★ 6 / 10
**_Al Pacino transported to the American Revolution_** After
Wuchak
**_Al Pacino transported to the American Revolution_** After the Declaration of Independence, a fur trapper (Pacino) & his son are inadvertently enlisted in…
**_Al Pacino transported to the American Revolution_**
After the Declaration of Independence, a fur trapper (Pacino) & his son are inadvertently enlisted in the Continental Army in the summer of 1776, wherein they find themselves fighting The Battle of Long Island. They end up working as scouts and are at Valley Forge during the cold winter of 1777-1778, as well as Yorktown in 1781. Nastassja Kinski plays a woman from an aristocratic family who joins the patriots while Donald Sutherland is on hand as an officer in the British Army.
"Revolution" (1985) was made by the acclaimed director of “Chariots of Fire” and “Greystoke,” but the film flopped at the box office and was nominated for four Razzies. Is it THAT bad? No. It does a good job of taking the viewer into the midst of the Revolutionary War as a foot soldier or worker with the use of handheld cameras. The situation isn’t fun; it’s chaotic, life-threatening, dirty, grisly and full of hardships. The Continentals are a ragtag group of Americans suffering privations while the Redcoats are a disciplined, well-supplied army with degenerate officers. Speaking of which, the Brits aren’t painted in a positive light.
While the film isn’t as effective as “The Patriot,” especially in regard to character development, it makes for a worthwhile companion piece since it involves the northern theater of the war and the other the Carolina theater. On the downside, the English and Norwegian locations are sometimes a questionable substitution for New York, Pennsylvania and coastal Virginia, especially the mountains of Norway (standing in for northern New York and the Saint Lawarence River region, I think), but at least they’re picturesque and the sequences don’t last long.
The scene where Daisy leaves the fort at Valley Forge and is attacked by a British detachment on horseback is awkwardly executed but, hey, it’s a movie, not a documentary. I was inspired to look-up the real history.
The movie runs 2 hour, 6 minutes, but there’s a Director’s Cut from 2009 that’s 10 minutes shorter and features narration by Pacino. It was largely filmed in southern England, as follows: The old dock area of King's Lynn, Norfolk, as well as near Thetford, Norfolk, and Melton Constable Hall. The main battle sequences were shot at Burrator Reservoir on Dartmoor in Devon and on the coastal cliff top near Challaborough Bay, South Devon, which is where the wooden fort was built. The scenic scenes where Dobb is with the Huron were shot in Norway.
GRADE: B-
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★ 5 / 10
gwalters-7
As a high school US History teacher I often use a few scenes from this film in my classes. I have found value in some elements of this dark, brooding, and…
As a high school US History teacher I often use a few scenes from this film in my classes. I have found value in some elements of this dark, brooding, and sluggish film and think it deserves some credit. Examples are: NY City in the opening and closing scenes, (they are our history books brought to life). The battles of NY, specifically Long Island and Brooklyn Heights (the film is vague as to which exact battle this is) the complicated world of Nastasia Kinski's character Daisy, daughter of loyalists, mother yes, but which side is her father really on? Additionally, the miserable conditions at Valley Forge, and very importantly, Tom and Ned "quitting" the war after their first battle (Historically Washington's "grand army" melted away by the autumn of 1776). As a teacher I love the resource of this film. As a parent I want my children to be exposed, As a period movie fan I don't love this film very much.
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★ 5 / 10
I'm Walkin' Here
SnoopyStyle
It's 1776. France and England are in perpetual war. After the Declaration of Independence, British troops land in New York. Fur trapper Tom Dobb (Al Pacino)…
It's 1776. France and England are in perpetual war. After the Declaration of Independence, British troops land in New York. Fur trapper Tom Dobb (Al Pacino) had lost most of his family. All he has left is his boat and his son. The revolutionaries confiscate his boat and they promise to pay him in gold in two weeks after the war is to end. His son Ned unwittingly signs up for the revolution and Tom is forced to join up to protect him. Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski) is the rebellious daughter of a rich New York family. She is drawn to the revolution and rebels against his war profiteering father. Sgt. Maj. Peasy (Donald Sutherland) is the ruthless English soldier who fights alongside his drummer boy son.The son is the brattiest of brats. Pacino is Italian to his core. There is no way to alleviate that and his natural accent doesn't help. Kinski is foreign in her accent and annoyingly arrogant in her rebellion. Of course, her family is horribly selfish. The British are cartoonish. The revolutionaries don't start off well either. It's an ugly world overall. The only compelling work comes from Sutherland who knows how to play his uncomprising role without becoming a caricature. It is interesting to depict the rebellion start with such an ugly mob. Usually they're more noble than that. That has to be a part of the reason why this movie bombed so badly. There are also other pressing problems.It's notable that the black actors barely speak a word. I'm sure the movie is trying to say a little something about slavery. In Philadelphia, the slaves are rising up as freedom rings out all around them but it's left confused. Obviously, none of them are freed in reality but it's not clear from the movie. I think the blacks being march off in the opposite direction is suppose to be them being sent into slavery in the south. I also have a problem with Pacino fighting off the two Indian scouts. It's barely believable and it would be easily solved if the friendly Indians arrive a minute earlier. They could help him kill the two Indian scouts. In addition, I don't understand why he doesn't go with his son at the end. He spends the entire movie rescuing his son but leaves him for the city life. That's stupid. I don't mind portraying the war as an ugly affair but this one is not that good.
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TOMATOMETER
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AUDIENCE
· 2.5K ratings
5.3/10
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It's Okay... but it has Natassja Kinski so it deserves a watch