JFK: Destiny Betrayed

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks so much for this Anthony.

I thought the stuff that Horne revealed about LeMay was really interesting.

I don't know how he found that log book, but man was it an eye opener.

It convinced me that O'Connor was right, LeMay was at the morgue that night.

[Anthony Thorne]

The log book stuff was great. I found it fascinating, but for people who haven't been immersed in much of the evidence, it must be mind-blowing. They'd be encountering stuff like the Chicago plot, the intelligence interest in Oswald, the problems with the autopsy, and numerous other points for the first time. I'm not surprised it's stirring up interest.

The incidental stuff is great too. Oswald unhappily describes how he's basically being set up while in the Dallas Police Station, and an unsympathetic cop says "That's right..", and the film subtitles the cop's comment so we don't miss it. There are many dozens of moments like that, where the film adds a clip or a subtitle to emphasise a point, and I can only assume newcomers will be taking it all in and seeing for the first time how the whole picture fits together.

Final thought for the moment - one of the really great things the film does is to repeatedly emphasise the HSCA and (in particular) the ARRB in a way that viewers will remember what those groups did, when they did it, and will remember the acronyms. I've seen my friend David Richardson have conversations with people locally about the JFK assassination, and when they shrug and assert they don't believe in a conspiracy, Dave has said, what about those document releases in the 90's. The person he's talking to then goes, "What documents?", and Dave will say, if you haven't looked at the case at all, why do you have an opinion about it? But this is better and pretty much everyone watching the series will now remember the ARRB, be aware of what they dug up, and be aware of its importance. So I think it was great for Oliver to begin the entire series mentioning the new enquiries, mentioning the HSCA and ARRB, showing clips of the legislation passing in congress that authorised it, and showing actual documents, just so people get really strongly that this isn't something made up out of thin air. The series does many wonderful things but I think that whole initiative is particularly well done, and very helpful in pushing forward the real story about the case.

 

[James DiEugenio]

We had the log book, since the producer Rob Wilson wanted to actually see it.

I could barely believe it.

I always wondered why LeMay never replied to his aide de camp on the AF 1  tapes as he was flying into Washington.  And, in fact, that was cut out.

When I saw the log book and heard Horne talk about it, I realized why.

That timeline with the  investigations was Oliver's idea.  I agree, it works fairly well I think.

I don't know who found that one vignette about Oswald pointing to his t shirt and the cop replying to it.  But man that was priceless.  I never saw it before. But Rob was really good at digging up stuff like that.

I really like the four part version.  Because I think it really gets across the idea of a coup d'etat.  

Wait until you see part four.

Edited December 10, 2021 by James DiEugenio

[Anthony Thorne]

There are heaps of little vignettes like that and all of them are gold. I'd love to know what newcomers are making of the documentary as they watch it. It would have to be eye opening.

[James DiEugenio]

There are two reasons for that.

Rob Wilson did such a nice job digging out the archival stuff, just excellent..   He got the actual handwritten notes that Russell wrote about Warren and Katzenbach! Which i had never seen before. Plus we got cooperation from Groden and Palamara who supplied us with pictures and films.

Then Oliver was really prepared for the interviews.  Before each interview we would go over the questions, and he would usually call the subject into his office beforehand to establish a rapport. 

[Anthony Thorne]

Well Oliver's interviews are really good too. But hats off to the entire team, including yourself, Robert Richardson, and everyone else involved. It's stellar. I would be very happy if Oliver can make a return appearance on some of the higher profile venues he's appeared on in the past, just to talk about this movie.

 

[James DiEugenio]

BTW, have you seen the Extra Bullet segment yet?

I really liked that part.

[Anthony Thorne]

Had to think for a moment but yes, that part was great. Also very impressed with the X-ray medical evidence showing the direction of bullet fragments in the skull (hit in the front, moving to the back). So many great extra segments.

Once I've finished all four episodes I'll likely leave it a few days then do a rewatch. Also very excited for your eventual book on the series Jim. That will be really good to read.

[Ron Bulman]

6 hours ago, Anthony Thorne said:

Had to think for a moment but yes, that part was great. Also very impressed with the X-ray medical evidence showing the direction of bullet fragments in the skull (hit in the front, moving to the back). So many great extra segments.

Once I've finished all four episodes I'll likely leave it a few days then do a rewatch. Also very excited for your eventual book on the series Jim. That will be really good to read.

The stardust trail, front to back, by Mantick/Chesser/Horne is a True key to the mystery that should be understood by all interested.

 

 

[James DiEugenio]

You got that right Ron.  But there are so many things and Anthony makes note of them.

Anthony, is there any way you can do a review of the four parter?

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by James DiEugenio

[Anthony Thorne]

Jim, yes, I can do that for you. Will take a couple of weeks as I've been thrown into a new job and am retraining and watching the series in my spare time. But I can write a review for you.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Anthony Thorne

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks so much.  

[James DiEugenio]

Just had a long phone call with Richard Mahoney, one of the interview subjects for JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass.

He really liked the film, both the content and the editing which he thought was remarkable.

I told him this meant a lot to me since his book JFK:Ordeal in Africa really started me thinking along the Big Picture path we show in the film. And I was so glad Oliver kept him and his discussion of Congo in the short version. I then told him, you know in your book, you did not say that Gullion thought the Hammarskjold crash was an assassination. He said, Jim, so many of the people I interviewed would go off the record, and he mentioned the CIA guys like Devlin.

I told him, in the long version, we go more into his interview about Hammarskjold and the downing of his plane. Because it was my opinion, from his book, that because JFK admired Hammarskjold so much this is why he took over the leadership of the Congo mission for the UN.   He did not even know about the four hour version.  I said in that one, we go into more detail on all the foreign policy reforms that were reversed upon Kennedy's death, including, Indonesia, Alliance for Progress and Middle East and Nasser. He was not really aware of this but he did know who Brad Simpson was, and about his work on Indonesia.  And then i added, the four hour version is playing now In Australia and is taking the continent by storm.  He is looking forward to seeing that.

To get that kind of reaction from a guy who is really the godfather to the film, wow, magic.

[Anthony Thorne]

I actually sent Richard an email a week ago (a really short one) just to note how much I'd liked his book Sons and Brothers. And I mentioned that I was writing him now because the documentary had mentioned the University where he worked, which had enabled me to find his email and send him the message. He wrote a kind note back sending his best wishes. His contributions are really great in the documentary.

The final episode is streaming today and I'll be looking at it sometime today.

[Anthony Thorne]

Part four is an outstanding conclusion and contains valuable, extended sequences on both Oswald's intelligence connections, and the foreign policy ramifications of Kennedy's murder. Both those topics appear to an extent in Through the Looking Glass, but they receive more substantive examination in Destiny Betrayed.

I'll offer more thoughts on this when my review is done. The upcoming holiday period gives me a number of days to work on it. If it's alright Jim I'll get it to you early January, probably first week.