by Brett Gregory
As well as a writer, director, editor and producer of non-profit independent films in Greater Manchester since 2005, I decided in May 2025 to relaunch my Serious Feather YouTube channel as a hub for ‘Behind the Scenes’ documentaries that focus primarily on 20th century cinema.
Two hundred and forty-one videos later, this channel has proved quite successful, attracting 44.3K subscribers and 11.3 million views.
My latest ‘Behind the Scenes’ upload is ‘Reds’ (Beatty, 1981, 30 minutes), which I believe will interest many Culture Matters readers since it explores John Reed’s experiences of the October Revolution in Russia in 1917, the rise of socialism in the United States from 1915 to 1920, as well as Reed’s most famous publication, ‘Ten Days That Shook The World’ (1919).
Briefly, John Reed, born in 1887, was a member of a wealthy family in Portland, Oregon, who became a radical journalist and activist after graduating from Harvard in 1910. For example, alongside the guerilla leader and politician, Pancho Villa, he reported on the Mexican Revolution in his book, ‘Insurgent Mexico’ (1914). On returning home, Reed then helped to establish the Communist Party in the United States.
During his coverage of World War I he soon became a close friend of the Russian political leader, Vladimir Lenin, and, in turn, experienced the country’s revolution first-hand, documenting his observations, arguments and ideas in ‘Ten Days That Shook The World’.
After becoming the leader of the Communist Labor Party in the United States, Reed was indicted for treason, and thus returned to the Soviet Union. There he died of typhus in 1920 at the age of 32.
Forty-nine years later rising Hollywood star, Warren Beatty, began writing a screenplay based on John Reed’s life called ‘Reds’. In an effort to firmly establish the narrative’s Marxist credentials Beatty enlisted help from the left-wing Mancunian dramatist, Trevor Griffiths, and an early draft of the screenplay was eventually completed in 1978.
Following the huge success of ‘Heaven Can Wait’ (Beatty/Henry, 1978) Warren Beatty’s reputation as one of the world’s most famous movie stars was solidified and, incredibly, he was thus able to secure financing for his left-wing labour of love from the conservative capitalist film studio, Paramount Pictures.
Moreover, Beatty’s star status was so gravitational at this time that he was also able to cast an incandescent ensemble of actors for his unique project: Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino, Maureen Stapleton, Gene Hackman, Edward Herrmann and Jerzy Kosiński.
Following two years of filming and post-production, ‘Reds’ was nominated for twelve Academy Awards in 1982, winning three: Best Director (Warren Beatty), Best Supporting Actress (Maureen Stapleton), and Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro).
Behind the Scenes: ‘Reds’ (Beatty, 1981) is available to watch here:
