In 1976, documentary director/writer William Richert started to make his first feature film, an adaptation of Richard Condon's novel WINTER KILLS. Due to an amazing series of coincidences and mysterious circumstances, his film wasn't finished for three years. Then, adding insult to injury, Richert's distributor pulled the film from release after only a few weeks. What made WINTER KILLS such a notorious film? Could it be the film was a thinly disguised account of the Kennedy assassination? Was America not ready to face up to the idea of a government conspiracy in 1979? Whatever the reason, Anchor Bay has reissued Richert's controversial film on DVD, and now you can see for yourself what the hubbub was, bub.

WINTER KILLS opens with Nick Regen leaving a message on his girlfriend Yvette's now antiquated answering machine. He's at sea aboard an oil tanker, when Keifetz, a friend of his family, choppers in with an injured oil worker. It seems that this particular worker - Fletcher - was one of the assassins who shot Nick's brother, President Tim Kegen, nearly 20 years ago. Fletcher admits to his part of the cover-up and tells Nick where he hid his rifle before he succumbs to his injuries. Nick immediately sets off for Philadelphia to confirm Fletcher's story. Once there he meets with friend Miles and police captain Heller to search the assassin's former hideout. Nick finds the weapon exactly where Fletcher claimed it would be. Returning to the police captain's vehicle, Nick notices a young woman popping her gum. When he turns around, Miles & the captain have been shot dead. Nick rushes to a nearby store and tries to call his father. As he does so, the vehicle, with rifle inside, is driven away by persons unknown. Nick makes his way to his fathers' ranch in Oklahoma, where he is berated by Pa for not following in his brother's footsteps. Nick tells Pa about Fletcher's confession and the shoot out in Philly, but he is skeptical. The next morning, after confirming Nick's story, finds Pa in full vigor to discover the truth behind Tim's death, so he sends Nick to meet with Tim's former rival Dawson. At Dawson's ranch, Nick is surrounded by tanks! The eccentric Dawson disavows any part in Tim's demise, telling Nick it was Heller who arranged it and Nick should find Heller's former lieutenant Doty to get some real answers. Dawson's tanks then chase Nick off his property. Flying back to Philly, Nick receives a call from Pa informing him Keifetz is dead. When he meets with Doty, Nick is told that sleazy night club owner Joe Diamond was paid by the mob to kill Arnold (who was accepted as the lone "official" assassin of the President).

Doty and Heller accepted Diamond's blood money to set that hit up. Nick is unsure of Doty's story, and goes to New York to see Yvette. They have loud sex, and Nick proposes to her. Yvette rejects him, claiming he talks to her machine more than her. Nick leaves in a huff and goes to the Kegen family's palatial apartment in the city. There, he is assaulted and nearly thrown off the balcony by the maid! The next day, Nick apologizes and asks Yvette to use her magazine contacts to get him a lead. She sends Nick off to Cleveland, although Pa is scornful of her help. In an Ohio diner, Nick pays off a mobster named Mentor who tells him the Cubans were behind the assassination. Nick sees the same woman he saw in Philly, and when he follows her out of the building, the diner explodes! Returning to New York, Nick meets Pa in one of his hospitals, where Pa scoffs at Mentor's story. He sends Nick to meet his mob informer Mayo. Unfortunately, all Mayo has to say is Nick is getting the runaround from all sides. Back home, Nick cannot find Yvette at her home or work - it's like she's disappeared off the face of the Earth. Nick is further surprised when Keifetz turns up alive - he faked his death to throw off the conspirators. Keifetz warns Nick he's being played by the powers behind the cover-up. Nick travels to see Pa's confidant Cerruti, a computer genius who has files of, well, everything at his beck and call. Does the man with all this knowledge have the answers Nick so desires? And what part does Pa still have to play in this drama? Watch it and find out, campers...

In his commentary accompanying the film, writer/director Richert describes WINTER KILLS as being like "Alice in Wonderland" - a dark comedy where Nick is surrounded by the absurd and the mad. Richert keeps up the suspense by peeling back each layer of the conspiracy a piece at a time, but never lets the story get overwhelmed and confusing. The parallels to the Kennedy assassination are obvious, but Richert adds enough original bits to keep the film from becoming a straight "docu-drama" (like Stone's JFK). The cast is suburb - Jeff Bridges is perfect as Nick, a guy who finds himself reluctantly in over his head. John Huston eats up the screen as the manipulative Pa, and Anthony Perkins is his "Psycho" self as Cerruti, the computer genius. The secondary characters also merit mention because of the fine performances by Richard Boone (Keifetz), Sterling Hayden (Dawson), Eli Wallach (Diamond), and a powerful cameo by Liz Taylor. It shows in every facet of the film that cast and crew alike believe in this project and had a passion for WINTER KILLS that you just don't see in many movies these days. On the second DVD, there is a short documentary of the making of WINTER KILLS. There's too much to write about here, but you MUST see this featurette to really appreciate all the cast and crew went through to make this film. Much like my personal favorite film DR. STRANGELOVE, WINTER KILLS is still relevant today as it was over 20 years ago. It's a shame it's taken this long for the film to be found. Sounds like a conspiracy to me...

Anchor Bay does a great job in re-presenting WINTER KILLS to the public in a two-disc set. The first DVD contains the Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the film, with optional commentary by writer/director Richert. It's worth it to listen to Richert's remarks - the stories that man has to tell about his film are incredible! On the second disc are the afore mentioned featurette, additional features with Richert & Jeff Bridges reminiscing, the theatrical trailer, production & behind-the-scenes stills, plus art & advertising stills. There is also a selection of stills for deleted scenes. It would have been nice to see those scenes as shot, but something tells me they may not exist anymore. For DVD-ROM owners, the original screenplay is included as well. The picture has been enhanced for 16x9 TVs, and its quality has held up very well. The moodiness and colors still add to the film's overall effectiveness. The audio, for the most part, is very good; however, some 'crackle' is evident in the higher audio end.

We will probably never know exactly who killed JFK. WINTER KILLS gives us an entertaining version of what might actually have happened that fateful day. This film has been 'lost' far too long; it's time for WINTER KILLS to be seen and the conspiracy revealed. The truth, after all, is out there...