"Kennedy" (1983) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Jim Goddard

Writer:

Reg Gadney (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Biography of the 1961-1963 presidency of John F. Kennedy.

Plot Keywords:

John F Kennedy | Assassination | U.S. Senator | Lyndon Johnson | Patriarch

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	John F. Kennedy
John Shea	...	Robert F. Kennedy
E.G. Marshall	...	Joseph P. Kennedy
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Rose Kennedy
Vincent Gardenia	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Blair Brown	...	Jacqueline Kennedy
Kevin Conroy	...	Ted Kennedy
Charles Brown	...	Martin Luther King Jr.
Nesbitt Blaisdell	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Peter Boyden	...	Pierre Salinger
Kent Broadhurst	...	Richard Paul Pavlick
James Burge	...	Peter Lawford
William Cain	...	Gen. Lyman Lemnitzer
Joanne Camp	...	Eunice Shriver
Veronica Castang	...	Evelyn Lincoln

Runtime:

282 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Alan Landsburg Productions

Trivia:

First aired on NBC on Sunday, November 20, 1983 at the same time that ABC was airing ‘The Day After’ (1983).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene between Jackie and her assistant Bess in the car following their pre inauguration visit, there are several indications that this movie was filmed in the early 80s. First, if you look over Blair Brown's right shoulder as the car moves down the street, you'll notice a current version of a "Do Not Enter" street sign. It's the kind with the big red circle with a white line going through it. Those type of street signs didn't appear across America until the 1970s. As the car continues to move down the street, immediately behind it are a few other automobiles from that time period. However, again over Blair Brown's shoulder, you'll notice the car passes several 80s era vehicles which are parked.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Goonies (1985)

Five hours for 1,000 Days

This mini-series more than earned its BAFTA award. It was well acted, true to the facts recorded in most books on the Kennedys, and very emotive. I was particularly impressed by Blair Brown as Jackie, and Nesbitt Blaisdell as an eerily convincing LBJ. Martin Sheen was Martin Sheen in the look-a-like stakes, but he put across the personality, temperament, and accent of Kennedy superbly, which is a lot harder than merely resembling a person. (Although, when watching the original footage of the inaugural address on the DVD version, I had to wonder if Sheen had maybe overdone the famous Boston accent slightly). The tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis was well captured, and the dramatisation of the assassination was the right balance of effect and imagination. Blair Brown's portrayal of Jackie's shock and grief stood up to the raw emotion of the opening scenes, perfectly bookending this amazing series.