Product Details

• Actors: Richard Basehart, Charles de Gaulle, Marina Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald, Edwin Walker
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301969308
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,266 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In 1964, superstar producer David Wolper entrusted a then-fledgling director named Mel Stuart with the first documentary about the year-old assassination of John F. Kennedy. Stuart went on to a successful, diverse career, interspersing such popular feature films as If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with an array of interesting nonfiction work, including The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Wattstax, and the moving The Unfinished Journey of Robert F. Kennedy. But with Four Days in November, he and Wolper paved the way for a certain modernity in the look and feel of a thoroughly researched documentary about a painful subject. Much of the film is compiled from television kinescopes of live TV coverage in Dallas on that fateful day, ordered in such a way as to offer viewers who lived through the events a sense of perspective, clarification, and perhaps closure. The myriad conspiracy theories that immediately appeared in the wake of Kennedy's death (not to mention Jack Ruby's murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, footage of which is included here) are examined and dismissed, though in fairness much, much else has been discovered since then to keep suspicions alive. The most fascinating and unexpected sequence, perhaps, is a clip from David Frost's old comedy show on British television, That Was the Week That Was, in which Frost, actor Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka, interestingly enough), and others talk about their personal feelings regarding Kennedy. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable! The Best JFK Assassination Film Ever Made!, July 19, 2001

By 

David Von Pein (Mooresville, Indiana; USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Days in November [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Four Days In November" is my all-time favorite program dealing with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. You really get a sense of "re-living" the events of November 22-25, 1963, when America's all-too-young, 46-year-old leader was gunned down on the sunny streets of Dallas, Texas.

This 1964 black-&-white documentary, skillfully narrated by actor Richard Basehart, was filmed only months after the events, making the "re-creations" that were filmed for this movie all the more effective, since the people involved, the locations, the landmarks, and even the automobiles had not changed to a great degree (if at all) since the tragedy occurred. I truly had the sense of being there BEFORE it happened because of the very good re-created scenes.

This wonderfully-edited chronological documentary guides the viewer through all four of those dark November days that shocked the nation in late 1963. An integral part of this program lies in its outstanding musical score, by Elmer Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein's stirring score fits just perfectly here, adding emotional impact to each portion of the film.

In addition to many re-created scenes, there is a hefty amount of stock news footage presented throughout this 123-minute film -- some of which you probably have seen before, and some you probably haven't. The Joan Crawford/Richard Nixon clip was one I'd never seen in the past, as well as the footage of Lee Harvey Oswald's funeral, which nearly no one attended.

One particular "re-created" scene in the film that has an especially "eerie" feeling to it is the scene where we see Wesley Frazier driving his 1953 Chevrolet sedan toward the "drab bulk" of the Texas School Book Depository Building, which looms ahead in the foreground. Frazier was the 19-year-old Depository co-worker of Lee Harvey Oswald's who gave Oswald a ride to work on the morning of the President's assassination.

The "Zapruder Film" is not represented in this documentary. It was to be yet another 11 years before the public at large was to see Mr. Zapruder's infamous film. "Four Days" does include a sequence from the "Nix Film", however.

Wolper Productions sidestepped all the conspiracy theories [thank goodness] and stuck by the Warren Commission Report for this documentary.

Many of the facts surrounding JFK's assassination have been disputed and debated by researchers for decades. And this tragic crime will likely remain a topic that shall cause heated discussion for many more years to come.

But what the film "Four Days In November" does accomplish is to allow the viewer to re-live those sorrowful November days, in the order in which the events transpired, based on the evidence available. This is definitely one program that deserves to be in anyone's JFK collection.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Sad, June 12, 2000

By 

Stephen E. Lewis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Days in November [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The first thing that jumps out at you in this documentary is that it is based solely on the Warren Commission Report and tells you that up front. Okay, I will address that later. I found this film fascinating for several reasons: (1) It is actual television footage of the saddest weekend in American history for those who were alive at the time. All in a nutshell. (2) Those who were not around can relive the events as they happened. (3) Any student of the Kennedy assassination (of which I am one) gets to SEE and HEAR several of the actual witnesses who were there as opposed to just reading about them in any of the thousands of books about the subject. This film is important regardless of whether you are a believer in the "lone nut" or "conspiracy" theory. It was produced in 1964 before most of the hoopla about conspiracy began to raise its ugly head. Yes, it is based on the findings of the Warren Commission Report. So what? It runs the gamut from Kennedy's arrival in Texas through his funeral and throws in the murder of Oswald as well. Believe what you wish about "what really happened". That is a moot point for this forum. This is a wonderful film that every American should see. Watch this documentary for what it's worth...a study of how this tragedy affected the American public and the world as well. No library should be without it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conspiracist or apologist, this film is a must see!, January 23, 2006

By 

Jennifer Cole (Dallas Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Days in November [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Whether you believe Oswald acted alone, was part of a conspiracy, or was nowhere around, this film is worth the price. As a native Dallasite, I found the film footage of my hometown when it was still a great place to live to be priceless. Golly, remember when people still shopped downtown?! The film offers a very realistic flavor of both Dallas and America in pre-assassination times, it's almost unnerving to see an America that still trusted its elected representatives and institutions of authority. Richard Basehart's narration is excellent, and Kennedy's presidency as well as his trip to the south is well explained to even a complete Kennedy novice. The "man on the street" interviews that give us the reaction of both famous heads of state and average Americans immediately upon hearing the news of the assassination are interesting and sad, and the entire film will serve to transport you back in time as no present-day piece on this subject can do. Much of the second half of the film deals with the planning and execution of Kennedy's funeral, and this comes as close as anything I've yet seen to recreating what those days were like. If you're too young to remember this event, this film is a must see. Even us conspiracy theorists can overlook the assumption of Oswald's guilt (an assumption that, unlike post-Warren Commission material, is not shoved down your throat). I have been researching Kennedy assassination materials for years, and I find these contemporary efforts such as "Four Days in November" and Mark Lane's film "Rush to Judgement" to be far more valuable tools than latter day efforts, as the waters have now been so muddied by disinformation that we lose the real feel of these tragic events. Highly recommended.