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Summary: RIVETING! GREAT STORYTELLING! A FINE POLITICAL THRILLER!
Review: I had never thought that a film that's dubbed a "Political Thriller" could be this intense and exciting. WRONG! This is by far Kevin Costner's best work to date. I don't base my favorites on box office gross, but by the acting and storytelling. This film has it all: Awesome Special Effects, great storytelling by writer David Self, and superb acting performances by Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Kevin Conway, and all the others. I believe that this film should be shown in history classes. Dramatic license aside, this is a superb account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and John F. Kennedy's struggle to prevent a catastrophe from taking place. The DVD features exciting behind the scenes footage, historical background, an Historical Commentary track featuring John F. Kennedy and Kenneth P. O'Donnell, film commentary track with director Roger Donaldson, actor and producer Kevin Costner, and other members of the production team who brough this dazzling film to the screen. The infinifilm feature allows you to access the historical background features while watching. This film is for anyone and EVERYONE who likes watching historical films! Grade: A+
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Summary: ON THE BRINK...
Review: 13 DAYS recounts the Cuban missle crisis and how we as a nation averted the threat of WWIII. Kevin Costner plays Special Advisor to President Kennedy, Kenny O'Donnell, in a performance that reminds me of his turn in Oliver Stone's JFK 10 years ago. Although not quite as good as he was back then, these kind of movies are far better than any of his other recent movies. Having said that, I firmly believe that it is Bruce Greenwood, as JFK. who gives the best perfomance in the film. It is truly amazing. I would imagine that Mr Greenwood had more than his share of butterflies about playing JFK. He pulls it off rather nicely and without making the viewer feel put off or uncomfomfortable. Steven Culp as Robert Kennedy is also very good. People have complained that the role of O'Donnell was beefed up for the movie and wasn't as important as the film suggests. While I am sure that Director Donaldson took some artistic liscence in telling the story, that in no way. lessens the impact of the movie. The film unfolds at a brisk pace and is never dull. My only real problem with the piece is Costner's accent, it can be dead on and subtle in some spots and very uneven in others--New Line's infinifilm DVD line is off to a good start. The DVD offers all the extras a person could want--and presents them in both the standard way--and in a whole new way for a unique viewing experience. The pop-up menus that apoear while your're using infinifilm gives viewers the chance to access historical and behind the scenes information related to what's on the screen. An interesting idea that, for the most part, works well and is not confusing at all. So that after you watch the film once you can go back and watch it again in a fun, informative, and interactive way
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Summary: The Will of Good Men
Review: Movie Summary: In October of 1962 an American spy plane flying over Cuba detects Soviet nuclear missile sites being constructed. Over the next 13 days, the world sits on the brink of world war three as President Kennedy, his cabinet, and advisors go toe to toe with the Kremlin. The United States wants the missiles out of Cuba before they become operational and the Soviets deny their presence altogether. My Opinion: I loved this movie. It was taught and very well acted. I went into it expecting Historical Fiction. I didn't expect it to be a documentary. So it didn't bother me to find out that Kenneth O'Donnell's role was exaggerated or that not everything was completely accurate. I can deal with dramatic license as long as they don't try to pretend that this is exactly what happened. If they had wanted to make a documentary they would have. But sometimes a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. The accents didn't bother me one bit. I wouldn't even have noticed them except I liked how they said "baaaastards". There is a full cast of characters who are all developed. They have emotions and weaknesses which makes them three dimensional and human. It was exciting to see intelligent men at work in the White House and to see the sacrifices that they made to keep the rest of us safe. It made me proud to be an American no matter how corny that sounds. DVD Quality: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1 DD5.1 Excellent sound and picture. This DVD is called an Infinifilm edition. In short this is like the rabbit hole in the Matrix to the tenth power. It is loaded with extras. This is a wonderful DVD release. This is how you would want any movie that you love enough to own. What You Should Do: See this movie. See it on DVD if possible. The Infinifilm feature is awesome. Buy the DVD if you are a history buff or Costner fan. You will not be disappointed as long as you realize that it is not a documentary. Related Movies To Check Out: Failsafe (1964), The American President, The West Wing TV Show
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Summary: I made the mistake of renting, rather than buying....
Review: What a gem of a DVD! Worthy of 5 stars for its tremendous special features (the infini version), with a well-filmed and directed effort at creating a visual and compelling drama from history, the film fails only in a few casting errors and the use of black and white sequences, which are distracting. The script allows a relatively minor player in the Kennedy administration, Kenny O'Donnell, to be elevated to the most trusted advisor status in order to enhance the story (and to create a role big enough to give Costner top billing). Now, I know that 13 days could not have had as good a showing in theaters, or even on video without some star quality in the O'Donnell role, but like most viewers, I believe that Costner was a poor choice. Once you have gotten past Costner and his accent, you are free to concentrate on the excellent ensemble performances that compel this "showdown" drama to the end. I was a child during this period of history and can remember some blurry visuals of the incident, and also a melancholy that surrounded me as the adults in my life tried to cope with what might have been. Far from the high impact area of the weapons, I can imagine the fright and the tension felt in my new home, the state of Florida. Since most of our history books today breeze through much of the detail surrounding the cold war, "13 Days" will provide an interesting backdrop and tool for our serious educators to demonstrate the fear of the times to today's students. It is also an excellent film, like the current "West Wing" on television, to illustrate how much behind the scenes negotiation and personal drama are the backdrops for seemingly clearcut issues addressed by the President on a daily basis. With the exception of Costner, the cast is a miraculous collection of personalities you have seen before in many roles. Their willingness to take these small parts and build the fine ensemble you see is testimony to how few roles of substance we have today for fine, older supporting actors. Particularly notable are Greenwood and Culp as the Kennedys, Dylan Baker as McNamara, Kevin Conway as General LeMay, Michael Fairman as the much maligned Adlai Stevenson, and the always delightful Len Cariou, who you may not even recognize because he has become Dean Acheson. Director Donaldson has a clean, crisp, diverting and riveting style of switching from scene to scene, and the air and sea patrol scenes, interspersed with the White House, are top-notch. Music plays a strong but lesser role throughout the film, and it is obvious that the directors and producers had a well thought out plan for the DVD production. There is not a single special feature that is not worth watching (even the discussion with Costner, much more palatable when he is not in the O'Donnell role). One of the really terrific elements of the film is the strong portrayal of just how primitive the communication industry was at the time.....scenes of frantic telephone operators, offices without personal computers, teletype machines and the time it took to channel overseas communication all tell us how we have launched ourselves into the 21st century with our telecommunication tools. A movie to watch again and again...think I'll buy the DVD!
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Summary: Bruce Greenwood is the story
Review: This is a gem of a film with some minor distractions which keep it from being a classic. Bruce Greenwood's portrayal of JFK is not only convincing on a visceral level, but he got the mannerisms and subtleties (such as JFK's back pain) down perfectly without detracting from his highly charged performance. Steven Culp has made a mini-career out of portraying RFK and does so again very capably here. On the other side, Costner is at best cloying and at worst infuriatingly obnoxious in his propped up role, portraying a character who did not exist (in the professional capacity suggested here) and an abhorrent Hyannis accent that would make Teddy K. cringe. More poor acting comes from some of the side-players (eg. the Admiral) who play the military as stiff dolts who have no concept of human frailty or subtle emotion. The story itself is compelling from start to finish, and suggests even in this slightly exaggerated script, how close the world came to disaster save for the prudent genious of JFK, which for the purpose of this film was not juxtaposed against his poor personal decision-making abilities. I highly recommend this film.
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Summary: Welcome to the re-education camps
Review: This was a typical Hollywood movie, based on "facts" (Oliver Stone could have written this one). Yeah right. The Kennedy's save the day from the Soviets and a group of evil Pentagon guys who want to start a war. This is made even more amusing by the fake Boston accents and the way Costner's varies in strength from one scene to the next. Every few minutes in the file we see a cut scene of a nuke going off. Hmmmm, I wonder what they were trying to say here? The Soviets had little direct part in the film which is pretty odd, seeing as they were the guys causing the problem. Also, the ending itself was a bit of fantasy and simple speculation on how the crisis was solved. The sad thing is that a lot of kids who weren't paying attention in history class will view this file as accurate. Parts of it actually were, but very important parts were not. This could have been a good film, but it failed on many levels. See it for a laugh, but don't bother watching it to learn anything.
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Summary: infinifilm is excellent
Review: finally some really enjoyable extras on DVD The movie itself is really good... but the infinifilm pop-up choices for viewing historical details or production notes is one of the best extras I have watched on DVD.
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Summary: 13 Days
Review: This movie is a re-enactment of thirteen days in October, 1962, when Soviet actions in Cuba made nuclear war seem almost inevitable. The Soviets had brought nuclear missiles to Cuba and the Cubans were in the process of activating them, when US reconnaissance planes discovered what was going on. Thereafter the US and Soviet leaders conducted a series of moves and countermoves which were frightening to most citizens at the time. The US considered an air strike on Cuba, but Kennedy decided that a blockade would be a better preventive measure to war and would give the Soviets more room to save face. There were some incidents that I don't remember, such as a plane being shot down and some of the Soviet ships going through the blockade, but I don't know if this is my faulty memory or some embellishment on the part of the movie makers. Kevin Costner's bad Boston accent has been well-documented and I feel in general that he is a very over-rated actor, but the other performances were good and made this an interesting and sometimes exciting movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, Not Great
Review: Thirteen Days chronicles two weeks of incredible tension in the White House regarding the Cuban missile crisis. As someone who knew only the basics of the incident I found this movie to very interesting. Is it an action movie like the trailers try to show? Nope. Is it incredibly entertaining, an edge-of-seat thriller? Nope. So don't get it if you're expecting that. The acting is pretty decent, the screenplay is interesting and keeps the tension going, and the cinematography is fairly standard. I don't know if this movie is worth buying but it is most definitely worth a rental, assuming you are interested in the historical aspects of it. The Infinifilm edition includes quite a few tasty extras, including profiles of the real people who are cited throughout the film.
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Summary: Review from two who lived through it, one who didn't...
Review: I'll go on record as saying this may be the finest film I've seen about the Cuban Missle Crisis, with the possible exception of actual film and news coverage from the time. If you're wondering WHY on earth you'd want to see a film about a historical even that has been analyzed, discussed and written about (some would say to death), the answer is this - this film offers a unique, gripping and special perspective on the Cuban Missle Crisis. Even if you lived through this period in our nation's history (as I did), I urge you to see this one. It is truly a classic study of leaders coping under the most intense, urgent pressure imaginable - and thinking admirably well on their feet. We watched this one with our 17 year old son and the experience was definitely different for all three of us. My husband and I remembered how frightened our parents had been during the Curban Missle Crisis and even remembered such details as the drawn, anxious face of newsman Walter Cronkite (shown in this film) as he kept the country up to date on the ongoing drama. Our son, on the other hand, had a whole different perspective but was equally fascinated and riveted by this film. He glimpsed what it was like for our country to be on the brink of nuclear war - and from his reaction, I think it was a sobering, enlightening experience for him. Be forewarned, there are some controversial sections in this film. The main focus and perspective of the film is that of presidential aide Kenneth O' Donnell (played by Kevin Costner) and there is also an emphasis on the Kennedys saving the world from the military's ambitious war plans. yet there is also a serious commitment to historical detail and accuracy in most areas of the film that make up for any flaws. While any version of this film is worth seeing, you'll get special pleasure from the DVD version, with the behind the scenes information about the history and mood of our culture during this period. I plan to watch this film several times. It is simply THAT good.
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