JFK – A Presidency Revealed
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Main program: B
The long
series of looks at President John Fitzgerald Kennedy continues with the new
A&E/History Channel DVD set JFK – A
Presidency Revealed, which in there installments shows us how much more ill
the man was while in office. For the
majority of those who did not know, it is a surprise and quite a contrast to the
strong, charismatic image he emulated in his time that has dimmed little.
Revisionist
thinking has gone out of its way to tarnish JFK, some of which is form the
Neo-conservative front, but what really happened (more or less) is far better
spelled out. This was a man who was
seriously trying to do his job like no president or either party since and his
slaying still casts a dark shadow over those failures of all his successors
since. With his loss, with all martyrdom
aside, I was more confident than ever in that opinion about the man; flaws,
truths and all.
Some of
the history and what this man (versus Ronald Reagan, who is portrayed as a
president who suddenly realized since the 1950s that Communism was suddenly a
threat and supposedly “did” something about it) achieved was to prevent the end
of the world as we know it and make the united States proud and progressive. This is based on actions, not myths, so when
you see his Presidency Revealed,
what really happened is inarguable and on target.
The full
frame image is a mix of old film and new analog NTSC interview footage, plus
stills form the Life Magazine archive.
The older film footage is often in fine shape, though there is some that
is not and the analog footage has its obvious limits, even for being the newest
pro source of its type. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo on all the programs is also above average and offers no
significant surround information. The
two bonus programs are two installments on DVD 2 of A&E’s Biography. JFK: A
Personal Story is a bit too sappy, if informative, but that is especially surprising
from any installment in the series. It
runs about 90 minutes for what would be (sadly) a two-hours-long TV slot. Joseph
Kennedy, Sr.: Father Of An American Dynasty is more typical of the
hour-long installments that compose the majority of the shows in the
series. The content is also more
informative and to the point like most of the installments, though both drag a
bit.
The
culminating result is one of the best sets on video of JFK to date, even as it
veers into the life of his father and does not gloss-over the family in
general. The bonus programs are still
decent, but not as strong as the three-part documentary. JFK –
A Presidency Revealed is a cut above the rest of the almost countless shows
on the president that do not focus, obsess about and exploit on his
assassination.
- Nicholas Sheffo
