It really happened ! (Thirteen Days (DVD))

Member Name: Andrew1911

Product:	Thirteen Days (DVD)
Date:	02/10/01 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic acting, Accurate, Enthralling

Disadvantages: JFK ain't no saint

13 Days.

Owing to the tragic events in the US over the past few weeks, there's been a rise in the interest in the capabilities and strengths of the American leadership. This isn't American bashing by any stretch - I've lived and worked over there for a bit and they're good people - even the Californians - but I don't think that many people will dispute the fact that George 'Billy-Bob' Bush isn't by any stretch of the imagination one of the great American presidents. In his past, he spent the best part of 20 years drunk, there's strong evidence he was a cocaine addict and the only job he's had was as a (figurehead) president of an oil company owned by....one of his dad's friends.

And he's Republican. Not my first choice for the man in charge of a nuclear arsenal.

Compare him to the great presidents - Lincoln, Washington and FDR to name but three - and he's sadly lacking in almost every department. Compare him to one of the best loved (and most misrepresented) Presidents - JFK - and his handling of an equally troubled time (the Cuban Missile Crisis) and I know who I'd rather have in charge.

13 Days, out now on video and DVD, tells the tale of how the world came to the very brink of nuclear war and how the American political and military leaders dealt with the crisis. The best known actors in it are Bruce Greenwood and Kevin Costner as JFK and the Special Assistant to the President Kenny O'Conner respectively. However, they are not necessarily the stars. Stephen Culp as JFK's Attorney-General and brother, Bobby, and Dylan Baker, Bill Smitrovich, Kevin Conway as Robert Macnamara and the two Chief of Staff's General Marshall Carter and General Curtis Le May are outstanding as differing factions each vying for the President's ear.

Basically the plot (if you know nothing about the period) deals with a period during the Cold War between Russia and America. T
he USSR, alarmed by the anti-Communist actions of the US around the world (not least by the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion - a CIA sponsored attempt to overthrow the Communist President of Cuba, Fidel Castro) has introduced nuclear ballstic missiles to Cuba. As Cuba is barely 90 miles of the coast of Florida, these missiles have the ability to wipe out everything south of Seattle. Understandably, the US is less than happy and must decide on a course of action to remove the threat - possibly at the cost of sparking off World War 3.

To make matter worse, there are tow definite factions involved within the US Government. On one side you have the hawks - the Chiefs of Staff (heads of the US miltary), most of Congress and the Intelligence Agencies. They are firmly convinced that to rid themselves of the Red Threat, airstrikes and a full scale invasion of Cuba are required to show the Russkies who's boss and are prepared to risk a nuclear war to protect themselves.

On the other are the doves - the President's brother and his Special Assistant and the US ambassador to the UN who are all too aware that Russia will respond in kind to any military action and most likely invade Berlin, causing the conflic to escalate. Caught in the middle is the President. torn between his desire for a non-military solution but painfully aware that any hesitation on his part could mean America living in the shadow of nuclear missiles.


The eventual solution and the game of brinksmanship is amazing to watch unfold - not least because every, single incident is completely true. Watch this, and I guarantee that you'll be very pleased you're able to read this as you are - and not living in a cave surrounded by glowing rocks, trees and three headed people because you very nearly were. They came that close to nuclear war - I kid you not.

If I had to recall my favourite moment, it would be the US Ambassador facing down his Russian counterpart in
the United Nations. This is a man who sold his political career down the river to promote a peaceful resolution, although you wouldn't know it from his performance in the U.N! His speech has never been bettered as an example of politcal bluff and counterbluff (.."Don't wait for the translation! Answer me now!...) and has even been reproduced in a Star Trek film - by a Klingon, no less - it says here (IMDB.com)

However, the true stars of the film are, for once, the actors. Kevin Costner's portrayal of O'Conner - a childhood friend of both Kennedy's - is pretty damn good. Once you get over his accent, which is pretty much how the guy actually talked anyway, you appreciate how hard he worked to defend his friend and President from those who just wanted a war. The military personnel are by turns imploring and threatening Kennedy to take action, or face the consequences. These guys wanted a war, make no mistake about it - and for their own reasons, too. When you consider that Kennedy was assassinated less than 2 years later and factor in the rage these people felt at his handling and resolution of the Cuban situation (and Viet Nam), some very interesting conclusions can be drawn.

The finest performance come from the actors playing the Kennedy brothers, though. They ARE John and Robert Kennedy. From the accents, the intonation and actions, they've got it down to a tee - Robert Kennedy in particular. Little known in this country, he was the Attorney-General (main lawyer type advisor to the President) and basically got his more charismatic brother elected and pretty much co-ran the country. In the film he's portrayed as a man desperate to prevent a war by any means he can.

My only complaint is that the film is another portrayal of Kennedy as a saintly figure. It doesn't even hint at his weaker side - the adultary and manipulation - which I think would have rounded out the character. I think you can put this d
own to Costner's obvious reverance of JFK, despite this you can't argue that no matter what else, JKF certainly tried to do the right thing.

This is, of course, an historical thriller but it's also a top-notch drama. It doesn't talk down to you, so this isn't a turn-on, switch off movie. Seeing as how I'm a huge fan of the West Wing and the film JFK, I knew what to expect and wasn't disappointed at all; however, if you want excitement and gunfire rent Die Hard instead.



Full Cast and Crew for
Thirteen Days (2000)


Directed by
Roger Donaldson


David Self (written by)

Cast (in credits order)
Shawn Driscoll .... U-2 Pilot
Kevin Costner .... Kenny O'Donnell
Drake Cook .... Mark O'Donnell
Lucinda Jenney .... Helen O'Donnell
Caitlin Wachs .... Kathy O'Donnell
Jon Foster .... Kenny O'Donnell, Jr.
Matthew Dunn .... Kevin O'Donnell
Kevin O'Donnell (II) .... NPIC Photo Interpreter
Janet Coleman .... Evelyn Lincoln
Bruce Thomas .... Floyd
Stephanie Romanov .... Jacqueline Kennedy
Bruce Greenwood (I) .... President John F. Kennedy
Frank Wood (III) .... McGeorge Bundy
Dakin Matthews .... Arthur Lundhal
Liz Sinclair .... Kenny's Assistant #1
Colette O'Connell .... Kenny's Assistant #2
Karen Ludwig .... Operator Margaret
Audrey Rapoport .... White House Operator #1
Marliese Schneider .... White House Operator #2 (as Marliese K. Schneider)
Steven Culp .... Robert F. Kennedy, Attorney General
Dylan Baker .... Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense
Bill Smitrovich .... Gen. Maxwell Taylor
Henry Strozier .... Dean Rusk
Ed Lauter .... General Marshall Carter
Michael Fairman .... Adlai Stevenson, US Ambassador to the U.N.
Walter Adrian .... Vice-President
Lyndon Johnson
Tim Kelleher (I) .... Ted Sorensen
James Karen .... George Ball
Dan Ziskie .... General Walter "Cam" Sweeney (as Daniel Ziskie)
Len Cariou .... Dean Acheson
Peter White (I) .... John McCone
Kevin Conway (I) .... General Curtis LeMay
Kelly Connell .... Pierre Salinger, White House Press Secretary
Olek Krupa .... Andrei Gromyko, Soviet Foreign Minister
Elya Baskin .... Anatoly Dobrynin
Timothy Jerome .... Journalist
Jack McGee .... Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago
Lamar Smith .... Aide
John Aylward .... Orville Dryfoos
Madison Mason .... Admiral George Anderson
Vivien Straus .... White House Aide
Christopher Lawford .... Commander William B. Ecker

Summary: