The Missiles of October
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.38 You Save: $6.60 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Missiles of October
Movie Review: THE ULTIMATE WMDS
Summary: 5 Stars
THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER is a tense, tight, made for TV, docudrama about the Cuban missile crisis. It is a Golden Laurel award-winning film based on all historical evidence about those 13 days in October, 1962. Many of us have forgotten or never knew the crisis 45 years ago that brought us to the edge of nuclear war and possible extinction of life as we know it. Unbeknown to America and with full denial from Russia, the USSR had begun to build a nuclear missile arsenal in Cuba that was capable of destroying all of America and most of South America and it was 90 miles from our shores. When a U-2 spy plane discovered the project from 14 miles above the earth, it precipitated perhaps one of the greatest confrontations in world history. The two superpowers, the two nations capable of annihilating one another were face to face. Not that these weapons weren't already the greatest concern of the world already, but why was Russia putting these clearly 'offensive weapons' only 90 miles from the U.S. What were they up to? JFK and his administration had 10 days to figure it out and react before the missiles would be fully installed. The film is about those 13 days in October when the U.S. and Russia played the ultimate nuclear chess game. The film is mostly about the American side but also shows a very interesting side of the Russians during this time as it bounces back and forth between the two leaders. The tension was unimaginable as this was no theoretical discussion about war, this was nuclear war on our doorstep. It makes the discussion of WMD's in Iraq look like a elementary discussion. In reality, this might be a great film for all our leaders to watch before going to war. Kennedy had to face Kruschev as well as his own military machine, who wanted to take out the nuclear weapons with military force. Kennedy, for all his personal flaws, really seemed to grasp the dangers of war and what responding militarily could do to the world. He chose, instead, to use our military might as the bargaining chip for peace. Kruschev, also, had to battle his 'comrades' who were eager to take on the U.S. and he showed great courage in standing up to them and negotiating with the U.S. This is a well done film about a historical moment in our history that could have changed the course of world history overnight. As one reviewer said, this proves that history does not have to be boring. Should be required viewing for everyone under 50 as a reminder that we can deal with the most difficult of all situations and not have to go to war, even though it could have ended up with two nations destroying each other. [...]Movie Review: Superb historical drama. Worthwhile and powerful.
Summary: 5 Stars
There is very little to criticize about this dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film mainly focuses on the deliberations on the American side, i.e. President John F. Kennedy and his Ex-Comm group ("Executive Committee of the National Security Council") as they try to force the Soviets to remove the missiles from Cuba while avoiding a nuclear conflict. The film successfully conveys the fears and difficulties faced by JFK and his team, their thoughts and deliberations. The script is fairly close to the actual facts as they are understood today. This is a wonderfully educational production that any parent would do well to watch with his or her children. Devane is pretty good as JFK. I thought that Martin Sheen absolutely nailed Bobby Kennedy. The supporting actors were uniformly excellent. Good casting throughout.
One of the excellent things about the production is the occasional interjection of period news bulletins of nuclear tests, the escalating conflict, etc. These added a wonderful sense of authenticity even as they entertained.
A few quibbles, all minor. I thought that the movie somewhat (not excessively) idolized the Kennedys. It was a bit much when one member of Ex Comm commented that "Bobby [Kennedy] I confess your moral arguments [against invading Cuba] never occurred to me..." Come on, of course they did. The record shows that Ex Comm debated these issues extensively. Nor was Bobby Kennedy against invading Cuba--the record is pretty clear that both Kennedys had been pushing for removing Castro by various means before the crisis began. Bobby Kennedy's comment that bombing the missiles out of Cuba would be like a "reverse Pearl Harbor" was disdained as amateurish by most of Ex Comm. The movie barely acknowledges that. [Dean Acheson characterizes that analogy to JFK at one point as "false and pejorative..."]. The movie portrays the US Navy as lusting after conflict in a manner I thought was unseemly--this was my only major criticism of the film. ["Thirteen Days" shares this flaw.] Hollywood often cannot pass up a chance to take a swipe at the military.
This is an incredibly worthwhile production that I make a point of watching every year or so. A must for the thoughtful viewer's DVD collection.
Movie Review: One of the First and still best television docu-dramas!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the fall of 1974 I gathered with others at a friends house with the intention of going out for the evening. By chance, a commercial announced that "The Missiles of October", one of television's first attempts at a docu-drama (the other being The Andersonville Trial) was about to come on. We decided to wait 'a few minutes' to see some of it. Three hours later we were still in our chairs with our coats on. Silence pervaded the room as the drama unfurled and there was an overwhelming sense of "you are there" that kept us riveted to the story. Looking back now I realize that this was one of the greatest stage productions ever made on what then had been somewhat of a mystery to the average American, namely, what had actually transpired during the thirteen days of intense struggle of October of 1962, when the world was on the edge of nuclear Armageddon. This work is very intellectual, superbly written and gripping in dramatic scenes. It is important to remember that this was shown during an era of STRONG anti-military feeling. The country was winding down from Vietnam and to see a positive resolvency of a possible global catastrophe by politicians concerning an incident in '62 from when we were only children reminded us of what America CAN accomplish when sane men seek safe ways out of conflict. There is a LOT of good acting. The scenes are cleverly done, shifting between Washington and Moscow with tid-bits of B&W 'events in the world' film thrown in. We get to see "inside" the exec committees of both the White House and Kremlin and how they plot strategy. Attempts to duplicate the success of this stage drama failed miserably. "Pueblo" in 1976 did not capture the tension and mystique and television has simply never been able to repeat what I now believe was a dramatic miracle of production on screen. WELL RECOMMENDED.Movie Review: Sweating Armageddon...
Summary: 5 Stars
1974's "The Missiles of October" is a powerfully acted and still compelling TV docudrama of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, as the United States and Soviet Union came perilously clsoe to war over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba.
The presentation is stark but engrossing, in the manner of the film version of "Twelve Angry Men." An excellent cast of TV character actors inhabit a series of austere sets meant to replicate the White House, the Presidium of the Soviet Union, and a handful of other venues where crucial decisions were debated. The austere sets increase the tight focus on the principals as they struggle with the crisis and with their emotions. William Devane and a young Martin Sheen are outstanding as President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, at the center of an agonizing decision-making process. Howard de Silva plays a cantankerous and cunning Soviet Chairman Khrushchev, who discovers he may be riding a tiger he cannot dismount in the crisis.
The story is presented in a even-handed manner that reinforces the difficulties for both the Americans and the Soviets, including the supreme challenge for each of correctly decerning the intentions of the other. The intercutting of actual film footage showing military preparations adds to the building suspense. The dialogue is drawn or extrapolated from the historical record.
This film works both as a drama and as an exploration of an historical event still studied as a model of crisis decision-making. "The Missiles of October" is very highly recommended to those who remember the event and those who wish to study it.
Movie Review: How Well I Remember
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a Junior in college when the Cuban Missle Crisis erupted. Like so many ordinary people at the time, much of what was known was limited to what the media and the government made available. I clearly remember walking to class wondering if we were about to become part of a giant mushroom cloud. The tension was palpable and nearly unbearable.
Years later two films came out on DVD - the Kevin Costner production, and the film version of the stage production which is this film. I've watched both to fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the time. In my humble opinion, The Missles of October is a far better portrayal of the actual events and the debates about courses of action.
William Devane was excellent in a flattering but very businesslike portrayal of John Kennedy, and the rest of the large cast was equally impressive. Because the film was made before the collapse of the Soviet Union, recent revelations regarding the Soviet side of the crisis were not included which would have made this docu-drama absolutely blockbuster great.
Let no one try to convince you that the events of October 1962 were anything less than a bone chilling crisis where nuclear annihilation was not only possible, but looked to be probable. This film captures the events to a remarkably good degree. I heartily recommend it not only as an excellent historical document, but a wakeup call for today regarding new nuclear threats emerging in today's world.