JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America DVD

For those of us who were alive then, this DVD is a wonderful collection of actual footage taken from the news of the day. The Zapruder film is also included. I was only 10 years old that day, but I remember the talk that it might have been a conspiracy, from Day 1.
This DVD goes far to convince me that Oswald may not even have been the one to fire the shot from the book depository!
This film raised many questions in my mind. Why did the shooter not fire on the President when the car was below the window? That was the clearest shot. Instead, he waited until the car had passed, and was down the street(to coordinate with the other 2 shooters?). Why didn't they allow Oswald an attorney? Why did they wash the car immediately, not even checking for the bullets? Why was Oswald kept at the courthouse for so long? He wasn't transferred for 2 days, at which time he was killed.Why were so many reporters and anyone else allowed in the courthouse?? Why was the Zapruder film kept from us for 12 years? Why was Oswald arrested only one hour after the crime, and charged with the 2 murders? As far as I can see, the only evidence was that Oswald had acquired the gun(they couldn't have known that yet), and the bullet found with Governor Connely was fired from the same gun(they couldn't have know that yet), and he worked at the book depository. Not only that, the story was circulated so fast, it was as if it had been written before the crime! Why were the interviews with the eyewitnesses and the doctors who attended the President not shared with us at the time? And not the least importantly, it was clear from the Zapruder film that the first shot came from behind, the next 2 from the front. The doctors on the film also say so.
This makes me a little angry. At the time, we were assured that Oswald was the lone gunman. But now I see that that was impossible. Both the doctors and the eyewitnesses said at the time that he was shot twice from the front. That was deliberately suppressed.
It becomes glaringly obvious with this collection of footage that no investigation was performed. If there had been, then the facts would have been available. I wonder who planned that trip to Dallas for the President??
If the "pristine" bullet was placed next to Governor Connely, to tie the murder to Oswald's gun, then it would indeed be pristine! The shooters may have fired off several shots from the gun beforehand, keeping shells and bullets to stage the scene.
And when the policeman was killed, and someone called the dispatcher, I wondered if the caller was the killer? He might have done it to bring attention to Oswald, having followed him, or arranged to meet him. Was Oswald, as he said, a patsy?
There is one absurd scene where Congress holds a hearing, at which they call in the man with the umbrella in the Zapruder film. He says it was only an umbrella, and he wasn't signaling. I wondered if he was the same guy as in the film? I couldn't tell. They could have brought some paid actor in to say anything.
I give it 5 stars, because it includes so much raw information from those days. It's also enjoyable to see footage from my childhood, with all those familiar faces. There wasn't enough information to solve a crime, but enough to convince me that it was a conspiracy.

It's a shame that one reviewer here chose to review the content of this documentary as if its presentation is completely unimportant. I believe he missed the point. It's not about whether Oswald acted alone. It is a presentation of the moment. If you don't know, this film is ALL actual footage of news pieces about the JFK assassination as they unfolded. Nicole Rittenmeyer and Seth Skundrick have painstakingly put together a chronological video record of what was being broadcast at the time, some local, some national, some news reports, some interviews, some film of JFK's breakfast speech. The "voice" of this film is the "voice" at that time. No narration. A few carefully worded captions.

In my opinion, this is one of the best documentaries ever made because of what it doesn't do -- it doesn't add superfluous opinions of all the Monday-morning quarterbacks who have analyzed these events for the past 45 years. It's about as close as a person can come to being in America on November 22, 1963.

I am now 57-years old. I was 12 on that day. Even though I was a child I have a vivid memory of that day and the weeks that followed. My "carefree" American childhood changed dramatically because of this event. It really did change America. Up until then it was unthinkable that a President could be killed in modern-day America. I have a small Brownie photo of JFK at Oakland Naval Air Station waving from a limo a few months before. He saw me with my camera and specifically waved to me. Wow! A President. Any President.

If you are younger than about 57, then face it, you were too young to experience this event from an adult perspective -- if you were even born then. This film will definitely show you what it was like to be in America on November 22, 1963. Forget the "politics" and watch this film. It is brilliant.

I must disagree with the previous review of "Three Shots That Changed America". The program was not an attempt to promote the lone-assassin theory, but rather give a visual picture of what happened that weekend and the years that followed, with emphasis on what we watched on television. You must remember that that weekend, the only suspect in town was Oswald, and therefore the coverage centered around him, and later Jack Ruby. In the years that followed, a cottage industry of assassination buffs was formed, although the number of theories that they touted was surpassed only by the number of stars in the night sky. Part One, which was the overview of events through the murder of Oswald, was very well produced, and frankly needed no narration to for viewers to follow along. Part Two centered on how the assassination was reported and portrayed in the years that followed, right up through the mid-1990s. No documentary will ever please everyone, but "Three Shots That Changed America" wasn't trying to. As a broadcast news historian, and not a conspiracy theorist, seeing the rare archival clips in such pristine condition made the program more than worthwhile. Much of the same footage was seen in The National Geographic Channel's "The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination", which aired in November, but not yet released on home video.

Great documentary! But if you're looking for DVD with conspiracy theories you won't find it here. What you will find though is original aired material and footage as it occurred on the day it happened. Leaves you with a feeling as you were actually there, and unless you were then you will definately be brought back to that sad day in Dallas! Highly recommended for history buffs.

Other than the title (There were atleast four shots, proving conspiracy, according to two independent acoustical studies, one in 1979, the other in 2001) this special is a fair, unbiased, and very interesting historical video documentation of the news footage at the time of JFK's murder. You almost feel as if you are watching a soap opera at 12:30PM CST on 11/22/1963, when you are suddenly interrupted by the news about JFK's being shot, and his death.

It's almost as if some scientist with wild white hair, named "Doc", has taken you in a flying Dolorean back in time, to a living room in Dallas, Texas, or anywhere else in the country.... you feel like you are experiencing the events of that tragic weekend as they happened.

They just show the footage and let it do the talking...no lone nut propaganda, which is responsible for having ruined many a TV special on the case.

I enjoyed watching it, while of course feeling sad for the U.S., a nation that lost it's innocence that day.

This is a piece of American history....I highly recommend it.

I first saw this show on the History channel last year and was fascinated mostly with the way television covered it in those early days of the medium itself.
Compared to today's high tech way with its immediate, live style, the technology back then was virtually tin cans & string.
I remember hearing the late Walter Cronkite describe why, when he interrupted the soap opera "As The World Turns", he was not seen in the CBS Newsroom but instead a slide appeared saying simply "CBS News Bulletin" was because they had to wait several minutes for a camera to warm up.
Another fsacinating thing to see was during the reports from the Dallas police headquarters with the gaggle of reporters in the hallway, there was but one pool camera that the reporters had to wait their turns to use. One camera, several reporters.
This is the best documentary on that weekend I've seen yet. Part one is the best. Part two is mostly a collection of various other shows and documentaries talking about the various conspiracies and also the first time anywhere on TV the broadcast of the famed Zapruder film which was introduced by Geraldo Rivera which included gasps of shock from his studio audience who had until then never seen it.

I had to watch this when it debuted on the "History" Channel. The first things that caught my attention with captions of time and place and the use of real footage to tell the story - without narration. To anyone who never saw this they may think that it was great, but people like me who watched "Evidence of Revision" knew right away that this was a rebuttal of those actual facts - ALL of the facts.

Before I saw it I assumed one thing to be take place which The "History" Channel has proven in the past it follows - the lone nut, Oswald did it (for reasons unknown, and who cares?) slat on the event. It uses much of the footage taken from the underground, non-biased EOR, but adds in some footage that goes away from conspiracy, even a guy on the street who says: "it must have been a Communist." I admit from the footage I saw of the event, I never saw anyone but the government talk about the Commies did it, so that was something to see. However, looking at the original EOR, it is more than clear that it was a conspiracy WITH the footage (that the "History" Channel left out)to show not only conspiracy, but when the plan went off script, how they, via the media had to adjust. Whether it was about a Mauser being found (EOR shows MANY instances of footage to show them saying Mauser as to show that it was not error when announced) and then changed to the Carcano. EOR shows how people already suspected conspiracy and that Ruby and Oswald knew each other.

This video is only good for some other rare footage and a lot of color footage. It is clearly the right wings answer to the underground, powerful series "Evidence of Revision" which they STOLE their format, but changed the outcome. As EOR says: "History is being revised even as it is being written" and they SHOW you. This video only brainwashes you and wants you to know two things - JFK was killed, Oswald did it and you need to forget about it.

If you are new to the JFK assassination, this will convince you of only Oswald did it without suggestion of anyone else. The fact that the try to go there when the facts are clear show that the conspiracy was clear and that those who run The "History" Channel are in bed with those who killed JFK. It also goes to show that it must have been right-wingers or else they would not keep trying to pin it on the left. Right-wingers hated JFK then and they still talk bad about him and are glad he was killed today. When Ted died, they talked bad about him on the day of his funeral! Just what did these Kennedy's do that made these people hate them so much?