MovieChat Forums > Reds (1981) Discussion > Amazing props and set design

Amazing props and set design

posted 8 years ago by hnewstadt
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The scope of this great film is substantially enhanced by the obviously sincere effort made to recreate every interior from upper class Portland, Oregon, to pre-World War I Greenwich Village, to the dune shacks of Provincetown, and finally what appear to be painstaking recreations of immediate pre- and post-revolutionary Russia. This film is truly a monumental act of craft, and the years have comparatively enhanced the scope and exactness of this non-CGI masterpiece.

[–] zenstyle 8 years ago

Quite! Great to see Craftsman architecture and furnishings. Also, I was mesmerized by the endless pouring of the spackleware coffee pot during their early marathon talk. I wondered how the stuff stayed hot in the pot.

I so dig this movie for the cinematography, the atmospherics, and Louise Bryant's costumes! Emma Goldman is a personal hero of mine; Maureen Stapleton's portrayal of her was magnetic. Same with Edward Herrmann playing Max Eastman.

My one problem with the film is this. Many of the speeches that come out of Reed or Bryant's mouth sound exactly like *speeches* on a page. Not much naturalistic dialog between the two principals. Plus, the score is overwhelming at times, but that's my gripe with almost all movies.

[–] hnewstadt 8 years ago

Two items I noticed were Reed's white enamelled tin coffee mug with the black rim. In Russia, he had one with the enamel either worn or flaked off in spots. I'm guessing he was known to have had the same mug. Also, the green sphygmomanmeter in his Russian hospital room. I wonder if that was actually an early 20th Cent. Russian blood pressure machine? It may have been German, but appeared authentic for the period.