The Missiles of October
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Movie Reviews of The Missiles of October
Movie Review: Missles of October
Summary: 5 Stars
Far and away the best "made for Tv" play I've ever seen.Movie Review: Cuban Missile Crisis History Lesson in 155 Minutes
Summary: 4 Stars
First, here's some technical information. "The Missiles of October" is a 1974 or '74 ABC-TV/Viacom television movie running at 155 minutes, probably a miniseries, shot on videotape in NTSC. The DVD version is an NTSC version. The picture quality of the DVD is extremely good considering the age and means of the production.
HERE'S MY AMAZON DISCLAIMER: Regarding other reviews here, it's hard to argue against any statement that this movie "idolizes JFK," because it's based on RFK's book about their actions regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Therefore, in assuming his perspective, saying the film is idolizing JFK is unethical, as we should be lucky that he wrote the book in the first place. I mean, calling it "idolizing" basically throws away the fact of its biographical existence of a specific moment of history. Everything is first-hand information with his own person, JFK, being the central character. Therefore, it's going to take his side, as who else's would it assume? This is not idolization, but dramatic biography! Docu-drama. Does one who accuses this movie of idolization also accuse it of depicting events that did not happen as according to its author? If not, then I submit the criticism of idolization has nothing to do with anything. I mean, one could call it biased, and be right, as it would have to be, since it is FFK's story and not someone else's! I'm not sure what "idolizing" means. But, onto my review:
I'm not sure about some of the information about what written material this movie was based on, but immediate informal research concludes that this movie was based partly on Robert F. Kennedy's book "Thirteen Days" about the Cuban Missile Crisis. If you remember this name somehow, it's probably due to the book's remake into a movie in 2000 (premiered in 1999) with the same title by director Roger Donaldson, with Kevin Costner in a co-starring role.
The name is a reference to a book entitled "The Guns of August," a book about the Great War (a.k.a. WWI) addressing problems of the combination of the "real politik" paradigm, the German words for realism--a study of politics from the linking of the world through self-interest and armed conflict--with the virtue of the paradigm of idealism. Since the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October, the movie's name, "The Missiles of October," is a comment on the former to denote the potential seriousness of the incidents in this crisis which were mainly in the drama of JFK's decisions to avert nuclear war against the communistic U.S.S.R.
The movie has an exceptional cast, and a large one, with actors with long and noticeable careers in cinema long before 1973, even in the days of black-and-white. Otherwise, Soviet Premier Khrushchev is played by Howard DaSilva, who had memorably co-starred in the film version of the stage musical "1776" playing Ben Franklin, the delegate and inventor; in Joseph Losey's film "M"; and, in "The Great Gatsby" with Robert Redford. Also, John Kennedy's brother Robert is played by Martin Sheen, and he had went on to star in "Apocalypse Now" and several other films.
The thirteen days of the Cuban Missile Crisis has since become a subject of study, and this film should be recommended to anyone studying this moment of history, because it is a very literary translation, playing out with the drama being solely located in the scripts themselves: both the screenplay script and the actual international relations scripts from which this movie seems to borrow so much.
In comparison between this 1974 television movie to the 2000 film version, the t.v. movie is very talky, but still manages quite well to pull off the drama which is mostly in the script. The film version has the same dramatic themes obviously, but they are much more well-funded with expensive shots of military crafts both air and sea, an even larger cast, and never-before-seen footage of real nuclear explosions, this time in beautifully full color film rather than the black-and-white stock for the videotaped t.v. movie. The theatrical film version lacks the character of the Soviet Premier, and so it seems much less "talky" than the t.v. version. The t.v. version had already made JFK as the central figure only to tell the story in dramatic sequence rather than in defense of him since it is based on JFK's book, so his characterization is like a lion, as this method is the best way to tell the story that is virtually his anyway. If it had not done this with his perspective, it would've decreased the suspense. The television movie deserves a lot of credit for being able to maintain that suspense through the excellent cast and script, much of which is taken from historic speeches. Ultimately, the t.v. movie is about how JFK had de-pressurized the system, where the film version does this much more in such a way as to imprint an image of JFK in memory.
In result of the historical events as they are portrayed in the t.v. movie, the JFK character mentions his own lack of air support in the Bay of Pigs invasion. It connects the Soviet Premier's placement of missiles in Cuba as a partial belief of the impotence of a U.S. president that is younger than his first son. Nevertheless, with JFK responding by cutting off Cuba from the Soviets, the Americans and the Soviets begin towing the line, in addition to the nuclear threat, as JFK is not only aware of the nuclear missiles the Soviets have placed in Cuba, but is threatening to attack on the moment those missiles become operational. Finally, after military maneuvers and the sole casualty of an American spy plane, the two leaders finally defuse the situation on agreement, in-turn avoiding nuclear war.
Movie Review: Wonderful docudrama but the video tape master was magnetized and needs a proper restoration
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw this when originally broadcast and back then video was considered (by me anyhow) a cheap way to do a dramatization. Not making it on film right in the middle of the made for TV movie and movie of the week phenomena seems strange but I think they were trying to recreate the "live" feeling of early TV (like 15 years earlier or "The Golden Age?") but it really is more like a soap. Lets make no mistake, I am grateful this is available and it is too bad that other video taped dramatizations are not available. Richard Chamberlain's "Hamlet" would be a wonderful release.
The technical problem is that the video master has a color problem. I think the video tape was exposed to some high power spurious magnetic source because I noticed the tint being greener at the bottom of the picture and more magenta at the top. This created an odd effect where skin tones were inconsistent. It was a bit of a distraction at first but, as I saw this on a Black and White TV in the first place, you can correct it by turning the color down if you want to. (I didn't!) It is not noticeable all the way through the video but I suggest buying it used if this would bother you but then again you will be missing an excellent drama.
You can forgive it all because the money was spent on the actors acting and the acting in this is a true treat. William Devane as JFK and a very young Martin Sheen as RFK (someone who I had only seen on the old Catholic TV Show "Crossroads") are worth the price of admission. The very young Michael "Barton Fink" Lerner as Salinger is another treat and the veteran character actor Howard De Silva, although not quite physically like Nikita Khrushchev, was also very believable. The very recognizable character Nehemiah Persoff as Gromyko, Kenneth Tobey as the Admiral in charge of the blockade, the authoritative Andrew Duggan as General Marshall, and a young Dana Eclair of later MacGyver fame as McNamara are but a few of the actors who fill out this cast. I even recognized B movie king Arthur Franz and it was nice to see Peter Donat who had a great part as the show producer in the film "The Hindenburg".
With all this talent this is a must have and a must see and I do recommend it but only four stars because of the technical flaw. There were so many stars/actors in this I have watched it twice since I got it for XMAS! A great if flawed value.
Good watching!
Movie Review: A Magnificent Living History
Summary: 4 Stars
This 1974 TV movie is much more that simply a TV movie; it takes you inside the White House during the most dangerous time in history- when we came closest to nuclear war. Tension builds as Kennedy (William Davane) considers options, and fights internal advise which almost certainly would have led to war against the Soviet Union. Howard da Silva is wonderful as he humanizes the Russian Premier, evan as he battles long-distance with the President. Unfortunately, every time I ordered this DVD from Amazon, they failed to give me anything other than a defective product. Returns are a hassle since they fail to acknowledge receipt; and getting a check back is virtually impossible. Talking to a person is totally impossible.Movie Review: A Timely Revisit
Summary: 4 Stars
I took the time to revisit this film in view of the near end of the elections. While the 1974 made for TV production values pale in comparison to contemporary efforts--I must say that the cast is excellent. As Bush prepares to exit office, this film is a reminder of what grace under pressure was about. And how close we came to nuclear war in 1962. I was a 9 year old child then and could not really appreciate state of the world. But in 46 years hence (and considering what we've had to live under the last 8 years), it is clear to me that if we had had a less thoughtful president---we would have been plunged into the abyss of nuclear destruction. Thank GOD Bush was not president then.