Title: The Day
Reagan Was Shot |
Release Date: 2001 |
Nationality and Language: |
Running time: about 100 Minutes |
|
Distributor and Production Company: Paramount/Showtime |
Director; Writer: |
Producer: Oliver Stone |
Cast: Richard Crenna, Richard Dreyfuss,
Christian Lloyd, |
Technical: TV cable |
Relevance to HPPUB site: history, national security crisis |
Review: Here is another welcome history film, brief crisis
at the beginning of Ronald Reagan’s term that we sometimes overlook today. On
Others were wounded, notably James Brady whose head wound
would severly affect his speech and demeanor permanently,
and lead to the (gun control) Brady bill. The clinical details of the weaponry and of the
president’s wounds were interesting, but other details were inaccurate. (Sorry, there should have been no chest
hair … but those scrub down scenes in the OR were
brutal). There was a lot of drama surrounding the difficulty Reagan’s staff had in getting organized, and in the national security crisis that apparently has not been widely reported. We were closer to MADD than any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. There was also a lot of misinformation regarding the ability of the president to continue his duties. The screenplay refers to the relatively little discussed (today) 25th Amendment (1965-1967) concerning assumption of presidential duties. Some of the partisan talk about “Republicans” was a bit silly. As for Hinckley’s sociopathy,
and his stalking of Taxi Driver
star Jodie Foster, and permanent incarceration in St. Elizabeth’s – there
would soon be a national debate on the insanity defense (“insanity” is a
legal term – Hinckley was both guilty and crazy). . But I can remember a
comment that evening by Bill Nelson of the Dallas Gay Alliance, to the effect
that he was relieved that In 2003, CBS created controversy with its 3 hour film The Reagans, with
James Brolin as Ronald Reagan and Judy Davis as
Nancy Reagan. Both conservatives and liberals were offended by the portrayal
of President Reagan as buffoonish and certain passages, such as when the
president supposedly castigated gay male AIDS victims. In fact, it seems as
if the president never did this, and was very slow to mention AIDS in public.
Showtime bought the film and presented an abridged version (mine ran 1 hr 27
min when I taped it, although there may have been technical problems) with
offending passages deleted. Some scenes are a bit effective, as the “Just Say
No” green balloons (No to drugs). But the president still came across almost
as limpwristed himself, and the film seemed to me
to be a bit of a caricature of both Ronald and Nancy. The assassination
attempt scene at the Washington Hilton was hasty. As early as 1985, however,
Reagan, given Ronald Reagan: A
Legacy Remembered (2002, History Channel, 95 min) is available on a |
Related reviews: The Men Who Killed Kennedy; 13 Days |
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Email me at Jboushka@aol.com