Product Description
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Product Description
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The most famous family in American history comes to life in this
epic 8-part miniseries event.
Inspired by one of the world s most iconic families, this
eight-part scripted drama/miniseries ventures upstairs at the
White House to chronicle the saga of America s first royal family
during the 1960s. Through exhaustive research, THE KENNEDYS
provides an look at how Joseph Kennedy, Sr. shaped his
sons John and Robert to become two of the most influential men in
America s history. With political events such as the Cuban
Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs and the civil rights movement playing
background to the personal stories of the relationships between
brother and brother and her and son, THE KENNEDYS details how
the two men handled their her, whose ambition exceeded their
own, and ultimately made them who they were. THE KENNEDYS
recounts the scandal, tragedy, public greatness and private
frailty of our nation s most fabled political family during one
of the most momentous decades in history.
Special Features
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* 45 minute featurette The Kennedys: From Story to Film
* Behind-the-scenes footage
* Cast and crew interviews
.com
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It's not hard to see why the History Channel declined to
air The Kennedys after members of America's "royal family"
objected to the series' more salacious aspects. To be sure, there
are plenty of them: drug habits, mobsters, election fixing,
enough philandering to shame Tiger Woods, bad behavior ranging
from cynical manipulation to outright cruelty… and Marilyn
Monroe. But it's not as if these things haven't been covered at
length elsewhere. And in any case, this is hardly a documentary;
the eight-part miniseries, which spans the years from just before
World War II to 1968, has been variously described, including by
the filmmakers themselves, as "history through personality" and
"a Greek tragedy," with a dose of hagiography added for good
measure. The emphasis on the personal approach (commingled with
major political events like the Bay of Pigs debacle, the Cuban
missile crisis, and the forced integration of the University of
Mississippi) is something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand,
there's something appealingly juicy about being privy to the
private conversations of this very public family; but at the same
time, the dialogue created for such scenes is often on the nose
("Men can't say no to me," Monroe says as she tries to seduce
Robert Kennedy), melodramatic, and risibly portentous ("I've
never been so happy in my life," says Jackie Kennedy to her
husband… as Air Force One lands in Dallas on November 22, 1963).
The complete absence of Edward Kennedy--who is never mentioned,
let alone seen--is peculiar; sisters Kathleen, Eunice, and Jean
are also nowhere to be found. That leaves the primary focus on
paterfamilias Joseph Kennedy Sr., wife Rose, sons Jack and Bobby,
and Jackie, and the portrayals of these near-mythic characters
are among the best ever filmed. Tom Wilkinson plays Joe as a
thoroughly ruthless, imperious kingmaker who, after his own and
eldest son Joe Jr.'s presidential ambitions are ended (Sr. was
fired from his post as British ambassador after disagreeing with
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's war policies, while Jr. died in
combat), forces the reluctant JFK to enter politics. As Jack,
Greg Kinnear beautifully conveys the late president's humor,
charisma, and compassion, while Barry Pepper is a revelation as
the rebellious but strait-laced and dutiful Bobby, whose
principal responsibility seems to be cleaning up after his older
brother's many sexual indiscretions (Katie Holmes's
long-suffering Jackie is a bit of a cipher, as was the first lady
in real life). That these and other performances, including Diana
Hardcastle's Rose and Don Allison's Lyndon Johnson, are in the
service of material better suited to a soap opera than a serious
drama hardly matters; any way you look at it, The Kennedys is
compulsively watchable and never less than entertaining. --Sam
Graham
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Review
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Without a doubt one of the best, most riveting,
historically accurate dramas about a time and place in American
history that has ever been done for TV. --New York Post
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