Stone Walled

It is a conspiracy wrapped up in an irony.

This relates to my experiences of trying to buy a DVD of the 1991 Oliver Stone movie JFK. I saw it at the cinema when it first came out and in the following two point one decades I have endeavoured to acquire a copy to sit in my collection of great films and gracefully gather dust between occasional viewings.

On every visit to the fast diminishing number of High Street retailers of DVD's I have excitedly worked my way through the racks in search of the elusive film. In most there has been no trace whatsoever of a stock of the film. In some a tantalising divider card with JFK adhered in letraset or dymo-tape but empty of a prize.

Famous shop chains have withdrawn from DVD sales because of stiff competition from on-line retailers. WH Smith withdrew from the market and others have just gone to the wall altogether, namely Woolworths, Virgin latterly Zavvy and many small independents. I may have been able to save them from closure with my custom had it not been for the decision of some misguided executive at the distribution company to starve the market of copies of JFK.

It is definitely a conspiracy, possibly not directly targeted at me personally, but nevertheless causing me to think that it is.

Looking at it cynically I am of the opinion that with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK next year the owners of the intellectual rights are building up for a massive exploitative release of every possible connotation of the film. Blu-Ray, interactive 3D as though you are on the grassy knoll, retro-style packaging, special boxed set with Oswald mask , unreleased footage and the usual 'where were you when......' hype.

It undoubtedly promises to be a good fund raising year through tributes and testimonials to JFK as well as the resurrection of controversy, rumour, speculation and hearsay on his private life and peccadillos.

I eventually coped with my thwarted efforts to secure the film by resorting to the epitomy of the freewheeling economy that is E Bay. Plenty of copies were being sold in the United States but not compatible with UK DVD players and my limited understanding of zones, pals and the like did not engender confidence in a speculative purchase.

Home sourced DVD's never seemed to appear in the listings. This can be taken as an indication of the allure of the movie by those who possess a copy and will through loyalty,not part with it, otherwise they would be ten a penny at car boot sales like, for example, films with Jennifer Anniston in them.

I admit that my main motivation to acquire a copy was to watch it again because I did not follow it that well when on the big screen all those years ago and with a degree of confusion arising over who was allied to whom, for what purpose and to what end.

I do recall it was a tremendous cast and that Kevin Costner, playing himself as someone else altogether was actually quite good although his role did rather merge in my mind with his Eliot Ness character in The Untouchables made some 4 years earlier.

I at last, but only recently, secured an original vintage DVD copy of JFK. Then irony upon irony it was shown as the 9pm Saturday feature film just this weekend past. I was livid and demoralised by the whole contrived series of events and the persistence of the conspiracy. My only really comfort is in the knowledge that I had only paid £4.50 including postage for my shelf copy.