Thirteen Days (2001)

Flawed ending

There are many things to admire in this well-ventilated political thriller. And some flaws, like Kevin Costner's New England accent. But I watch it all the time and I have only one criticism. The moment we have been waiting for for two hours, i.e. the Soviets finally agreeing to remove the missiles from Cuba in return for our pledge never to invade Cuba -- this moment, after all those scenes full of white knuckles, fear of disaster, anxiety -- this moment comes as the scratchy voice of a translator off-camera, "The Soviet Union has agreed..." and a quick shot of some tickertape.


After this moment, which we hardly notice, everyone is breathing a sigh of relief, the cabinet is congratulating Kennedy, Kevin Costner is saying "Every day the sun comes up says something about us" -- the huge drama and suspense is finally over, and we didn't really see the most dramatic moment of the story. It flashed by too quickly for us to notice.

Otherwise, a good movie. November 2, 2008

13 Days

I'd never heard of this movie until 10 days ago. I'd worn a red CCCP tee to work and one of the guys asked me, "What's the deal with the shirt?" We'd started talking and I'd brought up the subject of the Cuban Missile Crisis. My friend kept mentioning "13 Days". I'd asked him what the movie was about and he told me "The Cuban Missile Crisis"

At he time of the event I was eight years old and I remember it as if it were yesterday. People were, to say the very least, extremely frightened. I remember a Nike missile being set up at the corner of Main and Center Streets in my little town.

I've just finished reading a book called "One Minute To Midnight" by Michael Dobbs (2008) which I'd found absolutely fascinating. Research materials for the book included the latest declassified materials concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis. Friend who served in the military at the time always hold their thumb and index finger about one-eighth of an inch apart while saying, "We were THIS close to global nuclear war."
After reading "One Minute To Midnight" I now say to them, while hold up my hand with my thumb and index finger touching, "No. We were THIS close to the extinction of life as we know it on planet Earth."

I found 13 Days an absolutely absorbing movie with great acting. Overall I find the movie to be historically accurate given research materials available at the time the movie was made. Reading "One Minute To Midnight" absolutely enhanced the viewing of the movie for me and I found that newly revealed details in the book did in no way diminish the events depicted in the movie.

Much has been said about Kevin Costner's character but I found that the character served as a vehicle to link much of the events depicted and to provide perspective. I would not only highly recommend this movie but the book "One Minute To Midnight" as well.

The only thing that I find would have mad the movie better would have been the inclusion of Krushchev and Castro, which would have provided an all-inclusive presentation of events that led the world to the brink of nuclear war.

As it stands the movie is a superb presentation of events that transpired on the American side when the Doomsday Clock was poised to strike midnight.Thirteen Days (Infinifilm Edition) September 20, 2008

Wish President & Congress All Saw This in 2003 Before Iraq II

I saw this film years ago before Iraq War II and was surprised at how well the story was told.

The story follows the crisis from the perspective (generally) of special assistant to the president, Kenneth O'Donnell. This helps us to see things from an "outsider" point of view; that is, we see things inside, but we are not thinking at the level of the President, for instance. It is meant to help us have empathy towards the situation. The storytelling, however, works. You end up getting a sense of urgency and of how important and quickly action and decisions need to be taken.

The pace is pretty fast and the lines are pretty good - and even educational. If you do not know that Defcon 5 means peace time and that Defcon 2 or Defcon 1 is mobilize for war, this movie explains that.

It is also surprisingly not political - or plain wrong and outrageous like Oliver Stone's JFK (also with Kevin Costner). The film tries to paint the historical perspective - which is that at the time, there were many in the US that did NOT like JFK (which most people forget in historical hindsight). The film tries to show the hawkish and antagonistic people vs. JFK and his administration. Yet the film defends those people's point of views as well and at times, shows the sneakiness of JFK and RFK in their own political gaming (intrigue) to keep it balanced and apolitical.

The key takeaway from the entire movie is JFK's desire to avoid a war - which, ultimately, I wish both President and Congress thought that way towards Iraq back in 2003.

There were some "cheesy" cinematic tricks used to try and tell the story - like switching to black and white before returning to color at certain points of the movie - to try and bring the viewer into the sense that this was a historical film. While it didn't take away from the film, I personally thought it wasn't wholly necessary.

But, if you like political history, if you like period films, and if you just like a good film with excellent pacing, this is a great film that can truly be enjoyed again and again. September 11, 2008

PROPAGANDA

This movie presents just a half of the truth.

Facts that weren't presented

1962

USA - 6000 of nuclear warheads.
USSR - 300 of nuclear warheads.

As you can see USSR had just 5% of American nuclear arsenal.

In 1960 USA placed American middle range nuclear Missiles in Turkey. To answer this, USSR was forced to send Missiles to CUBA. After Cuban crisis, American Missiles from Turkey and soviet Missiles from Cuba were withdrawn.

Russians and Americans! Do not be fooled by propaganda from either side. Learn real facts of history or you will see how history repeats itself before your eyes.





May 10, 2008

Outstanding film

Historical and New England accent accuracies aside, this was a fabulous cinematic endeavor. I'm no Kennedy fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I am now a Roger Donaldson fan, so put that in your piece pipe and smoke it. Gripping drama. Check it. December 3, 2007

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