An entertaining, historical thriller told from the inside.
Added 11/7/2009
As others point out, this is an excellent movie and Greenwood gives a solid and believable performance as JFK. Costner and Culp are also good, but the story puts Greenwood in the spotlight.
I'm not sure why, but I read a lot of criticism of Costner wherever he is involved. His mistakes are apparently unforgivable and live forever in the minds of his critics. In this movie, the accent is overblown, but good grief get over it and enjoy this excellent movie. Some of his home & family scenes were a little out of place, but this was a writing problem, not an acting problem. Regardless, Costner is the big name in this movie, but he is not the star. Greenwood is the star of the movie due to the fact he plays JFK, period. It couldn't have been any other way to fulfill the design of this movie. That is not a criticism, its just what the movie required.
Back on point, the movie provides an interesting and dramatic insight into the internal debate and conflict during the crisis. The back-and-forth of ideas on how the US should respond was quite interesting and showed the enormous pressure the President and all the players were under during the crisis. One wrong move could have literally killed millions. It's incomprehensible.
My main gripe was the negative portrayal of the military. After all, even if they did push for military action, they were also under tremendous pressure, and were watching their tactical advantage dwindle on a daily basis. If I may make the understatement of the week, the nuclear bombs of a hostile and aggressive 1962 Russia just a few miles off the coast was cause for concern. You would expect the military to take any step that would increase the chances of a successful military operation if diplomacy failed to resolve the conflict, which it nearly did. Don't view or evaluate the political situation by today's standards, or be naïve about the need for military action based on today's situation. If the Russian ships had not stopped and turned back at the blockade, and the US was forced to fire on them, the military's recommendation, while we still had the element of surprise with us, may have proven to have been the better option, as the element of surprise would now have been gone. I digress.
Although there are around 250 reviews on Amazon, I believe this is still a relatively unknown movie as I discovered the few times I lent my copy to friends and family. They had never heard of it.....but loved the movie. The movie has some faults, but the subject matter, Greenwoods JFK, and the escalating drama overpower the minor flaws and make for an excellent movie.
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Must-see for AP US History Class
Added 10/5/2009
This DVD is required viewing for the AP (Advanced Placement) US History class (at least at my kid's high school). Great history lesson.
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Great movie on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Added 8/10/2009
Over the last few years I have been very interested in American political history of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Obviously John F. Kennedy looms large during this time and has become a martyr because of his tragic death in Dallas. The cornucopia of written, audio and visual material on this time in American history is staggering. There are so many great books on this time in our history. The amount of books on Kennedy is astounding. I definitely would recommend Robert Reaves' 'President Kennedy-Profile in Power' and Michael Beschloss' 'The Crisis Years' to put this film in historical perspective. I really think they will add even more to a person's enjoyment of 'Thirteen Days'.
'Thirteen Days' is just a really good depiction of this critical time in American history. I always enjoy watching it even though we know how it will end. Bruce Greenwood is really great as JFK. He really captures the man pretty well and is not just a talking wax figure of a historical person. He really makes him come alive. Steven Culp is also excellent as RFK and he captures quite well the mannerisms and voice of the other Kennedy martyr. He also imbues his character with life. Kevin Costner is good as Kenny O'Donnell but you really want to see more of Greenwood and Culp. Costner is pretty much the audiences 'in' to the picture and is quite good in the role he is given. Kenny O' Donnell really was a close friend of JFK and I recommend his memoir 'Johnny, we hardly knew ye' for further insight. Other historical characters such as McNamara, Acheson, and Stephenson are also depicted in a very capable and human way. The acting in this movie is very good.
The DVD is really a must have because it contains so much good material on the making of the movie and the history that inspired it. The picture and audio are both well done also. Really after watching the DVD I felt as if I had been there in October 1962. Really a top notch historical thriller. I wish more well made historical movies like this were done.
Highly Recommended!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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You'd Especially Appreciate it if You Lived Through It
Added 6/22/2009
There are some points to quibble over, yet this is an excellent historical film that's a character-driven thriller. As such, I was somewhat disappointed that the movie didn't give more film-time to RFK, the reporter (memory's failing)who was the go-between w/a USSR spy & the actual character who discovered the missles in the satellite photos. The latter was supposed to have been Costner's character and was far more important than the movie shows, yet he was cast as an advisor to JFK. But w/out this plot device, the audience would've had a very difficult time getting close to the inside story--The one that none of us knew was going on over those extremely tense days. We couldn't have gotten access to the Oval Office, the discussions in the War Room (some aspects of which are revealed for the first time in a hollywood movie, including JFK's capitulation to some of the military demands, the U2 spy plane and subsequent Very risky airforce tree-top level fly overs) and the actual footage shot during the 60s--especially the all-important role of Adele Stevenson at the UN. In my opinion, the best, most affective UN representative ever. Here the average citizen actually saw the drama that led up to our confrontation w/the USSR unfold on television. The movie also showed how the Airforce general, itching for a nuclear war continually tried to undermine Kennedy's attempt to walk the razor's edge.
It's disappointing that so few younger people were interested in this. JFK & RFK together stood up to Kruschev and Kruschev blinked first And the two leaders, recognizing the madness of the policy "Mutually Assured Destruction" (aptly shortened to "MAD") went on to draft & agree to the first Nuclear Arms Reduction treaty ever.
I lived right next to a major military base which later became one of the country's largest commercial airports. It was this fact that heightened the tensions for me and my brother as we watched the enormous B52's in constant patrol as well as the world's largest cargo plane of the the time and jet fighters continually fill the air. To top this off, our elementary school did none of the stupid 'duck and cover' drills, but recognizing the true gravity of the situation, gave us drills in which we were instructed to go home or to the home of the nearest relative or friend. If that didn't make things serious enough, though our parents told us nothing about what was happening, our intuitive knowledge of what we could comprehend from the news, the drills, the increased Airforce activity came to the dramatic conclusion that most youngsters never realized when we saw nuclear warheads being trucked through our town as we walked home from school. And that conclusionwas: "This may be the last day of our lives due to some silly argument between our two countries. What insanity have we been born into?"
But ever since we awoke to another day on Earth I've considered JFK to have been the greatest president since FDR-despite what historians say-because he made Kruchev blink first. And ever since then the likelyhood of nuclear war madness has decreased, if only somewhat.
If only the public knew what was happening behind the scenes, as shown in the movie, nuclear weapons might have been forever banned.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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i love this
Added 6/22/2009
I have read about the Cuban Missile Crisis and seen most of the films on the subject. It is hard if not impossible to sift through what is almost endless material on an event like this and figure out what EXACTLY happened.
But, in general terms, Thirteen Days is a great film. The movie does fantastically at dramatizing how dangerous the cold war was and how much one side mistrusted the other. If you grew up in the 1970s and 80s as I did, it is difficult to grasp how, in the 50s and 60s, atomic confrontation was a possibility you had to live with every day. I read once where John Kennedy asked someone if he built a fallout shelter or a swimming pool in his back yard. "You made the wrong choice." Kennedy said when he was told his friend built the pool.
Thirteen Days brings this sense of danger to life. Costner is great, and Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp play the Kennedy's well. They are not doing charactatures of the brothers, but are actors placing themselves in the situation, and giving convincing performances. You know that you are not looking at Jack and Bobby, but you are getting a great idea of how they, possibly, reacted.
Two points stuck out, for me, watching Thirteen Days: At the start of the crisis, there seemed two options--War, or capitulation. It is amazing to watch how Kennedy and his inner-circle felt their way through, uncertainly, reactively, to find a third way.
But what fancinated me more is how BAD communications were in 1962 and how this effected the Kennedys reactions and desicion making. Hours went by, waiting for telex messages to come through, waiting for phone calls, and trying to set up meetings through back channels. There was not even a hotline from Washington to Moscow yet. It was set up in 1963, probably in large part due to this crisis.
I am 40, and I have read a lot about the 1960s, but it is amazing to see how slow and cumbersome the world could be in this era. Could this crisis have been prevented or solved in a day or two in a world of cell phones and Email. I don't have the answer, but this question really makes me wonder.
Shoe on the other foot: How would JFK have dealt with 9/11 and Iraq?
History or action, this is a great movie.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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An entertaining, historical thriller told from the inside.
Added 11/7/2009
As others point out, this is an excellent movie and Greenwood gives a solid and believable performance as JFK. Costner and Culp are also good, but the story puts Greenwood in the spotlight.
I'm not sure why, but I read a lot of criticism of Costner wherever he is involved. His mistakes are apparently unforgivable and live forever in the minds of his critics. In this movie, the accent is overblown, but good grief get over it and enjoy this excellent movie. Some of his home & family scenes were a little out of place, but this was a writing problem, not an acting problem. Regardless, Costner is the big name in this movie, but he is not the star. Greenwood is the star of the movie due to the fact he plays JFK, period. It couldn't have been any other way to fulfill the design of this movie. That is not a criticism, its just what the movie required.
Back on point, the movie provides an interesting and dramatic insight into the internal debate and conflict during the crisis. The back-and-forth of ideas on how the US should respond was quite interesting and showed the enormous pressure the President and all the players were under during the crisis. One wrong move could have literally killed millions. It's incomprehensible.
My main gripe was the negative portrayal of the military. After all, even if they did push for military action, they were also under tremendous pressure, and were watching their tactical advantage dwindle on a daily basis. If I may make the understatement of the week, the nuclear bombs of a hostile and aggressive 1962 Russia just a few miles off the coast was cause for concern. You would expect the military to take any step that would increase the chances of a successful military operation if diplomacy failed to resolve the conflict, which it nearly did. Don't view or evaluate the political situation by today's standards, or be naïve about the need for military action based on today's situation. If the Russian ships had not stopped and turned back at the blockade, and the US was forced to fire on them, the military's recommendation, while we still had the element of surprise with us, may have proven to have been the better option, as the element of surprise would now have been gone. I digress.
Although there are around 250 reviews on Amazon, I believe this is still a relatively unknown movie as I discovered the few times I lent my copy to friends and family. They had never heard of it.....but loved the movie. The movie has some faults, but the subject matter, Greenwoods JFK, and the escalating drama overpower the minor flaws and make for an excellent movie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Must-see for AP US History Class
Added 10/5/2009
This DVD is required viewing for the AP (Advanced Placement) US History class (at least at my kid's high school). Great history lesson.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Great movie on the Cuban Missile Crisis
Added 8/10/2009
Over the last few years I have been very interested in American political history of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Obviously John F. Kennedy looms large during this time and has become a martyr because of his tragic death in Dallas. The cornucopia of written, audio and visual material on this time in American history is staggering. There are so many great books on this time in our history. The amount of books on Kennedy is astounding. I definitely would recommend Robert Reaves' 'President Kennedy-Profile in Power' and Michael Beschloss' 'The Crisis Years' to put this film in historical perspective. I really think they will add even more to a person's enjoyment of 'Thirteen Days'.
'Thirteen Days' is just a really good depiction of this critical time in American history. I always enjoy watching it even though we know how it will end. Bruce Greenwood is really great as JFK. He really captures the man pretty well and is not just a talking wax figure of a historical person. He really makes him come alive. Steven Culp is also excellent as RFK and he captures quite well the mannerisms and voice of the other Kennedy martyr. He also imbues his character with life. Kevin Costner is good as Kenny O'Donnell but you really want to see more of Greenwood and Culp. Costner is pretty much the audiences 'in' to the picture and is quite good in the role he is given. Kenny O' Donnell really was a close friend of JFK and I recommend his memoir 'Johnny, we hardly knew ye' for further insight. Other historical characters such as McNamara, Acheson, and Stephenson are also depicted in a very capable and human way. The acting in this movie is very good.
The DVD is really a must have because it contains so much good material on the making of the movie and the history that inspired it. The picture and audio are both well done also. Really after watching the DVD I felt as if I had been there in October 1962. Really a top notch historical thriller. I wish more well made historical movies like this were done.
Highly Recommended!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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