Leave it to Oliver Stone to take a story based (at least somewhat) on historical fact and turn it into a dizzyingly madcap political thriller. Screening as part of the Belcourt’s Weekend Classics: Beat the Heat series — a syllabus focused on epics of all shapes and sizes — JFK is the work of a true madman. Stone’s investigation into the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy was controversial at the time of its release for its embrace of conspiracy theories, specifically New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison’s thesis that the president was killed as part of a planned coup to install Lyndon B. Johnson as president. If nearly three-and-a-half hours (the Belcourt is screening the director’s cut!) of crackpot chatter sounds like a nightmare, I get it. But Stone directs JFK with enough nuclear energy to melt any nearby tinfoil hats. The speed with which this epic moves is worth the price of admission alone. Get buzzed on some Bongo Java for the deep dive, as all three weekend screenings are at 11:30 a.m.
July 24-26 at the Belcourt
2102 Belcourt Ave.
