JFK, 1991.
Directed by Oliver Stone.
Starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek, and Joe Pesci.
SYNOPSIS:
Oliver Stone’s controversial classic JFK makes its debut on 4K UltraHD from Shout! Factory, featuring newly remastered prints of the Director’s Cut and the theatrical version along with a big batch of new bonus features. Not everything from previous releases is found here, though, so you may want to hold onto them.
Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK, running over three hours whether you watch the theatrical version or the Director’s Cut, has always been a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it’s an engaging tale about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, although it has some questionable choices with actors’ accents and some very on-the-nose dialogue (David Ferrie’s confession scene, I’m looking at you).
On the other hand, it plays fast and loose with a lot of facts, as Jim Garrison, the district attorney portrayed by Kevin Costner here, apparently did in real life. There’s not enough room here to dig into all the details and the controversies, but, suffice it to say, even some conspiracy theorists believe Oliver Stone took his portrayal of the conspiracy too far.
You can find plenty of sources online to support or refute what’s depicted in this film, which does present other popular conspiracy theories but ultimately lands on one that’s outlined by Garrison in the gripping courtroom drama that occupies act three. That recounting of the assassination had me jazzed when I saw JFK in college, but 30-plus years later, I have a more skeptical view of those events.
Of course, there is a lot of proverbial smoke wafting from November 22, 1963 to make many people think there’s a fire, even 60 years later. Again, I’m not going to get into all the details here, but the facts surrounding the assassination are enough to at least make a lot of people think the whole thing was suspicious.
Stone doesn’t present Jim Garrison as a heroic figure, however. We see dissension within the ranks of those working with him, and his obsessive pursuit of the case causes serious harm to his marriage and his relationship with his children. And the director does show many conflicting accounts from that day, such as whether Oswald really killed police officer J.D. Tipit too. But, in the end, the film does leave me with the impression that Stone wholeheartedly believes the theory put forth by Garrison.
The movie makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD this month courtesy of Shout! Factory, which put together a lavish four-disc set whose centerpiece is Stone-approved 4K scans of the theatrical and director’s editions. The Director’s Cut is found on the 4K and Blu-ray discs while the theatrical version is on another Blu-ray and the fourth high-def platter collects the bulk of the special features, many of which are new.
Both versions of the movie offer commentary tracks with Stone, which are the only extras on those discs. It’s actually the same track, made possible by the fact that the Director’s Cut’s extra footage is mostly entire scenes, so it’s not like Stone had to be cut off mid-sentence here and there. If you’re a fan of the film, the track is, of course, a must-listen that digs deep into the making of the movie as well as the historical events it depicts, although sceptics should take a lot of the latter with a big grain of salt.
There was a 2008 DVD edition that included some extras not found here, including a 90-minute look at the various assassination theories and a two-hour documentary about the Kennedy family. I have that one but not the Blu-ray version, so I don’t know what else is missing. Here are the new extras:
• One Person Can Make A Difference (8.5 minutes): Stone revisits the movie in this new interview, which notes, rightly so, that it was the catalyst for the Assassination Records Review Board and other political resolutions.
• Brave New Worlds (9.5 minutes): Editor Hank Corwin looks back on the film too. JFK features quite a bit of effective editing, particularly in the courtroom scene where Garrison tells his version of what happened that fateful day.
• Supporting The Vision (8.5 minutes): Co-producer Clayton Townsend Corwin looks back on working with Stone to make the movie, including the pushback they faced as production was about to get under way. (“Of course someone didn’t want the truth to get out!” the conspiracy theorists will cry.)
• Re-Creating The Unthinkable (7.75 minutes): Special Makeup Effects Artist Gordon J. Smith discusses in particular the most unthinkable part of this movie, which was the creation of the President’s corpse for Garrison’s recounting of what he thinks happened in the emergency room and during the autopsy. Smith also touches on other work done to recreate the past; Stone relied on footage from that day, including the famous Zapruder film, along with re-staging of events.
• Stone Bold (7 minutes): Cinematographer Robert Richardson looks back on his collaboration with Stone on JFK as well as how the director impacted his career.
• The Delicate Hands of Time (9.75 minutes): Location managers don’t often get their turn in the spotlight, but Doherty Hess, who served as Dallas Location Manager for JFK, was certainly a worthwhile interviewee. Unsurprisingly, she had a huge task before her as she arranged for shooting the movie in Dealey Plaza, and she looks back on it here.
The rest of the extras have appeared before, starting with nearly an hour of cut footage that offers optional commentary by Stone. There’s also an alternate ending featuring Donald Sutherland’s mysterious character known only as “X,” who spins a fantastical tale about who wanted JFK dead partway through the movie and returns for the finale.
You’ll also find “Mr. X” featured in Meet Mr. X: The Personality and Thoughts Of Fletcher Prouty, which runs 11 minutes and features ex-Colonel Fletcher Prouty, who Sutherland’s character was based on. He’s big into all kinds of conspiracy theories, not just ones surrounding JFK.
And there’s the nearly 30-minute Assassination Updated, another archival featurette in which author James DiEugenio gives an update on the conspiracy theories as they were around 2008. A stills gallery and the theatrical trailer round out the platter.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published December 28, 2023. Updated April 22, 2024.
