638 Ways to Kill Castro (2006) (TV)

Director:

Dollan Cannell

Release Date:

28 November 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

Dollan Cannell's documentary on the hundreds of alleged plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, and a look at the evolution of Cuban politics.

Plot Keywords:

Fidel Castro | Government | Assassination Attempt | Interview | Communism

Cast

Wayne Smith	...	Himself
Enrique Encinosa	...	Himself
Enrique Ovares	...	Himself (as Enrique O'Varez)
Fabian Escalante	...	Himself
Antonio Veciana	...	Himself
Robert Maheu	...	Himself
E. Howard Hunt	...	Himself (as Howard Hunt)
Félix Rodríguez	...	Himself
Ann Louise Bardach	...	Herself
Roseanne Nenninger Persaud	...	Herself (as Roseanne Persaud)
Sharon Persaud	...	Herself
Orlando Bosch	...	Himself
Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles	...	Himself (as Luis Posada)
Rodolfo Frómeta Caballero	...	Himself (as Rodolfo Frómeta)
Teresita Frómeta	...	Himself
Orlando Moreno	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fidel Castro	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Dollan Cannell

Produced by
Kari Lia	....	producer
Peter Moore	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Samuel Sim

Cinematography by
Petra Graf
Michael Timney

Film Editing by
Oliver Huddleston

Production Management
Samantha Chambers	....	production manager

Sound Department
Bob Jackson	....	dubbing mixer

Editorial Department
Adam Grant	....	on-line editor
Jonathan Lieb	....	colorist
Mark Towns	....	additional editor

Other crew
Tom Fox	....	additional researcher
Samantha Lawrence	....	head of production

Production Companies

• Silver River Productions

Distributors

• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

78 min | Finland:75 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA

Company:

Silver River Productions

...and I wouldn't be surprised if they're cooking up another plot right now

Over the years, I've heard about the various ways that the US government has tried to assassinate Fidel Castro. Through interviews with Fabian Escalante (the former head of Cuban intelligence), the makers of "638 Ways to Kill Castro" learned that there had in fact been that many, and they even enumerate how many under each US president.

The documentary uses a Michael Moore-style approach: as they explain things, they intersperse footage from other sources to move the action along. While some people may find this distracting, I have always considered it one of the most interesting approaches to film-making. And anyway, we have to focus on the documentary's main point: we're in the midst of a so-called war on terrorism, and yet we try to assassinate a head of state and meanwhile allow known terrorist Orlando Bosch (one of the vilest people on Earth) to live within our borders. Rarely has there been such hypocrisy.

I recommend this documentary if only for that. It is important for people to see beyond the Bush administration's lies and hypocrisy, even if the scenes from old movies look a little jarring. Worth seeing.