Reds was the first film I saw (at about 16), that truly inspired me. And my admiration and love of the film has only grown over the years, with repeated viewings. Reds and The Accidental Tourist are probably the only two films that I love, that could arguably be labeled "romantic" (maybe The Apartment; though I never found the relationship between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine romantic, as much as desperately poignant). But, I love Reds because of what the film is romantic about: art and politics. And I love the era in which the film is set: the early 20th Century, when artists and liberals lived lives of passion and glory; one of these artists is actually in the film as a "witness", one of my heroes: Henry Miller. Another of my literary idols, playwright Eugene O 'Neill is brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson. And of course, there's the great Diane Keaton, as a wayward feminist. And one of the best performances ever, by Maureen Stapleton as the rip-roaring muckraker Emma Goldman. And Warren Beatty is amazing in his ability to turn in a great performance as John Reed, while concurrently directing the massive epic of a movie. But, more than anything, I love to watch the characters talk, passionately, about art and politics; and about love and marriage; and sex and commitment; and writing. John Reed was a writer; and as portrayed by Warren Beatty, a writer that could never successfully balance his life as an artist with his politics, ideologically or sexually.
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