Main Cast: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker, Michael Fairman
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 145 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Director Roger Donaldson teams up with star Kevin Costner for another political thriller (after their 1987 pairing, No Way Out), only this time with a film based on the actual events surrounding the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, taking place during the titular thirteen days wherein the U.S. and the Soviet Union nearly engaged in full-scale nuclear war. After President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) is shown photographs from a spy plane detailing the presence of missiles in Cuba capable of obliterating massive areas of the U.S., he must immediately decide the most effective course of action for the country. With the aid of best friend and special assistant Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) and brother Robert (Steven Culp), the President must avoid a dire chain of events that could be dictated by General Curtis LeMay (Kevin Conway), who would rather take immediate action and invade Cuba. After initial reticence about leaking the information to the nation, President Kennedy eventually tells of the conflict, leading to widespread panic and a blockade of Cuba. With the aid of Robert McNamara (Dylan Baker) and Adlai Stevenson (Michael Fairman), the leaders must find a way to alleviate the tension of the situation. Thirteen Days also features Walter Adrian as Lyndon Johnson. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Review
It may seem nearly impossible to create a taut, engaging thriller out of events where the outcome has already been predetermined (as they were in 1962), but the team that assembled this crackling political drama has succeeded. Thirteen Days triumphs as a story of the tests of human endurance, mostly because it never loses the sense of urgency of the situation at hand. With the aid of his perfectly in-sync cast, director Roger Donaldson never resorts to glossiness or pandering to present the film's tale of a conflicted president in the midst of chaos. Bruce Greenwood not only captures JFK's cadences and physicality, but also gives the former president an unmistakable core of integrity and believability. Kevin Costner and Steven Culp are equally nuanced as well; the film's most admirable trait is how it suggests the vitality of their friendship without resorting to pathos or cheap sentiment. It's rare to see a politically centered movie with this much heart: though Thirteen Days may not be as edgy or risk-taking as one might like, it is undeniably rooted in true emotion -- one of the rarest things to capture in popular entertainment. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
Henry Strozier - Dean Rusk; Frank Wood - McGeorge Bundy; Kevin Conway - Gen. Curtis LeMay; Tim Kelleher - Ted Sorensen; Len Cariou - Dean Acheson; Bill Smitrovich - Gen. Maxwell Taylor; Dakin Matthews - Arthur Lundahl; Madison Mason - Adm. George Anderson; Christopher Lawford - Cmdr. William B. Ecker; Ed Lauter - Gen. Marshall Carter; Elya Baskin - Anatoly Dobrinyn; Boris Krutonog - Alexander Fomin; Peter White - John McCone; James Karen - George Ball; Tim Jerome - Journalist; Olek Krupa - Andrei Gromyko; Lucinda Jenney - Helen O'Donnell; Oleg Vidov - Valerian Zorin; Stephanie Romanov - Jacqueline Kennedy
Credit
Ann Harris - Art Director, Tom Taylor - Art Director, Cinesite - Animator, Staci A. Silva - Associate Producer, Dianne Crittenden - Casting, Paul Deason - Co-producer, Mary Montiforte - Co-producer, Isis Mussenden - Costume Designer, Robert Huberman - First Assistant Director, Roger Donaldson - Director, Dennis Washington - Second Unit Director, Conrad Buff - Editor, Marc Abraham - Executive Producer, Michael De Luca - Executive Producer, Ilona Herzberg - Executive Producer, Thomas A. Bliss - Executive Producer, Trevor Jones - Composer (Music Score), Dennis Washington - Production Designer, Andrzej Bartkowiak - Cinematographer, Kevin Costner - Producer, Armyan Bernstein - Producer, Peter O. Almond - Producer, Nancy Mickelberry - Set Designer, Don Woodruff - Set Designer, Denise Pizzini - Set Designer, Julie Ray - Set Designer, Cinesite - Special Effects, Richard Bryce Goodman - Sound/Sound Designer, Paul Deason - Unit Production Manager, David Self - Screenwriter, Michael J. McAlister - Visual Effects Supervisor, Cinesite - Animation Effects, Steven D. Williams - Supervising Sound Editor, Cinesite - Visual Effects, Denise Pizzini - Set Decorator, Philip D. Zelikow - Book Author, Ernest R. May - Book Author
While the movie carries the same name as the book Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy, it is actually based on The Kennedy Tapes - Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis by Ernest May and Philip Zelikow.
Most of the movie takes place in the White House, focusing on the decision-making process as PresidentJohn F. Kennedy and his brother Robert confront the military, who are pushing for an invasion of Cuba as a reaction to the installation of missiles there by the Soviet Union. Most of the film deals not so much with the Cold War between the Superpowers so much as the conflict between the civilian and military authorities over the correct strategy to pursue. The film is structured so that much of it is seen from the perspective of White House special assistant Kenny O'Donnell, played by Kevin Costner. It also has a cameo role for the nephew of John F. Kennedy, Christopher Lawford, who plays a pilot whose plane is fired upon by the Soviets.
Distribution
New Line Cinema was one of the production companies, alongside Kevin Costner's company Tig Productions and Armyan Bernstein's Beacon Communications. The film was given a limited release in late December 2000, but wide release did not occur until January 2001, with a staggered release to various countries throughout most of the year.
