Lyndon B. Johnson si allea con John F. Kennedy, assume la presidenza e si occupa delle lotte per i diritti civili degli anni '60.Lyndon B. Johnson si allea con John F. Kennedy, assume la presidenza e si occupa delle lotte per i diritti civili degli anni '60.Lyndon B. Johnson si allea con John F. Kennedy, assume la presidenza e si occupa delle lotte per i diritti civili degli anni '60.
- Premi
- 1 candidatura in totale
- Cliff Carter
- (as Michael Horn)
Recensioni in evidenza
Great acting. A good inside look at LBJ and the aftermath of JFK's assassination, especially for those not alive when it happened.
Worth a rental.
Those that watch Rob Reiner on the talk show circuit would know that the outside of being an actor and director, he is very political activist who uses his celebrity status to bring attention to equal rights and to social issues such as violence and tobacco use.
So it is a bit of surprise that Rob Reiner has never made a film that might leverage his strong activist lifestyle. Until now, that is.
LBJ is Rob Reiner's film about the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was thrust from the Vice-President's chair to the Oval Office desk after the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on that fateful November day in 1963.
Woody Harrelson plays LBJ and the film takes us backwards and forwards in time from LBJ's unsuccessful run for the Democratic Party nomination through JFK's assassination and ultimately through the President's fight for an Equal Rights Bill.
The heart of the film comes from LBJ's battle within his own party. Robert Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) is hardly a fan of the foul-mouthed Texan who was hand-picked by brother John for the Vice-President position. The two will battle wills and disagree on almost all political talking points throughout their tenures. Also providing resistance to LBJ's forward thinking is Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins) from the state of Georgia. Russell is portrayed as a racist that does not believe that individuals of color deserve the same rights and freedoms as all other Americans. LBJ does his best to try and win the trust of Russell and LBJ walks the thin line of keeping Russell in the fold before he abandons his friendship with the Senator in his attempt to fulfill the inroads JFK had made in his equal rights efforts prior to his assassination.
Harrelson is barely recognizable as the title character. The make-up is thick to ensure he resembles the former President. At times, the make-up is brilliant. The big ears and receding hairline of LBJ is captured expertly. But at other times – particularly in close-ups – the make-up looks like Harrelson was an extra in Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy film.
LBJ is obviously the focus, but there is ample time given to JFK. And the assassination in Texas is captured with valuable attention to detail. The assassination is a key point in the life of LBJ and Rob Reiner takes the time to film it correctly (it was filmed in Texas exactly where the shooting took place). Jeffrey Donovan (televisions Burn Notice) plays Kennedy and brings subtle touch to the role not attempting to overdo the Boston drawl.
As with all other Reiner films, LBJ plays it safe. Audiences may learn a few things about the complicated man along the way. His foul mouth, how he would have meetings while sitting on the toilet, and his insecurity always believing that he was not loved by either his inner circle or his country (he did win re-election by the widest margin in American history). To my embarrassment, I didn't know that LBJ was in a procession car with JFK the day he was killed. But LBJ is no Lincoln. Where the Spielberg film was brilliantly written and a character study of both a political family and the process to which they battled, LBJ skims the surface like a rock skipping along calmer waters. Gritty, LBJ is not.
But safe entertainment can still be good entertainment and Reiner is surely a master at that craft. There is plenty of humor in the film to keep the characters interesting and keeping the story non-linear works to valued effect. LBJ will not be considered Rob Reiner's best work, but it is exactly what you can come to expect from the director. And slipping into a comfortable shoe can be so so comfortable.
When you make a movie about historic events it is always hard. People will criticize it is not accurate enough or that you portrayed the person to positive or to negative depending on who it is. To sum it up, there is a lot of expectation of what a movie like LBJ should be. And people are always disappointed if they don't get what they expect. In this case I can see that people are maybe disappointed that the movie ends where LBJ's presidency begins. There is much more to tell but that was not the intend of this film so I can criticize that. From a technical standpoint, cast, direction, music, script and so on this a really good movie.
If you want to see a similar take on LBJ but with a focus more on LBJ's presidency I recommend to watch "All the way" from 2016 with Bryan Cranston as LBJ.
There is superb acting from Harrelson in a character study of the President from director Rob Reiner. There are some glaring physical drawbacks. First thing I noticed is that Harrelson is not quite the towering presence that the President was in real life. There is a real need to have that hulking sense on the screen. It's partly his physical presence that contributes to his power. In the same vein, Jeffrey Donovan doesn't have the pretty boy face of JFK especially if the movie keep harping on that fact. It wouldn't matter if those two Presidents aren't so defined by those characteristics. What gives the movie its power comes from LBJ calling, cajoling, and negotiating with the political world. It is more problematic to try to climax with his speech which is not his biggest strength. The climax should be the passing of the civil rights bill. Instead, it is covered in the closing text. Overall, Harrelson does an admirable job despite his physical dissimilarities. Outstanding support comes from Richard Jenkins. It's a solid biopic.
Lo sapevi?
- QuizWoody Harrelson's late father Charles Harrelson was a Texas hitman who had famously claimed to have killed President Kennedy (he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Texas judge), but later admitted that he made up the story.
- BlooperHistorical quotes throughout the movie are edited to be more sensitive than the actual quotes were.
- Citazioni
Walter Jenkins: There's just no power in the vice presidency.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Walter, how long you been with me?
Walter Jenkins: 21 years.
Lyndon B. Johnson: And in 21 years, can you think of a time that I have taken over a new office, and not made it 100 times more powerful than when I got there?
Walter Jenkins: No, sir.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Power is where power goes.
- ConnessioniReferenced in Midnight Screenings: Tulip Fever (2017)
- Colonne sonoreSons of Thane
Written by John Knowles
Courtesy of APM Music
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- Budget
- 26.000.000 USD (previsto)
- Lordo Stati Uniti e Canada
- 2.470.979 USD
- Fine settimana di apertura Stati Uniti e Canada
- 1.110.565 USD
- 5 nov 2017
- Lordo in tutto il mondo
- 2.510.151 USD