JFK: Assassination Files

JFK: Assassination Files

Our Price: $39.90
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $14.29 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details

DVD details

DVD Reviews of JFK: Assassination Files

DVD Review: Bah!
Summary: 1 Stars

The DVD begins with 5 or so releays of the Zapruder film , played at different speed, with all but NO commentary. We have all seen the Zapruder film enough, so I presume that we dont really need this 'silent' replay again and again and again. That's right! Even the sound from the policeman's microphone is missing. So you sit at home in silence going 'oooh' when his head blows apart. It's interesting once, or even twice, but not 5 times. Amazing 'new' technology allows us to repeat film pretty easily without having it take up space on a DVD; simply press 'rewind'. Just one playing of the Zapruder film with 'sound' would have been nice.This DVD doesn't even allow us to make up our own minds about the number of gunshots beacause we can't hear any.

The DVD then moves through 12 other amateur films taken on the day. None of these are as interesting as the Zapruder film and few, if any, show any view of the shooting. You have never seen them before beacuse they contribute absolutely nothing to the debate. Generally there is some distant blurred image in which we can see Mrs. Kennedy rolling about on the back of the car but little else. In some of these films the shooting is hidden behind trees or buildings, people heads, and once it is even turned off moments before the President is killed. Great! How useful! We get to see a lot of Elm St. but little else. Many of these films show crowds after the event running up the grassy hill to the 'wooden fence'. Seeing this 5 or 6 times is as close to overkill as you can get. The DVD continues to let the amateur film to speak for itself. In doing say it says nothing. Even something like, "The number of people running up there indicate a shot may have been fired from in front of the President", would have been better than the dreary silence we are lulled with. There is 'some' commentary here, but only to explain what we are looking at in these 12 repetitive dull videos."Here is Elm St." etc. If Groden didn't tell we would be wondering what the point was. In fact, I'm still wondering. The only thing that might suprise you is how many people had video cameras that day. Bet they were all thinking, "Damn! If only I had stood there where I could actually see something useful, then I would've made some big bucks!"

I found myself just skipping through these films, basically because it was all the same. The chapter list tells the story: Zapruder film, Bronson film, Little Miss Muffet's film. I can only assume Miss Muffet and co. didn't know the president was in town that day as he is all but invisible in the screen shot. Chapter 5 shows a film taken from the book depository but it swings irritatingly over the shooting scene and focuses on the city skyline missing everything. And so the DVD goes on, home video after home video, getting progressively unfocused and irrelevant. One film shows the presidential car shooting off down the highway after it has passed through the underpass. The `conspiracy' analysis here apparently has something to do with 2 kids waving who `didn't know the President had been shot.' Yup thanks Sherlock.

With all but no commentary the DVD in some degree allows us to 'look' and decide for ourselves. But look as we might there is nothing to see. I was expecting an intelligent and revealing dissection of the events and the people present etc. on the day. I was even hoping for some discussion of the events after the shooting, finding the magic bullet, the burnt autopsy notes, or anything which would leave me trembling with excitement about the idea of a conspiracy and the insidious heart of American politics. There was none whatsoever. This was soooooooo bland. If you are looking at this having seen Stone's JFK and are looking for a development, or a more historical analysis and presentation of the ideas presented in the trial scene then go somewhere else. Why this is called `case for conspiracy' is beyond me. There is no case presented as such. The only connection made to a 'conspiracy' is a comment made by Groden that some blurred mess which can be seen in the book depository windows is that of 3 men, which by extension 'means' there was a conspiracy. This was perhaps the most intriguing moment on the DVD, perhaps because I had been starved on any interesting for about 60 mins already.

I love the classic commentary made on the day, the 'put me on phil...put me on' and all the rest. This you can hear in a final 'bonus' but is played over images which are forgettable and irrelevant.

The 'production' was equally poor. From the first moments I found myself muttering 'Oh no, this looks bad'. Sure enough, first impressions never lie. I can handle a messy Zapruber film but the whole DVD looks like it has been put together in the back yard on Dad's old video machine.

Kennedy assasination freaks might love it as a 'historical document'. It might also be useful for those people who were there on the day and and want some SILENT historical record of the day.

For a conspiracy wait for the 'Garrison Tapes' to come out on DVD.

Bah!

Description of JFK: Assassination Files