JFK

Stone is such a skilled filmmaker that he might even be able to give you the idea that Kennedy was a KGB agent and was shot by Martians. If it was filmed as brilliantly as JFK, you'd eat it up hook, line and sinker. I'm exaggerating, of course, but JFK is definitely formally perfect and very controversial in content. We will have to wait a few more years to know what really happened to Kennedy, when the CIA declassifies its documents and we can see the events surrounding the assassination in a broader context. Until then, we can only speculate and trust, say, Stone :). (11/05/2003)

At a time when Stone didn’t like American "high society" at all, this (at the time) most controversial Hollywood character proved to be an excellent fabricator with a sense of demagoguery that the viewer has no problem believing in. Stone dealt with the controversial topic in his own way, which may well be considered a true reconstruction until 2038 when the Warren Report is to be declassified. Although his leftist mindset oozes from the film at every moment, the aesthetics of the film's narrative are so evocative that we can set aside our own thoughts for three hours and be swept away by the director's analysis of the case conducted on the basis of a conspiracy thriller. The great editing blurs the distinction between documentary and cinematic fiction, and although the film is crammed with dialogue (and a final monologue by the brilliant Kevin Costner), it’s never boring. And even if three hours may seem like too much, when it's over, Stone makes the viewer feel like they've just untied the Gordian Knot. And yet... in the end, not that much gets resolved. (04/09/2006)

One first-class acting performance next to another over unsettling images of American history. But above all it's nothing more than unnecessarily heartrending personal storyline of the main character, an unjustified enormous running time, incoherent narration of the individual scenes, and plot twists. It's as if Oliver Stone is frantically reading to me from a densely written notebook and occasionally jumping into another one where the same script is being written by someone completely different at a completely time. (18/07/2022)

If I were to add an adjective to JFK, it definitely wouldn't be the best Stone film. But it might deserve the adjective that it is the most personal film. Oliver Stone simply fulfilled his dream and made a film about a topic that interests him the most in modern American history. The film is made with obvious enthusiasm, passionately, and even obsessively. And I don't think it's a good thing. Stone lacks distance and falls into paranoid constructions. In the early 90s, I studied the assassination of Kennedy and read everything that was available in our country. It's like this - if you don't care about seriousness in America, you deal with conspiracy theories about Area 51 and ufology, from which Spielberg himself drew inspiration for his popular culture blockbusters, and if you want to appear serious, you deal with the Kennedy assassination and construct the craziest conspiracies. Oliver Stone understandably chose only the materials that support his theories from a vast amount of material. However, there are just as many clues that break down his idea. I dare not say that I know how everything happened, but in the end, the idea that Oswald acted alone seems more likely than any other version. If anything is really true, it is that the US government administration showed itself in a really bad light, whether it's the security measures before the assassination or the course of the investigation itself. But searching for a devilish conspiracy in all of this reeks of purposefulness. If any myth deserves to be ruthlessly shattered, it is primarily the idea of the "president of truth" that Stone works with. The popular sitcom Red Dwarf provocatively works with the idea in one of its episodes that the assassination will be thwarted and it leads to a disaster because Kennedy, weakened by constant social scandals from numerous love affairs and ties to the mafia, will not be able to steer America. Of course, it is a comedic exaggeration, but with a real basis. With the passage of time, it can be said that Kennedy was not different from his presidential colleagues and had more than enough scandals on his hands. For me, the film is unbearable in terms of length and especially its conspiratorial paranoid character. In JFK, I see the beginning of the pollution of the public space with the most stupid conspiracy theories imaginable. The mechanism that Stone used has only been recycled since then. Overall impression: 60%. (17/12/2015)

An impressive Kevin Costner and stickler for detail, Oliver Stone. An excellent reconstruction, but if we ask the question: “What has this actually done to change anything?" the answer is just a shrug. We’ll have to wait a couple more years for the final and official version of this review, but I’m sure it’s drawing near (I’m sure that they are hard at work on it right now). P.S.: The part with Donald Sutherland is perfect. (17/04/2011)

A quality film. Oliver Stone with another one of his burning topics of American history and again well executed. A good screenplay, great camera work (the black and white the authentic footage are fantastic and enhance the overall authenticity of the film), excellent editing, and quality acting performances. (02/09/2004)

I watched a three and a half hour long film, in which they actually talk all the time, and I wasn't bored for even a second. Does that say enough about how riveting JFK is? I hope so. Oliver Stone has masterfully handled the material and turned a script that could easily have seemed like a simple conspiratorial pub tale about the good guys and the villains into a believable story. The film literally engrossed me during the opening title sequence (a perfect montage of real and newly created shots underlined by the fantastic Williams) and until the end it kept offering something new that made it worth watching breathlessly. And the cast... Just great. (02/12/2011)

The prime suspect in the Kennedy assassination? Oliver Stone!:-) I didn't know much about the incident in question, I never doubted the rottenness of the American government, and yet the film managed to captivate and appeal to me to such an extent that I look forward to 2029 to see the revelation of all the information by the CIA, even though I’ll be fifteen years older and bald by then. Anyway, with this film, Stone not only reaffirmed to me that he is an extravagant who has no problem with three hours full of dialogue, but with his offensive speech he put in my head a rather clear view of American democracy, defined solely by the malice of the powerful (and the gay:-)) and the vision of self-interest. Also, fitting perfectly among all this "crap" are the loving husband and tenacious detective Kevin Costner, the smarmy villain Gary Oldman, the male-loving Tommy Lee Jones and the usual suspect Joe Pesci, whose great performances only add to the quality and historical value of JFK. 95% (31/08/2013)

I prepared for this film for a long time, and I can now say that Stone really shone here. Oliver Stone belongs to the ranks of the most famous directors and is known as a perfectionist, which can be a drawback in some films, but here he utilized his craft to the fullest without hesitation. The assassination of President JFK still falls into the realm of various conspiracy theories, so I was very grateful for a film that brought this historical event closer to me as a viewer. The film is crafted perfectly; overall, it feels like a diamond polished to a brilliant shine, and I have absolutely no complaints. Kevin Costner delivered a truly wonderful performance in the lead role, but the supporting roles caught my attention even more, especially those played by Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pesci. The story came together over time like a single puzzle piece; there simply weren’t any glaring dull spots. The final speech by Costner, which might feel a bit long to some, was a flawless summary of the film that I will remember for a long time and would gladly watch again because JFK certainly deserves it. I give it 92%. (05/03/2017)

It makes absolutely no difference whether what is presented here is actually true or just one of many conspiracy theories. The way everything is presented, the way the performances are strong - Sissy Spacek has never been more beautiful - you still get a strong impression from it, especially about the fact that we're just puppets. Oliver Stone at his best. (25/02/2016)

Quite possibly the most inspirational film you'll ever see. On the other hand, it's by all accounts Stone's total magnum opus, with by far the best last line in a film, delivered by an appealingly unflappable idealist with the face of Kevin Costner. It's a hell of a job to make a politically engaged film that doesn't come across as mainstream and is as believable as possible. I wouldn’t say I agree with Stone's complete interpretation, but the overall scope and form of his historical research is breathtaking. (04/03/2020)