I watched this film recently with my 14 year old son. That he chose this film out a group of films that we had around the house was interesting in itself as it showed his interest in the subject. I was able to recount to him where I was at the time of the assassination of JFK. I was 17 years old in high school. We were writing a math exam and at the conclusion of the exam the teacher told us that JFK had been assassinated. We were of course quite shocked because JFK had been a hero to many of us.
Over the next few days we were transfixed by the television watching the events of the funeral and Lee Harvey Oswald the accused assassin. When Lee Harvey Oswald was himself assassinated on television right before us it was second shock. The assassination of JFK and LHO set the tone for the turbulent 1960's that was to follow. And it included the assassinations of two other giants of the period Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.
I confess I barely recalled this picture when it came out as it seemed to come and go with barely a murmur. Certainly if one were to base this picture purely on its production values (it came off more like some cheap B thriller and Leonard Maitlin rated it as BOMB) and its wooden staid acting you would probably have wanted to avoid it. BOth Lancaster and Ryan were at best subdued in their roles while Will Geer was a delight to watch. Hard to believe he was later Grandpa Walton. Ryan and Lancaster were two of my favourite actors at the time and even today I will look for old Ryan or Lancaster films especially their early edgy noir films.
But this film not only stands the test of time it still resonates today. The interspersing of archive footage of Kennedy and Oswald was eerie and added to the tension. The long scene where they are putting together a deliberate doctored photo of Oswald is a grim reminder that it was later shown that the photo was doctored. And the ending where the TV announcer tells us that over the next few years 18 material witnesses were dead from being murdered or a gruesome accident. The odds of course being one hundred thousand trillion to one that an event such as that could take place.
That John F. Kennedy was assassinated by one man Lee Harvey Oswald is today for many of us a grim joke. It was too big for one man just like the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy was too big for one man as well. That after the assassination of JFK his major planks of the test ban treaty was stopped and the Vietnam war that he wanted to wind down was instead escalated reminds us of the words of former President Dwight Eisenhower warning us about the military industrial complex (especially in the opening scenes of "Why We FIght - 2005". Kennedy quite simply was a threat to the military industrial complex so he had to be taken down. The same for King and Bobby Kennedy.
Given the events since the assassination of JFK the warnings are prescient as are the other assassinations. Today we have George W. Bush an endless war for oil and global domination by the American Empire and a threat to WW3 with this time America as the bad guys. Of course equally there are millions of Americans who still remember and admire JFK and remember what he wanted to do. Sadly they are out of power but we are there and we shall never forget and it will be passed on to our sons and daughters.
As I said his assassination still resonates today and this film is a reminder. A film everyone should see.
David Chapman Toronto, Canada
Over the next few days we were transfixed by the television watching the events of the funeral and Lee Harvey Oswald the accused assassin. When Lee Harvey Oswald was himself assassinated on television right before us it was second shock. The assassination of JFK and LHO set the tone for the turbulent 1960's that was to follow. And it included the assassinations of two other giants of the period Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.
I confess I barely recalled this picture when it came out as it seemed to come and go with barely a murmur. Certainly if one were to base this picture purely on its production values (it came off more like some cheap B thriller and Leonard Maitlin rated it as BOMB) and its wooden staid acting you would probably have wanted to avoid it. BOth Lancaster and Ryan were at best subdued in their roles while Will Geer was a delight to watch. Hard to believe he was later Grandpa Walton. Ryan and Lancaster were two of my favourite actors at the time and even today I will look for old Ryan or Lancaster films especially their early edgy noir films.
But this film not only stands the test of time it still resonates today. The interspersing of archive footage of Kennedy and Oswald was eerie and added to the tension. The long scene where they are putting together a deliberate doctored photo of Oswald is a grim reminder that it was later shown that the photo was doctored. And the ending where the TV announcer tells us that over the next few years 18 material witnesses were dead from being murdered or a gruesome accident. The odds of course being one hundred thousand trillion to one that an event such as that could take place.
That John F. Kennedy was assassinated by one man Lee Harvey Oswald is today for many of us a grim joke. It was too big for one man just like the assassination of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy was too big for one man as well. That after the assassination of JFK his major planks of the test ban treaty was stopped and the Vietnam war that he wanted to wind down was instead escalated reminds us of the words of former President Dwight Eisenhower warning us about the military industrial complex (especially in the opening scenes of "Why We FIght - 2005". Kennedy quite simply was a threat to the military industrial complex so he had to be taken down. The same for King and Bobby Kennedy.
Given the events since the assassination of JFK the warnings are prescient as are the other assassinations. Today we have George W. Bush an endless war for oil and global domination by the American Empire and a threat to WW3 with this time America as the bad guys. Of course equally there are millions of Americans who still remember and admire JFK and remember what he wanted to do. Sadly they are out of power but we are there and we shall never forget and it will be passed on to our sons and daughters.
As I said his assassination still resonates today and this film is a reminder. A film everyone should see.
David Chapman Toronto, Canada