Revolution: The Director’s Cut (1985 / 2009) review

Revolution: The Director’s Cut (1985 / 2009)

Review by George Elcombe

"A revolution. A new turn" 

Note: I have reviewed the DVD from the dual format edition.

Well, this is a rarity. A film I've never herd of! It stars Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland and on first impressions seems to be one of those 80’s historical epics which should have won a bunch of awards. It turns out it was rushed as was a global flop which was slammed by critics upon release.

This film is a BFI (British Film Institution) edition and I am a fan of what they do. Enclosed are the DVD and Blu Ray of the film and a booklet with extensive essays, but also has a spoiler warning on the first page. Guess I’d better watch it first!

Plot: Tom Cobb (Al Pacino) and his son Ned sail into New York to sell furs during the start of the American Revolution against British rule. Ned is press ganged into joining the war and Tom is forced to sign up in order to protect his only son.

What follows is the journey of father and son throughout the war and seen from Tom’s point of view. They encounter Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski), a rich aristocrat who abandons her family to help the war effort, and Tom falls in love with her for her sacrifice. At one point Ned is captured by the British and Donald Sutherland is good portraying the stern Sergeant Major Peasy. They travel, meet some Indians and survive the war together.

Now this film wasn’t an easy to watch and didn’t grab me at all. Simply, its overlong, has bad acting, shoddy camera work and an annoying soundtrack. It uses many long takes (which in my general opinion adds realism) but unfortunately in the case with this film it makes some scenes drag. It also uses many shaky hand held shots (ala Paul Greengrass) but this makes the film look very amateurish with the camera bumping around the actors. Don’t get me wrong though as there are many fantastic shots of the American landscape. These ironically, were actually filmed in England.

However the first thing I noticed about this film is the terrible ADR (voice dubbing) sound mix. Some actor’s lip syncs are terrible and just distracts from what they are saying and the movie in general. The picture quality is grainy and I hope the Blu Ray transfer is up to scratch.

However the dirty sets, costumes and actors add a sense of realism and I’m glad this film isn’t blindly patriotic showing the struggle Americans went through to achieve independence. It shows the dark, muddy side with little hope for survival or glory.

There are many things I like about war films and I’m pleased to say that this film has them. Revolution was made to show the war from the point of view of the poor, from the gutter if you will. The soldiers fighting weren’t told what they were doing and neither is the audience.

The first fire fight is presented as a battle of statistics, with formation and calculated shooting being the winning factor. It shows the futility of war and how the government will always screw over the little man who fight and die for them. They always send the poor and the poor suffer for the rich. 

Daisy is an interesting character as she has a choice between living in a rich family and aiding her countries blind fight for freedom and ‘liberty’; a word used for men to enter their graves. She is shown as the Good Samaritan and fortunately isn’t one dimensional. On contrast the British are shown as the generic bad guys and stereotypically personified by Richard O’Brian’s Lord Hampton, who has got to have the most annoying accent I have ever heard in a film!

Al Pacino is great as his was in this era, but he needs a bit more to work with. His narration (newly added for this directors cut) adds depth and history to a country which is changing into a nation.

Like most DVD menus, this is a montage of shots showcasing some great cinematography, but for some reason the sound mutes after the first cycle.

The DVD has the standard trailer which unlike the film, made me interested in watching it. However it is full of spoilers and features a synthesiser heavy 80s soundtrack. 

However this DVD has some excellent content looking back at the film. ‘Re-cutting Revolution’ shows side by side comparisons of the original theatrical version and the shorter directors cut with interesting and insightful commentary from director Hugh Hudson. He himself admits that some scenes and shots drag on so they trimmed a lot to make it tighter, snappier and as Hudson says 'modern'.  This extra reveals amongst other things that this film was indeed rushed for Oscar season as such suffered. He wanted to re-edit this film to his original vision, and I am glad he had the chance. For this 2009 cut Hudson did indeed get his ‘new turn’.

Other extras are ‘Hugh Hudson on Revolution’ and ‘Revisiting Revolution: a conversation with Al Pacino and Hugh Hudson’. Here we discover some fascinating insights towards the production, funding and reception by audiences and critics alike. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were sought after for the role of Tom which I believe would have been fatal, although made more money at the box office. During the 80’s there was a huge influx of Reginist film where one muscle-bound solider disposed of the faceless enemy all for the glory of America. This film is the opposite and I’m glad Pacino got the job.

Like the revolution itself, this production seemed to be a battle with America, whom for example wouldn’t let them film there, then complained when it was filmed in the UK, casting a British man as George Washington and various distribution and critical issues.

Although this film is British, Warner Brothers only funded the film if it included a happy ending where Daisy meets up with Tom and we presume they live happily ever after. Like the similar ‘happy ending’ attached to the theatrical version of Blade Runner (1982), this ending was omitted from the directors cut as Hudson hated it. I agree, as the bleak ending matches the tone of the film and make us remember that even after the horrors of the world, life goes on.

Ultimately this film is a father and son journey across America and its history. Tom’s struggle is long, but he relates to the land and its people and wants to fight for not only the future of himself and his son, but also for the future of the nation. The ending hints that he has endured and will now do great things, possibly become a congressman, but I was left with the sense that this was just another mans story in a world where he will never be remembered.  

Just like Tom, this film drags you through the mud leaving you careless of every other character and wanting to move onto something better. Ultimately I found that in a film with this much scope, not a lot happened and this seems to be another bad thing that history has swept under the rug.

5 out of 10

If you like this try:

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

The Mission (1986)

Man on a Ledge (2012) review

Man on a Ledge (2012)

Review by George Elcombe

“Ocean’s 21^st floor”

Just the title alone made me interested in watching this film and it has a simple yet brilliant poster of Sam Worthington (Nick Cassidy) on a ledge looking down at a crowd of police and onlookers.

Before watching this film I was thinking high concept along the lines of Phone Booth (2002), where we see a man in a tight situation with the story unfolding as the film went along. But then I saw the trailer, which shows Nick, off the ledge, being chased by police and then in a car crash.

So, I felt a little disappointed. My hope of a well crafted film utilising great writing, suspense and character development are destroyed by said trailer. Luckily for me this footage appeared in a flashback and I am pleased to say that we see Nick on the ledge for the majority of the film!

Plot: There’s a man on a ledge. At first nobody knows who he is or what his motivation is. The city’s media, public and police are focused on him and he requests ‘celebrity’ police negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) to talk to. She recently failed a cop who jumped to his death so is haunted by recent events and will not let it happen again. As the story unfolds it turns out that Nick is a distraction for a robbery happening across the street.

Now this film, although predictable, is probably best watched with little knowledge beside the title, so I’m going to throw in a SPOILER ALERT.

It stars another Jumper (sorry, couldn’t resist) as Nick’s brother Joey (Jamie Bell who is generally great in everything I’ve seen him in but underused and two dimensional in this). it is revealed that Nick is an ex cop serving 25 years for supposed diamond theft, which is all explained in the flashback and as the film progresses. It turns out Nick was set up by his police partner and some dirty cops so a property tycoon could commit insurance fraud and stay afloat during the recession. Joey and his extremely attractive girlfriend are committing the heist in order to steal the diamond and prove Nick’s innocence.

END OF SPOILERS.

So this film is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s overall a suspense thriller but incorporates some action, family drama and obvious themes our global economical state and how the rich will do anything to remain rich. I liked this focus on corporate corruption where it's always the little guys who take the hit. But the corporate company being called ‘Englander’? I love how Hollywood has Brits as the bad guy in every second film made and have subliminally incorporated it in this film too. 

It also shows how careless and cold the general public can be toward a man who wishes to end his life, with many shouting ‘jump’ and disgruntled that he has stopped traffic.

But ultimately this is a heist film nicely handled by Joey and Angie (Genesis Rodriguez). Although she is obviously there for a bit of eye candy with her cleavage constantly on display, and there’s a shot of her in her underwear. Whether this is needed or not depends on the viewer. However this heist isn’t completely believable with their seemingly Tardis like bag of tools, but is a fun aspect none the less. 

The DVD menu is a montage of shots from the film and cast, with a few minor spoilers. It uses minimal dramatic music and opens with my favourite shot of the movie: a pan from the hotel room through the window, to the ledge as Nick steps out.

This DVD has a few standard extras. ‘The Ledge’ is a short but good making of documentary which interestingly shows us that they started filming with a stage and green screen, but then decided to film the majority of the film off an actual ledge. It turns out that Sam Worthington is afraid of heights so good on him for spending so much time 200 feet above New York.

It also includes the films trailer with commentary from Elizabeth Banks that you can't turn off. I thought this to be annoying but it's entertaining and fun to hear her break down the trailer and her desire to ‘tap’ Ed Harris. A few crew interviews are also included.

Ultimately it’s another fun thriller which juggles between a no-brainer (why with all the robber’s tools don’t they wear gloves to hide their fingerprints) to an enjoyable and engrossing thriller as the film progresses. Entertaining, but not so much memorable.

6 out of 10

If you like this try:

Phone Booth (2002)

Man on a Wire (2008)