Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

First things first, this is NOT a film that focuses at all on 'Who shot JKF?'. There are no mad conspiracy theories, no discussion of 'magic bullets' or whether Jack Ruby was a secret mafia/KGB/Cuban/CIA/whatever agent.This film does exactly what it says on the tin, focusing on the immediate aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, with particular emphasis on the Johnson's handling of the transfer of power and his relationship with Robert Kennedy during this difficult time.Particularly fascinating is the confrontation in the corridor of Dallas hospital between the Secret Service and the local Texas police over the President's body, and where the autopsy should be held.All in all, an excellent factual documentary shedding new light on an area of history too often the domain of fantasy films masquerading as history.

The idea that "Oswald acted alone" has been surprisingly popular in recent documentaries. It seems that this appalling event in American history still has important resonances today that require the message of "Oswald acting alone" to be frequently regurgitated. The wealth of misinformation concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy continues unabated with documentaries like Peter Jennings' Beyond Conspiracy (2003), Oswald's Ghost (2007) and The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After (2009) all of which promote the lone assassin theory as fact.The problem with these documentaries is that the wealth of information pointing to a conspiracy is strictly ignored or derided. Information is cherry picked, manipulated and fabricated to lead the viewer to the conclusion that Oswald acted alone. Why it is still so important to promote this version of events in the face of other more disturbing evidence?The Zapruder film is the "thorn in the side" to anyone promoting Oswald as the lone shooter. Some "documentary" films such as The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, simply ignore the fact that Kennedy's head is seen to jerk backwards as a bullet strikes, as if there is a general consensus that the official version of events is undisputed. Peter Jennings' Beyond Conspiracy states that Kennedy's head jerking backward is no sign of where the bullet came from. Remember that before the Zapruder film was finally released to the public, the official story, confirmed by Dan Rather and others, was that Kennedy's head jerked violently forward so as to indicate a bullet hitting him from behind. This official description of the Zapruder film, tailored for public consumption, is the exact opposite of what is clearly seen in the Zapuder film.Peter Jennings' Beyond Conspiracy almost reaches the hysterical in its attempt to prove conclusively that conspiracy theorists like Oliver Stone are wrong. What is clear, is that Peter Jennings' Beyond Conspiracy is poorly disguised propaganda. It is as objective as NBC's infamous hit piece made to discredit Jim Garrison and his investigation into the Kennedy assassination.Documentaries that promote "Oswald as the lone assassin" seem to have greater budgets, audience exposure and production values when compared to the numerous "home-made" documentaries that support a conspiracy.One of the most compelling documentaries that supports a massive conspiracy to have Kennedy assassinated is JFK II or Dark Legacy. While some of the suppositions contained in the documentary are theoretical, the filmmaker has without doubt presented a version of events, supported by available material, that points to high-level Government/Military/Covert involvement in the murder of John F. Kennedy. Another piece of remarkable footage, too rarely seen, is the removal of Kennedy's secret service bodyguard from his open top limousine. The secret service officer is seen to be surprised at being ordered to "stand-down" by a superior officer and raises his arms in an unmistakable gesture of incomprehension. This telling piece of footage is not shown in any documentary supporting Oswald as the lone assassin.It is public record that Oswald was an American Government asset. He had an FBI employment number S179. This information again is never sited in documentaries that promote Oswald as the lone shooter.It seems that much has been learnt by American covert agencies in regard to "cover-stories" put out in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. It certainly helps to have a compliant and malleable Corporate Media to preach your message. Even if truthful information is unintentionally made available it can be easily undermined with misinformation, lies and propaganda. As is the case with the attacks on 9/11, any relevant information can be withheld, subverted, altered or swamped in a sea of misinformation.

Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours Later (2009) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Another good documentary in the never ending lines of looks at the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This one here takes a look at the first twenty-four hours after the assassination and points the spotlight on Lyndon Johnson who was forced to take off as the country was, as it seemed then, falling apart. This is an extremely well-made documentary that has plenty of talking heads on board but they also offer up some voice re-creations of people who were in Dallas and around Kennedy and Johnson as all of this was going on. The documentary does ask a lot of questions like why was it that Johnson didn't know what was going on with Kennedy even though he was staying only a few feet from where the dead President's body was. The documentary really focuses in on Johnson and how no one was telling him anything even though he was technically the President. The second half of the film deals with a lot of the heated debate that would come up between Johnson and Robert Kennedy who felt that the new President was moving too fast to get into office. This is a good companion piece to JFK: 3 SHOTS THAT CHANGED America because this lets us see this history from the man who was right there getting something he really wanted but under very bad circumstances. I loved the way the documentary tried to show what a bad situation he was in because he was so scared of the Kennedy name and family, fearing that they might try to destroy him, which many would feel that they'd later do. I do take a few issues with how bad they make Johnson look but at the same time I think the film is just as hard on Robert Kennedy who really comes off in a bad light. Mrs. Kennedy is shown in the grace that she always is and the stories of what happened on board Air Force One between her and the new President were quite harrowing.