Crisis - Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)

Having earned John F. Kennedy's trust with his 1960 campaign-trail film Primary, pioneering cinema verité documentarian Robert Drew expressed his desire to document a president in crisis. When African American college students Vivian Malone and James Hood prepared to enroll at the all-white University of Alabama in June 1963, governor George Wallace supplied the crisis, defying a federal court order and vowing to prevent the students' enrollment. Kennedy granted unprecedented access to Drew and his unobtrusive four-team crew, who used handheld cameras to cover both sides of the conflict: Wallace self-righteously clings to the futility of segregation (and more than a few racist Alabamans support him), while a flurry of phone calls between JFK, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenback reveal a tightly coordinated plan to dismiss Wallace (in RFK's words) as "a second-rate figure." The result is the most intimate study of JFK and RFK ever filmed, capturing the powerful brothers as they forge a great victory for civil rights and racial equality. In defeat, Wallace is left stinging and irrelevant, a Southern dinosaur whose arrogance was his own undoing. For these and many other reasons, Crisis remains one of the most riveting visual records of the Kennedy administration, and Drew's short film Faces of November (included as a bonus feature) provides a sobering reminder: Five months after Crisis was filmed, JFK was dead and a nation was mourning. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

unprecedented access

Imagine George W. Bush allowing himself to be candidly filmed during a major crisis. Impossible you say. Yet less than fifty years ago, President Kennedy permitted just that as he dealt with the crisis of integrating the University of Alabama. Robert Drew's superb editing provides a remarkable glimpse into that time, and that crisis. An essential DVD for anyone wanting to understand the early 1960's and the innocence we lost over the next half-decade. January 21, 2008

yet another Robert Drew classic on JFK (and Bobby, too)!!!!

This is an outstanding, landmark film, way ahead of its time. I really like the intimate portrait of JFK and Bobby. Drew's cameras are the flies on the wall, so to speak. Get this!!
Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA

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December 30, 2005

Crisis-Behind a Presidential Committment

I first saw this outstanding cinema verite Civil Rights documentary by Drew Associates in 1988, of the political and Federal government strategy to integrate negroes into the American University system in 1963 in the deep South in Alabama. Should be standard viewing for anyone concerned about human rights and progress.
The DVD version unfortunately has a copyright symbol DA (for Drew Associates) permanently on the image, so I cannot recommend this DVD, as the symbol ruins the programme. September 30, 2005

"Crisis" + The Bonus Film "Faces Of November" = A Collectible DVD!

Famed pioneering filmmaker Robert Drew produced and directed this film in June 1963, his second project working with John F. Kennedy, following his outstanding 1960 documentary, "Primary", which was a first-of-its-kind "Live" as-it's-happening type of film that followed two candidates for the U.S. Presidency (JFK and Hubert Humphrey) around the streets of Wisconsin during the 1960 Presidential Primary there.

In this 53-minute documentary film, made three years after "Primary", Drew and associates spent two days filming footage inside JFK's White House during the tense days when Jack Kennedy and brother Bobby, the U.S. Attorney General, were struggling against Alabama Governor George Wallace over the integration of the University Of Alabama.

Ultimately, despite Wallace's famous "door-blocking standoff" with authorities, the college was finally desegregated, and two young black students were allowed to become the first African-Americans ever to enroll for classes at the University Of Alabama.

Drew's camera puts the viewer squarely in the middle of the debate, as we see the President in the Oval Office trying to decide on a course of action that will cause the least amount of disruption and violence.

Utilizing multiple camera crews, Robert Drew also follows Bobby Kennedy and George Wallace during the course of "Crisis". In fact, RFK is on screen more here than the President, because he was given the responsibility for coming up with a plan on how to most effectively deal with the Alabama crisis at hand. We see both Robert Kennedy and Wallace at their homes, and we get a candid look at Bobby having breakfast with some of his huge and ever-growing clan of offspring at his McLean, Virginia, residence. Several scenes also show RFK dealing with the crisis in his office at the Justice Department. Interesting stuff.

There's one especially candid and charming moment that takes place in Bobby Kennedy's office, when one of Bob's big brood of children, 3-year-old Kerry, moves into view as RFK is on the telephone talking with his Deputy Attorney General, Nicholas Katzenbach. Kerry takes the phone from her father and speaks to Katzenbach for a moment, easing the growing tensions of the impending crisis a tad bit it seemed. Bobby's attempts to re-acquire the phone from his young daughter, who doesn't seem to want to relinquish the receiver, provides an additional cute, light-hearted moment during the film. Kerry, 29 years later, married New York Governor Mario Cuomo's son.

During the documentary, we also see and hear from the two college students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, who are firmly anchored in the middle of the racial struggle.

This film coincides exactly with one of President Kennedy's most famous speeches to the nation. For it was right after this crisis in Alabama had been resolved, and just hours after Mr. Drew's cameras had filmed the confrontation at the University's doorway, that JFK gave his powerful and stirring 13-minute "Civil Rights Address" that very same evening of Tuesday, June 11, 1963. A portion of that dramatic speech is presented in this film.

This DVD, part of a series of films under the "Docurama" label, has some good Special Features in addition to the main feature. .... Included among the bonuses is an Audio Commentary Track with filmmaker Robert Drew (who was 79 years of age at the time) and cameraman Richard Leacock.

There's also a text biography on Director/Producer Bob Drew, plus informational notes by Drew on his conversations with President Kennedy, revealing how the idea for "Crisis" was born, and ultimately filmed.

Information on the extensive catalog of other "Docurama" titles is also included on this disc, along with some pretty good Trailers for many of the various films.

And saving the best Bonus Feature for last --- there's the inclusion of another Robert Drew film on this DVD, "Faces Of November", which was shot by Drew just days after President Kennedy was assassinated. The majority of this brief 12-minute film depicts up-close shots of people's faces in Washington, D.C., on November 24 and 25, 1963. We can see and feel the grief that is being displayed in the faces of these mourners, whose popular President had been taken from them by an insane act of violence just days before.

"Faces Of November" contains no music score, and likewise no narration. The film's "soundtrack" is filled not with an orchestra's musical notes, but rather with the real-life sounds as recorded by Mr. Drew's microphone -- the muffled drums, the bagpipes, the sound of flags at half-mast being whipped by the November wind, the 21-gun salute, and the wrenching "one-note-askew" version of "taps" at JFK's gravesite.

Some of the more recognizable faces we see in this moving film are that of Jacqueline Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, and Peter Lawford. The rest of the faces are just ordinary folk, who came to Washington, D.C., to pay their respects to their fallen leader. Some waited in line for many hours for their chance to pass by the President's flag-draped casket in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building. As many of them slowly paraded by the casket, the emotions began to flow. And Robert Drew captured some of that heart-felt emotion through his camera's lens. This rare and hard-to-find short film is truly a touching tribute to the memory of President John F. Kennedy; and I'm grateful to the makers of this DVD that they saw fit to include it on this disc. In my opinion, it's worth the price of the DVD all by itself.


Additional information regarding this DVD ...............................................

Video -- Full Frame (1.33:1 aspect ratio).

Audio -- Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Re-mixed from original Mono). English only.

Running Times -- Main Feature ("Crisis") = 52:41.
Bonus Film ("Faces Of November") = 11:55.

Color or B&W -- B&W.

Subtitles -- None.

Menus -- Static (non-animated).

Scene Selections For Main Feature? -- Yes (12 total chapters/scenes).

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"Crisis", like its predecessor "Primary", is a documentary film that was quite unique for its day. A film that throws us, the viewer, right into the center of the action as the situation is unfolding LIVE. Very few, if any, filmmakers had tried this "as-it-is-happening" approach to movie-making prior to Mr. Robert Drew. His roster of films gives viewers a fascinating, and fresh, perspective on many different topics -- and his two major films featuring John F. Kennedy are certainly two of the best, IMO.

So if you want to watch a variation of NBC-TV's "The West Wing" -- only for REAL -- pick up this first-rate DVD of "Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment". And don't forget about the bonus film, "Faces Of November". Its presence here elevates this DVD to "Must Have" status. November 19, 2004

Ideal for historians and Kennedy buffs

This is a great look at the tension surrounding the integration of the University of Alabama in 1963. Basically, JFK & RFK face off against George Corley Wallace, the "gubnuh" (as Lynyrd Skynyrd puts it) who tries to gain browine points from his followers for keeping it segregated. Interestingly, the film shows each protagnist behind the politics. Wallace is shown saying goodbye to his children AND his Black maid (one wonders what goes through her mind as Wallace makes his infamous stand) and the Kennedy Bros. gently try to keep their own children form palying in their office. You also see some moments with James Hood and Vivian Malone, the Black studetns about to integrate the school. Both seem amazingly relaxed and Hood jokes about becoming governor of Alabama upon graduating (ironically, Hood DID invite Wallace to his graduation and Wallace did attend, although that's not in this film).

Overall, it's a good "you are there" type of film that history buffs would enjoy and that I would recommend for history teachers to use in classrooms. July 1, 2004

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