Thirteen Days (2000)

Director:

Roger Donaldson

Writers (WGA):

David Self (written by)
Ernest R. May (book) ...

Release Date:

12 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll Never Believe How Close We Came

Plot:

The film is set during the two-week Cuban missile crisis in October of 1962, and it centers on how President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and others handled the explosive situation.

Plot Keywords:

Kennedy Family | John F Kennedy | Helicopter | Mushroom Cloud | Statue Of Liberty

Awards:

3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Shawn Driscoll	...	U-2 Pilot
Kevin Costner	...	Kenny O'Donnell
Drake Cook	...	Mark O'Donnell
Lucinda Jenney	...	Helen O'Donnell
Caitlin Wachs	...	Kathy O'Donnell
Jon Foster	...	Kenny O'Donnell, Jr.
Matthew Dunn	...	Kevin O'Donnell
Kevin O'Donnell	...	NPIC Photo Interpreter
Janet Coleman	...	Evelyn Lincoln
Bruce Thomas	...	Floyd
Stephanie Romanov	...	Jacqueline Kennedy
Bruce Greenwood	...	John F. Kennedy
Frank Wood	...	McGeorge Bundy
Dakin Matthews	...	Arthur Lundahl
Liz Sinclair	...	Kenny's Assistant #1

Also Known As:

13 Days (USA) (alternative spelling)
Thirteen Days (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:All | Iceland:L | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

President Kennedy very frequently set up recording machines during meetings at the White House. Much of the dialogue from the movie is taken directly from Kennedy's tapes.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Two of the close-up shots of TV images clearly show the vertical phosphor stripes of a Trinitron tube. Trinitron was not introduced by Sony until 1968. Prior to that, all color tubes used phosphor dots in a triad configuration.

Quotes:

Robert Kennedy: I don't care how crazy, inadequate or stupid it sounds. Give it to me.

Movie Connections:

Edited from Trinity and Beyond (1995) (V)

Soundtrack:

Virga Jesse Floruit

"Powerful" doesn't even begin to describe it.

"Thirteen Days" is a powerful and gripping movie. Actually, I'm not sure if 'powerful' is a strong enough word to describe it. I was immediately sucked in and, in fact, the only time reality came back to me during the entire movie was when my friend, who'd fallen asleep, suddenly jumped up wide awake at the roar of the jets... When the movie let out, everyone was yawning and stretching and in some way or another, complaining.

Not me, I was pumped up and ready to go talk about it to someone, I didn't care who, for hours and hours. Who cares if it was 'thirteen days long' or if Kevin Costner's accent was a little annoying? Admit it, the movie was about as good as movie's get. The acting was perfect (I believe Bruce Greenwood should at least get a Best Actor nomination, possibly Culp, too, for Supporting Actor), and the script... man, did somebody put some time into that script! Not only was it historically accurate (to the best of my knowledge anyway) but it was heart-warming and witty and was full of those "great lines" that people will memorize and repeat over and over for many years to come. My favorite part, however, is just a shot of Kevin Costner coming home. He gets out of his car, and instead of going inside his house, he turns and looks at his street, his neighborhood, his world... I hate saying more than I should, but if you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. The emotion that is shown in that scene... it gives me chills just thinking about it.

This film is intelligent, and beautiful, and 'powerful.' Believe me, if you see this movie, you'll not soon forget it...