8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
New Orleans District Attorney discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary OldmanDrama | 100% |
History | 60% |
Period | 56% |
Crime | 49% |
Epic | 35% |
Mystery | 6% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (2 BDs, 3 DVDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Oliver Stone's JFK continues to divide viewers, but it isn't going away anytime soon, because the tragedy that inspired it continues to reverberate through contemporary events. Terms like "lone gunman", "the grassy knoll" and "the magic bullet" have picked up enough currency to become catchphrases, at least in popular culture, if not in historical scholarship. Books on the assassination of America's thirty-fifth President continue to appear long after the truth of that era-defining moment is supposed to have been established beyond any doubt. In the end, the significance of the assassination may turn out not to be so much the facts themselves, which are almost certainly more prosaic than the vast conspiracy alleged by former New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison in both real life and Stone's film, but the nagging uncertainty that has dogged the event for five decades (and counting). November 22, 1963 will mark the 50th anniversary of that terrible day, and observances are planned in many cities, including Dallas, Texas, where the assassination occurred. Warner has decided to reissue its previous Blu-ray of Stone's film in the longer director's cut in an "Ultimate Collector's Edition" (or "UCE"), which contains a host of new extras and memorabilia. Since none of the Blu-ray content is new, this review will be limited to itemizing the contents of the package.
For a video evaluation and screenshots of JFK, please see the previous review (from which the score has been copied).
For an audio evaluation of JFK, please see the previous review (from which the score has been copied).
The extras accompanying the main feature are discussed in the previous review. The following is a list of new extras specific to the UCE:
To me, the missed opportunity of the UCE is to supply the theatrical cut of JFK for the first time on Blu-ray, which I consider to be a superior version of the film. Fans of JFK would greatly benefit from having both cuts available via seamless branching, and the video quality could be improved by splitting the film between two Blu-ray discs. Maybe that will happen with the next UCE. Meanwhile, this version is a worthy holiday gift idea for the Kennedy fan or history buff on your shopping list who doesn't already own JFK on Blu-ray.
Director's Cut
1991
Director's Cut
1991
Director's Cut
1991
Collector's Edition | Theatrical on BD
1991
Two-Disc Special Edition | featuring All the President's Men Revisited
1976
1993
2009
2007
2011
35th Anniversary Edition
1987
1982
2010
Academy Awards O-Sleeve
2008
2005
2005
1992
2011-2013
2012
2013
2015
2013
2010
2007
2014