Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I watched and taped this program when it was first broadcast in 2004 and was so impressed by it, I've kept the tape. I am glad it is still available on DVD because "Beyond Conspiracy" is a well-done and convincing documentary on the Kennedy assassination that defends the Warren Commission's findings that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only shooter and acted alone. Ironically, he simplest answer is hard to believe sometimes and many who support one conspiracy theory or another will probably not be swayed by this DVD, but the evidence shown in this report is strong and would need to be dealt with to defend any theories involving magic bullets, second gunman, Oswald's connections with the CIA or KGB, Jack Ruby's ties with the Mafia, etc.
The most eye-opening part of this program are the findings of computer animator Dale Myers. He designed a computerized 3D replica of Dealey Plaza which utilized the movements of JFK and Governor Connally in the Zapruder film to recreate the shooting. The computer imagery shows the precise positions in the limousine and how a single bullet passed straight through both men causing their simultaneous reactions. The bullet is then traced to its exact source--the sixth floor window of the Texas school book depository. I was very impressed by this footage and think anyone interested in the assassination should see it.
The program also gives a biography of Lee Harvey Oswald with interview clips of his older brother, Robert, a journalist who knew Oswald when he defected to the Soviet Union, and a woman who knew Oswald and his wife in Dallas. It covers Oswald's troubled childhood, his attraction to Marxist philosophy, in large part, (according to his brother) to stand out from the crowd. He had a flair for the dramatics (slitting his wrist in Russia so the Soviet authorities would allow him to stay in the country) and an obsessive need to be something more than he was. When the motorcade route for JFK's visit was published in the paper and was revealed to pass right by the book depository where Oswald was a clerk, he seized the opportunity. Even more important as evidence of Oswald's sole guilt is information on his plot to assassinate retired general and anti-Communist Edwin Walker. Also, there is compelling evidence in this program revealing that Oswald was a superb marksman who was more than capable of shooting off the shots in the time allotted.
The program does not ignore the conspiracy theories. It covers the Warren Commission's failure to address the issue of Cuba and Castro's possible involvement (this area is probably not covered enough to refute conspiracy theorists). The Mafia ties are examined as well and Jack Ruby is painted as a braggart and loose cannon who would make a poor candidate for a co-conspirator. The fourth shot on the grassy knoll that scientists, in a 1976 re-examination of the Warren Report, claim can be heard from an open-microphone recording on a police motorcycle is refuted by Myers' computerized time-line of the motorcade that reveals officer McLain (who had always said he was not in position to pick up such a shot) was not in position the scientists claimed (Vince Bugliosi further dispels the fourth shot theory in his book "Reclaiming History").
Finally, the program pokes many holes in Oliver Stone's motion picture "JFK." It is very unfortunate that many people get their history from Hollywood. THIS DVD is one that needs to be watched on the Kennedy assassination, not a movie with actors and a script that takes artistic license. One area that is not covered is the simulated trial of Lee Harvey Oswald in London, but, again, Bugliosi (the prosecutor in that trial) will cover this topic in his book. Again, this program won't turn around everyone's opinion, but any discussion on the subject that does not at least address the compelling evidence revealed in "Beyond Conspiracy" is insufficient.
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KENNEDY ASSASSINATION:BEYOND CONSPIRA - DVD Movie
