Revolution main backdrop
Revolution main poster

Revolution

Visit website

5.3/10 • 115

1985-12-252h 6m

AdventureDramaHistoryWar

New York trapper Tom Dobb becomes an unwilling participant in the American Revolution after his son Ned is drafted into the Army by the villainous Sergeant Major Peasy. Tom attempts to find his son, and eventually becomes convinced that he must take a stand and fight for the freedom of the Colonies, alongside the aristocratic rebel Daisy McConnahay. As Tom undergoes his change of heart, the events of the war unfold in large-scale grandeur.

Directors
Hugh Hudson
Editors
Stuart Baird

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Al Pacino

    Al Pacino

    Tom Dobb

  2. Donald Sutherland

    Donald Sutherland

    Sgt. Maj. Peasy

  3. Nastassja Kinski

    Nastassja Kinski

    Daisy McConnahay

  4. Joan Plowright

    Joan Plowright

    Mrs. McConnahay

  5. Dave King

    Dave King

    Mr. McConnahay

  6. Dexter Fletcher

    Dexter Fletcher

    Ned Dobb

  7. Sid Owen

    Sid Owen

    Young Ned

  8. Richard O'Brien

    Richard O'Brien

    Lord Hampton

  9. Steven Berkoff

    Steven Berkoff

    Sgt. Jones

Reviews1

View Reviews
Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Jun 8, 2024

6/10

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-

Media

  • Revolution poster
  • Revolution poster
  • Revolution poster
  • Revolution poster
  • Revolution poster
  • Revolution poster

Recommendations

  • Seraphim Falls main backdrop

    Seraphim Falls

    6.4

  • Triumph of the Will main backdrop

    Triumph of the Will

    6.9

  • The Door in the Floor main backdrop

    The Door in the Floor

    6.1

  • State Property main backdrop

    State Property

    6.3

  • Cruising main backdrop

    Cruising

    6.6

  • Fitzcarraldo main backdrop

    Fitzcarraldo

    7.6

  • Captive State main backdrop

    Captive State

    5.7

  • The Gold Rush main backdrop

    The Gold Rush

    8.0

  • Freaks main backdrop

    Freaks

    6.8

  • The Book of Henry main backdrop

    The Book of Henry

    7.5

  • EuroTrip main backdrop

    EuroTrip

    6.6

  • Elf main backdrop

    Elf

    6.7

  • The Talented Mr. Ripley main backdrop

    The Talented Mr. Ripley

    7.2

  • Iron Man 3 main backdrop

    Iron Man 3

    6.9

  • Blade Runner 2049 main backdrop

    Blade Runner 2049

    7.6

  • Passengers main backdrop

    Passengers

    7.0

  • The Conjuring main backdrop

    The Conjuring

    7.5

  • Avatar main backdrop

    Avatar

    7.6

  • The Shawshank Redemption main backdrop

    The Shawshank Redemption

    8.7

  • A Trip to the Moon main backdrop

    A Trip to the Moon

    7.9

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$28,000,000.00
Revenue
$358,574.00
Keywords
chaseindependencerebelbritish armynative americanbased on true storyfur trapping18th centuryamerican revolutionrevolutionary war