Rating: 
Summary: The Best Historical Film of the Year (2001)
Review: THIRTEEN DAYS is simply outstanding! One of the best historical films I have ever seen! It is even more "History" then "Hollywood".I think the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most important events in American History. However, many younger Americans know so very little about the very important events depicted in this carefully planned and conscientiously researched film. Steven Culp's portrayal of Robert F. Kennedy was simply uncanny. It has got to be difficult to act as a person so many people know so well. I thought his performance was fabulous. Kevin Costner played the role of presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell. His performance was very good however; his Boston accent was terrible and really does get on your nerves, especially in the beginning of the film. Bruce Greenwood plays John F. Kennedy and does this great president justice. I highly recommend the infini film DVD version of this movie. The Beyond the Movie features are wonderful. The Historical Figures Commentary features archival audio of John F. Kennedy, Robery McNamara, P. O'Donnell, Pierre Salinger, Sergie Khrushchev, and many others. There is a 48 minute documentary entitled "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis" which features film footage from the era along with modern interviews covering post World War II United States and Soviet relations. There are also historical biographies of all the major figures in the movie too. If you enjoy historical movies this one is a must see!
Rating: 
Summary: PRETENTIOUS COSTNER WITH BAD NEW ENGLAND ACCENT
Review: Kevin Costner don's a New England accent in the self-important "13 DAYS," when the world was allegedly on the brink of thermo-nuclear war because of a US showdown with Russia over their newly-installed missiles in Cuba. Unfortunately there's little dramatic tension because, excuse me, but we already know the world didn't blow up. The first half of the long movie is made up of increasingly angry, white-guy talking heads. Some of it is shot in black and white just to emphasize how serious and real this all is. Kostner is JFK advisor Kenny O'Donnell. The last half is the nicely visualized showdown. Roger Donaldson directs this big screen version of what is basically a TV movie. In fact, the subject was once a TV movie. A host of extras include background documentary on the historical incident and detailed audio commentary with Donaldson and Costner -- the latter's comments sound like they're literally phoned in and heard on a speaker phone. Personal note: A few years ago, from a supposedly highly placed source, I was told the US government knew all-along the Russian missiles in Cuba were empty shells. If so, the whole incident was the first TV-staged street theater on a global scale. But was it a phony event meant to intimidate the masses?
Rating:
Summary: a history lesson that hits with the gloves off
Review: The scenario opens with this delemna: Soviet nuclear weapons are being installed in Cuba, with Washington D.C. and every major American military base (except Seattle) within range - leaving the U.S. just 5 minutes away from Soviet first-strike nuclear capability, and the ensuing deaths totalling something like 80 million! The Cubans have denied the missles' existence, the Soviets have denied their existence, and the rest of the world doesn't know of their existence. As things unfold, Kennedy realizes that he has to go to war with the Soviet Union, or else somehow he has to negotiate the removal of the nuclear warheads with a hostile Soviet government, without tipping his airstrike plans to remove them forcibly if negotiations fail. To complicate matters, the military establishment and the intelligence community are seething with anger over Kennedy's refusal to engage an all-out attack on Cuba during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, and view his detente stance as tantamount to treason, for his willingness to strike a compromise with the Soviet "red-dog" that's "digging in OUR backyard!". They have a complete lack of confidence in his leadership, and a general consensus among themselves that the United States MUST engage the enemy in open warfare, up to and including open nuclear warfare! There are a lot of ways to view this film - political, historical, drama. I tend to agree with the comment that it represents a worthy case-study of effective leadership under pressure. As a historical lesson, it hits harder than they're allowed to in the school textbooks, for it reveals a deep rift of insubordination on the part of the pentagon, coupled with an intense pressure to engage in warfare without genuine provocation, by some of the nation's influential military and intelligence leaders at that time. How Kennedy utilized the military establishment to further his mission, despite their open hostility to his viewpoints and policies, how he deftly avoided being baited into open confrontation with his military leaders, how they chafed under his leadership and struggled to circumvent his decisions, and how he manged to get through the crisis without being coaxed, coerced, cornered, or outsmarted into declaring open war with Russia is a lesson worthy of study. Despite a few flaws (the family scenes with Kenny O'Donnell's wife & kids are not well integrated, the b/w footage is distracting at times, there is a tad too much of O'Donnell [Costner] in the film), I give it 5 stars for great acting, excellent direction (you feel like a fly on the wall, observing the whole thing unwind), good pacing, and overall historical accuracy. Bruce Greenwood (JFK) and Steven Culp (Bobby Kennedy) deserve an award for their acting, but there are no weak performances in this film, and the confrontational scenes are electric with tension and testosterone. The subtlety of the body-language acting is impressive, and the photography/direction are also on an award-winning level. Not an action-thriller by any means, the tension here is more on a psychological/political level, with the impending threat of out-and-out nuclear war providing the "sword of Damocles" that hangs over Kennedy's every hard-wrought decision, and imbues the film with it's 'serious-business' demeanor. If you have the patience to sit for two and a half hours (almost) of history unfolding before your eyes, then I highly recommend this well-presented docu-drama of a decidedly important chapter of recent American history that is often skipped-over lightly in the textbooks.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful film -- Amazing DVD
Review: "Thirteen Days" is an intelligent and thought-provoking movie with relentless edge-of-your-seat suspense throughout. This fascinating drama takes you right into the oval office and the Pentagon during the Cuban Missile Crisis when only the courage and leadership of a handful of men kept the world from nuclear war. Expertly directed by Roger Donaldson, the film showcases some top-notch performances by Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp as JFK and RFK and by Kevin Costner as presidential advisor Kenny O'Donnell. If you missed "Thirteen Days" during its theatrical release, be sure to catch the DVD version which has layers and layers of extra features, historical data, "making of" information, and commentaries by both the film-makers and by the actual participants themselves. This amazing DVD should be in everyone's collection.
Rating: 
Summary: A solid lesson about leadership and triumph!
Review: As one who was born after the events in October 1962, I cannot begin to dismiss "Thirteen Days" on its historical accuracy, but, for someone who enjoys an intelligent movie that is able to get under my skin for two hours, I was pretty interested in the material. The movie is not merely about the near-fatal choices made during the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but also about the strength it takes to make the decisions that affect the outcome of a nation as well as the world itself. The subject of "Thirteen Days" is not one, but a series of events and happenings that come into play like a strategic game in which each player can only cross a certain line before the other becomes agitated and takes action. Beginning with shots of a U-2 plane flying over Cuba, a series of photographs is taken, and the extent of what is in those photos becomes clearer once they reach their intended target, Washington D.C., where President Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) gets his first glimpse of what it's like to be on the brink of war. Fears escalate as Kennedy, along with his brother, Robert (Steven Culp), and presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell (Kevin Costner), begin hashing out possible plans for dealing with the crisis, which, at the time, was to remain confidential from all media sources. But, as all things do, the country soon realizes the danger it is in, and as millions of American citizens begin preparing themselves for disaster, our boys in Washington spend their days and nights in conference rooms and chambers trying to avert it. Roger Donaldson's film does for the Cuban Missile Crisis what Ron Howard's "Apollo 13" did for the devastating space mission that became one of the most heroic rescues in history. Done in the same textbook fashion, the movie goes through each turn of events so that there is no question about what is going on. Since we already know how the movie is going to end (or else I wouldn't be writing this review today), there is a small amount of intensity the film lacks, but what Donaldson is able to do is infuse each twist with a certain degree of intensity through his characters. This intensity that accompanies the film's sequence of events is more concerned with what decision the President will make rather than what will happen next. One right after another, David Self's script throws one pitfall after another at the President and his aides, from the building of missile launch sites in Cuba to the fact that Russian freighters are making their way across the Atlantic, with nuclear weapons possibly in tow. Each one of these possible threats to national security is met by at least ten different suggestions from different sides of the political arena as to the actions that should be taken in defense against them. So how does one handle such a large amount of pressure, especially when dealt from members of your own staff? The film is a character study of just how one deals with that stress. President Kennedy is a strong man in this film, and with the help of his brother Robert and aide O'Donnell, he is able to make decisions that he feels will bring to a halt the possibility of war. Here is a man with so much to deal with at once, and he is able to take it all in, analyze it, and make a decision that defines the true values of leadership and intelligence. The portrayals of these characters are given their due credit in some of the year's most Oscar-worthy performances. Kevin Costner is, as always, strong-willed and empowering, with just the right degree of emotion to keep his character human enough to believe in. Bruce Greenwood's President Kennedy is full of bravura and patriotism, one of the best portrayals of an American president in recent history. And Steven Culp is loyal and convincing as Robert Kennedy. The film's only major flaw is in its artistic elements, mainly centering on those black-and-white shots, which seem very out of place, and several captures of nuclear explosions, possibly meant to give the film a feeling of urgency and distress. Neither of these elements accomplishes what it was intended to, and may tend to wear thin after the first time they come into play. But despite its minute flaws, "Thirteen Days" is a history lesson told in textbook form, giving us event after event, and the ways in which each person who comes into play will solve them. But at the core of this political thriller is a story of leadership and the strength to make decisions that most people would never even be able to face. Donaldson may go over the top with his effects, but the overall result is immensely pleasing.
Rating:
Summary: This Film Should Be Retitled 55 Days
Review: The phony Boston accents didn't bother me. Neither did the performances by Kevin Coster, Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp. What did bother me is that the filmmakers assume the viewer is familiar with the Cuban missile crisis, the newspaper headlines and the politics of the period. They also assume you know all of the key players. If you don't, you're in trouble. Falling somewhere in between, I found myself often outside the action. Sometimes, I had to replay scenes (that helped). At other times, I had no clue what was going on. Friends and family who also rented the film gave it thumbs down. They hated Costner. I thought he was o.k. He fit the part perfectly. But you could tell that he was acting.
Rating:
Summary: An interpretation of just how close we came to nuclear war
Review: Having just visited the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, I was very anxious to see this video about the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. After all, I had just seen a short documentary film on the same subject just a few days before. To review everyone's memory, there was a real threat of nuclear war at the time when photos revealed that the Russians had missiles in place in Cuba aimed at the United States. It called for much diplomacy and courage on the part of JFK in order to avert the crisis and, as the outcome was positive, the incident has become a footnote in the history books. Therefore, I must give some credit to the filmmakers for wanting to bring this incident to public awareness so that we can all be thankful for what didn't happen. First and foremost, Kevin Costner is the star. No, he doesn't have the role of JFK who is played by Bruce Greenwood. No, he doesn't have the role of Bobby Kennedy, who is played by Steven Culp. Kevin Costner is cast as Kenny O'Donnell, a special advisor to the President who actually did exist. It is doubtful, however, that O'Donnell had the huge role in influencing the President as the film implies. And while there was probably a lot of soul searching on the part of all parties in making decisions, it is unlikely that their conversations would sound like late 20th century "sensitive" men who had lived through the human potential movement and had all had years of therapy. President Kennedy and his brother Bobby come across as mere shadows of the men I remember. How could they ever have achieved their place in history without some degree of leadership and decisiveness? This film makes it seem like the Kevin Costner character orchestrated their every move. For example, at one point in the film when JFK is worried that he will be late in making his television address, the Kevin Costner character says, "You're the President for goodness sakes, you can be a few minutes late." The cinematography, while good during the scenes of aircraft over Cuba, is lacking in other ways. For example, there are scenes in black and white and then there are scenes in color. Usually when a film does this, the black and white scenes tend to be newsreels, but in this film I never could figure out the reason for them. Also, too many scenes took place within the same room in the White House. As the incident is an historical fact, it was hard for the filmmakers to show the tension. They did a good job of it though by showing the conflicting values of the old guard military men and the new administration. And they did a good job when recreating the actual encounter been Adlai Stevenson and the Russian delegates during debate in the U.N. But otherwise, there was just too much talk. And speaking about "talk", I cringed at their Boston accents. None of the major actors seemed to get it, and Costner least of all. Of course it is impossible to recreate every detail of the historical time period, but they tried hard. Stephanie Romanov, who had a small role as Jacqueline Kennedy, looked just like her. But it was only after I looked at the credits for the cast that I see that there was an actor cast in the role of Lyndon B. Johnson. Throughout the film, I wondered where he was and have a faint recollection of one of the men around the table saying one line with a Texas accent. Could it be true that the Vice President of the United States was virtually non-existent? I must remember though that this movie never attempts to be a documentary. However, it does attempt to portray an actual event. And I can't help wondering whether Kevin Costner had history re-written especially for him. My recommendation? Well, it might be O.K. for children who were born long after the actual events or for those who might come from countries where American History is not taught and this film might be the only thing they ever learn about this conflict. Let them see how close we really came to nuclear war. But for those of us who are sticklers about historical accuracy or who remember how it really was, there are movies out there which can better satisfy your need for pure entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Plodding Reenactment With Costner On Down Side Of Career
Review: ...This is a very plodding reenactment of the Cuban Missle crisis back in the 1960s. It was more thrilling when I was kid and actually lived through it. Even worse, it is told from the perspective of Kenny O'Donnell (Costner), aide to JFK during the crisis, with a Boston accent the likes of which I've never heard before (my father's family all being from New England). This is also one of those glowing, idealized versions of the Kennedys which doesn't even hint of some of the real problems of that presidency. For one, it has been well reported that Bobby Kennedy had to comb the hotels of DC looking for JFK, who was with yet another woman, to tell him about the crisis and get him back to the White House to deal with it. One would never guess that the JFK in this film ever strayed from lofty Olympian heights of statemanship to such pedestrian level living. There was a tv mini series some years ago which covered all of this same ground quite well about the Cuban missle crisis and I don't see where this film, as a major theatrical release, covered any new ground. The story is told in a literal, plodding fashion, which after seeing "Requiem For A Dream" and "Traffic," which really opened film up into new levels, was quite a disappointment. This film left such a bad taste for us that we rewatched "JFK" by Oliver Stone, starring Costner, the following night and what a difference, both in directing and writing talent (Stone versus Roger Donaldson), and earlier Costner versus present day Costner. I'm going to review that film next.
Rating:
Summary: A scary reminder of what could have been.
Review: I was 17 years old when the Cuban missle crisis happened and I can still remember the fearful mood of most of the people I went to school with, their parents, friends, etc. It was a terrible time which, as the movie clearly showed, brought us to the brink of a nuclear nightmare. The movie, in my opinion was excellent. I even got to see an old friend (Robert Miranda - who played Bobby Kennedy's driver) in the movie. This one is a keeper for my tape library. I can see myself watching this one as many times as I've watched Costner in the movie "JFK".
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of American History
Review: After completing studies of US History in school, this movie was a natural selection for a boring summer afternoon. Everything in the movie seemed to be true to the way it was taught in the History class. This is an awesome film. The infinifilm features make the movie that much better. This would be a great video (especially in the infinifilm format) to show any US History class.
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