Customer Reviews

Four Days in November [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"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.

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.

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.

David Wolper performed a valuable service to the Nation by preparing this documentary. In it, he details the four days in November, 1963, when the world stopped, following the death of President Kennedy. Authentic footage shows the events as they happened, from the pre-trip preliminaries to the burial service in Arlington National Cemetery. For those of us who were alive, and for those who were not yet born, it is a wonderful film record of a difficult and painful time in our Nation's history that should be in the video library of every serious student of U.S. History.

As the leading civilian authority on the Secret Service, I highly recommend this video for the outstanding vintage footage of JFK's trips to Florida and Texas 11/18-11/22/63. Of particular note is the Tampa trip depicting the start of the motorcade with agents on/ near the rear of the limo and the Love Field footage ('discovered' by myself in 1991 and shown on The Men Who Killed Kennedy, again by myself, in 2003) showing agent Henry J. Rybka being recalled by ATSAIC Emory P. Roberts.
Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA

If you are a student of the Kennedy assassination (lone assassin or conspiracy believer) this is a must see, MUST HAVE, video. Yes, it's screenplay is the Warren Commission Report, but more importantly, it is the actual film footage of the last days and burial of John F. Kennedy. It's historical value is unparalleled. If you were alive then, you will remember and reflect. If you weren't, then watch it and you will understand how the world stood still during those four days in November.

this is a truly good account of one of the worst days in history
i think it is a important movie to add to anyone wishing to get a feeling of how the events on november 22 played out and, all the aftermath.
i hope one day to see this on dvd i have the video copy but, its gotton old and worn out and a dvd would be just fine

This is a well done documentary that came out in 1964, when the JFK assassination was still fresh in everyone's mind. Even though we now know that Lee Harvey Oswald was an innocent intelligence operative and may have even tried to warn authorities of the assassination plot, this film goes on the assumption that he did it. In any case the atmosphere of mourning is captured well and it's just like you are actually there in Dallas and DC. The whole world was grieving and LBJ rode the wave to pass unheard of civil rights legislation, but also get us into Vietnam at the behest of JFK's advisors. No one will ever know for sure what happened in Dallas, except those behind the plot. But that's not what this film is about, this is about capturing the moment when the nation and world mourned a great leader at a crucial point in history.

A very interesting documentary on the events of november 63... On the same level as one of the greatest documentary film: "The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich"...

I consider myself very lucky to own this video...

The Kennedy assassination was probably the first news event I can vividly recall. I was eight years old and we lived 20 minutes from Washington in the northern Virginia suburbs when it happened. We sat glued to our TV sets the first two days, but we were standing in line several blocks from the Capitol building -- waiting to view the casket -- when Jack Ruby gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas.

We went to see this when it ran in theaters, and I had not seen it again until just a few days ago. From a cinematic viewpoint, I'd give it five stars plus. I own a LOT of video on this subject, including actual coverage from all three networks, and am a researcher by trade and training, and it contains quite a lot of footage not available elsewhere.

However, all conspiracy theories aside, I'd give it about a minus one or two from an historical point of view. I nearly gagged during Richard Basehart's description of the transfer of power because we now know that was pure fiction. -- Kenny O'Donnell would have cut his wrists before calling Lyndon Johnson "Mr. President."

In fact, recently declassified documents show that Johnson was deliberately kept in the dark by O'Donnell and other members of Kennedy's staff for nearly 45 minutes after the shots were fired, and that it was a member of Johnson's own Secret Service detail who told him that Kennedy had died.

There were other instances of style over substance, which the Kennedy family probably had nothing to do with. That was during a time when people were still more or less expected to believe what they were told.

Watch it for the wonderful video and pacing, but please do NOT look at it as even remotely an accurate portrayal of a lot of what actually took place.