Let it go, Oliver Stone

When "JFK" was first released it was a disappointing waste of talent. Today it feels much the same.

The film follows New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, played by Kevin Costner, who becomes increasingly convinced that there was a conspiracy behind the Kennedy Assassination. Morrison tracks down witnesses who supposedly link Oswald to people who are linked to the CIA and meets a mysterious “X” character at the Washington Mall who hints that Kennedy was killed in order to keep U.S. forces in Vietnam.

The Ultimate Collector’s Edition offers the two-disc director’s cut with 17 minutes of additional footage. Bonus features, including plenty of deleted and extended scenes, and the documentaries “Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy” and “The Kennedys: America’s Emerald Kings” are also present. A hardcover booklet profiling cast members and some material on the actual John F. Kennedy, including several of his letters, round out the features.

Some of the extras, like Kennedy’s letters and the Emerald Kings documentary, provide useful background. Unfortunately, “Beyond JFK” is about as critical of conspiracy theories as the actual film.

Director Oliver Stone goes beyond encouraging speculation or producing admitted fiction. He attempts to convince his audience that his interpretation of events is somehow representative of the truth.

Given that events such as the conversation with “X” never took place, that is a problem. A major witness for the case, David Ferrie, played by Joe Pesci, supposedly kills himself, yet Stone shows footage of him being murdered as though it were fact.

"JFK" has wonderful production values. However, the problem with conspiracy documentaries (take, say, “Loose Change,”) isn’t poor cinematography.

This is a film that uses a powerful score and clever editing to prevent you from asking why you should believe the Dallas Police Department, the FBI, military contractors, the CIA and Lyndon B. Johnson are involved in this conspiracy, when the D.A. of New Orleans, where Lee Harvey Oswald spent so much of his time, somehow isn’t.

Oliver Stone didn't make a movie so much as he has made propaganda for a specific political agenda, and a poorly conceived one at that. It should be thoroughly rejected.