JFK (Ultimate Collector's Edition) – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Nov 24, 2008, 13:29 GMT

Oliver Stone\'s powerful film about the shots heard round the world and the mystery enshrouding them is one of the most provocative movies of our time. Aside from its box-office success, critical acclaim and awards, it played a major role in the national debate leading to passage of the 1992 Assassination Materials Disclosure Act. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards and winner of two. ...more

With the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy arriving, Warner Brothers has released a special edition of Oliver Stone’s film to commemorate it.  Stone’s conspiracy laden film might not be the best memorial to the assassinated President, but Warner has added some physical swag and a documentary to the two-disc set they already released.  

When you get right down to it Oliver Stone’s film really isn’t about the assassinated President, but more on the pursuit of one man to find out who killed the Kennedy.  The man investigating the assassination is Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) who wrote a novel about his investigation that Stone used as the basis of his film. 

The film is a star studded one and features performances by Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pecsi, and other roles filled by the likes of Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, John Candy, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, and even Garrison as Chief Justice Earl Warren. 

The film was released as a two-disc special edition in 2003 and this new set just ports over that set.  This might not be such a bad thing since it offers some excellent special features, but don’t expect much new about the film.  What this box does offer is a new documentary on the Kennedy family, the Kennedys: America’s Emerald Kings (2008), as well as some nice John F. Kennedy related swag. 

The items in the large box packaging include a 44-page book of rare behind-the-scenes production photos, a set of 6 photo cards with the stars and biographies of the people they portray, 5 reproductions of letters written by or to John F. Kennedy and Kennedy’s Inauguration Address. 

I’ve always enjoyed Stone’s films and JFK is no exception with its star studded cast and creative directorial flourishes.  Where it might fall down is that it shouldn’t be interpreted as history, though no doubt that some will use it as a “see I told you so.”  

JFK is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include a commentary by director/co-writer Oliver Stone, the documentary “Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy” (90 minutes), twelve deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Stone , multimedia essays, production notes, and the 2 minute theatrical trailer.  On the DVD-ROM side of things are some essays and articles on the assassination and the films of Oliver Stone.  

This set does offer some nice additions to those wanting more history with their Hollywood version of it.  However, the Kennedy family documentary is available separately so if you already have the film you can just purchase the documentary to set on the shelf next to it. 

The only thing exclusive to this set are the physical items and although interesting I’d doubt that they’d be worth the purchase price if you already have the movie. 

If you don’t have it already though this is a nice way to get the movie and some nice special features.  You’ll have to decide what conspiracy theories you want to support about the assassination and what you might want to buy as well.

JFK (Ultimate Collector's Edition) is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.