New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison investigates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and uncovers a vast, multi-layered conspiracy.
Oliver Stone is a Vietnam veteran and New York University graduate who began his Hollywood career as a screenwriter of notable films Midnight Express (resulting in his first Oscar win), Scarface, and Conan the Barbarian, directing a couple small features along the way. His watershed work Platoon, based on his own military experience, went on to win Academy Awards for Best Picture and Direction. 1980's zeitgeist-tapping Wall Street followed, as well as a return to Vietnam in Born on the Fourth of July (another Best Direction Oscar) and a biopic about The Doors.
JFK would turn out to be Stone's magnum opus, a sprawling hybrid of gonzo journalism, political thriller and film noir adapted from two books as well as new research done by an independent team commissioned by the director. The film was shot in both color and black & white in standard 35mm as well as 16mm and 8mm, with a variety of film stocks, and intercut with archival footage in a non-linear style that features frequent jumps in time and flashbacks within flashbacks.
Behind lead actor Kevin Costner (playing real life figure Jim Garrison) is one of the greatest casts ever assembled: Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Jack Lemmon, Joe Pesci, Walter Matthau, Laurie Metcalf, John Candy, and Gary Oldman as prime suspect Lee Harvey Oswald. The film is narrated by former Stone collaborator Martin Sheen. Esteemed composer John Williams wrote music for the picture both before and after shooting was completed.
The production was attacked mercilessly in the press before filming was even completed, including having its script stolen and criticized by a Washington reporter. The mainstream media appeared intent on exposing Stone as a fraud lest any of his accusations and theories gain any traction with the public. After the film's release, Stone did countless interviews and television appearances to defend his position, often heavily edited to prevent his message from getting across. While many felt Stone took too many liberties with the facts, the director maintained he was attempting to show a "counter-myth" of possibilities in response to what he believed was an equally-mythical official version provided by the Warren Commission's government-ordered report on the assassination.
The critical response was mostly positive, Roger Ebert going so far as to proclaim it the best film of the year. FInancially JFK was an international success, earning over $200 million worldwide. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Direction, and for Jones' performance. It won Oscars for its groundbreaking cinematography and editing, a visual approach which Stone would use again in his subsequent film Natural Born Killers.
The film reignited public interest in the assassination, with a majority of Americans believing in some form of conspiracy. This eventually led to a 1992 congressional act designed to collect all existing records of the incident with the intent of making all information freely available by 2017.
Running time is approx. 3 hours.
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