Joe Bauer Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) I know that many members here for many reasons don't always click on new forum topic threads and even more often, topic expanding links provided in responding posts by other members. That is why I am posting this following review of Jim Di's and Oliver Stone's new 2021 Cannes Film Festival JFK revisited film "Through the Looking Glass " in it's full printed entirety versus just a link. In my opinion, the film is so important to us all and the entire world really and this particular review is an extremely thought provoking must read that ( in the least ) really draws you in to want to see the film. I really feel almost an obligation to make this review more readily available to more of our members via it's own separate thread versus a link in the original thread that many might miss. I can't wait to see the film. I'm guessing reading this review will inspire others ( like it did me ) to do the same. Oliver Stone returns to the scene of the crime SOURCE: ALTITUDE FILM SALES JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS’ Dir/scr: Oliver Stone. US/UK. 2020. 118 mins. It’s edging ever-closer to sixty years since US President John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, and it’s exactly three decades since Oliver Stone released his film JFK. You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to realize that the Warren Commission’s report on the cold-blooded murder of this popular head of state was a whitewash: neither, though, do audiences want to endlessly revisit a stain on America’s soul that can never be cleaned. Oliver Stone doesn’t have the definitive answer to ‘Who Killed Kennedy?’. That’s not a surprise. What he does, have, though, is his well-honed craft as a film-maker and an enduring determination to expose the mendacity of those who surrounded the president, both of which make JFK Revisited an unexpectedly fascinating watch. If Through The Looking Glass underscores anything, it’s how time hasn’t lessened this crime against the American people. This is not a lesser Stone doc, in the way of the director’s recent hagiographies of global strongmen, but a crafted latticework of well-chosen footage, testimonies, and commentary from an array of talking heads - all old now, much as 74 year-old Stone himself appears grey-haired and slightly stooped during his occasional sallies into his own picture. He’ll have to overcome his dilution of his own reputation underlined by the currently-airing 10-part series on Kazakh dictator Nursultan Nazarbayev in order to convince audiences to tune in, but fond memories of JFK plus a quality presentation should prevail. There is also some very forthright and provocative use of upsetting imagery regarding Kennedy’s death as Stone seeks to emphasise that this isn’t a dispatch from the tin hat brigade but a holding-to-acount for the brutal murder of a man who stood for change. Stone is a knowledgeable, thoughtful guide to events, albeit one with a strong point of view, and this film is a cut above the streaming service doc standard which also plays very well on a big screen. Stone has become America’s conscience on the subject of JFK. As so many of the key actors featured are either dead or frail, this may be the last chance for audiences to appreciate the scale of the deception involved. JFK, which prompted a move to release classified documents in the US, noted the effect Kennedy’s death had in prolonging the Vietnam War, in which Stone served as an infantry soldier. The director’s early, most garlanded feature work harks back to events in that theatre which were an indirect result of Kennedy’s assassination - Platoon, and Born On The Fourth Of July, both made in the mid-eighties. So Stone has always had skin in the game: Kennedy’s death had the greatest personal effect on him and his generation. This documentary does not sink down the what-might-have-been trap, but holds itself to the facts throughout. It’s precise and direct in its dealings, naming names, examining depositions, and, every now and again, flashing up post-mortem photography and the famous 8mm Zapruder film taken on Dealy Paza, which still has the power to shock. The effect of Stone’s rigorous selection of archive footage is to bring the period back to life, which can be eerily effective. Even the intro, which moves from Kennedy’s ‘peace in our time’ speech to Jack Ruby’s murder of prime suspect Lee Harvey Oswald and the eternal flame at Kennedy’s internment, features well-known footage juxtaposed with close-ups on faces as a devastated population receives the news. This continues throughout a dense download of information, vivifying what happened and underlying the fact that the savagery of the execution of the US president is still almost unimaginable today. The risible magic bullet gets a rigorous debunking. The Bay of Pigs is re-examined. Former head of the CIA and Warren Commission member Allen Dulles’s reputation, or what was left of it, is sunk. (Donald Sutherland, who played Mr X in JFK, narrates much of JFK Revisted alongside Whoopi Goldberg.) Even though so many questions can’t be fully answered, credible scenarios swim into view - although Stone has no real interest in the mafia, stressing more the political conspiracy (thus excluding Kennedy’s personal weaknesses, such as his indiscriminate philandering). It may seem like we’ve heard it all before, but we certainly haven’t, or won’t ever, hear it all. Stone is right to burn this eternal flame, and if Through The Looking Glass underscores anything, it’s how time hasn’t lessened this crime against the American people or his personal quest for the truth. Edited July 13, 2021 by Joe Bauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Here is the trailer that Altitude released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) BTW, on FB Mr Phelps said this reminded him of something Fetzer would do. 😀 Besides the content, which is all based upon the adduced record--namely that the FBI did not buy the Magic Bullet--Specter had to create it, and then the WC and HSCA stood by it, where on earth would Fetzer get that kind of animation and special effects? The Director of Photography for this was Bob Richardson, 3 time Oscar winner. We had three editors, and two assistants. You will not find a more technically and aesthetically well done JFK documentary. Back to the topic, is that from the SF Chronicle Joe? Edited July 13, 2021 by James DiEugenio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Zartman Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 I'm excited to see the film, and pleased to hear it's getting positive reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fite Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Thanks for posting the review, Joe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Allison Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Been excited to see this since it was first announced. People still care about the assassination because they instinctively understand it was the fundamental moment when people realized their government wasn't completely honest with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Utterly correct Matt. On the upcoming Fox segment, I talked about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Get a load of the ovation Oliver got here. I think this was the first screening. The day after he showed the Director's cut of JFK on the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 30 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said: Get a load of the ovation Oliver got here. I think this was the first screening. The day after he showed the Director's cut of JFK on the beach. That's pretty impressive. Respect on an international basis by a large crowd. A phone worthy moment for many. I suspect many in the U S MSM might have their panties in a wad the next few days. They have to ignore or deride it but the international acclaim seems to be gaining steam. Here! Here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Zartman Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 I see the Daily Beast is trashing it. Their review is for members only, so I wasn't able to read beyond the first two paragraphs, but they certainly didn't like it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) 7 hours ago, James DiEugenio said: Get a load of the ovation Oliver got here. I think this was the first screening. The day after he showed the Director's cut of JFK on the beach. WOW! I got chills of inspired feeling ( truly I did ) seeing this incredibly prolonged warm, electrically charged and animated and loudly cheering audience reaction to Stone's introduction. Shouts of "BRAVO!" The man and his lifetime portfolio of film work is respected and admired in Europe like you wouldn't believe. Almost heroically. Edited July 13, 2021 by Joe Bauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Jesus Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Stone said something that was true. This murder changed how the government deals with leaders who want to make changes and the people who elect them. Bravo to Oliver Stone and Jim DiEugenio. I can't wait to see this presentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Thanks Gil. Denny, you can understand that when Oliver gets back I will ask him to reply to Daily Beast and Variety. Its so weird. Almost all the reviews in Europe are positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 Joe, can you reply to my question? Where did you find this review and who wrote it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Allison Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 That Daily Beast review is from a Londoner who comes across as a rather ignorant and "smarmy chap". Not worth whatever ink might have been used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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