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{{quote|"To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards of men." |'''Ella Wheeler Wilcox'''}}
 
''[[JFK (Filmfilm)|JFK]]'' is a 1991 film written and directed by [[Oliver Stone]] about the assassination of [[John F Kennedy]] and its aftermath, based around the investigation by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison ([[Kevin Costner]]). After reading the Warren Report and finding it unsatisfactory, Garrison decides to launch an investigation on his own. After reviewing witness reports and interviewing some people on his own, Garrison becomes convinced Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy, and that all of the suspicious events seem to be circling a Texas Businessman named Clay Shaw ([[Tommy Lee Jones]]) who goes by the alias Clay Bertrand. Shaw has connections to Lee Harvey Oswald ([[Gary Oldman]]), the CIA, the FBI, and others.
 
After his case gains publicity, Garrison is invited to Washington, D.C. for a confidential meeting. The man (Donald Sutherland), who goes only by the name "X", says that Garrison is closer to the truth than he thinks, and gives him background information regarding his suspicions that JFK was killed by a conspiracy involving the CIA, the military, and business interests (the "Military-Industrial Complex") in order to, among other things, stop him from bringing [[The Vietnam War]] and the [[Cold War]] to an end.
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* [[Composite Character]]: Several, including Willie, the male prostitute played by Kevin Bacon. (See [http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100okeefe.html here] for details.)
* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Another part of the alleged conspiracy. Clay Shaw is a literal example.
* [[Doing It for Thethe Art]]: [[Oliver Stone]] poured his heart and soul into this movie, going out of his way to make sure everything appeared exactly as he wanted it. A great example is his meticulously detailed set of the White House's Oval Office, which cost about $70,000 to complete, yet it only appears in about ''eight seconds'' of the film.
** The movie was shot largely on location, including Dealy Plaza in Dallas and the actual book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald (allegedly) shot Kennedy.
* [[Fake American]]: Brit [[Gary Oldman]] as the Louisiana-born Lee Harvey Oswald
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* [[Government Conspiracy]]: "X" and (eventually) Garrison, believe this is part of what killed Kennedy.
* [[It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans]]: One of Garrison's investigators interviews an informant during a Mardi Gras parade.
* [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall]]: Near the end of his monologue, Mr. X says "Don't take my word for it- don't believe me. Do your own work, your own thinking.
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: And even more in the [[Directors Cut]]
* [[The Mafia]]: Another possible contributor to the assassination and cover-up.
* [[Mr. Exposition]]: "X" and Garrison. X's monologue lasts over 15 minutes, and Garrison's closing statement at the trial lasts over 20. And yet, thanks to Oliver Stone's direction, it ''never feels slow''.
* [[Narrator]]: Martin Sheen narrates the opening montage.
* [[Off Onon a Technicality]]: Much of the information about Clay Shaw is thrown out (particularly the fact that he used the alias "Clay Bertrand" while participating in his shady deals) because he didn't have a lawyer present while he was being booked. The movie points out that this ruling wasn't legally sound, and implies that it may have been part of the [[Government Conspiracy]] to keep Shaw from being convicted.
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Donald Sutherland as X.
* [[Playing Against Type]]: One of the few dramatic roles played by John Candy, as a beatnik lawyer connected to the conspiracy. The nervous sweat you see on his face is [[Enforced Method Acting|real]], as the thought of acting in a dramatic film opposite such heavyweight actors as Donald Sutherland and [[Gary Oldman]] scared Candy shitless.
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* [[Rewind, Replay, Repeat]]: One of the most famous examples during Garrison's closing statement, when he puts the shot of Kennedy being shot in the head on a loop to emphasize the direction:
{{quote| "Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left. [[Department of Redundancy Department|Back, and to the left]]"}}
* [[Shout -Out to/To Shakespeare]]: [[Hamlet|"One may smile, and smile, and be a villain"]]
** "Like [[Julius Caesar|Ceasar]], he is surrounded by enemies..."
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''[[Nixon]]'', which also features the JFK assassination as subtext.
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* [[Those Two Guys]]: The fifth movie to feature both Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, but the only one where they never share a scene.
* [[The Vietnam War]]
* [[What Might Have Been]]: [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Mel Gibson (Creator)|Mel Gibson]] were [[Oliver Stone]]'s first choices for the role of Jim Garrison.
* [[Who Shot JFK?]]: [[The Movie]].
 
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