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Revolution
Dir: Hugh Hudson, UK, 1985. With Al Pacino, Sid Owen, Nastassja Kinski

A British-made film about the War of Independence was never likely to
succeed with American audiences, but the box-office failure of this
expensive, high-profile film did not necessarily stem from nationalistic
prejudice. Revolution is surprisingly even-handed. True, the American
patriots are portrayed as excitable rabble, but the sadistic British are
hardly the heroes of the film.

The closest the film comes to having a hero is Tom Dobbs (Al Pacino), an
illiterate widower looking after his young son, Ned (Sid Owen). Tom has
no political interests, but despite his best efforts to stay out of the
war, he becomes caught in the maelstrom. He is treated contemptuously by
both sides: the Americans force him to enlist and, after he deserts, a
group of British officers use him as their fox and chase him with dogs
in a hunting game. Predictably, his conversion to the American side
comes when Ned is thrashed by a British officer. Another formulaic
element is Tom’s relationship with the rebellious daughter of a loyalist
family (Natassja Kinski).

But Revolution is otherwise a rarity among historical films. The period
itself is not romanticised, but instead looks primitive and
impoverished. The war is a squalid affair, devoid of heroism. And Tom is
a victim rather than a shaper of events. Only his final statement
suggests that there is some form of progress or destiny in this story:
“We’re going to find us a place where there ain’t no one to bow down to,
where there ain’t no lord or lady better than you”.

The lack of historical uplift, together with the film’s murky visual
palette, and the director’s penchant for hand-held cameras and
long-takes, makes Revolution a distinctly challenging film, but not one
without value or interest.

But is it accurate? The war is defined here not simply as one between
Americans intent on liberty and their British oppressors, but as a civil
war between British colonists – whose sympathies change according to
which side is winning. It is a cynical view but one more accurate than
most films care to admit. Less impressively, 4 July never looked so
bleak: it is obvious that Revolution was filmed in England, and
apparently in a cold and wet winter.