638 Ways to Kill Castro (2006)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Redundant and unnecessary.

Fantastic!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is the story of the men who tried to kill Fidel Castro, the "world's most famous socialist".Wayne Smith, former US diplomat, says America has felt that Cuba is rightfully ours to command, Castro is a "committed egalitarian" and Cuban refugees ended up in Miami, making Florida a hotbed of anti-Castro sentiment and activism (leading to Florida politicians being anti-Cuba).There is no voting for president in Cuba, so opponents of Castro had little choice but to kill him, because there were no other ways to remove him.There is a very odd scene in 1959, as New York seemed to welcome him and he and his son chatted openly with Edward R. Murrow. By Christmas the same year, the CIA was authorized to kill him.Robert Maheu, former FBI agent, struggled with his conscience as a Roman Catholic, but ultimately figured if he could save one American life, it was worth killing Castro for, and he hires the Mafia to intervene.The directors actually tracked down Howard Hunt, former CIA station chief, and got him to talk, which is amazing, and there's some very casual talk from the son of a would-be assassin, who is not only proud of his father, but has some very stereotypical and potentially racist views of Arabs, too. The film is somewhat damning of the Bush family, both directly and indirectly... especially Jeb and George, Sr.

What can you say about a fifty year effort that has a documented 638 attempts without success? Is the CIA that incompetent? It would certainly appear so as they have been unable to kill a World Leader like Castro - a crime, by the way, in any sense of the word.The head of Cuban intelligence is the focus of this funny and interesting documentary that outlines some of the strange and downright weird ways that attempts have been made on Castro's life, from exploding cigars to poisons to guns and exploding fish, as well as the infamous Bay of Pigs.The film weaves movie clips throughout as they obviously don't have film of the real attempts, and it makes for an enjoyable film. There are many interviews with the terrorists in Miami that made attempts that failed, and even George Bush made an appearance talking about those who harbor terrorists while all the while harboring two big ones himself.He who laughs last laughs best.

Over the years, I've heard about the various ways that the US government has tried to assassinate Fidel Castro. Through interviews with Fabian Escalante (the former head of Cuban intelligence), the makers of "638 Ways to Kill Castro" learned that there had in fact been that many, and they even enumerate how many under each US president.The documentary uses a Michael Moore-style approach: as they explain things, they intersperse footage from other sources to move the action along. While some people may find this distracting, I have always considered it one of the most interesting approaches to film-making. And anyway, we have to focus on the documentary's main point: we're in the midst of a so-called war on terrorism, and yet we try to assassinate a head of state and meanwhile allow known terrorist Orlando Bosch (one of the vilest people on Earth) to live within our borders. Rarely has there been such hypocrisy.I recommend this documentary if only for that. It is important for people to see beyond the Bush administration's lies and hypocrisy, even if the scenes from old movies look a little jarring. Worth seeing.

This movie's sense of humor is on par with, and dare I say exceeds, The Power of Nightmares. The combination of lighthearted music, serious information, quick editing, and an overall swift pace results in one thoroughly entertaining movie. This film is on the forefront of the Edu-tainment style of documentary film-making. The information presented is simultaneously comical and weighty. There were at least two moments when I actually exclaimed out loud, "What!?" If you need a break from documentaries that make you feel depressed but you still desire to know what is going on behind the scenes in our world, check out 638 Ways to Kill Castro.I promise you will not be disappointed........unless you are an elderly Cuban exile who wishes Castro dead.