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
Yet all of that changes as Johnson is thrown into the spotlight and becomes president after president Kennedy is hit and killed with an assassin's bullet in Dallas in 1963. Oh Lyndon has come along way from west Texas to the white house. Along the way doubt and indifference is found even from his own party, yet Johnson thru hard work determination and political back room workings gets the landmark Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.
Overall good film that's a historical and political look at a great figure a president that was for the people and their rights and a society changer even when it wasn't popular or it didn't seem the norm. "LBJ" is one picture to watch for historical and political social reasons.
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.
Woody Harrelson and his facial prosthetics play LBJ, and Mr. Harrelson seems to be enjoying the swagger and emotional range of the titular man. What this film does that's a bit different from others is embrace the comedic elements – enhanced by both the performance and the script from Joey Hartstone. It seems odd (a somewhat awkward) to have so many laughs in a movie where the infamous 1963 Presidential motorcade, and subsequent assassination, form the backdrop.
Director Rob Reiner presents LBJ in all his crude and gruff glory, but also shows the ultimate politician – a man who was constantly negotiating. Intimidation was always part of the LBJ motif, and the film effectively displays the tactics used by John and Bobby Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Stahl-David) to take the wind out of LBJ's sails after the election.
There are reenactments throughout the film that place us back in the middle of iconic images seared into our memories the motorcade after the shots, the scene at Parkland, and the swearing in aboard Air Force One with Jackie still wearing her blood-stained Chanel suit. This was an incredible time in our history, as the nation was emotionally shattered. It's for this reason that much of the film seems disjointed or misguided. Too much (or maybe not enough) attention is on LBJ's strained relationship with Georgia Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins), one of the most racist men we've seen on screen. Their discussion of race relations while being served dinner by the black woman is beyond uncomfortable – yet still somehow too stagey.
Most of the film is spent on LBJ's time as Senator and Vice President, with only the final act being about his famous networking upon ascending to the Presidency after which the entire focus is on the Civil Rights Act. The flow of the film seems a bit off, though most will enjoy watching Harrelson's performance – especially when paired with Jennifer Jason Leigh's Lady Bird. Together, the two almost rescue the script.
The acting by Woody Harrelson and Jennifer Jason Leigh is excellent. You think you're watching the real thing. They are the only two actors who do such great job, and the others do OK.
There is a real sense that this is a docudrama rather than a film.
My main criticism is that the film makers stopped in mid film. The story of LBJ didn't end with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It continued through the devastation of the Vietnam War. The true story is how Johnson squandered the legacy of JFK with his foreign policy, and all that is left out.
Woody Harrellson's LBJ passably captures the crassness and incertitude but fails to deliver the man in full that as Senate Majority leader bullied and cajoled members into line. There are flashes of the famed abrasiveness but they are far out weighed with a pouting, insecure LBJ huddling with Lady Bird. Anyone familiar with this man's public career know the material Reiner had in his arsenal to make an outstanding character study. Instead he only gives us a chapter of an incredibly controversial career when we are expecting a book. LBJ shortchanges.
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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- The President: Lyndon B. Johnson
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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