 |
The assassination of the youngest & most beloved US President is examined by the district attorney of New Orleans (Kevin Costner). His wife (sissy Spacek) is frustrated keeping their home fires burning while the DA becomes more invested in solving JFK's murder. Oliver Stone directs this politically well researched film. It's loaded with historical film of the Kennedy's before, during & immediately after November 22nd, 1963; the day most of us 50yo or older remember exactly where we were the moment we heard the words, "President Kennedy is dead." The film's theory is that some of the policies JFK held out to the American public as his key objectives had potent social justice, financial & government change at heart that he was killed for them. Beliefs that President Kennedy felt would empower our nation considerably. What finally persuaded the DA's wife that he wasn't obsessed with President Kennedy was the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., followed too soon by the murder of RFK (Bobby Kennedy, while campaigning for the US Presidency). Costner delivers the courtroom monologue that went on for a good 15 minutes, in his closing argument, the big picture of the US government's deep involvement in the cover-up of the true events surrounding JFK's assassination. The disclosure of the US government's well hidden evidence of its own involvement in the cover-up of JFK's murder has not been put together so well in a film for the mass public to consider. Some of the evidence has still not been made available to the US public. Surely, after coming away from this film & the director's cuts & analyses in the 2nd DVD in this set, I wonder why our government doesn't trust "we the people" to know what's still hidden. "What are they so afraid of us knowing?" is the question I am left with. JFK's assassination case is unresolved. How come that's okay enough with us? This was the 35th President we voted into office & probably would have done so for a 2nd term. How come we have never truly demanded to know the truth?~Read full review
JFK is an interesting look at some of the discrepancies of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It chronicles the efforts of New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison to try and convict Claw Shaw as a conspirator. The movie is well done, staying true to much of the evidence that repudiates the assertion of the Warren Commission, namely that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. There are several instances where certain events are fictionalized, for example Mr. Garrison's conversation with the mysterious Mr. X never occurred in real life, but allowed information true to the case to be aired in a dramatic fashion. Some scenes border on the ridiculous, like the scene where Jack Lemmon's character recalls some of the particulars of Guy Bannister's gun running for the CIA and Cubans in a project called Project Mongoose. While the project was in fact real and that in and of itself is scary enough, Oliver Stone (the director) has Cubans dressed in paramilitary outfits loading boxes of guns and ammunition, downtown New Orleans, literally under the noses of the ONI, Secret Service, and Naval Intelligence. In fact a camera shot is shown looking out of a window and down on the street as if to argue that all one had to do was look out the window of one of these intelligence buildings and there they were. Mr. Stone was making a point here, and while it never really went down like that, the information laid out before that almost laughable scene, does effectively show that a military operation of that magnitude could not have proceeded without the knowledge and ultimate approval of the Intelligence community. The involvement of Lee Harvey Oswald in that particular project should give any rational and reasonable person pause. There are other small discrepancies of recounted testimony or other facts that do appear throughout the film, but are ultimately not enough of a departure from the true account(s) to jeopardize the integrity of the film. When the Oswald look-a-like shoots at his neighbor's target on the shooting range, he says "Oh, sorry. I thought I was shooting at that sonofabitch Kennedy." What Oswald actually said was slightly different, and he didn't mention Kennedy's name. But, it is clear from what he did say that he was making a ridiculous attempt at making an impression, and that it was not Oswald, but an impersonator. As the filmmakers didn't have enough time to lay out the overwhelming evidence of Oswald doubles, they take a few liberties here and there to drive the point home in a relatively short amount of time. Ultimately, I gave this film 4 out of 5 stars simply because of it's almost God-like representation of Jack Kennedy. One gets the feeling from Mr. Costner's performance that JFK was the greatest, most honorable representation of any President in the history of this country. We now know he was anything but. Having said that, the film does a good job of showing that anything is possible. That greed and corruption are not restricted to third world countries with dictators as rulers. That there are men who will scheme and conspire to protect their interests, and that murdering a President (and one might argue RFK, Martin Luther King, and Malcom X) is not as impossible as the average American might think. To borrow a quote from the elusive Mr. X (played by Donald Sutherland): "It's been going on for thousands of years. Kings are killed, Mr. Garrison. Money is power...nothing more."Read full review
This is the one to get on DVD. Anamorphic widescreen and DD 5.1, unlike the first DVD release. Great movie!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Excellent and engaging movie, a well rounded overview and drama of the JFK assassination mystery, it holds your attention throughout the entire movie. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the events that transpired on that tragic day in Dallas, whether you're a conspiracy proponent or not.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
There is a great deal of controversy about this film. It suggests that an elaborate plot was concocted to assassinate JFK and it was successful. I can't say whether the theory is true or not but this is nonetheless an engaging, even compelling mystery story and therefore, a must see movie.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in DVDs & Blu-ray Discs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on DVDs & Blu-ray Discs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
