JFK: The Book of the Film

by Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar

Book Overview

A documented screenplay of the Oliver Stone film, complete with historical annotation, with 340 research notes and 97 reactions and commentaries by Norman Mailer, Tom Wicker, Gerald R. Ford, and many others.

"It's a lesson in craft to watch JFK on video while reading along, charting what got cut, softened, and rethought." -Entertainment Weekly

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557831270
• ISBN13: 9781557831279
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Applause Books
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Filled with factual information

This book presents factual information that should be known to every American. Where the movie about the assassination of John F. Kennedy presents a plausible scenario, the book provides a list of essential elements that points, as the movie, to a conspiracy. It is disquieting to read, so many years later, that some believe a single bullet inflicted such wounds to two men but supposedly survived in near pristine condition. This book should be read along with Trauma Room One by Dr. Crenshaw who was there at Parkland Memorial Hospital and examined the President's wounds. The first version of Dr. Crenshaw's book was declared by the American Medical Association to be a fabrication but he won a judgement against them in court.

an epic, the least to say.

Among all the stories which popup every day, this is one story that we should tell our children exactly how and why it happened, the book as the movie did, presented the whole enigma in such a fantastic realistec way, you feel actually living with the characters breathing with them, at times joining in discussions... the complexity and huge number of names and sides in the story means it is not for teatime at all, you really need to concentrate well with this one. The event was a tragedy no question about it, and what the late Mr.Garrison tried to do was to prevent what we are witnessing now a days by disclosing the truth, to tell the truth is a courageous mission, to stick to it and face such enormous powers ready to do any thing even kill the president is even harder. I do recommend that we should have a copy of this story whether as a book or as film, for the sake of history which is always twisted by the claws of the most powerful .

"Even The Shooters Don't Know"

"JFK, The Book of the Film "is really an extraordinary achievement....The screenplay incorporates practically every rumor, fact, factoid, and theory regarding the events of November 22, 1963.Almost every line of dialouge is meticulously footnoted....The second half of the book is a compendium of op-ed articles both in defense of and attacking (as in the case of Tom Wicker, Alexander Cockburn, et al) both Oliver Stone and the film. At times these attacks seem both humorless and hysterical ("hey guys..it's a MOVIE!")Though the book is ten years old, I find myself taking it off the shelf every six months or so to browse both the screenplay and the media barrage surrounding it.A great book!

Exhilirating and thought-provoking

Possibly the smartest screenplay ever written for an American political film. People tend to respond to this movie according to their own beliefs and conspiracy theories, instead of respecting the brilliant technique with which screenwriters Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar bring these familiar events to new life. Not for the literal-minded, perhaps, but a brilliant construction, a movie that shakes up assumptions and makes you think. Worth a second look, on video and on paper.

a dizzying summation of 3 decades of conspiracy theory

More than any of his other films, JFK proves that Oliver Stone is neither the cinematic genius that his most ardent supporters would have you believe nor the egotistical hack his harshest critics claim. Despite what some have claimed, Stone does not assert that he is filming "history." He is, in fact, very open with the premise that he is analyzing and commenting on history through the dramatic form.Does Stone change the order of events and the actions (and names) of characters for the sake of creating good drama? He does, but he is honest about it. Indeed, by using the sometimes dizzying structure of flashbacks and multiple film-stocks that give JFK such a dynamic texture, he is being much more honest in his approach to history than most other "respectable" film-makers. History is almost always viewed from a highly personal perspective and Stone knows it, and he tells us so through his film-making. It is unlikely that anyone will ever know the full truth of the Kennedy assassination. Did Oswald act alone? Was there a conspiracy? Did Oswald act alone and upstage a larger conspiracy to kill Kennedy? We will never know. What Stone did in the film JFK (and develops in this book) was to take nearly thirty years of theories about the assassination and try to turn them into a coherent narrative and an engrossing film.Are there contradictions and holes in Stone's narrative? Indeed there are, but that is true of basically every theory surrounding this defining moment of the 20th century. Whether you agree or disagree with Stone on the particulars of the event, he has fostered a debate about a topic which remains clouded. Much of what is here should be taken with a grain of salt, but this book is a valuable resource for anyone who would like to explore the myths and legends surrounding November 22, 1963.