RFK

Paramount has put the PBS documentary on Robert F. Kennedy out on DVD, which makes for a fine addition to the study of JFK and his assassination. RFK’s work alongside his brother and the documented conflict with LBJ is covered here, as is his grappling with his the shocking events in Dallas in 1963. This two-hour documentary is anything but boring, flying by with interesting detail, rare footage, and insightful commentary from those that new the man. The love this country had for the Kennedy brothers is evident in the opening scene from the 1964 Democratic National Convention. The ovation he gets and his response is telling. The times during his run for president in ’68 is fairly similar to today’s political climate. The “what if’s” that are explored here are interesting and hard not to ponder, as his own assassination in that year cut short a career that likely would have kept him in office for awhile. His quotes from the Greek playwrite Aeschylus (“He who learns must suffer”) and references to “the awful grace of God” add depth to a look at both the successes and failures of the Kennedys. Fascinating too is some footage from ’68 where Bobby is campaigning in a parade through San Francisco’s Chinatown when some loud firecrackers go off, sounding eerily like gunfire, he barely shrugs long enough to stop shaking hands. His murder in Los Angeles soon after underscores the dramatic legend that now surrounds he and his brother before him.
[Paramount] DV

40% : Spiritual Relevancy

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