"Kennedy" (1983) TV mini-series

Director:

Jim Goddard

Writer:

Reg Gadney (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Biography of the 1961-1963 presidency of John F. Kennedy.

Plot Keywords:

John F Kennedy | Assassination | U.S. Senator | Lyndon Johnson | Patriarch

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	John F. Kennedy
John Shea	...	Robert F. Kennedy
E.G. Marshall	...	Joseph P. Kennedy
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Rose Kennedy
Vincent Gardenia	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Blair Brown	...	Jacqueline Kennedy
Kevin Conroy	...	Ted Kennedy
Charles Brown	...	Martin Luther King Jr.
Nesbitt Blaisdell	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Peter Boyden	...	Pierre Salinger
Kent Broadhurst	...	Richard Paul Pavlick
James Burge	...	Peter Lawford
William Cain	...	Gen. Lyman Lemnitzer
Joanne Camp	...	Eunice Shriver
Veronica Castang	...	Evelyn Lincoln

Runtime:

282 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Alan Landsburg Productions

Trivia:

First aired on NBC on Sunday, November 20, 1983 at the same time that ABC was airing ‘The Day After’ (1983).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The helicopter shown right before the scene with the baby Patrick is a Bell Jet Ranger. They did not exist in the Military until the Johnson Administration.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Goonies (1985)

The Kennedy Administration: Warts and All

This may well be the definitive "Kennedy" film in terms of historical accuracy and honesty, positing forth the best and less-than-best of this so-called Camelot administration. Martin Sheen is, as usual, outstanding in the title role, and his Kennedy not only bares his fallacies but impresses an honest sense of public service. As the former first lady, Blair Brown is nothing less than superb, and her Jacqueline Kennedy is eerily touching, especially with her voiced-over prophecy of her "appointment with death." Together, Sheen and Blair actually generate the sense of youth and glamour that distinquished the real administration. They are more than aptly backed up by a stellar supporting cast headed by John Shea (RKF), E.G. Marshall (Joe Sr.) and the late Vincent Gardenia (as a sinister, throughly unlikeable J. Edgar Hoover). There are apparently two versions on the market: the edited and the unedited. Go for the latter; the former is so badly chopped up that the historical value is lost. My only question: where the heck can I get the original five-hour cassette (and I've looked!)? My other one's worn out! From the scholarship standpoint, this film is an important historical resource.