THE FILM & WATER PODCAST
Episode 39: THIRTEEN DAYS
Break out the Boston accents! Rob welcomes returning champ Michael Bailey to discuss the 20o1 historical thriller about the Cuban Missile Crisis, THIRTEEN DAYS!
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Wow, between this episode and the latest Secret Origins Podcast, that’s TWO references to Elya Baskin in “2010” in three days!
You have to give the people what they want.
This was a great episode to hear because I am right there with you guys! Like you two, I always thought this movie was incredible, and also I always felt like I was the only who saw it and wanted to talk about it. And like Michael, I tended to watch this movie and JFK back-to-back.
Strangely, I first discovered Bruce Greenwood on the show KNOTS LANDING where he played Nicolette Sheridan’s psycho boyfriend for a season. I don’t know why but he left an impression on me so I always got excited when I saw him in movies like THIRTEEN DAYS and STAR TREK, and yes, when he voiced Batman.
This isn’t a criticism of Kevin Costner, but I always felt like Ken O’Donnell was the least interesting character in the whole movie. I wanted more time with everyone else in the movie, and yet, that doesn’t disrupt my enjoyment of the movie. The fact that the lead character is boring and the plot and structure are totally unorthodox–none of that hinders my fondness for this film.
Great job, guys!
You forgot to mention the operator that doesn’t realize she has a “tone”.
I’m a big history buff, and was born in the mid-60s, so I had an affinity for the subject; but, I skipped this one for two reasons: Kostner’s then-recent body of work and a tv dramatization called The Missiles of October. Kostner hadn’t exactly been producing great films, for a while, though that was a more minor portion of my decision to pass on the film. The bigger element was The Missiles of October. It’s probably not as well known today; but, in its day it was widely acclaimed and I saw it on it’s initial broadcast (and one or two repeats). It’s presented almost as a stage play, centered around one or to rooms (my memory is fuzzy, it’s been a long time). It stars Wiiliam Devane as JFK and Martin Sheen as RFK. They did a tremendous job capturing the men, especially Martin Sheen, who is just the right age, and was at the height of his youthful talent. The drama is based on Robert Kennedy’s book, Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was released on dvd, but is out of print. You can watch it on youtube, though. If you enjoyed 13 Days, you will enjoy this.
I enjoyed the discussion, particularly Michael Baily’s comment about being in charge and not wanting it. I’m a retail manager, I know of what he speaks. I’m going to have to seek this out and give it a view.
I also have to agree about Batm v Superman being the Vietnam for Superman: a wrong-headed direction, from which we won’t emerge any time soon.
Why did I spell Costner with a K? Must have been all that talk about the Russians….
This is a movie that I’ve only actually seen once but I still remember many of the scenes very vividly, which speaks to how well it was made. This was my introduction to Bruce Greenwood, and he hasn’t let me down since. The tension in this thing is frankly epic, and it’s only flaw is spending too much time with Costner who (while not bad) is the weakest performance of the core group and sports the least convincing accent.
If I had been alive in 1952 & 1956 I’d have voted for Stevenson over Ike. Here’s the actual event as depicted in the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoBTgLq40Ck
One of my favorite bits of the Film & Water podcast is how eclectic your selections have been. I’m glad your’re not just doing the expected classics. I saw 13 Days in the theater and sadly never revisted it. I will have to correct that ASAP!
I borrowed this movie, Sunshine and Goodfellas from the video library about 4 years ago as part of my ‘catching up on films that are great that I’ve never seen’ efforts. It obviously has some type of reputation to be on my radar like that.
I really should return them.
Thank you for giving this movie some respect! And here I thought I was the only one who enjoyed Thirteen Days.