JFK: One Day in America is a timely documentary that arrived in time to commemorate the 60th anniversary of JFK’s tragic death.

There are few things that we do not already know about the Kennedy assassination. What the new National Geographic documentary series does is provide first-hand accounts from people who were there. Many of them were Secret Service agents or living in Dallas at the time. If you’re looking for the film to break new ground with regards to details, you will not get that here. You’ll get that in another documentary, JFK: What the Doctors Saw. The only thing new that we’re really getting are colorized footage that have long been seen in black-and-white. The colorization is done so with permission from The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. The museum also collaborates with the filmmakers in making the docu-series.

Unlike other offerings this November, this is a documentary series rather than film. Every episode runs about 44 minutes in length with a different focus. The first episode focuses on the assassination. During the second episode, the focus is on the manhunt, bringing Jack’s body back to Washington, and LBJ’s swearing-in. Finally, the third episode focuses on Kennedy’s funeral, Lee Harvey Oswald’s arrest and subsequent murder by Jack Ruby. Because of Jack Ruby, we’ll never have formal closure on the Kennedy assassination. To this day, there are numerous theories about what happened and another documentary implies a government cover-up.

The image of John Kennedy Jr. saluting Jack Kennedy’s casket will never not be emotional. It is one of the most iconic images in American history. I’m not crying, you’re crying!

Through its three episodes, the docu-series weaves in archival footage with interviews from the last surviving witnesses. Among those opening up for the first time on film are then-AP reporter Peggy Simpson, then-Dallas PD officer Rusty Robbins, and then-KRLD reporter Bill Mercer. The fact that they are opening up in this way allows for new accounts of the day especially when it comes to Lee Harvey Oswald’s arrest and subsequent death. This enables the audience to get an idea of how things transpired and went down on November 22-25, 1963. Factor in some of the other interviews and this may just be as comprehensive of a documentary as it gets. It’s interesting that we’re getting it for the 60th anniversary rather than the 50th in 2013.

Other key interviews include U.S. Secret Service agents Clint Hill and Paul Landis, White House correspondent Sid Davis, Buell Frazier, John Brewer, Ruth Paine, and a pair of civilian witnesses, Gayle and Bill Newman. This doc does more because it does not just focus mainly on the Kennedy side of things. This one also adds another layer with people who knew the Oswald family. The final minutes tell us what happened with every single interviewee in the years after 1963. Hill received a medal for his bravery but has a sense of guilt about not saving Kennedy’s life. I personally cannot blame him for having such thoughts.

JFK: One Day in America is a timely documentary series with new interviews that add on to what was already known about the Kennedy assassination.

DIRECTOR: Ella Wright
FEATURING: Clint Hill, Sid Davis, Paul E. Landis, Buell Frazier, Bill Mercer, Rusty Robbins, John Brewer, Gayle Newman, W.E. Newman Jr., Ruth Paine, Peggy Simpson, John Brewer, John F. Kennedy

JFK: One Day in America premiered November 5 on National Geographic. Episodes are currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Grade: 4/5

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