I've owned this movie on VHS for some time, and being a Kennedy fanatic, it is one of my all-time favorites. I love Martin Sheen's portrayal of JFK, and Blair Brown's resemblance to Jackie is almost eery. I do wish the writers would have had the courage to actually name Marilyn Monroe and all of JFK's other dalliances; it would have made the film that much more respectable. EG Marshall and Geraldine Fitzgerald's appearances as Joe and Rose Kennedy were right on the money.I would have liked to see a different actor portray MLK. The guy they had didn't really look like him at all--he was too tall and his face didn't have that pudgier look that we all remember.Finally, the assassination scene, while obviously needed, was poorly constructed. It was obvious to anyone who lived through that day or is an conspiracy buff that the scene wasn't filmed anywhere near Dallas. For comparison purposes, Oliver Stone's re-creation for "JFK" was much, much better.Overall, this is an excellent movie, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking more knowledge of the Kennedy administration and family, as well as Kennedy the man.

I remember when this movie was first aired in 1983 on the 20th anniversary of JFK's assassination. I was fed-up with all the Kennedy-mania at that time and I normally don't care for Martin Sheen. I remember seeing the ads for this movie on TV and I recalled that Martin Sheen had portrayed Bobby Kennedy in The Missiles of October, which was a very dry, 1974 TV movie that I couldn't sit through. Based on those factors, I decided not to watch this one when it originally aired. A few years later it was rerun on the 25th Anniversary of the JFK assassination. Between the time it first aired, and the 1988 rerun, I had seen a TV movie called Hoover Versus The Kennedys – the Second Civil War with Jack Warden and was very intrigued by it so when this one aired in 1988, I decided to watch it, and tape it, and I was not disappointed. As I pointed out, Martin Sheen is not my favorite actor but he is absolutely superb in this mini-series. This mini-series was very well done and has some big name actors in it which you do not normally see in made for TV movies. Historically and objectively, the movie is pretty good. As one reviewer stated, it shows "their warts" as well as their triumphs. A couple of historical mistakes – there are cars from the 1980s seen on the street as Jackie is conversing during a car ride. Also, Ethel Kennedy makes a reference to Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK during a family event that takes place in 1963. I do not recall which event it was in the movie but Monroe actually died in August 1962 so it could not have happened the way that it is portrayed. Perhaps the writers just had to fit it in where they could. E.G. Marshall was stunning as Joseph Kennedy Sr. and Geraldine Fitzgerald was excellent too. The entire supporting cast was great and I really liked Vincent Gardenia's J. Edgar Hoover. The fact that Hoover's scenes were usually done in low light perhaps portrayed him as more sinister than he was but hey, it's a TV movie. I agree with the other reviewer who calls it "The Best Kennedy movie ever." It is very good. I believe the History Channel now owns it. Definitely worth taking the time to watch.

This mini-series more than earned its BAFTA award. It was well acted, true to the facts recorded in most books on the Kennedys, and very emotive. I was particularly impressed by Blair Brown as Jackie, and Nesbitt Blaisdell as an eerily convincing LBJ. Martin Sheen was Martin Sheen in the look-a-like stakes, but he put across the personality, temperament, and accent of Kennedy superbly, which is a lot harder than merely resembling a person. (Although, when watching the original footage of the inaugural address on the DVD version, I had to wonder if Sheen had maybe overdone the famous Boston accent slightly). The tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis was well captured, and the dramatisation of the assassination was the right balance of effect and imagination. Blair Brown's portrayal of Jackie's shock and grief stood up to the raw emotion of the opening scenes, perfectly bookending this amazing series.

Jackie Kennedy was at the lobby of the Golden Beach Resort in southern India when an episode from this mini-series was being shown on the television set there. She watched it for several minutes before retiring to her room with tears in her eyes. She did not leave her room for a couple of days and denied interviews to Indian journalists. I know about this incident because I read a brief report on it in a Tamil language magazine. Like Mrs.Kennedy, I watched this mini-series when India's state-run Doordarshan showed it. Though it has been many years, I still remember some scenes from several episodes. I particularly recall the Cuban Missile Crisis episode. Martin Sheen's Kennedy came across as an abrupt, impatient and unlikeable fellow. However, I think he was a good choice to play Kennedy given his physical resemblance to the slain president; even his voice sounded like Kennedy's. Evidently, he had a speech coach.To summarize, this was a watchable mini-series.