JFK on DVD

If a conspiracy is what killed John F. Kennedy, there’s a possibility that we’ll never know about it.

After Kennedy was assassinated, it didn’t take long for Lee Harvey Oswald to be arrested for the crime, and not much longer for he himself to be offed. But it’s hard for many people to believe that Oswald was solely capable of the deed.

JFK doesn’t waste any time telling you how it feels, and it spends the rest of the movie trying to convince you, even if it means shoving it down your throat.

Co-written and directed by Oliver Stone, JFK is one of the most one-sided movies we’ve ever seen. Stone is positive it was a huge government conspiracy, and he’s not willing to offer alternatives. If it takes 205 minutes, he’s going to make sure you’re positive as well.

In his defense, however, he does offer a very convincing case.

The movie focuses on Jim Garrison, the Louisiana attorney who tried to convict a suspected member of the conspiracy. Garrison was about as sure as Stone that there was more than one person involved, but was unable to prove it, even after several years.

JFK starts with the assassination and then takes it from there. Jim Garrison wants justice to be served, but it’s hard to accomplish that if you have the entire government working against you.

Interesting that the US government was controlled by Democrats back then...

If you do your best to get around the fact that Stone is the kind of man who’s not willing to compromise (it’s his way or you’re an idiot), and you can just sit back and enjoy the movie, it’s actually quite a ride. At over three hours it does get hard to pay full attention all the time, but there’s enough going on to keep you relatively entertained. The climax is an intense 45-minute courtroom scene that offers the “magic bullet theory” and several other convincing arguments that make you think.

The biggest problem with the film is that you never hear anything good about Kennedy. Everyone who hated him gets to spill their guts on how horrible he was, but you never hear more than a single person say something positive in the form of a single sentence. We’d be willing to bet that the Kennedy family didn’t approve of this movie.

Still, they'd probably rather see this one than a movie about Chappaquiddick...

More politically-minded people may take offense to the extreme one-sidedness of the whole thing; it almost seems like a Michael Moore "documentary." But we measly DVD reviewers who are more interested in movies find it easier to enjoy political movies such as this. If you’re happy that Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the murder of JFK and later assassinated himself, this is probably a movie you should avoid. If you’re open for suggestions and like stylish dramas that make you think, it’s more than worthwhile.

Widely regarded as a masterpiece, and even called one of the 10 best movies of the 1990s by ultra liberal Roger Ebert, it would seem an appropriate choice for one of Warner Bros.’ special editions.

This special edition of JFK is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, and the picture looks pretty good. Overall it’s crisp and clear with not much grain (though there is a little bit in some places). The actual footage from the 60s that’s related to the JFK assassination looks understandably amateurish and dated, but we can understand the relevance of using the actual footage. The audio (Dolby Digital 5.1) is as good as it needs to be and no more. The front channels get a lot of work, particularly the center, which handles the dialogue and most of the score. The front left and right channels also deal with music and a few sound effects, while the rear speakers don’t really do much of anything. Everything you need to hear is audible enough, and for a drama you’re not really too concerned.

Oliver Stone was nice enough to provide an audio commentary for the film, though in many cases it’s almost painful. He’s a talented filmmaker, there’s no doubt about that, but he needs to try and remember that fact. It would have been nice to hear him discuss the filmmaking process, but he spends a lot of time telling us what we already know he knows. At some points you almost want to tell him to shut up and direct, until you realize that even if he could hear you, he’d probably keep going.

Disc two features the hour and a half long documentary “Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy.” It was produced just after the movie was released in theaters and goes a little more in-depth on the whole government conspiracy thing. It features interviews with Stone, Jim Garrison, a few people involved in the movie, and a whole bunch of people who are as sure of the conspiracy theory as Stone. It’s pretty informative but, since it purports to be a documentary, it needs to offer both sides of the story. Also on disc two are some deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Stone, some multimedia essays, and the theatrical trailer.

JFK, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
205 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders and Sissy Spacek
Produced by A. Kitman Ho and Oliver Stone
Screenplay by Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar, Directed by Oliver Stone

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