JFK (1991)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Jim Marrs (book)
Jim Garrison (book)

Release Date:

20 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Story That Won't Go Away

Plot:

A New Orleans DA discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.

Plot Keywords:

Amateur Footage | Businessmen | Acronym In Title | Assassination Plot | Assassin

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 20 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Oct. 17

10:00 AM

BRAVO

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Jim Garrison
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Clay Shaw / Clay Bertrand
Kevin Bacon	...	Willie O'Keefe
Gary Oldman	...	Lee Harvey Oswald
Michael Rooker	...	Bill Broussard
Jack Lemmon	...	Jack Martin
Laurie Metcalf	...	Susie Cox
Sissy Spacek	...	Liz Garrison
Joe Pesci	...	David Ferrie
John Candy	...	Dean Andrews
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Lee Bowers
Jay O. Sanders	...	Lou Ivon
Walter Matthau	...	Senator Russell Long
Sally Kirkland	...	Rose Cheramie
Donald Sutherland	...	X

Also Known As:

JFK (France)
JFK - Affaire non classée (France) (poster title)
Project X (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language. (also 1992 edited version)

Runtime:

189 min | USA:206 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | Brazil:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (original rating) (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Oliver Stone]Oliver Stone can be seen very briefly in the assassination re-enactment. Look very close for him as the Secret Service agent who runs towards the back of the limo after the fatal headshot.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the RFK shooting broadcast, Garrison is in the kitchen making a sandwich. On the counter is a jar of Hellmann's mayonnaise with a blue plastic lid. Hellmann's mayo had a metal "twist-off" lid in the '60s, not a plastic "screw-off" one.

Quotes:

Jim Garrison: Of course, when he had realized that something had gone wrong, and that the President had been killed, he knew there was a problem. He may have even known he was the Patsy. An intuition, maybe. The President killed in spite of his warning. The phone call that never came. Perhaps fear now came to Oswald for the very first time.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Tribal Consciousness

Oliver Stone's greatest film!!!

I have stated many times that Oliver Stone is an incredible film maker whose films sizzle with excellent cinematography, good acting, and original storyline. He makes controversial films that are sometimes unappreciated by the public and the critics. I said and believed all this even before I watched "JFK".

"JFK" is a film that stars many A-list actors in major and minor roles, but they give deep imprints nonetheless. Tommy Lee Jones, the Oscar nominated actor of the film, gives a performance that I almost missed due to my not recognizing him. Gary Oldman as the widely publicized murderer, Lee Harvey Oswald. Joe Pesci, fresh from his Oscar in "Goodfellas", as Dave Ferrier, a man who is struggling to cope with the heavy accusations and mysteries of the JFK murder. Donald Sutherland in an Oscar-worthy performance, as an informant that talks to Jim Garrison, played wonderfully by Kevin Costner. Other great appearances include Kevin Bacon, Michael Rooker, and even Walter Matthau in a bit appearance.

All those mentioned above were worthy of Oscars, but if there is one man that deserved an Oscar more than anyone else, it would have to be Oliver Stone, who did NOT win Best Director OR Best Picture. Who did he lose to? "Silence of the Lambs". I have yet to see this film, but I daresay I am prejudiced in Oliver's favour. I don't deny it, and I won't pretend I prefer Oliver Stone to most other directors.

The appearance of "JFK" is astounding. You are taken to a time of much distrust, horror, confusion, corruption, and cover-up. The murders of JFK, Martin Luther King, and RFK all influenced the time periods and the peoples. Many people tried not to think about it, or else they were scared into silence. Some, like Jim Garrison, tried to present the truth of "JFK", and their efforts are being felt even now.

Before I saw this film, I had seen Oliver comment that "JFK" was a movie in which he got all the crazy theories and presented them. He was not implying that everything was true, and some of it isn't true. But after seeing this film, I am convinced there was definitely more to the story than was originally told, as I believed even before I saw "JFK". This gave me a knowledge of the period, and awareness of the people participating in the drama of the time.

I have seen the films "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July": films that Oliver Stone won Best Director for. Why did he not win for "JFK"? Why did it only win 2 Oscars? For me, it is another example of how disappointing the Oscar results can be. I urge all to see this epic film of mystery and deceit, of truth and lies, the work of a master film director known as Oliver Stone.