The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is portrayed from a behind-the-scenes perspective in "Thirteen Days", New Line Home Entertainment's first release in their new "Infinifilm" line of DVDs, which promises to "go beyond the movie" with interactive extra features.

In 1962, Russia began moving offensive nuclear missiles into Cuba, while at the same time denying that they were doing so. Over the span of thirteen days, John F. Kennedy and his staff had to explore every possible reaction to these maneuvers, many of which threatened the nation with the possibility of nuclear war. In "Thirteen Days", we see the situation from the vantage point of Kenny O'Donnell, JFK's advisor, played by Kevin Costner. It is a well told, effective film, wringing tension out of historical events of which the outcome is already known, and a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the White House during an historical event. The performances are uniformly excellent, especially Bruce Greenwood as JFK and Steven Culp as his brother Bobby (Costner's too heavy Eastern accent gets a little tiresome, but otherwise he does a fine job with his role). "Thirteen Days" maintains an excellent balance between strict historical accuracy and dramatic scenes that portray the feeling and intent of the situations involved, and it is a very well made and entertaining real-life political thriller.

Being a recent, high profile film, "Thirteen Days" should look excellent visually, and this DVD does not disappoint. The picture is nearly flawless, always crisp and clear, with solid colors and dense blacks. The film features many scenes that begin in black and white before shifting into color and these transitions are smooth and fluid, serving this dramatic technique effortlessly. The opening credit sequence, which showcases dozens of individual missile launches, is breathtaking both in quality and in content. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is outstanding - an all-encompassing mixture of a dramatic score, crisp dialogue, and occasionally active surround sound effects. All the channels are in use here, and they really give this film a lot of its weight and power. While it's not a "special effects" film per se, there are enough action shots to add some kinetic excitement to the film, and the soundtrack comes through in all areas, immersing the viewer totally in the film.

The main feature that is unique to the "Infinifilm" line of DVDs is the "Infinifilm" feature itself. With this feature activated, the viewer has the option (via a pop-up selection), while watching the film, to access bits and pieces of the supplementary materials that are relevant to the scene at hand. All of the "Infinifilm" extras can be found among the supplementary features, and, frankly, that's how I'd prefer to watch them. While it is an interesting idea (and keeping in mind that this is their first foray into this type of feature), it takes an awfully long time to watch the film in the "Infinifilm" mode. I didn't time it exactly, since I was unable to go through it all in one sitting, but I would guess that a complete "Infinifilm" viewing would take at least 4 hours, and probably more. Also, you don't get a good experience of either the movie or the extras, since you're constantly bouncing back and forth between them, and never get into a "groove" with either. However, I applaud New Line's effort to break new ground in DVD presentation, and will be curious to see how the future "Infinifilm's" turn out. Viewed separately from the "Infinifilm" feature, the extras are grouped into two areas: "Beyond the Film" and "All Access Pass". The first area starts with a "Historical Figures Commentary Track", which is an interesting collection of audio clips (both archival footage and newly recorded interviews) assembled into an alternate audio track. Next is the "Historical Information Track", a subtitle track which frequently presents information on screen throughout the film. "Historical Figures Biographies" consists of short video clips containing information about 17 of the key players. "Beyond the Movie" wraps up with perhaps the meatiest extra, the 48-minute long featurette entitled "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis". The next section, "All Access Pass", begins by offering up a filmmaker commentary track, featuring director Roger Donaldson and actor Kevin Costner (among others). "Bringing History to the Silver Screen" is an 11-minute long look at the process of adapting this true story to the cinema. Then there is "Visual Effects", which presents the scene "Low Level Cuban Fly By" in 5 different stages of production, along with a short introduction. 9 deleted scenes are also included, totaling approximately 12 minutes, and can be viewed with or without commentary by Roger Donaldson. Bringing up the rear in the extras department are filmographies for the cast and crew and the theatrical trailer.

The film is definitely worth at least a rental for the curious, and fans of the film (or history buffs) will really get their money's worth if they decide to buy the DVD. The "Infinifilm" feature itself didn't impress me that much - I don't think I'd utilize it again myself - but the wealth of interesting extras included make this one of the most fully-stocked DVDs I've come across in quite some time.