JFK: The Final Hours (2013)
**** (out of 4)
Bill Paxton narrates this wonderful documentary taking a look at the final day in the life of President John F. Kennedy. The film pretty much traces his actions from the time he landed in Texas until his arrival in Dallas where he would of course be assassinated. The film starts off to a rather shocking, to me anyway, claim and that's the fact that Paxton himself was able to see Kennedy and have a photograph taken of himself in a crowd listening to the President give a speech the day before he was killed. Perhaps this here was known to fans of the actor but I personally never knew this but as the film plays out you see how those directly linked to the President on this day will never forget what happened and probably more than most people. There have been so many documentaries done on the assassination that it's hard to believe a fresh take could be done but that's exactly what JFK: THE FINAL HOURS does. We get to hear from people who were in direct contact with the President over the final hours of his life and this includes people who were in the crowds and got to shake his hands. Many of the people interviewed got to meet the President on the day of his death and it's rather unique to get to hear their stories of what it was like. Another person interviewed is Clint Hill who was on Kennedy's secret service staff so getting to hear from him about the various events in Texas was rather remarkable and especially when it comes to dealing with those final minutes in Dallas. Another unique interview is with a man who drove Lee Harvey Oswald to work that morning just before the assassination. Another rather remarkable thing is how wonderful most of the video footage looks. Most of it appears to have been shot yesterday and not for a second would you believe that the footage was taken fifty-years ago. The documentary really does a terrific job at showing people what Kennedy was doing in Texas and the impact he had on the people there who got to meet him. When people think of these two days in Texas it's always about the assassination but it's refreshing to see what else happened before the tragedy struck.
**** (out of 4)
Bill Paxton narrates this wonderful documentary taking a look at the final day in the life of President John F. Kennedy. The film pretty much traces his actions from the time he landed in Texas until his arrival in Dallas where he would of course be assassinated. The film starts off to a rather shocking, to me anyway, claim and that's the fact that Paxton himself was able to see Kennedy and have a photograph taken of himself in a crowd listening to the President give a speech the day before he was killed. Perhaps this here was known to fans of the actor but I personally never knew this but as the film plays out you see how those directly linked to the President on this day will never forget what happened and probably more than most people. There have been so many documentaries done on the assassination that it's hard to believe a fresh take could be done but that's exactly what JFK: THE FINAL HOURS does. We get to hear from people who were in direct contact with the President over the final hours of his life and this includes people who were in the crowds and got to shake his hands. Many of the people interviewed got to meet the President on the day of his death and it's rather unique to get to hear their stories of what it was like. Another person interviewed is Clint Hill who was on Kennedy's secret service staff so getting to hear from him about the various events in Texas was rather remarkable and especially when it comes to dealing with those final minutes in Dallas. Another unique interview is with a man who drove Lee Harvey Oswald to work that morning just before the assassination. Another rather remarkable thing is how wonderful most of the video footage looks. Most of it appears to have been shot yesterday and not for a second would you believe that the footage was taken fifty-years ago. The documentary really does a terrific job at showing people what Kennedy was doing in Texas and the impact he had on the people there who got to meet him. When people think of these two days in Texas it's always about the assassination but it's refreshing to see what else happened before the tragedy struck.