Bobby (Full Screen Edition) |  | Director: Emilio Estevez
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Harry Belafonte, Joy Bryant
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: Books by Gary
Rating:  110 reviews
Sales Rank: 49141
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 79931
UPC: 796019799317
EAN: 0796019799317
ASIN: B000MEYJHY
Theatrical Release Date: November 23, 2006
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com
In the final quarter or so of Bobby, writer-director-actor Emilio Estevez finally starts tightening his grip on the viewer as we head inexorably toward the film's climax: the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen. In the course of these scenes--among them Kennedy's acceptance speech after winning the California Democratic presidential primary (the senator is seen only in file footage), his death at the hands of gunman Sirhan Sirhan, and the chaos and despair that ensued--Estevez steadily ratchets up the sense of tension and dread. Knowing exactly what's coming, while the characters onscreen don't, is excruciating, as is our grief at hearing RFK's own words, so eloquent, so hopeful and inspiring, as we watch the horrible events unfold and wonder what might have been (sure it's manipulative--but it works). But the rest of Bobby isn't nearly as compelling. Nor is it really about Kennedy, despite its obvious adulation of the man whom many thought would defeat Richard Nixon in the '68 general election. In the tradition of, say, an Irwin Allen disaster flick, we're invited into the lives of nearly two dozen folks, most of them at least partly fictional, who were at the Ambassador Hotel that June day, including guests, staff (kitchen workers, switchboard operators, management, etc.), campaign workers, reporters, and more. There are lots of movie stars in the cast, and some of them (Sharon Stone, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy) are very good. But caring about the quotidian minutiae of these people's existences is a chore, and Estevez crams so many issues into his story (the Vietnam war, drugs, alcoholism, voting irregularities, adultery, racism, immigration, communism… even L.A. Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale's streak of consecutive shutouts) and tries so obviously to establish parallels between then and now that too much of the movie feels gratuitous and forced. A warts-and-all film about Robert Kennedy's extraordinary life and career would be welcome. Unfortunately, Bobby isn't it. --Sam Graham
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 110
Great picture January 27, 2010
G. Waldhauser
but has its lenghts; slightly disappointing performance of Helen Hunt, but overall a great movie.
 Surely some black people drink tea? January 9, 2010
Michael Rapson
What a sad day when an icon is killed for taking a socio-political stance, even if, as attorney-general under JFK, this "messiah of civil rights" ordered the FBI to wire-tap the phone calls of Martin Luther King and who knows who else in the civil rights movement. Yet the depiction of the day's events wasn't quite on the money in this film, for me. For example, we didn't get to see into the heart of Bobby, except indirectly via the interspersed news footage. This style of spliced acting with documentary is a bold way to approach the drama, and has some merit. The movie relied heavily on late 1960s stereotypes (at least those as envisaged by the writers) but they were just too stereotypical to come across as natural. The biggest failing for me was that there was little build up of tension in the lead up to the assassination, if any at all. It certainly had some amusing moments, though. The two lads tripping on acid and tennis nets was mildly entertaining. On the other hand, Anthony Hopkins seemed either embarrassed or bored with his role, which seems to have been to sit around all day playing chess with a sweet old black man, played by Harry Belafonte (who drinks scotch, because "only white people drink tea"). The plot drifted into a farrago of soap opera-like scenarios, depicting various couples coming apart at the seams or, alternatively, couples reconciling their failing relationships. However, something about it did stir my emotions at times, but I am hard-pressed to say what. I think it must have been the songs, because they did remind me of that era and made me feel nostalgic for my youth.
Just too many tangents into private lives and condescending stereotypes spoiled what was an interesting idea for a movie. 3 stars at very most.
 Why America Hates Hollywood September 28, 2009
Jerry P. Danzig (New York, NY USA)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Martin and Charlie Sheen are renowned for embarrassing themselves in public, and here the other Sheen boy, Emilio Estevez, steps up to the plate and -- knocks a foul ball way, way up into the bleachers!
Estevez wrote and directed this remarkably boneheaded movie, which attempts to memorialize the day Robert Kennedy was assassinated by -- trivializing the event, focusing on a bunch of fictitious characters playing out their cliched melodramas on that fateful day.
This movie unfolds like a REALLY bad episode of the "Love Boat" -- if the latter were the Titanic. It also reminded me of the dreadful Irwin Allen disaster movies of the seventies -- except that the only disaster on display here is the movie itself.
I kept expecting Shelly Winters to rise from the dead and take the proceedings here to a new level of camp, but instead a cast of actors I used to respect take the honors. Bill Macy, Laurence Fishburne, Anthony Hopkins -- what were they thinking? I assume that they did indeed read this script before they agreed to take part...
This movie in large part explains why so many average Americans hate the rich, self-absorbed, and self-indulgent names in Hollywood when they choose to get involved in politics.
The only way I can recommend viewing this pretentious piece of twaddle is to follow the example of the two young characters in the film who drop acid. Perhaps the flick would inspire a few chuckles among those experiencing hallucinations.
Others should stay far, far away.
politically correct 60's stereotypes and the roots of anti-americanism in the Democratic Party July 9, 2009
Thomas Lee (Outside Phila, PA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a politically correct 60's stereotype. Today, young people are largely brain-washed and ignorant of historical facts. For the record, it was Eugene McCarthy who was the courageous Democratic candidate who challenged the Vietnam War. Bobby Kennedy only jumped into the race after McCarthy showed that an anti-war candidate was viable. Of course, with his name, he quickly eclipsed McCarthy. Bobby was assassinated by a Palestinian. JFK was assassinated by a Communist (Oswald). The affiliations of both killers have been largely forgotten and the crimes were attributed to the evil of America. These killings and the media interpretation put America on the path that it is still treading- toward oblivion.
 One of best films I have seen July 2, 2009
E. Erenler (New Jersey)
I am surprized that most professional movie critics did not give this film higher ratings. Most of these critics take shortcuts. They watch the first half hour of the film, then go accross the street to have a drink or two, then come back for the last half hour of the film. You need to sit through this whole movie in its entirity in order to truly appreciate it. An unheard of 24 (or so) characters are protrayed in the film. No way can you understand all the characters by just watching the first and last half hours of the film.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 110
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