Red Bells

Campanas rojas

1982 · Italy, Mexico, Soviet Union · 135 min

Director: Sergei Bondarchuk
Screenplay: Sergei Bondarchuk, Valentin Ezhov
Producer: Franco Cristaldi
Cinematography: Vadim Yusov
Editing: Mario Morra
Production company: Mosfilm, ,

Awards: Crystal Globe

Cast

Ursula Andress

Franco Nero

Sydne Rome

Blanca Guerra

Irina Skobtseva

Valery Barinov

Vladimir Sedov

What it is about

In 1913, during the height of the Mexican Revolution, two peasant armies advance toward the capital, held by the forces of dictator Victoriano Huerta: one led by Emiliano Zapata from the south and another by Pancho Villa from the north. Amid the fighting, American journalist John Reed arrives at the northern front, determined to interview Villa. The film follows the reporter's view of those battles and of the chaos surrounding them.

How it was made

A coproduction between the Soviet Union, Mexico and Italy, directed and written by Sergei Bondarchuk with Valentin Yezhov. It is the first part of a two-part film about John Reed, whose continuation was titled Russia 1917. The project began when Margarita López Portillo headed RTC in Mexico. Franco Nero plays Reed and Eraclio Zepeda plays Villa.

Reception and legacy

The film won the Crystal Globe at the Karlovy Vary festival and the Union of Journalists prize at the Tashkent festival, both in 1982. Its release was overshadowed by Reds, shot around the same time by Warren Beatty about the same figure. An earlier version, Insurgent Mexico, was directed by Paul Leduc in 1973.