Search - Kennedy on DVD

Movie Release: 1983 DVD Release: 09/25/2001 Format: DVD Edition: Special Collection,Television SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 5 hrs 0 mins Studio: D3 Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Drama, Political Drama, Biopic [feature] See Also: Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy: The Complete Series

The 1,000-day presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the early '60s is depicted from the glorious beginning to the tragic ending. Kennedy (Martin Sheen) faces down the Soviets, the Cubans, his military leaders (over the war in Vietnam), FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Vincent Gardenia), and Jackie (Blair Brown), who suspects him of infidelities. He gets by with the brilliant and compassionate help of his Attorney General brother Robert (John Shea). After pulling the nation out of one crisis after another, Kennedy makes a trip to Dallas on November 22, 1963, and the world would be forever changed. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Martin Sheen - John F. Kennedy
Blair Brown - Jackie Kennedy
Vincent Gardenia - J. Edgar Hoover

The double-disc set of Kennedy contains a pretty cool Special Bonus: The second disc includes four documentaries -- about 75 minutes of additional material in all -- from the JFK archives. Kennedy's Inaugural Address is there, including the swearing-in; "One Week in October" is a contemporary, 30-minute Department of Defense documentary recapping the very events that are re-created so well in Kevin Costner's 13 Days; "One Day in Berlin" excerpts from Kennedy's historic speech at the Berlin Wall in West Germany, a courageous city that needed to hear him say his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" remark to verify their bravery to the world; and "The Last Two Days," which is a 19-minute documentary detailing Kennedy's fatal trip to Dallas, with footage shot from a limousine behind the president's. Those features have not been restored to any degree, and their quality is only serviceable, but given the source material -- kinescopes, 16 mm film, 8 mm home movies -- it's amazing any of this remains viewable today. As for the Kennedy feature film, the colors are consistently undersaturated, giving the movie a dated feel, which isn't bad since this is all happening in the '60s. The digital stereo sound is better than the original television version, but don't expect miracles. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide