Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best in the Speeches Collection, February 18, 2000
Given that these collections have to be pretty short -- typically 70 minutes -- this one has an amazing range of good material in it. Nearly every major speech of the 1960 campaign and of the presidency is here, althought most have to be represented by brief clips (but the clips are well-chosen). The editing of "Ich bin ein berliner", of the Texas "we will go to the moon" speech, and of the "New Frontier" (1960 convention acceptance speech) in particular, is shrewd and gives you a really good feel for what JFK was good at as a speaker -- probably the last of two great masters (the other was Martin Luther King) of the transitional style (the one we associate with FDR, Robert Taft, Adlai Stevenson, or Douglas MacArthur) in American public address. Two unfortunate omissions are the American University "peace" address, and the complete omission of material from the Senate. There is occasional overlaying with "nostalgia" footage but it's mercifully brief and seldom obscures the speeches themselves. Clips of the speeches addressing the federalizing of the Alabama Guard in the U of A integration struggle, and of the announcement of the blockade during the Cuban missile crisis, are excellent but it's unfortunate that they are not longer. But these are quibbles. Some truly great stuff here; a very good cut of the Inaugural (with most of the famous quotes given their proper contexts); nicely chosen clips of the Kennedy-Truman "open convention" squabble; a couple of extemporaneous excoriations of Nixon; the address to Protestant ministers on the subject of Kennedy's religion. Definitely one for your collection if you are interested in public speaking, or if you teach speech or history.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Speeches Collection -- John F. Kennedy, April 26, 2003
I work in the political field. Presidential history is one of my specialties. I am a former history teacher, also, who collects political memorabilia and went to high school and college (Florida State University) in the Kennedy-Johnson era. It was a wonderful era and this is a top-notch tape, if you like JFK. Ignore the comments about poor production. This is sometime after Kennedy, production techniques have improved considerably. I am selective about what I purchase and believe me, there is nothing about this tape, in my considered and historically-based opinion, that should make the JFK afficionado have second thoughts about buying it!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Words that both defined and turned the wheels of history, November 7, 2002
The Speeches Collection: Volume 1 is an impressive and very highly recommended two-disc, 4 hour DVD presentation of great speeches by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Gerald Ford, and Ronald Regan. A profound amalgamation of words that both defined and turned the wheels of history, The Speeches Collection is would make a welcome and invaluable addition to school and community library Video/DVD collections.
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