Plot: What’s it about?
The entire world was held captive for two weeks in October of 1962, as Russian and American leaders faced off, with massive consequences on both sides. Russia had planted some medium range missiles in Cuba and since the weapons could reach American lands, this alarmed the U.S. leaders and sparked a tense standoff. On the American side, President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) called upon his most trusted allies, his brother Robert (Steven Culp) and his friend & advisor Kenneth O’Donnell (Kevin Costner) to stand by his side, as he tries to control this most dangerous situation. As time ticks away and the missiles continue to be serviced & prepared, Kennedy is pushed to make a decision, but he holds firm and refuses to give into the whims of others, no matter how hard they push him. But with time running low and options even lower, he must soon take an action and stand by it, whether it calls for an attack that leads to nuclear conflict, or whether he relies on diplomatic prowess.
I was looking forward to this film since I saw the trailer, but I was unsure of how well the Cuban Missile Crisis would translate to film, to say the least. I’d seen some decent efforts to do so, but this seemed like it could deliver the goods and in the end, I think it did just that and then some. I admit that Kevin Costner’s accent is enough to turn Thirteen Days into a slapstick farce, but aside from that, this is an excellent political drama, a genre I have missed of late. I am sure it has some flaws and such, but I was very entertained by the flick and though it runs a little long, I was never bored or wished the pace would pick up. This film is all about tension and suspense, so the long running time is well managed and creates a perfect atmosphere, given the intense subject matter. I know some liberties were taken with the real events, but I expected that and come on, this is more accurate than most of Hollywood’s historical epics, to be sure. This movie comes highly recommended and as New Line’s first official Infinifilm release, Thirteen Days offers up a treasure trove for history buffs, so I simply cannot recommend this disc enough.
This movie is loaded with terrific performances, but I feel the need to single out Kevin Costner, due to his outrageous accent. I realize the real accent is pretty harsh also, but Costner seems to butcher even it, to very humorous ends. I like Costner’s performance otherwise and I usually like his work, so I’m not a basher by any means, it’s just that accent is so bad, it makes me want to choke him or worse. But his turn is still very good and I think he was the right choice for the role, to be sure. Costner also helped produce the movie and while I am unsure of his capacities in that respect, I know Kevin’s acting was up to his usual level, aside from the accent, of course. You can also see Costner in such films as 3000 Miles to Graceland, The Bodyguard, Field of Dreams, American Flyers, Bull Durham, and Silverado. The cast also includes Bruce Greenwood (Rules of Engagement, The Sweet Hereafter), Dylan Baker (Random Hearts, Happiness), Henry Strozier (The Curve, Contact), and Steven Culp (Fearless, Nurse Betty).
Video: How does it look?
Thirteen Days is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This movie uses some visual tricks to enhance the impact, such as black & white sequences, diffused colors, added grain, and others, as a result, this transfer might seem a little off at times. The visual approach does lessen the transfer to be sure, but I think this treatment also suffers due to other problems, such as print wear and edge enhancement. The image here looks much like it did in theaters, but some problems do surface, though not to an extreme extent. I was pleased with the colors, flesh tones, and contrast most of the time, but as I mentioned, a blend of the visual tricks and transfer errors lessen these elements at times, though not by much. This is still a terrific looking transfer if you ask me, it just isn’t up to New Line’s usual standards.
Audio: How does it sound?
I wasn’t expecting much given the nature of this film, but I was taken back by the richness of this track, very impressive indeed. The sole audio option is a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track and it might not shake the walls, but it handles this material to sheer perfection. The surrounds are used all the time, both for subtle atmosphere touches and in some scenes, more powerful cues that reel in the impact of the moment. The different elements are balanced to excellent ends also, which means you never have to fiddle with the volume button as you watch. I have no real complaints with this track and while I don’t think it deserves the full score, it comes pretty darn close. This disc also includes English captions, but no subtitles or additional language tracks.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This is the first official Infinifilm release from New Line and it’s loaded with extras, to be sure. I started with the audio commentary track from director Roger Donaldson, star Kevin Costner, writer David Self, and several other crew members, who provide a terrific overall session. The comments seem to have been recorded at different times, though some were together and in the end, the result is a great one in all respects. Costner and Donaldson seem to dominate the session and offer plenty of information, while the others also chime in with various tidbits at times. A selection of deleted scenes can also be found and I was pleased to see them here, especially with optional commentary from Donaldson, who offers additional insight. Next is a unique visual effects presentation, in which you can view the various “layers” of a scene, very cool stuff. I love these layered visual effects features, so I was pleased to find one had been tacked onto this release, to be sure. A brief behind the scenes featurette is also included here, which runs about eleven minutes and while promotional in nature, it was still worth a look. Rounding out the traditional extras are some talent files, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
Now we’ll explore the Infinifilm supplements, which deal with the historical side of the movie, as opposed to the production involved. A very unique commentary track is found in this section, which features interviews edited into a session, to provide even more insight into the events that the flick was based on. This track sports interview clips from John F. Kennedy, Pierre Salinger, Sergei Khrushchev, Kenneth O’Donnell, Robert McNamara, and a couple of author/historians, Philip Zelikow and Robert May. This kind of track takes some getting used to, but once you’re accustomed, it offers a wealth of information on the events, which enhances further viewings of the film, to be sure. Even more information can be found within a special subtitle option, which feeds out a text stream of additional data, which is more than welcome. As if all this wasn’t enough, you can also view an extensive documentary on the subject, The Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This piece runs just under an hour in duration and is loaded with insight, from interviews to archival materials of all sorts. An in depth and very well made documentary, this inclusion will thrill history buffs and enlighten viewers of the film, who will see the events depicted in even greater detail. Some brief video biographies can be also be viewed and these pile even more knowledge in, with almost twenty profiles provided.
That covers it all, save for one element, the Infinifilm feature that can be run while viewing the feature film itself. We’ve seen these kind of features before, but never done this well and with such high hopes, that’s for sure. As the movie rolls, some prompts surface and offer some additional materials on the scene, from talent files to video profiles to snippets of the included documentary to new materials, to shed more light on the featured sequence. This can be a little hard to adjust to at first, but with time, I quickly began to enjoy the Infinifilm options and I am sure others will also. The execution of this feature is almost flawless and the materials included are top notch, I simply cannot wait for future Infinifilm releases, to be sure.
