> I too have a good opinion of WB. "Reds" for me stands
> out as one of the most sympathetic, substantive platforms
> ever afforded the U.S. left in a commercial film. This
> counts for a lot in comparison to painless political
> endorsements of the routine hollywood left sort. In its
> way Reds had more guts than any of the radical strike or
> insurrection films; the latter rested their case on an
> unambiguous portrayal of injustice. In Reds, much of the
> argument comes right from the mouths of leftists, with
> no supporting, artificial visual vignettes.
>
"Reds" is not a film about the left, but a film about the dilettante left's disillusionment. There is a big difference. The left has been such a neglected child in American culture that even a backhanded slap is appreciated.
> My impression is that WB had a personal debt to Kazan
> because the latter had helped WB's career. It was his
> misfortune to owe Kazan, and to his credit that he felt
> obliged to honor a personal debt to a scoundrel before
> a political one. So I don't fault him. I still say
> you stand by your friends first, whether it's Sid B
> or Kazan. If your friends are scum, that's your cross
> to bear. (Here as elsewhere, there can clearly be
> exceptions.)
>
Very noble. Loyalty to some one who was not loyal. One has a responsibility to choose one's friends carefully. Friendship and debts, unlike family, are made by choice and not fate. In the Chinese revolution, many families were split along political lines. Sons angainst fathers, brother agaianst brothers If Beatty owed Kazan, then Beatty's posture was merely self defense rather than noble.
> I was fascinated to note the audience reaction. A few
> people like WB stood up immediately, and not with much
> company. But they ended up being joined by the bulk of
> the audience. The ones remaining seated with their hands
> folded looked scared -- like they had put their property
> on a losing number (which they may have).
>
What you noticed was the televised rebirth of the UnAmerican Committee. The night of the living death of McCarthyism. The few that stood up first were the reincarnated Kazans. If Beatty did it, then respectability is established. Max, you are too soft on Beatty whose Hollywood liberalism is derived more from guilt than from faith. Beatty used his bogus political capital for an evil purpose to get out of Faustian corner.
Henry