JFK (1991)

The parts of your post that I could understand, I would mostly agree.

But, for real, maybe don't type when you've been drinking.

I’m not sure about that last sentence

[quote]Almost no serious conspiracy theorists think that LBJ had anything to do with the assassination,

That's not true. There is a huge contingent that thinks LBJ was involved or at least knew about it and participated in the cover-up.

It's actually one of the bigger categories - though I'm admittedly not trolling the message conspiracy nut message boards.

An epic movie, OP. And you touched on all the salient points regarding the film itself.

It really was an incredible cinematic masterpiece, even the flaws you mentioned were accurate.

R4=OP

Cinematicsally, a great film.

Thematically, Stone helped normalize ridiculous conspiracy theories. There's a direct cultural route from this movie to Pizzagate.

R5, I’m not the OP, just a huge fan of this movie.

Saw it in the theatre numerous times, had it on VHS, DVD and now Blu-Ray. It’s just an incredible movie, as long as you realize it’s fiction.

Conspiracy theorism has grown proportionately with fear (mostly of the unknown) along with the feeling that we, as individuals, matter less.

Most studies point toward three key desires: 1) understanding and certainty; 2)control and security; 3) support of a positive self-image.

Strangely, it's probably also why religion is on the upswing.

When bad things can happen to anyone at any time without warning or explanation, you have no control. If an event, like Kennedy's assassination, was the result of a planned and organized effort, rather than a lone crazy guy toting a gun, it gives people a sense both of an explanation and the potential to punish the "real" culprits.

I'd argue that the reason the movie resonates so strongly with people is that it taps into those feelings.

I thought LBJ ducked right before the shot.

Personally I like the conspiracy theory that Jackie took him out with the gun she had hidden in her huge lap bouquet of roses.

Didn't RFK think LBJ had something to do with it?

A lot of people do not think Oswald acted alone.

I love it. I've seen it many times, but probably not the whole thing in one sitting since the first time I saw it in a theater. So many great scenes...Donald Sutherland's exposition drop is still a joy to behold. Gary Oldman was simply amazing. I could go on...

Was it the catalyst for the very paranoid 90s, or did it simply encapsulate the zeitgeist? Regardless, it's a cultural landmark.

(And I've been walking around muttering, "Let justice be done though the heavens fall!" since Nov. 2016.)

God, I hadn't seen this in years. I can't really add much to what the OP said about it: I remember it as being part camp and part technical brilliance.

Regarding the conspiracy theories about LBJ, there's a picture of him straight after being sworn in on Air Force One, and he has turned around to look at someone who seems to be grinning and winking.

Oliver Stone is a very dangerous propagandist in the truest sense of the word; his entire film technique is steeped in 1930s and 1940s style propaganda, because he is enamored with those types of movies. JFK was straight out of the Nazism/Cold War/WW2 disinfo handbook, right down to picking pitch perfect doppelgangers and blending in real life footage to blur the distinction between the two in the minds of the audience.

Cinematically, it was a big flashy mess, with bad acting (even Gary Oldman's channeling of Oswald was overdone), the subtlety of a drill pressed into the skull, and the shrill EVERYONE LISTEN TO MEEEEEEE! that typifies Oliver Stone. Its supposedly "sophisticated" editing was not much more than faster cuts and lots of games with film stock (all of which had been done before, and more creatively.)

Apart from all that, I suppose it's good for whiling away a few hours in a dark, cold theater.

Tommy Lee Jones stole the show and I thought the campiness hit its crescendo with John Candy trying to play creole.