Oswald's Ghost (2007)

Director:

Robert Stone

Writer:

Robert Stone

Stars:

Hugh Aynesworth, David Bellin, Hale Boggs

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Credited cast:
Hugh Aynesworth	...	Himself
David Bellin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hale Boggs	...	Himself - Warren Commission (archive footage)
Judith Campbell Exner	...	Herself - Alleged JFK Mistress (archive footage)
Fidel Castro	...	Himself - Cuban President (archive footage)
Ramsey Clark	...	Himself - Attorney General (archive footage)
John Sherman Cooper	...	Himself - Warren Commission (archive footage)
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself (archive footage)
J.E. Curry	...	Himself - Dallas Police Chief (archive footage)
Robert Dallek	...	Himself
Ngo Dinh Diem	...	Himself (archive footage)
Allen Dulles	...	Himself - Warren Commission (archive footage)
Edward J. Epstein	...	Himself
Edmond Fatter	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Ferrie	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | kennedy assassination | conspiracy | lie detector | year 1963 | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Drei Schüsse auf JFK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Robert Stone Productions, The American Experience

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References War Is Hell (1962)

User Reviews

Visually Stunning But Otherwise Very Questionable

It's impossible to review this film without having a bias. I do believe a conspiracy was responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy but, as always when dealing with these matters, I do keep an open mind. While the film ostensibly is not on the whodunit but that question has done to us, Oswald's Ghost has a definite bias in it. And that bias is what kills the film.

Director Robert Stone seems to have done his homework. His interviews cover many proponents of both sides of the argument. He also goes a step further to present unseen or rarely seen / heard materials including news clips and the actual Dallas police recordings. Stone also chooses to employ some interesting visual techniques in the film as well. For example there is the whirlpool of Oswald and Warren Commission images at the start of the film, the (apparent) black hole of conspiracy books, and the positive / negative effect on stock footage during the playing of the recording of Perry Russo's sodium pentothal questioning. These are all well done, but their use in Stone's context is questionable.

Thus the film's fault lies in its bias. Stone seems convinced that the mystery is solved and has been for nearly forty-five years. The film then proceeds to essentially say that independent researchers (that is to say conspiracy theorists) have led the public on a wild goose chase of truly epic proportions. Stone seems to use the film and virtually every frame to saying this. Stone's film is not just, as he claims, a study of the effect of a mystery on the public. For the most part the film feels like an indictment of those who dare not agree with his point of view.

Would the film have been better without this bias? That's hard to say, really. I suspect that one's own opinion on the topic determines how one interprets the film. While one can argue over the factuality of the film, it is visually striking in its presentation as if to shock and awe. Does it succeed in that aim? I'll leave you to be the judge…