Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14437 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-10-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 313 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Made in 1983, the US TV mini-series Kennedy has Martin Sheen playing a president well before his stint on The West Wing. All of the momentous events of JFK's remarkable term are covered (with actual news footage used to excellent effect), but it is the portrayal of the entire Kennedy family as real, flawed people that gives Kennedy its power. The Kennedys gossip, snipe, joke and bother each other like a real family rather than rigid historical figures or threadbare caricatures. Sheen plays JFK as a man with lofty ideals who is more than willing to dirty his hands to serve his greater purpose. Blair Brown plays Jacqueline Kennedy with a shrewd understanding of politics, but also a whiff of vanity. In addition to the strong performances by both leads, Vincent Gardenia gives a brilliant performance as J Edgar Hoover: stiff, quirky and strange, prurient and moralistic at the same time and boiling with hatred. --Ali Davis

DVD Description
Although the Kennedy family are never far from the headlines, it was John F. Kennedy who was the most celebrated and notorious of the clan. The 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was also the country’s first Roman Catholic President, its richest and its youngest to die in office. Kennedy’s administration attracted some of the most brilliant young men and women in America and together they recreated the twentieth century version of King Arthur’s court at Camelot. He and his beautiful wife Jackie (Blair Brown) captured the imagination of people the world over.

Kennedy is the behind-the-scenes story of JFK’s dynamic Presidential years, from the night before his election in November 1960 to the afternoon of his assassination on 22nd November 1963. It covers momentous events including the abortive invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, the turmoil of violent racial conflict, the escalation of America’s involvement in Vietnam and the Missile Crisis. It also explores the private life of the man – the tragic death of his son aged only 39 hours and his chronic womanizing, scrutinized by the FBI under the leadership of the sinister and obsessive J. Edgar Hoover.

Special Features

• The Inaugural Address
  
• One Week in October - 30 minute film produced for the Department of Defence chronicling the events taking place during the Cuban Missile Crisis
  
• One Day in Berlin - featuring excerpts from JFK’s historic speech at the Berlin Wall
  
• The Last Two Days - 20 minutes of President Kennedy’s fatal last trip to Texas – includes the two cities he visited before Dallas and footage from a limousine behind the President in the Dallas motorcade

DVD Technical Information:

• Running time: 7 hours (including 95 minutes of extras)
  
• 2-disc set

Customer Reviews

Kennedy
The DVD box set offers excellent value for money and Martin Sheen and John Shea are very powerful as the Kennedy Brothers. History is repeated with accuracy although my only critisism is that their golden era is portrayed as just that "golden" although it clearly wasnt. I would still recommend this set to anyone for a rainy Sunday afternoon in.

A superficial look at a crucial period in history
Kennedy serves as an introduction to anyone interested in this period of history. The series essentially uses the "Greatest Hits" formula for JFK's presidency and to anyone with knowledge of the events, they are far too superficially covered.
There are not too many faults with the series/film (although 5 1/2 hours is a little long for one sitting), it is not bad, just not . . . good. There are far too many examples of how JFK's presidency has been better dramatised.
Buy this if you wish to do so but I would recommend "Thirteen Days" for an excellent dramatisation of Kennedy in office and if anyone wants this series in condensed form, the opening sequence of JFK achieves the same level of information in 1/10th of the time.

Well done
Whilst this TV show betrays the fact that it was made in the early 80s, the performances are still great. Nowadays we have the benefit of so much more information about the Kennedy administration; nevertheless, this is a fine 3-part series and Sheen gives a fine performance - he would later be back in the Oval Office for 7 seasons as President Bartlett - and is still highly watchable.