Thirteen days is a 2000 american historical political thriller film directed by roger donaldson. Thirteen days summary and study guide supersummary. Most of the time, he blends in with a large, capable cast of. Thirteen days is really a study of how a leader and his team confront a crisis. Fortunatly, kennedy and khrouchtchev kept cool heads and. Thirteen days april 20, 20 summary the movie thirteen days is based off of the real life situation of the cuban missile crisis that occurred back in 1962. Liesel starts gathering gifts, beginning with a deflated soccer ball, and leaves them at the end of his bed to show that she cares and so that they have. Thirteen days by roger donaldson kevin costner, bruce. In the ravine was first published in 1900 and is one of the longest stories chekhov wrote in his later years. Thirteen days in september by lawrence wright was a page turnerthe narrative brought to light the tension in the camp david peace accords. Nikita khrushchev installed soviet missiles in cuba, 90 miles from florida and within striking distance of 80 million americans.
Director roger donaldson teams up with star kevin costner for another political thriller after their 1987 pairing, no way out, only this time with a film based on the actual events surrounding the cuban missile crisis of 1962, taking place during the titular thirteen days wherein the u. The analyses reproduced below were originally published in 2001 to mark the release of thirteen days, a film about the events of october 1962 peter almond a coproducer of thirteen days, graham allison, and ernest may leading experts on the cuban missile crisis offer their opinions on. How accurate is days hollywoods take on the kennedys. Kevin costner stars as top white house assistant kenneth p. Featured content includes commentary on major characters, 25. This book contains kennedys thoughts about the cuban missile crisis and the actions that he and the rest of the united states cabinet took to prevent a. Tuesday morning, october 16, 1962 the president summoned robert kennedy to the white house and informed him that us intelligence believed, based on photographic evidence, that russia was installing nuclear weapons in cuba. With kevin costner, bruce greenwood, shawn driscoll, drake cook. In october 1962, the kennedy administration struggles to contain the cuban missile crisis. The book was released in 1969, a year after his assassination thirteen days describes the meetings held by the executive committee, the team assembled by us president john f. It dramatizes the cuban missile crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of the us political leadership. Trevor jones, jones, trevor thirteen days 2000 film. For those who havent had a chance to watch this movie, it is based on the cuban missile crisis of 1961 that pushed the us, and the world in general, to the brink of a nuclear war as kennedy tittles and tattles between various options trying to fuse the. Across the globe, people anxiously awaited the outcome of a harrowing political, diplomatic and military confrontation that threatened to end in an apocalyptic nuclear exchange between the united states and the soviet union.
Thirteen days triumphs as a story of the tests of human endurance, mostly because it never loses the sense of urgency of the situation at hand. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Kennedys memoir of the cuban missile crisis that occurs from october 16 to october 28,1962. Kennedy and his advisors as they are trying to come. Thirteen days captures the urgency, suspense and paralyzing.
With the aid of his perfectly insync cast, director roger donaldson never resorts to glossiness or pandering to present the films tale of a conflicted president in the midst of chaos. Thirteen days analyses cuban missile crisiscuban missile crisis. The movies plot follows the thirteen days in chronological order. The actor kevin costner 1955 starred in a movie about the cuban missile crisis titled thirteen days. Kennedy to handle the tense situation that developed between the united states and the soviet. This even tis precipitated when soviet offensive weapons are found in cuba, contrary to public and private promises by premier nikita s. Thirteen days, directed by roger donaldson, is told from the. Kennedy, also known as jfk, summons the author, his brother and attorney general, robert f. I ended up stuck between four stars and five for this worki had given his other work the looming tower five stars and in the end do the same here.
Kennedy, also known as rfk, to the white house to tell him a u2 spy plane has found proof of russian missiles and atomic weapons in cuba. Kennedy discovered the soviet union had installed nuclear missiles inside cuba. The film focuses on kennedy, his brother robert kennedy, and white house aide kenneth odonnell. Producer kevin costner plays a real person, kennedy staffer kenny odonnell, but the character combines the roles and actions of several people and essentially exists to help tell the story as efficiently as possible. Thirteen days may seem like a movie script, but it really happened.
Kennedy, is an account of the cuban missile crisis based on the view of robert f. The kennedys and their staff use and abuse the lord. They didnt have to make up too much for thirteen days, the movie that tells the story of the cuban missile crisis. Released in 2000, the movies tagline was youll never believe how close we came. South african veteran trevor jones scored the film with a measured orchestral score masterfully performed by the london symphony orchestra that bristles with mounting tension, while seldom straying into. In october 1962, u2 aerial surveillance photos reveal that the soviet union is in the process of placing intermediaterange ballistic. The film focuses on john f kennedys appointments secretary, kenny odonnell kevin costner. My uncles soul lived in our hut thirteen days after. Death says that he goes to visit max, but the jew fights him, and death leaves. Recent research has demonstrated the utility of case studies in general, and film in particular, in the ir classroom.
Odonnell, with bruce greenwood featured as president john f. Thirteen days tells this dramatic story from the perspective of kennedy political advisor kenny odonnell. For thirteen extraordinary days in october of 1962, the world stood on the brink of an unthinkable catastrophe. Unfortunately, the movies most common profanity is the misuse of jesus name. Casino you can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk outta here you cant have both duration. The film thirteen days, directed by roger donaldson, is the cinematic reworking of the events of october 1962, based on the may and zelikows book. And for me, this movie offers us the opportunity to drop some of our cynicism and see one of the moments when jack and bobby kennedy became golden. Dramatisation of the cuban missile crisis, the nuclear standoff with the ussr sparked by the discovery by the americans of missle bases established on the soviet allied island of cuba. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The 1962 cuban missile crisis was the closest weve come to a nuclear world war. Watching thirteen days for the 9th time, i get the feeling this movie should be a regular part of any class on decision making. Custom research papers in history topics are paper masters specialty. Tuesday, october 16 president kennedy is told that the cubans have icbms intercontinental ballistic missile.
The united states learned that the soviet union was placing missiles with nuclear weapons in cuba. In october, 1962, u2 surveillance photos reveal that the soviet union is in the process of placing nuclear weapons in cuba. This was the beginning of the cuban missile crisisa confrontation between the two giant atomic nations, the u. The film thirteen days, a hollywood account of the cuban missile crisis, purports to take audiences behind the scenes at the white house during the tense and critical period when nuclear war between the united states and the soviet union seemed not only possible but likely. Shortly after 9 am on tuesday 16 october 1962, president john f. Thirteen days doesnt add up by michael nelson, political science professor, rhodes college. Kennedy includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Step by step, robert kennedy gets us through those perilous days when a misunderstanding, a misstep could certainly have cause the end of mankind. This film is a huge reminder of how close the world was to global annihilation with two great powers pointing weapons of mass destruction threateningly at each other. As soviet ships with more missiles moved toward cuba, a u. Nikita khrushchev installed soviet missiles in cuba.
It is claimed that the facts of the story are carefully researched and documented in this film. Thirteen days is a look from within about the cuban missile crisis. Kelly connell puts in a brief but noteperfect appearance as. Watch thirteen days online stream full movie directv. Thirteen days 2000, starring kevin costner and directed by roger donaldson, is a film that. These weapons have the capability of wiping out most of the eastern and southern united states in minutes if they become operational. The threat of global nuclear catastrophe looms in october of 1962 when photographs from a u2 spy plane reveal military installations in cuba. Recent scholarship confirms the portrait of john f. Thirteen days outlines an important part of american history. Across the globe, people anxiously awaited the outcome of a harrowing political. Thirteen days chronicles the kennedy administrations showdown with the sovietsand the u.
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