JFK (1991)

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Oliver Stone (screenplay), Zachary Sklar (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon

Won 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sally Kirkland	...	Rose Cheramie
Anthony Ramirez	...	Epileptic
Ray LePere	...	Zapruder
Steve Reed	...	John F. Kennedy - Double
Jodie Farber	...	Jackie Kennedy - Double (as Jodi Farber)
Columbia Dubose	...	Nellie Connally - Double
Randy Means	...	Gov. Connally - Double
Kevin Costner	...	Jim Garrison
Jay O. Sanders	...	Lou Ivon
E.J. Morris	...	Plaza Witness #1
Cheryl Penland	...	Plaza Witness #2
Jim Gough	...	Plaza Witness #3
Perry R. Russo	...	Angry Bar Patron
Mike Longman	...	TV Newsman #1
Edward Asner	...	Guy Bannister

Storyline

On November 22, 1963, president John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested for the crime and subsequently shot by Jack Ruby, supposedly avenging the president's death. An investigation concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby acted alone in their respective crimes, but Louisiana district attorney Jim Garrison is skeptical. Assembling a trusted group of people, Garrison conducts his own investigation, bringing about backlash from powerful government and political figures.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | president | assassination | assassination of president | conspiracy | 

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Taglines:

He's a District Attorney. He will risk his life, the lives of his family, everything he holds dear for the one thing he holds sacred... the truth.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Oliver Stone Site

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Project X

Filming Locations:

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,223,658, 18 August 2012, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$70,405,498

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$205,405,498

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Canal+,Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

189 min 206 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Oliver Stone: Seen very briefly in the assassination re-enactment. Look very close for him as the Secret Service agent who runs towards the back of the limo after the fatal headshot.

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Goofs

When Ferrie is in the hotel room speaking to Garrison a boom mic can be seen in the mirror.

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Quotes

[first lines]
title card: "To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards of men." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
President Eisenhower: ...We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. And to do this three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishement. We annually spend on military security alone...
Narrator: January, 1961. President Dwight D. Eisenhowers's Farewell Address to the Nation.
President Eisenhower: ...This conjunction of an immense military establishment and arms industry ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Opening quote: "To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men." --Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Alternate Versions

Garrison and his staff discover that Broussard has disappeared from his apartment, and argue about the real reason why Clay Shaw has been brought to trial. While they're talking, Garrison sees Robert Kennedy on TV and says "They'll kill him before they'll let him be president".

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Connections

Referenced in Hawaii Five-0: Elua la ma Nowemapa (2016)

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Soundtracks

Kokyo
Written by Leonard Eto
Performed by Kodo
Courtesy of Sony Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

A Modern Cultural Obsession

The assassination of JFK has been told in every possible way through every available medium. Oliver Stone managed the unimaginable transforming and almost folk tragedy, through a mix of drama and cinema veritè, into a riveting mystery thriller with the paranoiac style of a man who's in touch with paranoia in a quasi permanent basis. Unnerving, frustrating and spectacularly satisfying. Kevin Costner manages to be convincing as the center piece of the conspiracy theory. We believe the whole damn thing because we see it through his logic. Sissy Spacek, as his wife, represents most us and she does it brilliantly. Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Bacon are a pleasure to watch. Donald Sutherland, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and even John Candy, Sally Kirkland and Vincent D'Onofrio deliver little parts of the puzzle without ever becoming distracting. Gary Oldman is a chilling dead ringer for Lee Harvey Oswald. For film lovers, for history nuts, for pop culture fanatics and for conspiracy theorists, this is a must.