Revolution (1985 film)

Revolution
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Hugh Hudson
Produced by Irwin Winkler
Written by Robert Dillon
Starring
Music by John Corigliano
Cinematography Bernard Lutic
Edited by Stuart Baird
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • 25 December 1985 (1985-12-25) (US)
Running time
 124 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $28 million[2]
(£19 million)[3]
Box office $358,574[2]

Revolution is a 1985 British historical drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Robert Dillon, and starring Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland and Nastassja Kinski. The film stars Pacino as a New York fur trapper who involuntarily gets enrolled in the Revolutionary forces during the American Revolutionary War.

Revolution received a great deal of negative reviews upon release, and was a box office bomb; its release was delayed in Pacino's native New York City.[4] Due to the disappointment, Pacino took a four-year hiatus from films until 1989's Sea of Love.

Plot

Fur trapper Tom Dobb unwillingly participates in the American Revolutionary War after his young son Ned joins the Army as a drummer boy. Later, his son is captured by the British, and taken by the strict Sergeant Major Peasy to replace some dead British drummer boys. Dobb attempts to find him, and along the way, becomes convinced that he must help fight for the freedom of the Colonies, alongside the disgraced and idealistic aristocrat Daisy McConnahay.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by the British company Goldcrest, and was filmed largely in the old dock area of the English port town of King's Lynn, Norfolk. The main battles scenes were filmed at Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor in Devon and on the coastal cliff top near Challaborough Bay, South Devon where a wooden fort was built. Military extras were recruited from ex-servicemen mainly from the Plymouth area. Many other scenes were filmed in the battle training area near Thetford, Nofolk, with extras being recruited from around the King's Lynn area.

Reception

Revolution cost $28 million to make, and proved to be a box-office disaster, only grossing $346,761 in the United States. The film was also a critical letdown, with many criticizing the performances (especially the accents), writing, and choice to shoot a story of American history in England.[5][6][7]

Accolades

Revolution was nominated for four Golden Raspberry Awards:

The film won the Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Picture.[8]

Director's cut

Revolution was rush-released in December 1985 for the Christmas market and for Academy Award consideration. Dissatisfied with the version of the film released to theatres, Hugh Hudson released a new cut, Revolution: Revisited, on DVD in 2009. This has an added narration by Pacino (recorded for this release) and numerous scenes have been trimmed or deleted outright (running at 115 minutes, the Director's Cut is approximately 10 minutes shorter than the theatrical version). Also included is a conversation with Pacino and Hudson discussing the film being rushed for a U.S. Christmas release, being trashed by the critics, and other issues relating to making and releasing the film.[9][10]

The film was also re-released in the UK in 2012 by the British Film Institute in a Blu-ray Disc/DVD combo pack. This edition came with both cuts of the film, as well as a booklet with essays written by Nick Redman, Michael Brooke and critic Philip French, who argues that the film was a victim of bad publicity and cultural misunderstandings, and regards the 'Revisited' cut as a 'masterpiece'.[11]

See also

  • Heaven's Gate (1980) – Another historical epic made in the same period which was a critical and commercial failure upon release in the United States, but has since gained more acclaim.

References

  1. ↑ "REVOLUTION (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. 30 December 1985. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Revolution (1985)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  3. ↑ Olins, Rufus. "Mr Fixit of the British Screen." Sunday Times [London], England 24 September 1995: 9[S]. The Sunday Times Digital Archive.] Web. 29 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Siskelandebert.org". siskelandebert.org. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Review: 'Revolution'". Variety. 31 December 1985. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Revolution". Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Canby, Vincent (25 December 1985). "The Screen: 1770s Epic, 'Revolution'". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "1985 8th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Archived 16 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Solomons, Jason (22 March 2009). "Director Hugh Hudson on the shooting of Revolution with Al Pacino". The Guardian. London.
  11. ↑ "DVD & Blu-ray - Shop". filmstore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
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