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Kevin Costner,
Kevin Costner,
Sissy Spacek,
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Oliver Stone,
Oliver Stone
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: Warner Home Video
: Political Thriller
: English
: English, Spanish, French
see additional details...
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The November 22, 1963, assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy shocked the nation and the world. The brisk investigation of that murder conducted under the guidance of Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren distressed many observers, even though subsequent careful investigations have been unable to find much fault with the conclusions his commission drew, the central one of which was that the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, acted alone. Instead of satisfying the public, one result of the Warren Commission Report was that an unimaginable number of plausible conspiracy theories were bruited about, and these have supported a sizeable publishing mini-industry ever since. In making this movie, director Oliver Stone had his pick of supposed or real investigative flaws to draw from and has constructed what some reviewers felt was one of the most compelling (and controversial) political detective thrillers ever to emerge from American cinema. Long before filming was completed, Stone was fending off heated accusations of artistic and historical irresponsibility, and these only intensified after the film was released. In the story, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is convinced that there are some big flaws in the investigation of Oswald (Gary Oldman), and he sets out to recreate the events leading up to the assassination. Along the way, he stumbles across evidence that a great many people had reason to want to see the president killed, and he is convinced that some of them worked in concert to frame Oswald as the killer. Among the suspects are Lyndon Baines Johnson (the next president), the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Mafia. Over the course of gathering what he believes to be evidence of a conspiracy, Garrison unveils some of the grittier aspects of New Orleans society, focusing on the shady activities of local businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones). Garrison's investigations culminate in his conducting a show trial that he knows he will lose and which he is sure will ruin his career in order to get his evidence into the public record where it can't be buried again. This movie won two of the many Academy Awards for which it was nominated: one for Best Photography (Robert Richardson) and the other for Editing (Joe Hutshing). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
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| An amazing masterpiece of information presentation
by larbeck
September 19, 2003 - 9:31 PM PDT
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| Oliver Stone caught so much falk for this project and was the butt of so many jokes - it makes me wonder if that in of itself was some covert marginalization campaign by some secret cabal. But it really doesn't matter - whether you believe everything the Warren Commission said or that is the single biggest coverup in American history, this film is one of the greatest presentations of a TON of information that I have ever seen. It needs to be studied by all of the film schools in the land as an excellent example of the craft. Having a great cast as well, doesn't hurt. |
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