JFK: Does Oliver Stone's Conspiracy Classic Hold Up? 

It’s funny, considering how play-it-safe studios are now, that for about a 3-year stretch at Warner Brothers, you had big budgets, all-star casts, and full creative freedom given to Oliver Stone to make JFK and Spike Lee to make a 3 and a half hour movie about Malcolm X.

When my wife and i saw it in the theater in 1991. It was so great that those 3 hours went fast.

This movie is one of my favorites of all time. The court scene is absolutely incredible.

This movie still holds up. The Donald Sutherland 20 minute exposition scene is still beautifully written

JFK is the best edited movie of all time

When this movie came out the assassination had happened less than 30 years earlier. Now it’s been more than 30 years since the film.

John Candy and Donald Sutherland really stood out in this film.

Speaking of Kevin Costner, an under appreciated film he’s in, also set around the Kennedy era, more people should see is Thirteen Days. It’s historically inaccurate, but still a good movie

Kevin Costner at the end of the movie breaks the 4th wall and says "its up to you"

I need to mention that the scene in JFK where the trajectory of the bullet has Wayne Knight as the dude sitting down......was lampooned in Seinfeld.....with Wayne Knight also. Briliiant.

I watched the first half of this recently. Way ahead of its time in terms of structure. And the cast he gets just for tiny roles?! Amazing.

Love this movie. Saw it in the theaters when it first came out

Perhaps this is not what the channel is about, but a mention of the magnificent cinematography (its lighting especially) and editing would have been warranted. Both these disciplines won Academy Awards.

They dont make them like that anymore this is so true for this movie , one of greatest

JFK remains Oliver Stone's finest film. It's a technically accomplished piece of bravura filmmaking and it takes a real and quite frankly doomed investigation waged by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison and makes it the dramatic and narrative thrust of the film. Actually JFK is not "talky" per see. It's a highly stylized and visually fast paced movie that admittedly throws a lot of information at its audience . Also the film was financially successful. It wasnt touted as a box office megalith but It certainly made back it's $40 million dollar investment back both domestically and primarily in overseas markets . it was a hit. This financial success is important to note because what isn't noted in the video was the considerable attack campaign -including theft of a script and hit pieces -waged against this movie by sectors of the major media and press at the time. So it wasn't simply that JFK was a controversial film, it was considered contemptible by certain sectors of the country.

This film is essential viewing.

"That . . . is one magic loogie."

I own it and rewatched it last month and yes it's still great.

It absolutely still holds up and I think always will. It's a superb piece of technical filmmaking. The editing in the movie is some of the best ever. And it's run time flys by. It is not completely historically accurate, but that doesn't diminish the quality of the direction, writing and acting. It's a wonderful film and always will be.

The movie is fun. However the logical leaps it takes to tie everything together would make even the Ancient Aliens guy lose his mind.

Don't forget the 1-derful John Williams score, adding an eerie 60s atmosphere !!!

JFK’s one of those movies which is really long (the version I’ve seen is about 3 and a half hours) but manages to be really engaging to the point when I kind of wish it was longer. This movie was Oppenheimer for the 90s and it also has one of the best casts of all time, most of whom aren’t even in the movie enough to be credited in the opening. It also looks great (thanks to great Robert Richardson) and has brilliant music (again, thanks to the great John Williams.) Also, funnily enough, Joe Pesci (who played David Ferrie) eventually acted in the film “The Irishman” which featured a short cameo from Ferrie played by Louis Vanaria.

Pick up a copy of JFK: The Annotated Screenplay. it contains the full shooting script and highly detailed notes and references indicating where Stone found the information he used in the script and also admits to mistakes he made or changes for the narrative. He did not just pull things out of thin air, but put a lot of effort into this.

As a film, absolutely it holds up. This was Oliver Stone at his most deliberate and focused. He even shot his 2 prior movies (Talk Radio and about half of Born on the Fourth of July) in Dallas just to curry favors with the film community and civic leaders with the eventual goal of shooting in Dealey Plaza. The performances, the photography, the editing, etc. were all the culmination of an extremely talented filmmaker at the peak of his abilities.

Incredible movie - so complicated and so well edited.

I got this on Blu Ray for Christmas and the Digital restoration is amazing!

One of the greatest political thrillers ever made!

On a side note. I absolutely LOVE Platoon. It is in my top 5 movies of all time.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time.

The greatest and most informative film of the 90s.

This is my favorite Oliver Stone film. That says a lot considering "Platoon" and "Natural Born Killers" which I also love.

The movie Alexander (by Stone): stars on the cover of Entertainment magazine at the time; Jolie, Farrel, Kilmer... JFK.

That thumbnail was the scene where Costner tells John Candy “Ima put your fat behind in jail” 😂

I have the ultimate Oliver Stone collection on DVD & his memoir Chasing the light My favorite Oliver Stone film is the doors

This film terrified me so much as a 16 year old that I daren’t revisit it.

A watershed moment in getting closer to the truth of the real assassination, JFK's penultimate courtroom sequence ranks among the finest things ever done in American cinema with Costner's "do not forget your dying king" moment, a heart-wrenching tour de force.

I remember watching a Discovery documentary that debunked the conspiracy theories. One interesting explanation they gave was the seating arrangement and seating height of the Lincoln Continental car. According to them, the rear seats were raised in comparison to the front seats..and the front seats were positioned slightly inwards compared to the rear (so shorter in length). These seating positions therefore explained the single bullet theory of both Kennedy and Conelly being hit. I’ve never actually looked into this further..

"Back, and to the left." Definitely an amazing cinematic accomplishment.

The film is so good because even though Garrison lost his case the speech he gives to the jury at the end about our right as Americans to question and take charge of our government and to seek truth and justice is what makes the movie so powerful

I have to say that I am a BIG FAN of Oliver Stone and some of his films that have been great aside from the ones that were NOT successful. I will look forward to purchasing the new "JFK" on Blu-ray/4K disc restoration someday.

Spike Lee got inspiration from Oliver concerning the runtime for his film, *"Malcolm X."* Oliver told him he lied to the studio execs that the film will not run for 3hrs for it to get made.

It's good that you are saying how you watch the film now. It would be cool to know if you watch, on dvd, bluray, digital etc. I am slowly edging towards having physical media again.

Thank you. I didn't realize this was out and that I needed it this much! I love this movie and the last time I saw it was when it was 2 VHS tapes in cases taped together if you know what I mean.

FYI this 4K release does NOT include the theatrical in 4K. Only the Director’s Cut is presented in 4K. Theatrical is blu-ray only.

I'm glad it's out. We need more movies like this. Please make more.

It was just a cameo, but was this John Candy’s sole dramatic film role?

Very astute summation. Great performances. Prevailing theories writ large, and as you say - very compelling even if you believe Oswald acted alone.

Even the “formerly banned upon 2 weeks into release” film, *”EXECUTIVE ACTION,”* which released merely a decade after the event, provided the foundation for what we know today.

The movie wasn’t made to be completely factual, Stone’s intention was to put all the theories as well as facts out there so that people would ask Questions and never forget what happened on that day in Dallas that changed the course of American history forever.

Any Given Sunday is underrated to me.

That is a great movie. The 3 hour run time just flies by. the suspense throughout film as they go further into investigating the mysteries is off the charts. the MVP would have to be Donald Sutherland as Mr X, that an amazing scene at the national mall.

Haven't watched the video but the movie holds up. One of my favorite movies.

He made Salvador and Romero, from my old country El Salvador. I truly appreciate his films.

Back when Hollywood knew how to make 3 hour movies. This was a masterpiece.

Only the Directors cut is in 4K

*Salvador, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street, JFK, Snowden, et al. I'd forgotten about Stone's **_incredible_** body of work. (Where's HIS AFI lifetime award, Hollywood?!)* 🤷‍♂

Not only does it hold up, but additional facts revealed since have vindicated his conclusions.

whether you're behind Oliver Stone's politics or this story's theory's now outdated or not...there's NO denying JFK's one of 1990s cinema's BEST.

He certainly did want to set both sides up for us to decide.

It's a great film, even if you don't buy the conspiracy. I don't think it's a film that pretends to have all the answers, but it certainly creates more questions, if you're open to them. And it's compelling. Oliver Stone does a great job of combining actual footage with fictional material that, again, creates more questions than answers. And that's what movies like this should do.

Saw it for the 5th time a few weeks ago...bet your ass it still does!

Great film really got me excited to learn more as a kid in the 90's but then seeing it in quinquennially it was a constant for me to return to and eventually become so studied the dates and names are burned into me noggin

When Costner summed up at the end...i was floored. It holds up pretty good. A great slow burn

When a movie is 3 hours and 20 minutes long but feels like 2 ,youknow it's a great film. better than platoon in my opinion.

Joe Pesci was awesome in JFK, and in The Irishman. Let that sink in

Oliver Stone has always said he wasn't making a documentary he was making a film to make people think and question what they are told.

Stone's peak after that he went downhill.Maybe Costner's peak too...Stellar cast stellar acting stellar directing and editing Tommy Lee Jones was robbed at the Oscars that year ...if it came out in the 80s or late 90s it would've won Best Picture Best Director easily 10/10

That gold glitter covered leapfrog scene was a bit much.

One of the greatest cinematic achievements ever in terms of virtuoso craft between all creative departments. Not necessarily one of the most historically verifiable. But it wears its highly speculative nature more honestly than most (I'm looking at you Killers of the Flower Moon).

Hey I remember that Quantum Leap episode. I was like nine and he was sent back to save Jackie I think. It was a very confusing episode in my young mind haven't seen it since but I remember watching it

It’s Garrison. With a G. Not Carrison. Not Harrison. Someone’s not doing their job properly.

Surprised he didn’t mention Nixon as another film tapping the zeitgeist.

Trivia; Oliver Stone calls JFK “a counter myth,” which this video also quotes (I wrote this before I heard it here). For the channel: how did u not mention Nixon (1995) when recounting his post JFK films?

The movie is beautifully shot and edited superbly. Whether or not there really is a conspiracy is another topic.

For some reason people have forgotten how to make movies like this. Whether you believe the premise or not it doesn’t matter. It’s a really well made movie that belies its running time. Apart from some ridiculous and overly schmaltzy scenes with Costner, overall it’s a great watch and still holds up today.

I highly recommend the watching - PBS Nova Cold Case JFK documentary that really does explain a lot.

Top 5 all time

I liked the film a lot, and find that the worst part is that Stone never reached that sublime combination of importance and agressiveness again.

I loved when I first saw it. Then years later I thought.... MMmmm? It does Not hold up.

It's a great film, and should be watched for what it is: The story of a development of a conspiracy theory. As Jim Garrison says in the film "White is black, and black is white." A statement that leads to him arguing that somehow the FBI, CIA, and the Dallas Police were all complicit and but also concedes he doesn't doubt the mob's involvement "but at a lower level". By the end of the film it's a massive convoluted plot. Does he uncover the names of these people? No. They remain shadowy people involved in the execution, and the person he identifies is...by complete coincidence...a businessman in his own back garden. I've spent a large part of my life trying to explain that a commonly held belief in the UK is entirely a conspiracy. I have an advantage that those who want to talk about JFK don't have. I have the video footage of people saying what many people in the UK believe was never said. Not just one piece of footage, multiple pieces of footage spanning 15 years. You would think at that point, people who believed the conspiracy would concede, but they don't. They naturally look for any thread to grab hold of which allows them to continue to hold on to their conspiracy theory. Meanwhile when you look at their original evidence, is almost entirely taken out of context or just not understood. Other pieces of evidence are entirely fictitious, and the problem with human memory is people will swear to me that they remember something that simply did not happen. In my experience, the film JFK is a very good depiction of someone who took the conspiracy path.

It sure does

Instead of the who….we must ask why…

One of the best movies ever....very important to show aspects of what really happened that fateful day in Dallas. Like for example, Oswald being seen in the book depository canteen by witnesses at the time of the shots being fired...

This is the most important Hollywood movie ever made

One of my favorite movies.

As a kid, this was the first serious drama movie I ever really got into and it was enthralling.

Love the love for this film. It is one of Oliver Stone's masterpieces. This was my favourite film of 91', and that was a great year for movies. Pietro Scalia and Joe Hutshing both won deserved Oscars for Editing, and Robert Richardson won his first Oscar for cinematography. Their work along side the rest of the departments under Oliver Stones direction is marvelous. And side note, this is one of John Williams best scores outside of his most notable works

As a movie? Yes. As an examination of historical fact? No.

An ardent believer in the lone gunman theory is a frightening individual that I never want to know.

One of my favourite movies of all time. For my money, its the best political thriller ever made

It remains a superb piece of filmmaking.

Donald Sutherland was robbed of a Oscar nod.

People thought Oliver stone was nuts when this movie came out. Now after all these years 95% of the movie really happened

Back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to left, back and to the left LOL

Oliver is spot on.

How does the director's cut differ from the theatrical release? Is it significant?

This is an instant classic! I love that movie!!!

the oliver stone collection, the manchurian candidates, and all my michael moore collection would be top 3 in my collection.."It's a mystery , IT'S A mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an Enigma, Even the f*** shooters don't even Know DON'T YOU GET IT!?!...jfk,best movie of all time, saw on my first date, and second date, and with my aunt in theaters

"Back & to the left."

Stone’s next movie, “Nixon”, was less successful and had nothing new to say about that controversial president. And Stone’s series of interviews with Vladimir Putin haven’t done much for his reputation, either.