Customer Reviews

LBJ:The Early Years [VHS]

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This was an incredible movie about the life history behind the man who became LBJ, the President. It is one of the best performances of Randy Quaid's career. He is LBJ. Patti LaPone did an incredible job of playing Lady Bird.

You walk away understanding LBJ, the good and the bad of his rise to power, and the maturation of his character in a true attempt to make life better for the poor and the minorities.

Had it not been for the Vietnam War, LBJ would have been considered one of our greatest Presidents. His domestic programs, the Civil Rights Act and more would have been done to help Americans. Instead, he had to spend most of his time doing damage control with the Vietnam War.

Great movie! It should be widely available.

This film is a hidden gem. I have viewed LBJ many times and can still and be entertained every time. Johnson was mixture of conservative and liberal politics and used each for the benefit of him and the nation as one. This was why he was so successful as a Texas politician which he eventually became a U.S. Senator. LBJ eventually was elected the Majority leader of the United States Senate in 1954. He held this position up till he became vice president in 1961.
The film starts with Johnson working for congressman Kelberg and getting fired. He wins his own congressional seat and relishes for more power as a senator and eventually desires the top job as president.
Randy Quaid is masterful of portraying LBJ. I believe Quaid should have had more recogition in his role of LBJ. The portrayal of LBJ during his majority leader years was masterful and funny at the same time.
Patty Lupone was great playing Ladybird. At first she was shy in sharing LBJ's politicial ambitions. The film also shows how Ladybird blossomed into a equal of LBJs political prowess. She would encourage LBJ to stay in the fight when Lyndon was considering quitting politics.
Finally the only negative thought is when the film ends at LBJ's taking the oath of office for president right after Kennedy's assination in Dallas. It would be interesting to see a sequel to portraying LBJ's presidential years. Perhaps one will be made someday and Quaid playing the part.I did not want to see the film end.
I do not know the reason why this film has not been more widely known because its a great film to anybody who grew up in the 50's and 60's I strongly reccomend buying the film.

This movie shows LBJ "Lone Star" Rising out of the poverty of Central Texas and how LBJ never forgot his roots and learned how Texas Politics was played, the hard way. You can see that he was an man of energy, vision, and character when it came to taking care of his little people. He loved america and all its americans and worked hard and succeeded in bringing the blessings of liberty to all his fellow americans!

This VHS production of LBJ: The Early Years is an educational docu-drama about the 36th U.S. President in the years leading up to his assumption of Office following the tragic assassination of his predecessor, President John F. Kennedy. This film reveals the LBJ that few Americans recall in popular conversation. It dramatizes his influential rise in popularity and political power. After seeing it, you'll come away with a different perspective apart from the popular one about an embattled President mired in the protracted Vietnam conflict.

LBJ: THE EARLY YEARS (1987)
directed by Peter Werner
approx. 2 hours 24 minutes

Randy Quaid is often typecast in redneck goofball characters where he plays the comic foil to a more attractive male lead. By contrast, this movie gave him the opportunity to play one of modern history's biggest figures - Lyndon Baines Johnson. The time covered in the movie stretches all the way from the 1930s until the assassination of President John Kennedy. This is much more serious than Randy Quaid's usual movies and it makes you wish that he got more roles like this.

This movie shows a number of incidents in the career of LBJ, including his time working in the office for Rep. Richard Kleberg, his FDR oriented first campaign for congress and his early friendship with future Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. There are also a few scenes that show how he came to his position on civil rights. For the most part, the movie casts LBJ in a positive light. However there are some moments when we see the not-so-great side of Lyndon, especially in his marriage to Lady Bird. He yelled at her and even cheated on her with one of his political supporters, Alice Glass. In spite of this, Lady Bird stood by him and took care of him during his illness. All of this is covered in the movie.

Perhaps most controversial is the extremely close 1948 senatorial election against former Governor Coke Stevenson. Johnson was accused of using fraudulent methods to bolster his vote total, in some ways anticipating the same issues surrounding the Kennedy/LBJ ticket in the 1960 presidential election. The 1948 incident is covered at length in Robert Caro's 'The Means to Ascent'.

The last section shows Johnson's complicated relationship with the Kennedys, beginning with "junior senator" JFK meeting in Johnson's senate office seeking a committee appointment. While the movie shows John and Lyndon as having a pragmatic understanding of each other, the same cannot be said of Bobby. The tension between LBJ and Bobby Kennedy would continue in the lead up to the 1960 Democratic primaries and even into the Kennedy presidency. Johnson felt that his talents were not being utilized as Vice President and that Bobby was preventing him from having more influence in policy matters.

This movie does not show Johnson's failed senate bid against Governor W Lee O'Daniel, which is a shame since it was the only election that LBJ ever lost. I'm sure that we could've seen some wild emotions in those scenes! Another unfortunate omission is that we never see Lyndon's brother, Sam Houston Johnson. Sam lived with Lyndon during some of the time covered in the movie and was known to be less serious than his brother. He could've provided some more lighthearted moments to offset the "heavy" parts of the movie.

This is a decent movie showing some of LBJ's less remembered moments. Recommended for those interested in U.S. politics prior to Kennedy.

This is such a great movie I was glad to hear that Randy Quaid won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his great performance. For anyone who wants to get this on dvd I would check this website because so far it is the only one that makes the dvd unlike those heartless dvd companies. Here's the website; [...]