DVD Pick: Thirteen Days Review Continued
The most dramatic moment in the film comes when a Soviet tanker heading for Cuba refuses to heed calls to stop. Earlier, the President had directed that absolutely no shots were to be fired except by his order. Yet, Admiral George Anderson orders an American ship to fire flares over the Soviet tanker. Angrily, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara orders the firing be stopped immediately, and the Admiral tells him, "Get out of our way, Mr. Secretary. The Navy's been running blockades since the days of John Paul Jones." McNamara is appalled to realize that Anderson is thinking that the Cuban blockade is similar to other blockades the Navy has run in the past, and the Secretary of Defense shouts at the Admiral, "This isn't a blockade! This is language -- a new vocabulary -- the likes of which the world has never seen! This is President Kennedy communicating with Secretary Khrushchev!"
Eventually, American intelligence reports that the Soviet missiles in Cuba are becoming operational, and on October 27 an American pilot is killed when his plane is shot down during a reconnaissance mission. The President orders an air strike against Cuba for Monday, October 29, unless the Soviets agree to remove their missiles. With time running out, Robert F. Kennedy meets with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin in what appears to be the last chance for a negotiated settlement. As the President's brother, RFK is able to offer a private assurance of an American concession that cannot be part of any formal agreement. On Sunday, October 28, the Soviets signal their acceptance of the offer by announcing on Radio Moscow that they are dismantling their missiles in Cuba and bringing them back to the Soviet Union. Thus, the thirteen-day Cuban Missile Crisis is over, and nuclear war has been avoided.
I thoroughly enjoyed Thirteen Days, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the film is presented as an American folk legend, and none of its characters seem real. The treatment of the Kennedys is positively reverential, and the generals and admirals are all slow-witted warmongers. Even Kenny O'Donnell is depicted as such a fine fellow that we can't understand how he could ever have earned the nickname "The Cobra." But of course the characters in a folk legend don't have to seem real -- they just have to represent something the audience wants to believe.
The visual style of Thirteen Days is straightforward, but this works well for the kind of story the film tells. I think Bruce Greenwood is quite good in the difficult role of John F. Kennedy, and all the other actors, including Kevin Costner, are at least adequate. I liked the density of detail in the movie, and I found my emotions running very high at times. After all, it's comforting to believe the film's basic premise that decent men engaging in rational thought improve the odds of avoiding catastrophe. Thirteen Days isn't great filmmaking, but I found the movie very entertaining, and I think most other people will, too.
Special features on the DVD include:
- Documentary: "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis"
- Short Feature: "Bringing History to the Silver Screen"
- Brief biographies of historical figures
- Commentary track featuring historians and participants
- Commentary track featuring director, writer, producers
- Subtitles explaining historical references in the film
- Deleted scenes (9)
- Demonstration of visual effects for low-altitude flight
- Pop-up access during movie to related special features
- DVD Release Date: July 10, 2001
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
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