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IMDbPro

JFK

  • 19911991
  • RR
  • 3h 9m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
159K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
882
233
Kevin Costner in JFK (1991)
Theatrical Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer2:20
5 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaHistoryThriller
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
159K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
882
233
    • Oliver Stone
  • Writers
    • Jim Garrison(based on the book "On the Trail of the Assassins" by)
    • Jim Marrs(based on the book "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" by)
    • Oliver Stone(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Kevin Costner
    • Gary Oldman
    • Jack Lemmon
    • Oliver Stone
  • Writers
    • Jim Garrison(based on the book "On the Trail of the Assassins" by)
    • Jim Marrs(based on the book "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" by)
    • Oliver Stone(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Kevin Costner
    • Gary Oldman
    • Jack Lemmon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 546User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
    • 72Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars

    Videos5

    JFK
    Trailer 2:20
    Watch JFK
    JFK
    Trailer 2:20
    Watch JFK
    JFK
    Trailer 0:16
    Watch JFK
    Kevin Bacon Gets Quizzed On His IMDb Page
    Video 3:49
    Watch Kevin Bacon Gets Quizzed On His IMDb Page
    Athletes Who Chose Acting Over Football
    Video 3:14
    Watch Athletes Who Chose Acting Over Football

    Photos211

    Kevin Costner and Jay O. Sanders in JFK (1991)
    Columbia Dubose, Jodie Farber, Randy Means, and Steve Reed in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner, Wayne Knight, Gary Grubbs, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Rooker, and Jay O. Sanders in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner and Sissy Spacek in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michael Rooker in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner and Donald Sutherland in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner and Wayne Knight in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner, Michael Rooker, and Jay O. Sanders in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Costner, Joe Pesci, and Jay O. Sanders in JFK (1991)
    Oliver Stone in JFK (1991)
    Kevin Bacon, Kevin Costner, and Michael Rooker in JFK (1991)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kevin Costner
    Kevin Costner
    • Jim Garrison
    Gary Oldman
    Gary Oldman
    • Lee Harvey Oswald
    Jack Lemmon
    Jack Lemmon
    • Jack Martin
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Senator Long
    Sally Kirkland
    Sally Kirkland
    • Rose Cheramie
    Anthony Ramirez
    • Epileptic
    Gary Taggart
    • Doctor (credited on Director's Cut)
    Ray LePere
    • Zapruder
    Steve Reed
    • John F. Kennedy - Double
    Jodie Farber
    Jodie Farber
    • Jackie Kennedy - Double
    • (as Jodi Farber)
    Columbia Dubose
    • Nellie Connally - Double
    Randy Means
    • Gov. Connally - Double
    Jay O. Sanders
    Jay O. Sanders
    • Lou Ivon
    E.J. Morris
    • Plaza Witness #1
    • (as E. J. Morris)
    Cheryl Penland
    • Plaza Witness #2
    Jim Gough
    • Plaza Witness #3
    Perry R. Russo
    • Angry Bar Patron
    Mike Longman
    • TV Newsman #1
      • Oliver Stone
    • Writers
      • Jim Garrison(based on the book "On the Trail of the Assassins" by)
      • Jim Marrs(based on the book "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" by)
      • Oliver Stone(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby was filmed on location in the actual basement garage of Dallas City Hall, where the real-life shooting took place.
    • Goofs
      David Ferrie's "confession" in Fountainbleu Hotel never happened. Ferrie went to his death denying any knowledge of Oswald or the plot to kill JFK.
    • Quotes

      Jim Garrison: The Warren Commission thought they had an open-and-shut case. Three bullets, one assassin. But two unpredictable things happened that day that made it virtually impossible. One, the eight-millimeter home movie taken by Abraham Zapruder while standing by the grassy knoll. Two, the third wounded man, James Tague, who was knicked by a fragment, standing near the triple underpass. The time frame, five point six seconds, determined by the Zapruder film, left no possibility of a fourth shot. So the shot or fragment that left a superficial wound on Tague's cheek had to come from the three shots fired from the sixth floor depository. That leaves just two bullets. And we know one of them was the fatal head shot that killed Kennedy. So now a single bullet remains. A single bullet now has to account for the remaining seven wounds in Kennedy and Connelly. But rather than admit to a conspiracy or investigate further, the Warren Commission chose to endorse the theory put forth by an ambitious junior counselor, Arlen Spector, one of the grossest lies ever forced on the American people. We've come to know it as the "Magic Bullet Theory." This single-bullet explanation is the foundation of the Warren Commission's claim of a lone assassin. Once you conclude the magic bullet could not create all seven of those wounds, you'd have to conclude that there was a fourth shot and a second rifle. And if there was a second rifleman, then by definition, there had to be a conspiracy.

    • Crazy credits
      Closing statement: What Is Past Is Prologue
    • Alternate versions
      A director's cut prepared by Oliver Stone for the video release features 17 minutes of footage not included in the theatrical version. Among the new material:
      • Guy Bannister and his secretary talk briefly about Oswald and laugh.
      • New flashbacks of Oswald's life in Dallas with his wife after his return from Russia and his contacts with George De Mohrenshildt, Janet and Bill Williams (the man who gets Oswald a job at the book depository).
      • When Garrison and his assistant are at the book depository, they discuss the fact that the motorcade route was changed by then Dallas mayor Earle Cabell, brother of general Charles Cabell fired by Kennedy in 1961.
      • A fake Oswald (Frank Whaley) is seen in a flashback test-driving a new car and talking about Russia to the salesman.
      • In another flashback, Oswald is introduced to the New Orleans Cuban community and meets Sylvia Odio, leader of an underground anti-Castro movement.
      • A new flashback of Oswald and Clay Shaw seen together at a voter's registration drive in September '63.
      • Jim Garrison appears on "The Jerry Johnson Show" on TV to be interviewed. He tries to show photographs and defend his theories but he's cut short by host Jerry Johnson (John Larroquette).
      • Bill Broussard meets Jim Garrison at the airport where he's leaving for Phoenix, AZ and tells him the mob will attempt to assassinate him. After a few minutes he has to flee from a public restroom when he hears strange voices in the next stall and is approached by an unknown man (a cameo by production designer Victor Kempster) who pretends to be a friend of him.
      • 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".
      • During the trial, more witnesses against Shaw are shown than in the theatrical version, including a obviously insane man (Ron Rifkin) who claims that Shaw discussed killing Kennedy with him.
    • Connections
      Edited into Malcolm X (1992)
    • Soundtracks
      Drummers' Salute
      Arranged by D. G. McCroskie

      Performed by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

      Courtesy of Fiesta Records Co. Inc.

    User reviews546

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Oliver Stone's greatest film!!!
    I have stated many times that Oliver Stone is an incredible film maker whose films sizzle with excellent cinematography, good acting, and original storyline. He makes controversial films that are sometimes unappreciated by the public and the critics. I said and believed all this even before I watched "JFK".

    "JFK" is a film that stars many A-list actors in major and minor roles, but they give deep imprints nonetheless. Tommy Lee Jones, the Oscar nominated actor of the film, gives a performance that I almost missed due to my not recognizing him. Jones plays Clay Shaw, a powerful figure in New Orleans and a secret homosexual who knew about the plot to kill the president. Gary Oldman is fantastic as the widely publicized murderer, Lee Harvey Oswald. Joe Pesci, fresh from his Oscar in "Goodfellas", as Dave Ferrie, a man who is struggling to cope with the heavy accusations and mysteries of the JFK murder. Donald Sutherland in an Oscar-worthy performance, as an informant that talks to Jim Garrison, played wonderfully by Kevin Costner. Other great appearances include Kevin Bacon, Sissy Spacek, Michael Rooker, and even Walter Matthau in a bit appearance.

    Many of these fine performances were worthy of Oscars, but if there is one man that deserved an Oscar more than anyone else, it would have to be Oliver Stone, who did not win Best Director OR Best Picture. Who did he lose to? "Silence of the Lambs". While I do consider the film to be an excellent thriller featuring one of Anthony Hopkins' greatest performances, I must say that in terms of scope and daring, "JFK" was a far superior film. The cinematography was far more varied and ambitious, as well as the subject matter itself. I can understand why "JFK" was passed over, but the reasons are not fair to the extraordinary film given to us.

    The appearance of "JFK" is astounding. You are taken to a time of much distrust, horror, confusion, corruption, and cover-up. The murders of JFK, Martin Luther King, and RFK all influenced the time periods and the peoples. Many people tried not to think about it, or else they were scared into silence. Some, like Jim Garrison, tried to present the truth of "JFK", and their efforts are being felt even now.

    Before I saw this film, I had seen Oliver comment that "JFK" was a movie in which he got all the crazy theories and presented them. He was not implying that everything was true, and some of it isn't true. But after seeing this film, I am convinced there was definitely more to the story than was originally told, as I believed even before I saw "JFK". This gave me a knowledge of the period, and awareness of the people participating in the drama of the time.

    The point of the film is not entirely based on the story of the JFK assassination. It is an outcry from Oliver Stone to remind us that truth is never simple, nor is it always presented by the government. People must struggle to find the truth sometimes, and if it is covered up, it could be lost forever. The film is an attempt to show us that the murder of President Kennedy was a time of much confusion and mix-up. So what was true and what was not? Many eye-witnesses gave conflicted views, while other circumstances were strange in their origins and happening. And while he gave us this, Oliver Stone also presented us with the best film that he has yet made, and his resume is incredible as it is.

    I have seen the films "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July": films that Oliver Stone won Best Director for. Why did he not win for "JFK"? Why did it only win 2 Oscars? For me, it is another example of how disappointing the Oscar results can be. I urge all to see this epic film of mystery and deceit, of truth and lies, the work of a master film director known as Oliver Stone.
    helpful•128
    47
    • BobStage
    • Dec 1, 2007

    FAQ32

    • What is 'JFK' about?
    • Is 'JFK' based on a book?
    • How much of this movie is true?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 20, 1991 (United States)
      • United States
      • France
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Dealey Plaza - 500 Main Street, Dallas, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Canal+
      • New Regency Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 3 hours 9 minutes
      • Color
      • Black and White

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