The Missiles of October
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Movie Reviews of The Missiles of October
Movie Review: the idolization of the kennedys
Summary: 3 Stars
This version was made about 10 years after the event when the Kennedys were still treated reverently and with the avoidance of their foibles and failures. The competeing version 'Thirteen Days' was made about 30 years later when we really knew much more about the family as real people and not characters in a fantasy.Both tell the story but the fanatsy view of the Kennedy presidency does overshadow the story considerably. There is none of the medical and physical problems the plagued Jack's running of the country nor any reference at all to his constant sexual escapades that no doubt interferred with his presidency. We know what President Clinton did, but we have little knowledge of Jack's constant chasing of women bed partners that must have had to be interspersed with his trying to run the country, a job he did rather badly as we now know.
Both these versions tell the story of the Cuban missle crisis, But I often wonder how much the Kennedys really had to do with solving the problem. I do suspect, given what we know about both Jack and Bobby now, whether they had the smarts to pull this off or did they just luck out and have a really good group of advisors that have never gotten the honors they deserved.
I would not now purchase the earlier version but put my money down for the second. It tells a better story putting both Kennedys a bit more in the background.
Movie Review: Great Movie, Horrible DVD
Summary: 3 Stars
The Missiles of October is like watching a play in the sense that the sets and physical action are minimal. That means you're focused on the actors, most of whom don't disappoint. Devane basically channels Kennedy.
The problem is that by being focused on the actors, it's impossible to miss the sync issues that make this DVD almost unwatchable. Voices lag mouths by a fraction of a second, which becomes really distracting when there are close-ups -- and there are plenty in this movie -- of an actor's face.
According to the Internet Movie Database, The Missiles of October "was originally shot on videotape, and first shown in this format, but when it was sold to local stations, it was transferred to film." Perhaps that transfer has something to do with the sync problems. Whatever the reason, it's unforgivable that this problem wasn't fixed before the DVD was issued.
I give the movie five stars and the DVD one.
Movie Review: DVD With No Restoration
Summary: 2 Stars
I very much enjoyed the excellent casting and acting of The Missiles of October. However, I am insulted by the way they portrayed the Republicans. I also find it childish for Kennedy to be flipping the Republicans off in the guise of holding his cigar. This was as immature as the exiting Clinton staff trashing the White House.
My low rating, however, is with the zero care in restoring this dramatization of history. Much of the lip-syncing was off and the copy was no different than my VHS. I am pretty sure they could have cleaned up the badly scanned frames that appeared about once every 1 to 5 minutes.