The Missiles of October

This is a truly spectacular docudrama. If you want to learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis, this is the one film that you absolutely must watch. Other movies have been made about those thirteen tense days in October of 1962 when the United States and the Soviet Union narrowly avoided a nuclear war -- most notably the Kevin Costner film "Thirteen Days" (2000), which is actually well worth watching -- but none has even come close to the brilliance of the 1974 teleplay "The Missiles of October" starring William Devane, Martin Sheen, Ralph Bellamy, and Howard DaSilva. The production values on this film are fairly crude, largely because it was staged as if it were a play rather than a big-budget motion picture like "Thirteen Days". But when dealing with real historical events -- and especially events of such grave magnitude as the ones depicted in this film -- it's far more important to get the human element right than to worry about sets, cinematography, and special effects. "The Missiles of October" gets the human element right, and does so far better than any other movie ever made about these events, including "Thirteen Days".William Devane and Martin Sheen give us an amazing portrayal of the Kennedy brothers. Sheen, who is brilliant in everything he has ever been in, made an absolutely convincing Bobby Kennedy. But it was Devane who really stole the show. It seemed almost as if he were possessed by the ghost of Jack Kennedy, his performance was so perfect. The main complaint I had with "Thirteen Days" was that I just didn't find the portrayal of Jack and Bobby Kennedy convincing enough; and this was just a bit too distracting. This wasn't a problem with "The Missiles of October" -- while watching it, I could easily suspend my disbelief enough to convince myself that the people on the screen really were President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Howard DaSilva also gives a very convincing performance as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. I was less pleased with some of the other characters, though. Ralph Bellamy and Dana Eclar were just not really all that convincing as U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, respectively. (Here, "Thirteen Days" did a far better job of portraying these two characters.) Nonetheless, overall, I think that "The Missiles of October" gives a more accurate portrayal of the key figures in the Cuban Missile Crisis than "Thirteen Days".And the events portrayed in "The Missiles of October" are as historically accurate as was possible at the time this film was made. (The depiction of what happened behind closed doors in the Kremlin was rather speculative, of course; and some new information about the Cuban Missile Crisis has come to light since then; but, in general, it's still perhaps the most historically accurate account of these events ever presented on film.) The script was based largely on Robert F. Kennedy's book, "Thirteen Days", in which he described what went on behind closed doors at the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie "Thirteen Days" -- which, in spite of its title, was not based on Bobby Kennedy's memoir -- is a partially fictionalized account of what happened. Though it includes some previously classified details that were not publicly available at the time "The Missiles of October" was made, it also includes some moments that never actually happened, but that were inserted into the film purely for dramatic effect. So, on the whole, "The Missiles of October" is a more reliable retelling of the historical events than is "Thirteen Days". In my view, both films are worth watching; but if you care more about historical accuracy and a believable portrayal of the key figures than about superficial cinematic appeal, then "The Missiles of October" is by far the better film.

I saw this when originally broadcast and back then video was considered (by me anyhow) a cheap way to do a dramatization. Not making it on film right in the middle of the made for TV movie and movie of the week phenomena seems strange but I think they were trying to recreate the "live" feeling of early TV (like 15 years earlier or "The Golden Age?") but it really is more like a soap. Lets make no mistake, I am grateful this is available and it is too bad that other video taped dramatizations are not available. Richard Chamberlain's "Hamlet" would be a wonderful release.The technical problem is that the video master has a color problem. I think the video tape was exposed to some high power spurious magnetic source because I noticed the tint being greener at the bottom of the picture and more magenta at the top. This created an odd effect where skin tones were inconsistent. It was a bit of a distraction at first but, as I saw this on a Black and White TV in the first place, you can correct it by turning the color down if you want to. (I didn't!) It is not noticeable all the way through the video but I suggest buying it used if this would bother you but then again you will be missing an excellent drama.You can forgive it all because the money was spent on the actors acting and the acting in this is a true treat. William Devane as JFK and a very young Martin Sheen as RFK (someone who I had only seen on the old Catholic TV Show "Crossroads") are worth the price of admission. The very young Michael "Barton Fink" Lerner as Salinger is another treat and the veteran character actor Howard De Silva, although not quite physically like Nikita Khrushchev, was also very believable. The very recognizable character Nehemiah Persoff as Gromyko, Kenneth Tobey as the Admiral in charge of the blockade, the authoritative Andrew Duggan as General Marshall, and a young Dana Eclair of later MacGyver fame as McNamara are but a few of the actors who fill out this cast. I even recognized B movie king Arthur Franz and it was nice to see Peter Donat who had a great part as the show producer in the film "The Hindenburg".With all this talent this is a must have and a must see and I do recommend it but only four stars because of the technical flaw. There were so many stars/actors in this I have watched it twice since I got it for XMAS! A great if flawed value.Good watching!

Classic historical drama

All I can say is...AWESOME.I first saw this TV docudrama when it aired on network TV in 1974. Love it then and love it now.William Devane did an excellent job with his portrayal of JFK. Martin Sheen did an excellent job with his portrayal of RFK. All of the other actors delivered great performances.The teleplay introduced William Devane as John F. Kennedy and cast Martin Sheen as United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The script is based on Robert Kennedy's book Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.Staged as a two and a half hour television play, the production eschews physical action and detailed sets and wardrobes, in favor of emphasis on dialogue and emotions. It depicts how the world came close to the brink of, and eventually stepped away from global thermonuclear war, highlighting the roles of President John F Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, Premier Nikita Khrushchev, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson, and former Secretary of State Dean Acheson in the crisis.The Missiles of October gave the US general public its first look behind the scenes at the inner workings, disagreements, and ultimate consensus of Kennedy's administration to blockade Cuba, rather than attempt to invade to dislodge the just-discovered, only partially completed Soviet nuclear missile emplacements in Cuba. It details US attempts to give the Soviets room to negotiate without appearing to capitulate, and also periodically depicts Khrushchev reporting progress of the events to his Communist Party cohorts.The play was directed by Anthony Page with writing credits given to Stanley R. Greenberg and Robert Kennedy.

Although a great TV play, the recording is poor: the audio is out-of-synch with the visuals.

Has English language track available on Spanish version. Excellent production

The best drama on the Cuban Missile crisis ( "13 Days" notwithstanding )

Recommend for anyone interested in learning more about the Missile crisis, 13 Days is another good movie.

Awful quality. Wouldn’t work