Product Details

• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Quality Information Publishers, Inc.
• Run Time: 30 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B000I3UF72
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #212,533 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

An undisputed turning point in American political history, the Kennedy Nixon televised debate is one of the most important moments in American politics. These were the first presidential debates to ever be televised, and the image of a tanned and handsome Kennedy opposite a haggard and sickly looking Nixon (who, to his undoing, refused to wear makeup for the event) would turn the election in Kennedys favor and alter the course of history forever. This great event could be pointed to as the beginning of the media saturated political campaigns, where mass communicated appeal would trump old fashioned hand shaking. Historical significance aside, its also nothing less than incredible to listen to two great thinking politicians square off in verbal combat that is generally absent from the political landscape of today. A film that truly is history, the Kennedy Nixon debate captured here is a precious piece Americana that will never be forgotten.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ask not what you can do for your viewer, but what you can take from them., March 23, 2007

By 

Jim Hudson "Captain Hudson" (Crescent Cove, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: JFK vs. Nixon [1960 Televised Presidential Debate] (DVD)

I have been a fan of the political arena as long as I can remember. Without question the Kennedy / Nixon debates were influential in helping a country decide who would be the next president. I doubt if the country would have been as impressed if they watched this DVD.

I am a sound FX engineer by profession, so I have a bias toward audio quality. There was no sound quality on this DVD, it was wretched, and it was unnecessary. Even the most rudimentary sound sweetening programs available today would have helped. But the producers took no recognizable effort to `help' the audio.

The picture quality, even though taken from sources some 40+ years ago, should not be this bad. The picture `throbs' at times from light to dark. Jump cuts gapping entire sentences of the candidate's response occur several times on the DVD.

Lastly, it is not the Nixon/Kennedy Debates; it is the Nixon/Kennedy DEBATE, singular not plural. Only one debate, the product description gave a running time of 30 minutes. The moderator, Howard K. Smith said the debate ran an hour.

I give one star. For purely historical purposes this would be worth owning. Sadly the producers efforts, or more correctly, the lack there of make this DVD practically unwatchable. If you are interested in the Nixon/Kennedy debates, do yourself a favor and avoid this disk. Find the content somplace else.