Product Details

• Actors: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Shawn Driscoll, Drake Cook, Lucinda Jenney
• Directors: Roger Donaldson
• Writers: David Self, Ernest R. May, Philip D. Zelikow
• Producers: Kevin Costner, Armyan Bernstein, Ilona Herzberg, Lope V. Juban Jr.
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: New Line Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 10, 2001
• Run Time: 145 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (252 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005J760
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,815 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #68 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Thrillers
  #78 in	Movies & TV > Military & War

• For more information about "Thirteen Days (Infinifilm Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When released in December 2000, Thirteen Days was pummeled for taking liberties with the facts of the Cuban missile crisis and smothering its compelling drama with phony Boston accents by its primary stars. More tolerant critics hailed it as one of the year's best films, and that's the opinion to believe for anyone who enjoys taut, intelligent political thrillers. For those too young to relate directly to the timeless urgency of the crisis that played out over 13 days in October 1962, Thirteen Days joins the classic TV treatment The Missiles of October (1973) as an intense and thought-provoking study of leadership under pressure.

The film (and costar-coproducer Kevin Costner) drew criticism for fictionally enhancing the White House role of presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell, but while Costner's Boston accent may be grating, his fine performance as O'Donnell offers expert witness to the crisis, its nerve-wracking escalation, and the efforts of John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and Robert F. Kennedy (Steven Culp) to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Russia. While Soviet missiles approach operational status in Cuba, director Roger Donaldson (who directed Costner in No Way Out) cuts to exciting U.S. Navy flights over the missile site, ramping up the tension that history itself provided. Donaldson's occasional use of black and white is self-consciously distracting, and he's further guilty of allowing a shrillness (along with repetitive, ominous shots of nuclear explosions) to invade the urgency of David Self's screenplay. Still, as Hollywood history lessons go, Thirteen Days is riveting stuff. You may find yourself wondering what might happen if reality presented a repeat scenario under less intelligent leadership. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

FOR THIRTEEN EXTRAORDINARY DAYS IN OCTOBER 1962, THE WORLD STOOD ON THE BRINK OF AN UNTHINKABLE CATASTROPHE. AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF SOVIET WEAPONS IN CUBA, EVENTS AND TENSION ESCALATE BETWEEN TWO MILITARY SUPERPOWERS AND WITHIN THE WHITE HOUSE.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fine political thriller, June 7, 2001

By	Christine MacDonald (Mt. Airy, MD United States) - See all my reviews

I saw this film in the theaters and was very disappointed that it was not a major hit; although I think I know why. This is definitely a character and dialogue-driven historical drama. Not your run-of-the-mill mind-blowing blockbuster type of film! I believe this film will play very nicely in DVD or video form where it's quiet drama will play itself better.

I was VERY disappointed that Bruce Greenwood was not nominated for an academy award (there were rumors this may happen) because I believe his performance was as good if not better than the men that were nominated. His JFK was, in my humble opinion, perfect. I found this film compelling, well written, and dramatic. I especially enjoyed the scenes where Kenny O'Donnell (K. Costner) went to church and went to see his son play ball. Can you just imagine what you would feel if you thought the end of the world may happen?

As I watched this movie, I thought it was a shame that the movie-going generation of today did not take the time to watch it. To them, this is history of long ago; to many others, it is a lesson worth watching and remembering.

This is also, quite frankly, a wonderful and entertaining piece of cinema. Give it the chance it deserves.

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping drama, even if not entirely accurate, January 17, 2001

By	Eugene Wei "eugene" (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I remember studying the Cuban Missile Crisis in college, in a class on group dynamics and groupthink. It is such a remarkably involving event, I was a bit apprehensive going into the film, as Hollywood often manages to suck the life out of inherently thrilling stories. Luckily, they get this one right. While it is not historically accurate, I didn't care, because the story this film tells preserves the essence of the event, the tension in the White House as two superpowers danced at the edge of World War III, and the type of individual heroism and leadership it probably took to save us from ourselves.

The story is told from the perspective of Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner), given an inflated role as the advisor to President Kennedy and confidant of both John and Bobby. Telling the story from his perspective is a good one, as it allows us to view John and Bobby as the larger than life heroes they were. Costner's faux Bostonian accent is so lousy as to cause hysterical laughter from my friends and I as the film started, but thankfully Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp outshine him with remarkably charismatic portrayals of John and Bobby. I wasn't alive when Kennedy was president, but after watching Greenwood's performance I can understand why so many look to Kennedy as our last great president. Surrounded by military chiefs of staff rabid to go to war with the Russians, the Kennedy's and O'Donnell find the courage to follow their better judgment and inspire enough decent men around them to steer both sides to a peaceful resolution. This is filmmaking about the clash of strong personalities in a group setting, like Twelve Angry Men, or Glengarry Glen Ross, or Fail Safe. I find the subject fascinating.

A few other minor quibbles: occasionally the film switches to black and white, ostensibly to heighten the sense of historical accuracy, but it just looked like we were watching a studio screener copy of the film to me. That could have been left out. Also, occasionally the director Roger Donaldson inserts scenes with O'Donnell hanging out with his family, brooding over their well-being, with head in hand and furrowed brow. They feel like attempts to conjure up some of the tension that common American families felt during the event, but Costner no longer has the dramatic presence to pull them off, and I would have preferred Donaldson narrow his focus to stay within the confines of the White House.

But those are minor quibbles. Dylan Baker plays Defense Secretary Robert McNamara wonderfully, and it's amazing how much Culp and Baker resemble Bobby Kennedy and McNamara. I left the film wishing that presidential candidates like George Bush or Al Gore had half the charisma of Greenwood's JFK. Ah, but isn't that always the case with presidents in the movies? If you find yourself fascinated by the Cuban Missile Crisis after watching the film, pick up the book from which some of the film's events were pulled, "The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis." It provides a more historically accurate and just as compelling examination of the event.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT Film, June 24, 2003

By	mysanthropyk_overlord (USA) - See all my reviews

My favorite film!
This fascinating political suspense flick serves as a tribute to the fine work that President Kennedy and his advisors did, amidst military pressures for war, during the thirteen days of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Now, I wasn't around in '62, but it seems quite accurate from my point of view. In fact, the biggest 'mess-up' I could pick out was a quick glimpse of a C-130 Hercules (cargo plane) taxiing, wearing the current USAF paint scheme and not the 1960's SEA (Southeast Asia) camouflage or old Military Airlift Command colors! The computer-generated aircraft scenes did a little to detract from the realism, but there are no RF-8s, U-2Cs, or F-101s still flying, so at least the producers took the time to make the aircraft accurate. I did like the Vietnam-era carrier footage and the aircraft scrambles, however! Those were the real thing! By the way, if you haven't noticed, I'm quite the aviation nut. The cast line-up was pretty impressive: Kevin Costner as special assistant to the president Kenny O'Donnell, Bruce Greenwood as JFK, Steven Culp (best known for his role as Clayton Webb on "J.A.G.") as Bobby Kennedy, Bill Smitrovich as Gen. Maxwell Taylor, Elya Baskin as Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin, and a selection of other fine actors. This is probably the most underrated film I know of, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Cuban missile crisis or who enjoys political dramas.