Dan here:
Oliver Stone's 1991 masterpiece, JFK, is one of my all-time favorite films.
Watching it is like taking a master class in filmmaking.
It's a three hour journey that challenges your mind and emotions.
Whether or not you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in shooting President Kennedy is completely irrelevant. What really matters are the performances, the cinematography and editing.
District Attorney Jim Garrison is played brilliantly by Kevin Costner, who, criminally, was not nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award. Tommy Lee Jones (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Joe Pesci, Kevin Bacon, John Candy, Donald Sutherland and of course, Gary Oldman, all turn in great work. Throw in memorable lines, Ed Asner, Jack Lemmon and a ton of other great character actors and you have one of the 1990s best films.
JFK's production was marred by the public and media taking it to task over the content:
Was Oliver Stone saying that the U.S. government conspired to kill the President?
Should the Zapruder film be shown dozens of times and in tight closeups?
I can't recall a film that caused so much controversy before a frame was ever seen.
I'm actually amazed that it was able to win two Academy Awards (Cinematography and Editing), considering how much vitriol was unleashed on the production.
One member of the film community who was above the hysteria was our hero, Roger Ebert.
Mr. Ebert gave Oliver Stone a forum to discuss his film openly and waited until he saw the final product to declare, that yes, JFK is an absolutely stunning film. I've compiled everything I could find from RogerEbert.com on the subject of JFK. Take some time to read about a film that was not made to uncover how or why our President was killed, but was made to showcase the importance of his life.
Rest In Peace
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy
1917-1963
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