Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

DVD REVIEW -- "The Murder Of JFK: A Revisionist History"

4 views
Skip to first unread message

David VP

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 4:00:34 AM4/8/06
to
DVD REVIEW OF:
"THE MURDER OF JFK: A REVISIONIST HISTORY" (1999 DOCUMENTARY)
RELEASED ON: FEBRUARY 28, 2006
RELEASED BY: MPI HOME VIDEO / MPI MEDIA GROUP
REGION "0" DVD ("ALL-REGION" PLAYABLE DISC); NTSC FORMAT
COLOR & B&W

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BT96PK/qid=1144396676/sr=8-2

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=MPD007167

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000BT96PK.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/768134bh.jpg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Murder Of JFK: A Revisionist History" makes a very nice addition
to any collection of John F. Kennedy-related materials (regardless of
whether you're "pro-conspiracy", "anti-conspiracy", or somewhere in
between with respect to your particular beliefs regarding President
Kennedy's assassination). Although a definite thread of conspiratorial
belief most certainly is woven into this documentary, it's not
shamefully brazen or overly ridiculous-sounding in terms of conspiracy,
which is unlike many of the other outlandish JFK theories and plots
that have been postulated in the various books, films, and
documentaries over the years.

What this program fails to do, though, is to delve in any depth
whatsoever into the life (and more importantly, the mind) of Lee Harvey
Oswald....a man who I believe killed John Kennedy all by himself in
1963.

Oswald's role in the assassination is pretty much glossed over here;
and, strangely, Jack Ruby (the man who killed Oswald on 11/24/63) is
barely even mentioned in this documentary. There's a short clip of Ruby
murdering Oswald in the police basement, but after that snippet the
subject of Ruby comes up (as I recall) only one other time, during a
rather strange film clip showing a group of protestors demanding the
immediate release of Dallas prisoner "John Ruby". (Oddly, these
protestors didn't even seem to know the true name of the man they were
fighting so hard to have released from jail.)

"A Revisionist History" is a lengthy program, with a running time of
140 minutes (not the 180 minutes that is advertised on the DVD). It was
made in 1999 and won an award for "best use of news footage in a
documentary". And I can see why. This DVD is loaded with rare news
snippets associated with JFK's terrible murder, which occurred in
Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd, 1963. There are many news clips
presented here that I had never seen before, including quite a bit of
footage taken during the years leading up to Kennedy's death.

"Revisionist" hints at a possible "Cuban connection" with respect to
JFK's ultimate demise, and thusly this documentary features several
video and film clips taken in Havana around the time that Fidel Castro
gained control of Cuba. One such interesting clip was culled from "The
Ed Sullivan Show" of January 5, 1960, where Sullivan puts on his
interviewer's hat and asks Castro some hard-hitting questions. Fidel,
in a classic bit of irony, informs Mr. Sullivan (and, hence, America)
.... "You can be sure that Batista will be the last dictator of Cuba".

Some of the video footage seen in this program can also be found in
another excellent, must-see documentary film on the Kennedy
assassination, that being 1964's "Four Days In November" (narrated by
actor Richard Basehart).

"Four Days" in many ways serves as a good companion program to "A
Revisionist History", insofar as presenting a large dose of vintage
filmed materials relating to the JFK case.

In my own opinion, "Four Days In November" (which consists of almost
nothing but vintage, archival news footage, circa 1963) is superior to
all other Kennedy films and documentaries, with a musical score by
Elmer Bernstein that is also second to none. But this "Revisionist
History" program has its own set of high points in the "vintage
footage" department as well, making it a pretty good bookend piece to
"Four Days".

Some of the highlights worth noting from "A Revisionist History"
include:

1.) A good-sized portion of a June 22, 1964, interview with Texas
Governor John Connally (via KRLD-TV in Dallas). Mr. Connally, after
having recounted the entire assassination sequence which had occurred
exactly seven months earlier, becomes quite emotional at the end of
this footage. This black-and-white clip (which appears to be on
videotape and not film) exhibits super-sharp video and audio quality.

2.) Footage showing John Connally introducing Lyndon Johnson as a
candidate for the Presidency at the Democratic National Convention on
July 10, 1960.

3.) Two brief rarely-seen film clips (in color) showing Lee Harvey
Oswald during his altercation with police on the streets of New Orleans
in the summer of 1963. (This is evidently the only known color film
footage of Oswald in existence.)

4.) The November 29, 1963, telephone conversation between new President
Lyndon Johnson and Senator Richard Russell, discussing the creation of
LBJ's Warren Commission, of which Senator Russell was strongly opposed
to being a member (as can be heard in this phone call). Excellent audio
quality attached to this clip, too.

5.) Very, very rare film clip (I'd never seen it before) showing Warren
Commission members standing outside the Texas School Book Depository
Building in Dallas in July 1964. This B&W film footage is accompanied
by audio as well, with the microphones picking up some comments made by
Allen Dulles and David Belin. This unique footage also shows Dulles and
Belin looking out at Elm Street (where JFK was assassinated) from
behind the picket fence atop the now-famous Grassy Knoll in Dealey
Plaza.*

* = I thought that that particular "Behind The Picket Fence" portion of
this 1964 footage was rather interesting, in that it certainly
indicated that the Warren Commission members were, in a sense, not
totally ignoring the idea that one or more shots on 11/22/63 could have
conceivably come from behind that fence -- otherwise, why would the
Commission and its staff have even bothered to have a look for
themselves at the view that a potential assassin would have had from
that Knoll vantage point? (Conspiracists will no doubt argue that the
Commission members were merely "going through the motions" for the
press, which was following the WC's every move in Dealey Plaza that
day, as can be observed in these film clips.)

6.) Portions of a BBC-TV special entitled "The Death Of Kennedy", in
which the Single-Bullet Theory is discussed (and even re-constructed on
camera using mock-ups of victims Kennedy and Connally). This BBC clip,
which is in B&W, also includes comments made by Warren Commission
counsel member Arlen Specter, as Mr. Specter defends his position
aggressively with these words: "You call it the theory; I call it the
conclusion; it was a theory until we found the facts; that's why I
refer to it as the Single-Bullet Conclusion".**

** = Note: The DVD claims this BBC program aired on January 27, 1964;
but that's an obvious error/typo. The SBT had not even been postulated
by Specter and the WC as of that January '64 date. The Commission, in
fact, as of that date in early 1964, had barely even begun their work.
That BBC broadcast is probably from 1965.

7.) Rare color footage of a portion of the FBI/WC re-enactment of the
assassination from the 6th-Floor window of the Book Depository (as seen
through the scope mounted on Lee Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano rifle). I
didn't know that color footage of the FBI re-creations even existed
until viewing this DVD. This snippet is very, very short, but it's
quite interesting seeing it in fairly-vivid color.

8.) A September 27, 1964, news clip from a CBS-TV special ("Report On
The Kennedy Assassination"), with Walter Cronkite giving a general
overview of the just-released Warren Report. Cronkite speaks forcefully
about the facts and evidence of Oswald's guilt during this B&W news
clip. I especially enjoyed Mr. Cronkite's first blunt and to-the-point
observation re. the Warren Report: "Oswald was a liar". (Darn right he
was, Walter. LHO never stopped lying from the minute he was arrested in
the Texas Theater. And it's great hearing a newsman reporting it like
it is.)

9.) A portion of Walter Cronkite's September 1969 CBS-TV interview with
former President Lyndon Johnson, during which JFK's assassination is
openly and candidly discussed. (Note: Oddly, this particular in-color
news clip with Johnson and Cronkite is shown in a 1.66:1 Widescreen
format on the DVD. A few other clips on the DVD are also shown in
Widescreen for some reason.)

10.) March 1975 footage of the late-night talk show "Good Night
America" with Geraldo Rivera -- The Zapruder Film (showing JFK's
murder) is broadcast for the first time on national television. This
color clip includes Robert Groden's blatant exaggeration of the number
of witnesses that he claims heard shots from the Grassy Knoll on
11/22/63 ("80 percent"). Groden deliberately overstated the number of
Knoll earwitnesses in order to further his own notions of a JFK
conspiracy. In reality, well more than 50% of all earwitnesses in
Dealey Plaza said they heard shots from BEHIND the President's car, and
not from in front of it.

This same "Good Night America" footage (in expanded form) can also be
found on another MPI Home Video release from 1998 -- "Image Of An
Assassination: A New Look At The Zapruder Film", which is another very
worthwhile collectible DVD product pertaining to the Kennedy murder
case. ... www.amazon.com/gp/product/630507190X/qid=1144397543/sr=8-1

11.) Color film clip of Congressman Christopher Dodd interrogating
former CIA Director Richard Helms on September 22, 1978, during the
House Select Committee's inquiry into JFK's death. Stinging remarks by
Mr. Helms can be heard in this clip, which is footage that's not in
very good shape, picture-quality-wise.

In the years following JFK's murder, Richard Helms, obviously sick of
having his agency raked over the coals and suspected of having a hand
in Kennedy's death, always exhibited a harsh and brusk tone in every
comment I ever heard him make publicly in wake of President Kennedy's
assassination. Helms' comments, however, come off as rather
foolish-sounding in this specific clip re. "AM/LASH".

12.) Video clip of an irate Wesley Liebeler (Assistant Counsel member
of the Warren Commission) in the early 1990s, wherein Mr. Liebeler
publicly denounces the Oliver Stone film "JFK". Liebeler: "Your movie
is a vast tissue of falsehood, deception, and distortion. .... Your
movie cannot be defended on a factual basis".

13.) The "Castro Playing Ping-Pong For Three Hours" video clip.
(Consult the DVD for more details on this humorous footage.) ;)

----------------------

DVD Specifications:

The single-sided DVD for "A Revisionist History" offers up a
clear-sounding Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack (although some of
the vintage '60s-era audio clips do show their age, with understandable
limited fidelity and waning crispness).

The video on the DVD, with the exception of a few Widescreen clips, is
Full-Frame (1.33:1). English subtitles are included. A Scene Selection
Sub-Menu provides access to the program's 17 individual chapters. There
aren't any Special Features to supplement the main program. The Keep
Case packaging includes a 16-page DVD Catalog List for other titles
released by MPI Home Video.

DVD Chapter List:

1. Opening Credits
2. Battlefield Cuba
3. Fidel Castro
4. Bay Of Pigs
5. Operation Mongoose
6. Peaceful Resolution
7. Test Ban Treaty
8. Dallas
9. Oswald Killed
10. LBJ And The Aftermath
11. J. Edgar Hoover
12. Warren Commission
13. Conspiracy Theories
14. Assassination Committee
15. Seven Days In May
16. History
17. End Credits

----------------------

In-A-Nutshell Breakdown Of This Program:

Pros:

>> Many rare and hard-to-find-anyplace-else news clips.
>> Good video (DVD) quality.
>> Peter Dean's solid narration. (Peter also, btw, served as narrator for MPI's "Image Of An Assassination" documentary.)

Cons:

>> Could probably have been edited down to a shorter length.
>> The music score (which isn't very impressive, IMO).
>> Not enough background information on Lee Oswald.

----------------------

Overall......

I think that conspiracy theorists and lone-assassin believers alike
will be able to appreciate many things within this MPI program, with
the wealth of seldom-seen film footage that is presented here, all by
itself, being worth the cost of this disc for ardent collectors of
JFK-related material.

David V.P.
March 2006

aeffects

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 4:40:02 AM4/8/06
to
Overall, I think you and MPI have your collective heads up your ass....

most here understand that already..... a post without the *Bug*? egad!

press on troop!

David VP

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 1:07:47 PM4/8/06
to
"A post without the *Bug*? egad!"

Look kids o' the corn! A post by AEffects that makes little to no
sense!

Gee, what a shocker!!

aeffects

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 2:18:13 PM4/8/06
to
can't help if your Bugliosi-Von Pain promotional tour ended with the
above post -- you gott'a learn about contract renewal -- by-the-ton
champ, words by-the-ton....

da Bugliosi ain't gonna be happy!

David VP

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 2:32:37 PM4/8/06
to
>> "Can't help {it} if your Bugliosi-Von Pain promotional tour ended with the

above post -- you gott'a learn about contract renewal -- by-the-ton
champ, words by-the-ton....da Bugliosi ain't gonna be happy!"


A perfect record so far, aeffects .... no post of yours yet has made
any sense. (This last one of yours being no exception to that rule.)

WHY in the world would my review of a JFK-related DVD have anything
whatever to do with my belief in VB's abilities or my faith in said VB
CS&L with respect to his book and the JFK case in general?

If I don't mention VB in every post (and I certainly haven't mentioned
him in every post, and you're a fool if you think I have), then I
suddenly don't believe in Vince's "LN case" any longer??? Is that what
you're saying.

Better put down the bottle for a few minutes. It's starting to
show....bad.

aeffects

unread,
Apr 8, 2006, 3:45:42 PM4/8/06
to
of course the posts don't make sense, Lone Neuters are devoid of common
sense and clear understanding of JFK related evidence -- despite
protestations

0 new messages