Synopsis

In October 1962, U.S. surveillance reveals Soviet nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba, bringing the United States and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. President John F. Kennedy and his advisers debate air strikes, invasion, and a naval quarantine while seeking a solution that will remove the missiles without triggering a wider conflict. The crisis unfolds through thirteen tense days of political pressure and secret diplomacy.

Factoids & Trivia

• Although the film shares its title with Robert F. Kennedy's 1969 memoir, its primary source was *The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis* by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow.

• The film takes substantial dramatic license by making White House aide Kenneth P. O'Donnell the central viewpoint character. Several former Kennedy administration officials argued that the movie assigned O'Donnell duties more closely associated with adviser Ted Sorensen.

• Production sought period authenticity by using surviving Cold War-era ships, including the USS Enterprise and the museum ship USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Preserved aircraft were also refurbished for the reconnaissance sequences.

• Scenes involving the RF-8 Crusader and Cuba were filmed in the Philippines. Clark Air Base substituted for Naval Air Station Key West, from which real reconnaissance missions were launched during the crisis.

• Pentagon cooperation ended after the filmmakers refused requests to soften the movie's negative portrayal of senior U.S. military officials. The production consequently relied on aging Philippine aircraft, some of which were pulled by trucks to simulate flight-line activity.

• The film was based partly on newly declassified material that was unavailable when the earlier television docudrama *The Missiles of October* was made in 1974.

• *Thirteen Days* premiered on December 19, 2000, received a limited U.S. release on December 25, 2000, and opened widely in the United States on January 12, 2001.

• The film was screened at the White House for President George W. Bush, who invited Senator Ted Kennedy to attend.

• Kevin Costner later traveled to Cuba in 2001 and screened the film for Fidel Castro, who had personally experienced the missile crisis as a young revolutionary leader.

• Made for approximately $80 million, the film earned about $66.6 million worldwide. Despite its commercial loss, it received generally favorable reviews and has remained a frequently discussed dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis.