Genres

Visitors Review

Grann-Bach 2012-05-25 14:44:27

Very interesting film, but horrible pacing

This film has been met with a lot of controversy, when it first came out; alot of people have a hard time accepting that this might be the truth. Idon't know for sure how much of it is based on facts, but from what Iunderstand, it's most of it, if not all of it. The film is packed with greatactors, however many of them have very minor roles in the film. Regardless,every single performance is great, there wasn't any point where I thoughtthat any of the actors did anything less than a great job portraying theirrespective characters. The film is well-edited, telling a lot of the storythrough flashbacks, and even giving us a visual of things that "supposedly"happened, but quite apparently never took place. All in all, this is a greatfilm, but it could, and should, have been a perfect one. The problem withthe film lies wholly in the pacing; in the first thirty minutes, it prettymuch tells you the part of the story that everybody knows; the assassinationitself, Lee Harvey Oswald's arrest and the killing of Oswald. After that,the plot starts to revolve around an investigation that simply takes far toolong, and it only takes so long because it's filled with, well, filler. Hadit been more to the point, instead of showing scene after scene ofquestioning, most of them nearly the same, it would have been much easier tofollow the film's plot; I'm not saying that it's simple, in fact, it'sanything but simple, but it was made out to be far more complicated than ithad to be. I think there was about half an hour, maybe 45 minutes of thefilm where I didn't pay attention, simply because virtually nothing at allhappened in the film. I don't have anything against three-hour films, I'veseen several that I enjoyed regardless of length(Dances with wolves,Scarface(the Al Pacino version) etc.), but those did a good job of keepingme interested in the story, and the story constantly develops inthem(especially Scarface), whereas in this one, it almost stands still,while we listen to one lying witness after the other, every single lie indetails, instead of just a few lines to demonstrate that this character islying. I just think there was far too much material, however true it may be,that belongs in a director's cut or a documentary than a regular featurefilm. It could easily have been cut down at least half an hour. For apolitical film, this is very good. In fact, for a film by any standard, itis very good. It's just too bad it isn't as great as it could have been, hadit been paced better. Unless you have an enormous amount of interest in thesubject matter, and an equal amount of patience, you probably won't be ableto sit through this. I recommend it to pretty much anyone who's interestedin knowing more about the Kennedy assassination, and who has the patiencethat is required. 8/10

2012-05-25 03:33:02

One of the greatest movies Of the 90s

To say Oliver Stone's epic JFK was a little generous in exposing half truth's about the JFK assasination would be a gross understatement. In fact, some of the most chilling moments in this 'true' story are mere heresay. However, movies were not made to educate, but to entertain. And this movie comes through. Filled with numerous cameos (Walter Mathau, Jack Lemmon, John Candy, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Bacon) this ensemble piece really manages to focus upon one man's lone struggle to prove that the asssasination of JFK was not only done by someone else than Lee Harvey Oswald, but that the government knew Oswald was innocent. Second maybe to only To Kill A Mockingbird, this film delivers the best courtroom scene ever produced. And even though this movie winds much longer than 3 hours, there is not a dull moment. If you want to know the truth read a book, but if you want Oliver Stone's truth, watch JFK, Stone's best film and Kevin Costner's best too.

chaos-rampant 2012-05-24 05:51:13

Citizen Kennedy

It is important this film was made, in spite of the huge uproar itseems to have caused, the claims of propaganda, etc.. The idea is thatthe movie is the trial that never happened. We are the jury. We get todecide, even with a stacked deck as we have. I assume that Stoneexpected this to function as a valve that would give voice to decadesof pent-up frustration with an inept, at worst shady, bureaucracy andgovernment, even a half-paranoid, jagged voice.And it's important first because it taps into a national narrative apart of which you have privately seen unfold, possibly puzzled over themany implications and what your own level of involvement should be, butforemostly in how it suggests that even such a massive narrative seenfrom so many ends is actually being engineered somewhere for ourviewing, like in film noir. We all live in such a noirish world. Smalland tossed about by forces beyond comprehension or so abstract as to becompletely removed from reality. The idea is that somewhere must belocked away a set of answers that explain this hidden fabric of theworld, ideally a list of names.No, the real conspiracy is not the one believed to be. Let's examinethis.Now if the JFK conspiracy is true that is devastating for obviousreasons. Someone else is master of our fate and we really do live infabricated Orwellian world.And if it's not, then we should at least feel regret about the state ofaffairs on both sides that allowed things to happen the way they did.The secrecy, omission and just plain ineptitude.But the point is that it's such an utterly muddled, convoluted affair,an enigma that may or may not be true, that we begin to fashion thenarrative around the missing bits. The crazier it gets as we keeplooking. What this means is that, one way or the other, we do live inthat noirish world as we understand it to work and we have beenco-conspirators in the fabrication. We are the engineers among others.The damage is irreversible and starts here for the generation that isstill responsible for a lot of our storytelling.This is the gist of the film, the effort to assemble 'truth' fromdisjointed life. It's a purely Wellesian construct adopted from Kanebut even more visual at this point, with all sorts of movies unravelingat every intersection of the different threads. It is stupendous towatch for just the craft. Some of these films-within are testimoniesthat we swoop in to follow. Others are private memories, distinct fromthe previous. Reports and counter-reports. Photos are animated for us.The Zapruder film. Stone's re-enactment but as actual footage. TVscreens playing bits that we need to see. Each of these as the others.And of all that conflated and re-assembled into a trial. Only some ofthese can be true at any given time, so at least some of what we'veexperienced to be real from our end is not. Part of the film is lying.Once more Mabuse controls from out of sight.This is a great, powerful conception that I don't think Stone ever cameclose to again. It aligns every small individual search for meaningwith a massive effort to understand the beat of collective soul. Andunderscores this as different types of footage edited together. Itmakes a lot of sense that Stone appropriates visual grammar to expressthis from the enemy side of Eisenstein and Soviet montage.Those films offered fractured views from a collective eye that animatesthe world by watching. In line with Marxist teachings, they were alwaysabout a struggle and present action, never a thought. Stone presumes toinherit the agitprop experiment. We are meant to leave the trialanimated to take action, to probe and question.But he falters at the last moment with his cloying courtroom sermon.Before this I had assumed Kevin Costner, not one of our brightestactors, was being manipulated without his knowing like Ford was inBladerunner. But it is evident here that Stone believes himself to beanother Jim Garrison fighting to unveil evil. He feels so stronglyabout the subject matter, so emotionally, the maker slips out among thefilm. The spell is broken. We get to note that it was all put togethersolely for our verdict.So instead of only essaying the mechanisms that produce such aduplicitous national narrative and letting us figure out what's ourpart in the conspiracy, the film becomes part of them, part of theconspiracy.

2012-05-23 17:10:54

Conspiracy Movie - No More, No Less

If you want to watch Oliver Stone's take on the JFK assasination, by all means, watch this movie. But don't take this film version of events as gospel truth. Its a conspiracy movie, pure and simple. Oliver Stone's version of what HE thinks happened.John F. Kennedy was a conservative democrat compared to today's liberal democrats. I can't believe people actually considered this movie as uncovering the TRUTH. Give me a break. This film bored me to death.

2012-05-23 05:47:34

"A Tissue Of Lies" said Walter Cronkite

The movie "JFK" was described by the most trusted man in America Walter Cronkite as "a tissue of lies". Director Oliver Stone now calls this film "an alternative myth" such is the misinformation and inaccuracies in this movie. The line "let the truth be known or the Heavens fall" is from a Hollywood writer and was never stated. In actual fact,Garrison wasn't even at the courts at the time of the court's decision. He was in his office at the time. Indeed,there is little truth in this film as a lot of the witnesses and their fates were made up for this fictional movie.

Fran Robins 2012-05-22 18:32:05

A classic in.........

JFKDIRECTION ˜%Visually more stimulating than looking at top models for fashion magazineswith added style and grace that drives you deeper into conspiracywonderland.ACTING ‘%Powerhouse central performance and others support verywell.EDITING/SPECIAL EFFECTS ™%Editing of this quality is rarely seen because it often disorientates thewatcher. However in the hands of a surgeon of the camera you will go on asafe ride through intrigue and a profusion of storylinesPLOT ™%Splendid and grand in design. Shows class with overlaying storylines withoutconfusion and immense intrigue and drama.STRONG WORDS AND VIOLENCE ETC ‡%Plenty going on here to add to the drama.MUSIC w%Rises the tension.SOUND „%With the speedy editing comes sounds hitting you through voices and othersurprises.HOOKABILITY †%Understanding the real case helps greatly!LASTABILITY –%With fast moving storylines merging from the neither, keeping up with theplot can be as difficult as litening and understanding rapmusicOVERALL 93%A classic in film production and design with immense tension anddrama.

2012-05-21 21:45:43

Generation X's Version of JFK's Assassination

As I was not born when Kennedy was killed and therefore have only an academic understanding of those troubled times, this movie struck me as a particularly potent form of propaganda. Perhaps it was the fantastic craftsmanship and skill with which JFK was made that transform it into such a powerful instrument of revisionist history.I am afraid that this will become my generation's only point of reference to this event. We are not, sadly, very well equiped to sort out fact from fiction. JFK is neither balanced, nor fair, but it is mesmerizing and it will probably stand the test of time better than the truth itself.

2012-05-21 05:47:48

Best director's commentary ever

Of course..JFK is an amazing movie but the best thing about buying it on DVD is the director's commentary. Oliver Stone practically offers us a complete 2nd screenplay and talks enough facts to fill a class's worth of material. If I was a teacher, I would play the director's commentary to my students. It's THAT informative. Fascinating.JFK on DVD is truly rare in that this is one of the FEW movies out there that really offers something substantive on DVD...you know...truly exploits what DVD is all about. There still is some useless stuff in the DVD such as "interactive menus" (useless), "multimedia essays" (haven't seen them), "deleted/extended scenes" (kind of interesting, but useless because they are worth watching once and not worth paying extra for).There indeed is "filler" in this DVD but the director's commentary is absolutely worth the listen. If you are at all interested in the movie JFK, I cannot help but believe that you will be absolutely riveted by Stone's comments.

2012-05-18 23:56:27

Two more than it deserves

During the speech that Jim Garisson, played by Kevin Costner, gives towards the end of this film, he quotes Adolf Hitler: "The greater the lie, the more people who will believe it." I guess he had a point. Recent polls show that almost 80% of the American people believe the story Oliver Stone puts forth in "JFK". This is a film that even major conspiracy theorists such as Mark Lane consider preposterous. Lie after lie, half-truth after half-truth and omission after omission pepper this film throughout. I won't list them all because they are legion but a little digging will turn them up. Consider , for one, that the document signed by LBJ in which "lies the Vietnam war" was actually a reiteration of JFK's removal of troops ordered in a previous document. True story. When JFK is shown saying that he believes that it is South Vietnam's war to win or lose, what is not shown is the rest of the interview where he says he believes it would be a mistake to leave Vietnam. Minor stuff like that.One interesting note,also. During the aforementioned speech, Garrison says how JFK's body was removed from Dallas in a sinister way, spirited out on Air Force One where a rushed swearing-in takes place (complete with a photo of LBJ taking the oath with Jaqueline kennedy conveniently cropped out) and brought to DC where his brain can be lost and the cover-up perfected. That would have to mean Bobby and Jackie Kennedy were involved, as they would have to be. Mrs. Kennedy wanted out of Dallas quickly, with her husband. Bobby involved even though he is eulogized later in the speech. Is that really credible? Let's not forget that Jackie had Kenny O'Donnell, personal friend and trusted aide of JFK, make sure JFK was removed from Dallas. This is interesting as Kevin Costner played the sainted O'Donnell in the film "Thirteen Days". This must have been a portrayal of O'Donnell before "they" got to him.Well, I could go on, but I'm not convincing anyone on either side of the issue to switch sides, so I'll just end by saying that I gave it two stars because it is a compelling, well-made and acted film, even though I think it is a load of bunk.

T Y 2012-05-18 16:59:34

Mr Smith goes to Dealy Plaza

There's a great movie waiting to be made about the Kennedy killings andthe sheer hogwash the government expected people to accept. OliverStone's JFK movie (assessed apart from it's scandal-rich premiere) is alousy, scatterbrained, corny, half-baked movie. It's made ineptly andit's composed of the flimsiest string of three lonely conceits. 1) Avery crappy star turn by Costner, again playing Mr. Morality 2) One ortwo sequences that clearly received more of Stone's attention (theyactually build - Fletcher Prouty) and 3) An all star cast. The scriptmay offer the wobbliest plot ever filmed; a single-minded crusaderdoesn't have a prayer of winning his laughably assembled conspiracycase; also... he has the defacto "whiny wife" (Spacek). Stone hopes toprovide enough surface activity that you won't notice he has no guidingconcept, that the all-star cast is actually undermining the movie andthe damned thing is going nowhere. Despite earnestness and goodintentions, it has no momentum, no ending and precious littleintelligence. An overwrought score beats you over the head in an effortto inject some intensity.The climactic court case is just absurd (and belabored). It feels likeStone needed both a dramatic climax and a morality showdown, andmanufactured this weak, weak case to those ends. The case is composedof barely-connected, legally ridiculous courtroom moments; Garrisonbadgers people whose connection to Clay Shaw is indecipherable untilhis final 20 words attempt a weak link. If the case actually went asdepicted, it's no surprise Garrison lost, because he speechifies abouteverything except how Clay Shaw is related to the killing.In casting every role large, Stone bowdlerizes the assassination byadvancing a solution that looks trifling compared to the scale of themachinations and his production. In the end JFK's assassination ispinned on some utterly nonthreatening gay bogeyman (an idea that has noplace to go) for god knows what reason ...how very small.In need of passion, the movie pours on the straw-man antics; there's azero-sum game fight every twenty minutes. Ridiculous lines like "Letjustice rain till the heavens fall" and "We're through thelooking-glass now, people..." intended to make major dramatic momentsare just bad dramatics. Not helping any of this, are some very poor,over-the-top southern accents. Everyone from the south doesn't talkwith a full-on, corn-pone accent, but tell a star his character is fromthe south and it's vocal amateur hour. Metcalf is quite bad. Costnersounds like Elmer Fudd, despite the fact that Jim Garrison himself hasa cameo in the damned movie, and has NO regional accent whatsoever.(?!)The controversy that surrounded the movies opening reflects alegitimate failing of the movie. You would have to be a JFKassassination scholar to detect and determine what elements arefactual, and what has been completely manufactured by Stone for themovie. It's all presented as fact. The best that can be said of themovie is, thank God Stone got access to the Zapruder film so that itcould be disseminated at a massive, irretrievable scale; placing it infront of incorruptible audience-eyes that won't forget what they'veseen. The horror of the 26 second Zapruder film is indelible.

2012-05-17 22:38:11

Oliver Stone Films on Fantasy Island

This film is superb in every respect if you are the kind of person who can suspend your disbelief even when common sense is staring you in the face and the ghost of history is whispering in your ear. I mean, this movie is sensationally well made as a quintessential piece of Hollywood history making. If you like that sort of thing, by all means buy this. If you want to see one of the myriad JFK conspiracy theories played out in all its glory, then certainly you should buy this. If, by some chance, you actually expect movies to approximate what REALLY HAPPENED, in this case in Dallas, Texas on a late November day in 1963, don't insult your own intelligence and sense of national dignity by viewing Stone's one man crusade against whatever it is he imagines our government to be or have been. I'm far from an apologist for any of the players in this tragedy, but Jeez Louise, must we endure this sort of thing for the sake of entertainment?

Justin 2012-05-17 15:09:11

It Made Me Think

Through the years since JFK's assassination people have been wondering was there only one shooter and who accually did it. Oliver Stone's take on it made you think was it our government that did it, just because JFK wanted peace, maybe we will never know, but it still made me think.

afraser 2012-05-17 05:07:59

Brilliant

A real eye opener and a movie that had me yearning for more informationafter I viewed it.Well worth the time to watch it and full marks to Oliver Stone, the Late JimGarrison and Colonel Fletcher Prouty for having the guts to make such afilm.

2012-05-16 15:10:59

Review #2

I had forgotten that I have already reviewed JFK. However, at the time I was a hard core conspiracy buff. I probably watched this movie at least 15 times (just ask my wonderfully patient wife) for the sheer joy of the conspiracy angle. Well, folks, I am now convinced that LHO acted alone. That's not relevant here, but if you want to e-mail me, I'll tell you why. I still believe the movie is of very high caliber with a great cast. I am a fan of Mr. Stone and JFK does not disappoint. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in period work, but please don't take it at face value. It is distorted and not very factual. Do your own research.

David_Von_Pein 2012-05-14 02:20:11

This is it, Oliver Stone has done it!

This is it, the real story. Finally, an alternative to the WarrenCommission Report. I bought a copy of this movie in Dallas, right inDealey Plaza, I watched it in disbelief. After all these years thetruth is here. Oliver Stone has done it. I have always thought thatthere was a conspiracy to kill JFK and now I have the proof. This isit, the real deal. Watch this movie, this movie will open your eyes.People who think that conspiracy theorists like me are all just a bunchof burnt out drug addicts left over from the sixties will change theirminds real fast. I do not have brain damage from taking drugs. I highlyrecommend this movie. This is it, Oliver Stone has done it. There youhave it!

Peter Travers 2012-05-13 15:09:23

As speculation, JFK is riveting. As proof, it's bunk. Stone has turned what he considers the crime of the century into a disturbing anomaly -- a dishonest search for truth.

2012-05-12 19:31:15

It seems a point is being missed...

I saw this movie in the theaters for its original release and have seen it a few times over the years since then. Being something of a paranoid leftist myself, I might be inclined, out of sheer desire to believe the worst of our government and "the military-industrial complex," that this movie is A Good Thing because it is such a watchable film, with great characters, mostly great acting (Costner, of whom I'm usually a fan, lagging behind his costars here), beautiful score, incredible directing and a very compelling story.But it's my opinion that this movie is in fact a Bad Thing, because it is such a transparent distortion of history. I think it's irresponsible for a filmmaker who is doing a movie about a specific historical event to allow his own passions and prejudices to totally distort that history. I believe our government has done some brutal, brutal things. Some behind closed doors and some right out in the open. But in this case, it's really hard to argue government involvement, if you know the facts. I urge you to try and find them for yourselves, don't depend on this movie to teach them to you, because this movie is NOT an accurate portrayal of history, it's Oliver Stone's somewhat obvious and recurring pathology of the two fathers conflict that i've notice crop up in at least three of his movies....Barnes and Elias in Platoon, Michael Douglas and Martin Sheens' characters in Wall Street and now Kennedy and LBJ in JFK. I think Stone dangerously simplifies history in this movie with his idolization of JFK and his demonization of LBJ and his portrayal of a vast sentient conspiracy within the federal government. Again, not to deny that such conspiracies exist and do evil, for I feel that they do. But not in this case.Go read "Case Closed" by Gerald Posner (an independent author with no ties to the Government) and tell me I'm wrong.So the point of this review is that I feel that all of these other reviewers who, in their praise for JFK, blithely gloss over the fact that it's not historically accurate either don't understand just how incredibly inaccurate the movie really is or seem to be missing the point that it's dangerous and irresponsible to portay history as anything other than as accurate as can possibly be done. Oliver Stone clearly didn't do that here. The Jim Garrison case was a disgraceful fiasco that ruined the reputations and lives of innocent men and has since been historically discredited. Maybe I'm making too much of this point, but I'm only doing so because I haven't seen anyone else in all these reviews really mention it at all.

VCRanger 2012-05-12 13:53:57

Let justice be done...

JFK seems to be a forgotten movie attimes, even though it is thoroughlyenjoyable and extremely entertaining. Themovie is VERY opinionated and shows onlyone side of the assassination of JFK, evenif that one side (multiple gunmen and aconspiracy) is probably in all likelihoodthe truth. Outstanding acting all around,imaginitive cinematography and a"realness" quality that must be seen tobelieved. This movie is easily one of myfavorites from the '90s. A rating of 9 of10 was given.

POV NINETY NINE 2012-05-12 06:05:06

excellent!!

What an excellent mix of truth,lies and theories. Where you can doubt someof the theories, or all if you think Oswald was not a patsy, you have togive praise for everyone involved in the making of this masterpiece.From Oliver Stones use of colour and black&white integration to the actingsupplied by everyone, even the kids! Jim Garrison's staff are great,although a couple of them are underused, can't really complain because themovie runs long enough, that said, it just flies by. All the cameos aregreat especially Perry Russo and best of all Jim Garisson as Chief JusticeEarl Warren, how is that for irony. A masterpiece and a classic!!! "your not a bad looking man mr. garrison, not bad looking at all! when iget out of here, am a gonna come see you, we could have some fun!"

generationofswine 2012-05-11 11:06:49

Childhood memories.

My father took me to see this when I was a little kid, I was 11. Itscared the life out of me. I remember feeling paranoid & intenselyfrightened the ride home & for days after. It had a very profoundeffect on my as a child that carried over into my adult years. Istarted questioning absolutely everything I heard, I started looking upeverything I could. My grades went up because of it. When it came outon VHS I watched it over & over again, it opened up an obsession forme. I can't recall any other movie I saw as a child that had such aprofound influence on me. Now, as an adult, I can still watch it andsometimes get the same cold feeling of fear running up my spine.