- Jubilee offer: spend £10 or more on any product sold by Amazon.co.uk on or before June 6 and you can buy The Diamond Jubilee A Classical Celebration Album for just £2.50 Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
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.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Prior to watching this DVD, my knowledge of the Kennedy family and the JFK years were scanty, this movie helped to fill in a lot of gaps with its factual and historical accuracy. This forced me to read more on that vital part of history. The Amazon product review has already described the content and synopsis of this DVD, it suffices for me to say that this is a factual and accurate account, and that real life footages were used to good effect. I think Mr. Sheen was a good choice for a young dynamic JFK and John Shea an excellent Robert Kennedy, while Blair Brown was undoubtedly Jackie Kennedy. The rest of the cast E.G. Marshall as Joseph Kennedy, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Rose and Vincent Gardenia as Kennedy's nemesis J. Edgar Hoover did not disappoint.
I was filled with so much sadness at the end of the movie with the events on the 22nd of November 1963. On reflection I wondered if the lessons of history had been learnt; - is the world a safer place, are we more tolerant of one another, where did all the hatred come from, who killed such a young and well meaning president, whose volition to set America and the World on a course that will raise the profile of all humanity was not only clear to see but a beacon of hope for all?. I am glad this DVD exists and would recommend it to all interested in American history or history of the Kennedy family.
The is a two pack DVD set, with special features which include real life footages of prominent events in the JFK era namely:
The inaugural address by JFK - Washington DC Jan 20TH.
One week in October - a 30 minute documentary chronicling the Cuban Missile Crisis
One Day In Berlin- 30 minute documentary featuring JFK'S historic speech at the Berlin wall
The last two days - a 20 minute documentary covering JFK'S last fatal trip to Texas.
I was filled with so much sadness at the end of the movie with the events on the 22nd of November 1963. On reflection I wondered if the lessons of history had been learnt; - is the world a safer place, are we more tolerant of one another, where did all the hatred come from, who killed such a young and well meaning president, whose volition to set America and the World on a course that will raise the profile of all humanity was not only clear to see but a beacon of hope for all?. I am glad this DVD exists and would recommend it to all interested in American history or history of the Kennedy family.
The is a two pack DVD set, with special features which include real life footages of prominent events in the JFK era namely:
The inaugural address by JFK - Washington DC Jan 20TH.
One week in October - a 30 minute documentary chronicling the Cuban Missile Crisis
One Day In Berlin- 30 minute documentary featuring JFK'S historic speech at the Berlin wall
The last two days - a 20 minute documentary covering JFK'S last fatal trip to Texas.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
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.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I really enjoyed it. I was a youngster when JFK was elected and there is no doubt in my mind that he was the best President to sit on Washington's throne in my lifetime. I recall hearing the original inaugural speech but don't recall it being quite that long! Martin Sheen was a good choice as JFK but (as I recall) lacked his special joie de vivre which no actor has been able to emulate. The entire cast did a great job. Casting Blair Brown as Jackie was perfection, Vincent Gardenia's
portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover was remarkable although I felt that it was often over-dramatized which likely was intended to add emphasis.
portrayal of J. Edgar Hoover was remarkable although I felt that it was often over-dramatized which likely was intended to add emphasis.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A TV classic-first of its kind.
Martin Sheen and Blair Brown are excellent in this acclaimed mini-series, and the first real high quality TV drama focusing on the American Camelot. Well-worth a purchase.
Published 1 month ago by S. Weller
Kennedy
Martin Sheen is great as JFK and It is a very good true to life drama based on the the three years that Kennedy was President,
Published 8 months ago by Michael Mullen
A little long but still worth a watch
Despite reading other reviews (which I will not bore people with the same comments) it's pretty darn good. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Movie Man
Well done
Whilst this TV show betrays the fact that it was made in the early 80s, the performances are still great. Read more
Published on 19 May 2009 by Jim-Jim
A GOOD INTRODUCTION TO THE KENNEDY ERA.
A NICELY ACTED AND WELL PRODUCED MINI SERIES THAT PROVIDES A GOOD STARTING POINT FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE PRESIDENCY AND LIFE OF JFK. Read more
Published on 24 May 2004 by JAMES FINDLOW
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... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2003 by A. Drummond
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Film & TV > Television > Drama
- Film & TV > Television > TV Series
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
