JFK

One of the momentous events in my life, and of most everyone over 50, was the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This November it will have been 58 years (unbelievably, for me) since that terrible event. Hollywood has done very well by JFK and his story. There aren’t many films, but the ones we have are good.

We start with the powerful documentary, John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums (1964), directed by Bruce Herschensohn. There are  extraordinary things about this film. First, it came out only one year after JFK’s death, and has never been improved upon. Second, it was commissioned by a governmental agency (the USIA) which obviously gave the director his head and he came through magnificently. Archival footage of JFK’s childhood and youth, his storybook marriage and meteoric rise to the top, and the crushing blow of his untimely death are all there, and unbelievably moving. I watched this great film again recently and was freshly reminded of just how much our country lost on that awful day in Dallas. The image of three-year-old John Jr. saluting as his father’s casket rolled by is one we will never forget. 

A horse of an entirely different color (and species) is Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991). The movie is hugely entertaining and you don’t have to buy into all his theories to enjoy it. Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland are only a few of the outstanding actors featured. The photography and editing of JFK are marvelous.  

Much closer to actuality, and producing incredible tension, is Thirteen Days (2000), the film story of the Cuban missile crisis. There is exactly one actor herein you will ever have heard of (Kevin Costner as presidential adviser Kenny O’Donnell). President Kennedy is played by unknown Bruce Greenwood and Robert Kennedy by equally little-known Steven Culp. This is effective, and although we know World War III did not break out over the crisis, and that the Russians backed down, we’re still on the edge of our seats through the last half hour. 

Finally, there is PT 109 (1963), with Cliff Robertson doing a good job as Navy Commander John F. Kennedy, whose heroics in World War II helped catapult him to political glory. This movie is apparently pretty close to the truth ( in a Hollywood sort of way). JFK’s bravery and coolness under fire are amply demonstrated in a movie that is unashamed to admire a hero.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are fine for 10 and up, though JFK will puzzle young viewers.