The Missiles of October
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Movie Reviews of The Missiles of October
Movie Review: "Just now, I work and he sleeps. Then, he works and I sleep. Perhaps soon we both sleep..."
Summary: 5 Stars
'The Missiles of October' is a very well made drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It does not have the flash of the more recent 'Thirteen Days' but it is very gripping in its own right. The movie is filmed almost as a play and I liked this aspect of it.
I really enjoyed William Devane's JFK. He really does a good job of playing this now larger than life character to a understandable level. The decisions that were made by Kennedy were truly momentous and Devane brings out the torture of every political move that JFK had to make. Martin Sheen is also good in his portrayal of RFK. Howard Da Silva deserves mention in his depiction of Nikita Khrushchev. The tightrope that Khrushchev was also walking is dramatized. 'Missiles of October' shows more of the Soviet side than was depicted in 'Thirteen Days'.
The DVD is sadly bare bones. The picture quality is decent and the sound adequate.
For any student of JFK, the Cold War, or the American Presidency this movie comes highly recommended!
PS: Kenny O'Donnell ,personal assistant to the president, wrote a very good memoir on working with JFK that I recommend called 'Johnny- We Hardly Knew Ye'. There are many interesting anecdotes about JFK and his political career. O'Donnell is a bit character in 'Missiles of October' but is played by Kevin Costner in 'Thirteen Days' and the story is told mainly through his eyes.
Movie Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
Thermo Nuclear War. Unthinkable, huh?
Well, as a former Air Force Command and Control Specialist with Top Secret security clearance, I can tell you that America is always in a state of war, whether it be overt i.e. Iraq, or covert i.e. the cold war we are in with China.
American men and women working for agencies like the National Security Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, and the infamous Central Intelligence Agency, are in a constant battle against espionage, theft of Top Secret information, the theft of weapons and weapon systems, and the threat of germ warfare. Most Americans didn't know numerous Russian submarines were just off our shores, awaiting orders to launch their missiles.
The Missiles of October is a dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis and delivers a gripping peek into the inner workings of Whitehouse policy when world events, which are shaky at best, take us to the brink of colossal destruction. While the thought of nuclear war can be terrifying, just remember, America avoided World War III. Hopefully the situation in Iraq will not escalate and put our current Commander in Chief in the same situation as John F. Kennedy.
Movie Review: Finally on DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been waiting for The Missiles of October to come out on DVD since I first got my DVD player over a year ago. My VHS copy of Missiles, which is over 15 years old, has degraded greatly in picture and sound quality, so I was hoping that the DVD copy would be an improvement. I was not disappointed. It has an amazingly crisp picture and the sound is excellent.When the movie Thirteen Days came out I was anxious to compare it to Missiles. Thirteen Days was a good film, but I still prefer The Missiles of October. All the performances are excellent, but William Devane, Martin Sheen and Howard DaSilva top the list. I was barely six years old when the actual event occurred back in 1962 so I don't remember the incident from then. However, I did see the movie when it originally aired in 1974 and was greatly impacted by it then. They did an excellent job in weaving the actual documentary footage together with their dramatization. Watching the thirteen day countdown to possible worldwide nuclear destruction is compelling watching. I highly recommend this movie to anyone with a taste for history, suspense, excellent performances or as an example of how good television can be when given the chance.
Movie Review: We were closer to war than we knew...
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw "The Missiles of October" on TV back in the 70s, I was swept back in memory to those hoary days in the early 60s when we were all glued to our black & white sets wondering if WWIII was about to begin. We didn't know quite what to make of our young president who had already become the victim of a botched Bay of Pigs invasion. We feared Nikita for his bombast, power and unpredictability. It was plain to see that he was trying to provoke us. In "The Missiles of October," William Devane IS JFK. We get to see, perhaps for the first time, the man behind the Camelot legend. He is tough, committed, ethical and strong in ways that everyone underestimated. Howard DaSilva and Martin Sheen are superb in support. Ralph Bellamy, as Adlai Stevenson, deserves special praise for his dynamic recreation of the confrontation in the UN Security Council. Compared to "Thirteen Days" or "How Kevin Costner Saves the World -- Again," "The Missiles of October" is a far better production on all levels. This, along with very few other offerings, ranks as the very finest television ever broadcast!Movie Review: A classic docudrama
Summary: 5 Stars
Missiles of October may be one of the finest historical docudramas ever produced for television. The minimalist staging has the intimacy and dynamism of a stage play and yet still retains the scope and breadth of a motion picture.
William Devane, as JFK, and a young Martin Sheen as RFK, head a cast of incredible character actors who accurately and with real depth and sincerity recreate all of the key figures in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The teleplay also offers a unique insight into the mindset of the cold war and the extent to which Kennedy - and Khruschev - went to prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control.
I can't say enough good about this movie. If you have a taste for history, or simply a love of great drama, you must see it.