Revolution (1985)

Also Known As:	Revolution 1776
Genres:	Action/Adventure, Drama and War
Running Time:	2 hrs. 5 min.
MPAA Rating:	PG
Distributors:	Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
U.S. Box Office:	$295,288

Synopsis: A New York man becomes involved in the Revolutionary War after his son is drafted into the British Army.

Reviews

Personal Review: Revolution is indeed a historically accurate film compared to some other American Revolution movies such as the Patriot. The dates, events, and miscellaneous aspects of the film stay true to the 1770’s era. When you compare the two movies in an entertainment aspect Revolution seems to lack in this field. In the movie Al Pacino who plays Tom Dobb is a modern day New Yorker who took a wrong turn and ended up 200 years in the past. Do not get me wrong he is an impeccable actor but in a film like this he seems to be more of a joke. Donald Sutherland on the other hand gives a great performance as a snobbish and cruel British Sergeant Major Peasy, who seems to be the main villain in the film. I’m not sure what to think of Nastassja Kinski as Daisy McConnahay, She does play her role as the rebellious daughter of a noble well but the character itself was more of a sub plot if you ask me. She delivers nothing to the main story besides telling Tom that his son is kidnapped and being Tom’s lover interest at the end. Heck she’s absent the entire last quarter of the movie. Ned Dobb who is played by 2 people Dexter Fletcher and Sid Own give a good performance. They show Ned’s progression from naïve child to mature young man very well.

The main plot in this story initially is good, but there are plot holes that are not explained and keep me thinking. I can see why Ned was persuaded to join the army and than followed by his father; but what I cannot see is Daisy happening to run into them time and time again. If you count all the times Daisy accidentally running into Tom and Ned it would be 5 times out of 7. The other 2 times they’re actually looking for each other. Another of the plot holes in the movie is Daisy’s transportation anywhere. Only in one battlefield it is shown that she had a wagon with two horses, but they’re only seen once. All the other times it appears she just walked but the distances do not really add up. Another plot hole in the very beginning of the film is patriots distributing copies of the Declaration of Independence. The film starts on the very day it was ratified; I find it amazing there were copies. I would have expected that they just heard it was ratified. I’m not sure how fast you can get to New York from Philadelphia by horse but I don’t think you distribute copies that fast. To wrap this up, in short if you can look past the plot holes and Al Pacino’s accent you can enjoy this movie.

Historical Accuracy: B+

Entertainment: C-

Professional Review Summaries: At least more professional than mine.

MaryAnn Johanson, The Flick Filosopher says “Dirty, rainy, gray, grim, and muddy, Revolution is like a Monty Python movie they forgot to add the jokes to. Only not as funny.”

Jennifer, MoviePie.com says “Revolution has all the makings of a great movie, it fails to put them together in a satisfying way. We never get as close to the characters as we should, and though Donald Sutherland plays a callous British general, his role is reduced to that of an extra. The star power in this film is absolutely unutilized. Revolution succeeds in showing that the Revolutionary War was won by people who were just trying to survive, but so does The Patriot, and that movie comes with both color and sound—a bonus in any movie.”