SimonJack The Cuban Missile Crisis of Oct. 16-28, 1962, was the closest the world came to nuclear war. It began when the U.S. discovered that the Soviet Union was building nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The U.S. set up an ocean blockade to stop any further Russian war shipments going to the country. The Soviet-Cuban work continued on 35 missile sites. When the first became operational, the U.S. was ready to bomb the sites and launch a ground attack on Cuba. The crisis ended when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev capitulated. He agreed to withdraw all Soviet missiles from Cuba in exchange for the U.S. promise never to invade Cuba. People should be wary of sources that describe the basis for the event otherwise. The Encyclopedia Britannica article describes it succinctly. It says it was a "major confrontation that brought the United States and the Soviet Union close to war over the presence of Soviet nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba.""The Missiles of October" is a TV movie of the event, based on Robert Kennedy's 1969 book, titled "Thirteen Days." This is a fine dramatization with a huge cast of prominent actors. They portray key roles of people involved in the crisis. They include Pres. John F. Kennedy, White House staff, the Cabinet, and congressional leaders. Others are top military officers and members of the press. On the Soviet side are Premier Nikita Khrushchev and other Russian leaders. This film is a good historical look at the event and near worldwide disaster. It shows the struggles of government leaders as they wrestle with the crisis and try to establish détente. It gives a good picture of the stress of those in authority dealing with crises, including the differences of views among people. For generations long after the Cold War, this film can be a poignant reminder of a scary time in history. The world truly came very close to nuclear war and disaster. All of the cast do a fine job in portraying the key figures of the time. The production is very well done. It shows the details of the crisis from both sides of it, although much of the Soviet internal concerns must be conjecture on Kennedy's part.

DATo-2 The Title 'The Missiles Of October' was a play on the title of the book 'The Guns Of August' by Barbara Wertheim Tuchman which deals with the precipitant events leading to World War I and the enormous tragedy resulting from the inability of the principal player's to diplomatically side-step one of history's most tragic chapters. I was a child at the time of the Cuban missile crisis but I remember clearly the dread we all felt during those tension filled days when literally the fate of the world was hanging in the balance.'The Missiles Of October' was a Hallmark Hall Of Fame special presentation and was based on Theodore Sorensen's book 'Kennedy' [the chapter entitled 'The Cuban Missile Crisis']. The TV production captured perfectly the story as told by Sorensen, who was part of Kennedy's staff at the time and was present at most of the meetings taking place prior, and subsequent to Kennedy's revelation to the world of America's knowledge of the Russian missiles in Cuba and our intent to have them removed.I HIGHLY recommend this film as one of the most riveting stories you will ever see ... fascinating, mesmerizing, haunting, and would have made great fiction if it were not ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

yenlo This made for TV picture got rave reviews when it came out in 74. William Devane does a great job in his portrayal of JFK. Martin Sheen was also good as RFK. Howard Da Silva not to be overlooked as Nikita Khrushchev. When viewed today the filming technique may seem dated and dull but if that can be overlooked the content of the film is still powerful. Additionally it's all based on an actual historic event.

STAX-5 Overall, an excellent made for TV movie with William Devane simply being the best actor who has yet played JFK. He does the accent JUST right without overdoing it -- unlike future JFK Martin Sheen, who hams it up as RFK here. His accent (as it was in KENNEDY) is overdone with, uh, a lot of, uh, this, uh, sort of thaaaaang (I am, uh, speaking like, uh, a Kennedy). Other than that, a really well-made film. Can't wait to see 13 DAYS!