Should have won the oscar for best picture in 1982 !!!
In my humble opinion,REDS is definitely better than CHARIOTS OF FIRE.Great acting from all the actors.
shareI agree, BUT then again, it was rumored after the fact that Reds and Raiders of the Lost Ark, the year's blockbuster, cancelled each other out, which is how Chariots of Fire (also a true story like Reds) became the surprise winner.
I love all three films, but it is easy to see why Reds should have won the Best Picture prize. However, Raiders has endured in the public's imagination longer and made the AFI list of the top 100 films of all time, as did Doctor Zhivago, the most revered film ever made about the Russian Revolution, and which ironically is also the most famous film of Beatty's one time great love Julie Christie.
Plus: I believe that Chariots of Fire is only remembered today because playboy Dodi Fayed (who was killed in the August 31, 1997 Paris car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales, who watched the movie while on her 1981 honeymoon with Prince Charles) was the film's executive producer. It won by default, and if I had been an Academy member, I would have voted for Reds since Raiders of the Lost Ark made so much money. It is a film that deserves to be a classic, and in my humble opinion it is much more than a great film.
Conservative critics of the film say that Reds glorifies communism, but the movie really glorifies John Reed and Louise Bryant. They made so many personal sacrifices to make the world a better place and they didn't get rich while doing so. John Reed may be buried inside Kremlin walls, but he died virtually a pauper. I don't think that he made too much money from his book The Ten Days That Shook The World. He gave away alot to radical organizations and paid off some debts, and quite probably donated money to the Bolsheviks. At least that is the impression that I got. He lived a very threadbare existence even though he was from a wealthy family. That is why he appealed so much to Comrades Lenin and Trotsky.
I'd like to see anyone (including the amazing Warren Beatty, who frequently gives money to charities) make the same sacrifices Reed did to the same degree. Maybe that was Warren Beatty's intention in making the film. He wanted everyone to know just how remarkable these people were for their time.
Both Keaton and Beatty deserved acting Oscars, as did the wonderful Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill the poet. O'Neill's daughter married Charlie Chaplin when she was still a teenager. Their daughter Geraldine also starred in Doctor Zhivago as the physician's wife Tonya, who loses her husband Yuri Zhivago to Julie Christie's beautiful Lara. Talk about a small world!
You seem to overlook that On Golden Pond was the frontrunner in the opinion of many that year. It had wonderful performances but as a film, at least technically, was not as elaborate or, some would say, impressive as the others.
Raiders had no shot of winning, because it was so commercial, and they would never choose a mainstream smash over 'high art.' How times have changed (not...well, okay, LOTR did it).
Anyway, most people were predicting either Reds, knowing full well Beatty would win Director, or On Golden Pond, based on the strength of its performances and heartwarming backstory - to be sure a Hollywood insider's favorite.
Chariots of Fire was the little film that could - almost like Slumdog Millionaire, only the latter is such a lock that its wins in most categories this Sunday are a foregone conclusion.
I don't think anybody would have thought Atlantic City or Raiders could win. Of course, Raiders is the best film, the most lasting film, the most groundbreaking film, the most entertaining film.
But four of the Best Picture nominees all turned out fine. Chariots won four, including two of the most important and competitive awards. Reds got three including Beatty and Supporting Actress. On Golden Pond won the three least competitive categories - Lead Actor and Actress (always an incredible feat when they're from the same movie!) and Screenplay. And Raiders tied Chariots for the most with four - all technical, but a big compliment when up against the epic Reds and the actual winner. And of course, Raiders remains one of the highest-grossing and most beloved movies of all time.
And I wouldn't knock on Chariots. The past decade or so, its reputation has really deteriorated. But the soundtrack and image of the men running on the beach is iconic and rightfully so. But nothing else from 1981 touches the iconic and timeless Raiders.
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