Product Details

• Actors: John F. Kennedy
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: S'more Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: February 13, 2007
• Run Time: 72 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000KHYOU0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,284 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Capsule of JFK's 1963 visit to Ireland, March 20, 2007

By 

Robert Huggins (Suburban Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: O'Kennedy's Ireland (DVD)

"O'Kennedy's Ireland" is a nostalgic and affectionate look back at President John F. Kennedy's historic four-day trip to the land of his ancestors in late June of 1963, just five months prior to his assassination. This documentary is as much about Irish history as it is about Kennedy's visit and skillfully weaves portions of the President's various speeches that he made during the visit with key historical events of the Emerald Isle; Robert Vaughn narrates.

I was particularly struck by the high quality of the news footage of the President during his trip. It looks fairly sharp and the colors are extremely good for news footage filmed over 40 years ago. Those portions of the documentary that are focused on Ireland's history often use theatrical recreations to tell the story, but there is some remarkable newsreel footage of the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin that, alone, is worth the price of the DVD. The releasing company for this DVD, S'more Entertainment, has included some interesting and historically important extras that make it a valuable audio/visual reference for those interested in our nation's 35th President. Here's the rundown of the special features:

1. Speeches (black & white):

Houston - 9/12/60
Rice University - 9/12/62
Berlin - 6/26/63

2. Newsreels (black & white):

James Meredith enrolls at University of Mississippi in Oxford - 9/30/62
Cuban Blockade announced - 10/22/62
Cuban Blockade lifted - 11/21/62
Test Ban Treaty announced at American University Graduation - 6/10/63
Test Ban Treaty Signed - 8/5/63

3. Kennedy Home Videos (color)

In particular, the President's announcement of the Cuban missile blockade is gripping and forceful. As a nine year old at the time, I was much too young to understand the implications of the crisis and now, looking back at this newsreel footage, am thankful that we had a leader who had the courage of his convictions to stop the delivery of Soviet missiles to Cuba. The disc closes with some silent home movies of the President, accompanied by audio of the famous speech "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" as the visuals unfurl.

Within the context of his abbreviated term as President of the United States of America, the four days that John F. Kennedy spent visiting Ireland in June of 1963 are largely forgotten. "O'Kennedy's Ireland" reminds us of that visit and is a tribute to both JFK and his Irish heritage . . . it's a valuable record of that historic trip and is a worthwhile view for those interested in John F. Kennedy and his ancestral ties to Ireland.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars PRODUCTION MAKES THIS LESS THAN IT COULD BE, August 8, 2007

By 

C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: O'Kennedy's Ireland (DVD)

For me the most valuable part of this disk is buried in the extras section, in the entire speech which then candidate JFK gave to clergy assembled in Houston in September 1960 regarding his religion and his public office. THis wide ranging and prophetic speech touches us today, particularly in the 2000 and 2004 elections, as Kennedy mentions Protestant ministers who tell their congregations (he says parishioners) for whom to vote. That is only one small example of the many important issues he raises in this landmark speech, in which he also mentions irresponsible press which seek to use irrelevant evidence to spread untruths. He could be speaking of our talk radio. At that time, long before state lotteries legitimized gambling, he mentions gambling as a moral issue as well.

Unfortunately on my copy of this disk, the speech at Rice is replaced by the speech at the Berlin Wall, which thus appears twice. It would be remarkable to think of any President since JFK appearing and speaking in such a hot spot with minimal if any security.

Speaking of security, he should have had in Dallas the excellent motorcasde escorts he had in Dublin instead of the guys who stayed out all night at Jack Rubies bar.

The reason I give this low stars is the horrible main feature. The vast bulk of it seems to be stock footage from some old mediaeval b-movies. I kept expecting them to break out singing and dancing like Men In Tights. Throughout the film seemed overexposed and washed out. And it just kept going on and on with Robert Vaughn (former Man From UNCLE) droning superficialities without much depth about Irish history. Every now and then a brief snippet of JFK could be heard, interrupted by something absolutely absurd or light hearted, or racist.

THis could have been much better simply presetning the entire speech to the Dial and every bit of footage or recording of Kennedy in Ireland. Instead we get heavily editted and separated film out of context. I wish they had kept the speeches and talks all in one piece, and run them straight through. Instead we get disconnected excerpts without context, mainly at the end.

Please watch JFK's health. At that time we had no idea how ill he really had been most of his adult life, with Addison's etc. It was a major effort for him to stand and to walk. And yet he brilliantly and without notes gives profound speeches impromptu. YOu see here how he did his excellent inaugural.

SPeaking of which, I felt it was a shame in the Home Movies section of the extras, that we see him horsing around with the family, etc., while the Inaugural ADdress runs in the background. We don't need to see him wiping his nose and chewing gum while saying those words. It would be better to run the tape of the INaugural address separately. FOr that we can thank Sounding the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address.

5.0 out of 5 stars Kennedy's are cool !, December 2, 2011

By 

brian j conway (South Hadley, MA, US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: O'Kennedy's Ireland (DVD)

Its a must see for anyone who has been wondering about their history . I love the no paper off the cuff speeches JFK did so well. "WoW"! They dont make people like him anymore IMO.I asked my children to watch to show them what a real politian can be.