JFK (1991)

JFK movie storyline. A controversial, speculatively revisionistic, historical epic surrounding onetime New Orleans DA Jim Garrison’s (Kevin Costner) investigation of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. Director/co-writer Oliver Stone based his intriguing interpretation in this docu-film thriller on the well-publicized and alleged conspiracy theories of the obsessed attorney about the mystery of the death, based upon the testimony of a number of unreliable witnesses.

This complex, provocative courtroom film features a cavalcade of stars, with cameos and supporting roles by such actors as Tommy Lee Jones (in an Oscar-nominated role as Clay Shaw, the CIA agent whom Garrison charges with the murder of Kennedy), Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Donald Sutherland (as the mysterious “X”), Laurie Metcalf, Walter Matthau, John Candy, Vincent D’Onofio, Sally Kirkland, Ed Asner, Kevin Bacon, Wayne Knight, Michael Rooker, Gary Oldman (as accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald), and Garrison himself as Justice Earl Warren.

Stone employs innovative, masterful and impressive film editing (with quick cuts and use of various film stocks) through the work of Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia (who won Oscars), and he creates, through gripping cinematography, a tense, kinetic atmosphere that mirrors the whirlwind of memories, incidents and scenarios that play out in Garrison’s mind.

The trial scene in the last half of the film features three very memorable segments: an analysis of the famous Zapruder film, the scornful rejection of the Magic Bullet theory, and Garrison’s impassioned closing argument, finishing with him staring directly into the camera, and saying: “It’s up to you.” The movie also features stirring music by John Williams that accentuates the emotional themes.

Directed by: Oliver Stone
Starring: Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek, Sally Kirkland, Jodie Farber
Screenplay by: Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar
Production Design by: Victor Kempster
Cinematography by: Robert Richardson
Film Editing by: Joe Hutshing, Pietro Scalia
Costume Design by: Marlene Stewart
Set Decoration by: Crispian Sallis
Art Direction by: Derek R. Hill, Alan Tomkins
Music by: John Williams
MPAA Rating: R for language.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: December 20, 1991