AVS Discussions
Movie and TV Discussion => Movie reviews => Topic started by: David Vaughn on December 21, 2023, 12:20:00 PM
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(https://i.imgur.com/VbhRhNx.jpg)
Studio: Shout Factory
Release Date: December 19, 2023
Rating: R
Film: 4.5/5
Plot
Oliver Stone’s Academy Award®-winning* film about the shots heard round the world and the mystery that still surrounds them is one of the most provocative movies of all time. In addition to its box office success, soaring critical acclaim, and awards, it played a major role in the national debate that led to the passage of the 1992 Assassination Materials Disclosure Act.
Packed with a star-studded cast – Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves), Sissy Spacek (Carrie), Joe Pesci (Goodfellas), Tommy Lee Jones (No Country For Old Men), Kevin Bacon (Mystic River), Laurie Metcalf (The Conners), Gary Oldman (The Dark Night), Jack Lemmon (The Apartment), Donald Sutherland (Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Walter Matthau (A New Leaf) and so many more – JFK will take you through the looking glass and into one of the most controversial events of our time.
My Thoughts
There are two ways to look at this film. One is for entertainment value, where it wildly succeeds with an engaging story, excellent casting, and phenomenal performances—especially by Kevin Costner. The second way to look at this film is as a piece of history and everything you see and hear is a statement of fact. Well, that would be a big mistake. As a portrayal of history, there are many “facts” presented that are very much in dispute to this day.
For a great breakdown of the inaccuracies in the film, I recommend reading this article from 1993 in The Atlantic (http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/jfk.htm (http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/jfk.htm)), which takes on Stone's portrayal of the assassination and investigation head-on and the filmmaker comes out looking like a fool for two reasons—lazy investigation or even worse, downright lies and distortions to skew history to his version of the truth.
Now comes the crux of the matter. Was Lee Harvey Oswald the lone assassin? Was the Warren Report accurate? If so, why was the evidence initially sealed for 75 years (and then reduced in the 1992 Assassination Materials Disclosure Act)? Was the government somehow involved? Was the investigation botched? Would our government lie to us? These just scratch the surface of why there are so many conspiracies surrounding the killing of one of our Presidents.
Over the years, I have done a lot of reading on this subject and have seen plenty of documentaries and while I don’t think there was a grand arching conspiracy as portrayed by Jim Garrison in this film (and of the real-life Garrison’s book on the subject), I’m 100% confident our government is hiding something to “protect” us from the truth. The sad fact of the matter is our government is full of self-serving individuals who will do whatever it takes to make themselves look good to the public and they aren’t above lying about it. In this century alone we’ve seen this happen repeatedly, especially from the CIA. For example, WMD in Iraq, the attack on Benghazi, the Trump Dossier, Hunter Biden’s laptop, the lab leak, and the grand daddy of them all, that the government wasn’t using private companies to violate American’s First Amendment rights. Let’s face the fact—our government is just as crooked as everyone else’s. America is falling apart from within and history is repeating itself (read The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire for the historical context).
So let’s not lose ourselves and think that JFK is some type of historical documentary and just look at the film as a fictional entertainment vehicle loosely based on historical events. With this in mind, the film succeeds and can be watched repeatedly for the performances alone. Costner’s courtroom scene is one of the best ever put on film and when he explains the “magic” bullet theory put forth in the Warren Report. That alone should make people wonder what other falsehoods are included.
Being a “Shout Select” title, this got the A-list treatment from the boutique studio. Warner Brothers released the film on Blu-ray 10 years ago with decent results, but this new 4K scan takes it to a new level. There are a plethora of film elements used in the production ranging 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, and black and white, so judging the video will skew the score depending on the scene. Overall, I consider this to be an outstanding transfer—grain is fully intact, the colors look accurate and natural, and while the film does have a softer appearance than today’s digitally-shot productions, this is how the film has always looked so don’t adjust the focus on your display.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track exhibits clear dialog, aggressive LFE, and an engaging and powerful score from John Williams. The surround speakers occasionally come into play for atmospheric effects but for the most part, the majority of the action is in the three front speakers.
Video 9/10
Audio 8/10 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Special Features:
Disc One
- 4K Ultra HD Disc – Director’s Cut (205 Min)
Disc Two
- Blu-ray Disc – Director’s Cut (205 Min)
Disc Three
- Blu-ray Disc – Theatrical Cut (188 Min)
Disc Four
- Blu-ray Special Features
- “One Person Cn Make a Difference” – Oliver Stone on JFK
- “Stone Bold” – Cinematographer Robert Richardson on JFK
- “Brave New Worlds” – Editor Hank Corwin on JFK
- “Supporting the Vision” – Co-Producer Clayton Townsend on JFK
- “The Delicate Hands of Time” – Dallas Location Manager Patty Doherty Hess on JFK
- 12 Deleted/Extended Scenes / Alternate Ending with optional Director Commentary (55 min)
- “Assassination Updated” (30 min)
- “Meet Mr. X: The Personality and Thoughts of Fletcher Prouty” (11 min)
- Still Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w16bYZ-4nmE&ab_ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w16bYZ-4nmE&ab_)
Conclusion
Sorry to run off on a tangent regarding the trustworthiness of our government, but I think it comes into play when looking at the assassination of JFK. We are starting to see documents being released and hopefully more light is shone on this topic in the coming years. Maybe we will discover that it was truly Oswald acting alone the whole time, but I’m sorry if I don’t believe in the magic bullet theory—there was more than one gunman and the government is hiding something. Regardless, the film is a work of fiction and is arguably one of the best movies from the 1990s. Shout has done a fabulous job with the new 4K scan and the film has never looked better on home video. Highly recommended.
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner
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Cant wait to give this one a spin
"Back and to the left"
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Cant wait to give this one a spin
"Back and to the left"
This is another one of those movies that I never managed to see.
But I'm very familiar with the quote, or at least the version of it we saw on Seinfeld.
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This is another one of those movies that I never managed to see.
But I'm very familiar with the quote, or at least the version of it we saw on Seinfeld.
It's a very good movie as long as you can ignore history :)
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def keeps your attention!