Best Picture, Best Actor (Beatty), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson, never especially convincing as playwright Eugene O'Neill), Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound. Alas, no nomination for Stephen Sondheim who provided the original score.

Incidentally, "Reds" became the 13th and last film to win Oscar nominations in all four acting categories until David O. Russell added back to back films number 14 and 15 with "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle." He's the only director to achieve that feat two years in a row.

Grade: A

A personal triumph for co-writer-producer-director-star Warren Beatty, who won the Oscar for his direction and gives a cautious, interesting performance as early-1900s American journalist John Reed, who shared a tumultuous courtship and marriage to Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton), a socialite and self-described writer. Reed, a radical political activist, became intrigued with the Communist teachings of Russia and, with Bryant, defended the Bolsheviks and opposed American intervention. Their acquaintances, a community of activists and artists, included anarchist Emma Goldman (masterfully played by Oscar-winner Maureen Stapleton) and playwright Eugene O'Neill (Jack Nicholson), who also had a passionate affair with Bryant (one "guest witness" speculates the Reed-Bryant marriage was actually a menage a trois that included O'Neill). Beatty's film is too long at 195 minutes--and is far better in its early stages, so momentum tends to decrease as the story progresses--however, its an actors' paradise and everyone brings something special to the fore. Keaton's chattering sometimes feels anachronistic ("yeah, yeah...uh-huh, uh-huh"), but she works the camera mercilessly with her big, enchanting smile (to knock us dead) and sad, questioning stare. Keaton manages to translate her innermost thoughts into expressions, and her penetrating scenes with Nicholson are quietly-charged and fascinating, although her romance with Beatty's Reed feels somewhat muffled. Beatty, content to let his co-stars shine, has chosen to remain reserved; some may applaud the performance as successfully subtle, yet he might have shown us a bit more of his own personality (it would help in a three-hour-plus movie such as this). The epic-sized "Reds" is a strange melodrama, at times, and an overachiever, but with surprising humor in the mix and the fire of determination at its core. **1/2 from ****

RELEASED IN 1981 and written & directed by Warren Beatty, "Reds" stars Beatty as real-life radical American journalist and socialist, John "Jack" Reed, who becomes involved with the Russian revolution, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to America. In the meantime he romances "progressive" writer Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton), who also goes to Russia. Jack Nicholson plays the wrench in their romantic wheels, Eugene O'Neill. Maureen Stapleton & Gene Hackman are also on hand.

Throughout the movie there are interjections from aged people who actually knew John Reed, Louise Bryant and Eugene O'Neill. I found this an interesting touch.

The first hour and twenty minutes take place in the states during WWI, starting in Portland, Oregon, and then switching to the East Coast when the couple decides to move there (New York City & Provincetown, Massachusetts). Only then do events start to perk-up when they head to France and then Russia. Until that point there's a lot of relationship shenanigans between the three (Jack, Louise & Gene) and endless talk about communism, socialist ideals and workers' rights.

The tone of the drama is akin to a Robert Altman film; you can tell Beatty learned a thing or two from him with "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971). The movie's certainly ambitious and well-acted. Those with interest in the period will find much to like here. Unfortunately, it's not all that compelling and it lacks the epic stature, nigh-surrealism and jaw-dropping cinematography of "Dr. Zhivago" (1965). Reed's a misguided character because his communistic ideals proved to be a nightmare for the Russian people. To the film's credit, this is effectively shown in the last act in a potent discussion between Reed and Emma (Stapleton) yet, even then, Reed didn't "get" it, which is typically the case with boneheaded libertines who insist on forcing their fatally flawed ideology on the rest of the populace.

While communism sounds good on paper, it just doesn't work in practice. It's a demotivating system that ensures that everyone's equally poor, except of course for the ruling state class, which essentially becomes communistic royalty. To all intents and purposes they are the reviled "bourgeoisie" and the common people are the "proletariat," both of which communism sought to eliminate in the first place, which makes communism hypocritical. Furthermore, communism leads to all kinds of suffering and corruption, like waiting in long lines or bribing doctors and sellers for services & merchandise, not to mention how the state itself becomes "god" and thus demands the 'worship' of the people. Sure, capitalism has its downside, but it's an all-around superior system, which is why people from communistic states flee to capitalistic countries and not vice versa.

The temperamental and non-traditional Louise Bryant has her points of interest, but ultimately she isn't a sympathetic character (for one thing, she's duplicitous). Not for a second do I believe that she bluntly said to Reed in the yard outside a lecture hall: "Jack, I want to see you with your pants down" (rolling my eyes).

THE MOVIE RUNS 195 minutes (3 hours, 15 minutes) and was shot in England, Finland, New York City, California, Spain and Sweden. ADDITIONAL WRITER: Trevor Griffiths.

GRADE: C