JFK- 50 Year Commemorative Ultimate Collector’s Edition

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's

 

This limited edition boxed set contains some wonderful bonuses for Kennedy fans, students of the JFK assassination, history lovers, and students of history. JFK 50^th Commemorative Ultimate Collector’s Edition includes the Director’s Cut of the Oliver Stone film JFK, and so much more.

 

First, the controversial 1991 Stone film JFK, starring Kevin Costner as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, focuses on one conspiracy theory involving the assassination of the president. The movie won two Oscars and was nominated for six others. Oliver Stone took home the Golden Globe in 1992 for his directing. The Director’s Cut is the cornerstone of this numbered limited edition (50,000) box set.

 

But that movie is just one part of this special edition. The 1963 film PT 109, about Kennedy’s experience in World War II, is also included. The movie stars Cliff Robertson as Lt. John F. Kennedy. Kennedy personally selected him for the role. And the movie was screened in the White House to the praise of the president. PT 109 is a dramatization of the events in the South Pacific when Kennedy commanded a PT boat. A Japanese ship sank the PT boat and the crew had to swim to an island for safety. JFK personally saved the lives of many of his crew and proved he was not just a spoiled rich kid who relied on others. His acts earned him recognition for his bravery and heroism.

 

Also included in this Ultimate Collector’s Edition is the documentary John F. Kennedy: Years of Lightning, Day of Drums, narrated by Gregory Peck. This 1965 film highlights the attention the Kennedy Administration gave to various issues and problems facing the world: civil rights, space, communism, the nuclear threat, Berlin, and the dedication to world peace. The Peace Corps and the Alliance for Progress are also detailed. Weaving scenes and activities from the 1000 days of the Kennedy Administration together with scenes from the days of mourning in Washington, D.C., this film is a reminder of what was and what could have been, and what was taken away in a flash. The optimism of the country and the world has never been the same.

 

JFK Remembered: 50 Years Later is yet another documentary included in this edition. This documentary is an interesting biography of the 35^th President of the United States.

 

The final disc in the box is Chapter Six from the Oliver Stone TV series The Untold History of the United States. “To the Brink” focuses on how close the world came to nuclear war in 1962.

 

Now, if all these discs are not enough, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has included some commemorative items that will be appreciated by the entire family. There is a small hardcover book JFK: Director’s Cut about the movie and the actors. Add to that another small hardcover book, Quotations of John F. Kennedy with many well-known and not-so-well-known quotes from the president.

 

Six 5X7 photos of the cast of the Oliver Stone movie and a collection of photos of JFK through the years and correspondence to and from the Kennedys add an interesting element to this box set. And a frame-able copy of Kennedy’s Inauguration Address will be adorning walls around the country, as well as a replica of a 1960 campaign poster.

 

“In one blurred motion of history the crime was done.” That is what happened in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Here we are fifty years later and John F. Kennedy is still alive in books, in films, and in hearts. This commemorative set does not go into the flaws of JFK. It focuses on the positive aspects of the man and his relationship to history.

 

The controversial Oliver Stone film aside, the set is a wonderful collection of information about John Kennedy, his life and times, with hours of video and plenty of memorabilia.