Thirteen Days is a historical thriller that takes place in October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film centers around President John F. Kennedy and his advisors as they navigate the crisis, trying to prevent a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The movie begins with U-2 surveillance photos revealing that the Soviet Union is placing intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. President Kennedy and his advisors must come up with a plan of action to prevent their activation, while also avoiding an act of war. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise immediate military strikes against the missile sites followed by an invasion of Cuba, but Kennedy is reluctant to take this approach, fearing it could lead to a larger conflict. As tensions rise, the Kennedy administration tries to find a solution that will remove the missiles without resorting to war. They reject a blockade and instead settle on what they publicly describe as a quarantine, announcing that U.S. naval forces will stop all ships entering Cuban waters and inspect them to verify they are not carrying weapons destined for Cuba. The Soviet Union responds by turning back its ships from the quarantine lines, leading Secretary of State Dean Rusk to declare, "We're eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked." Meanwhile, back-channel communications between the U.S. and Soviet Union lead to an offer from the Soviets to remove the missiles in exchange for public assurances from the U.S. that it will never invade Cuba. However, there are several missteps during the crisis, including mixed messages from Moscow and miscommunications within Washington's inner circle of advisors . Thirteen Days captures how close we came -0to catastrophe during those tense days when diplomacy teetered on hair-trigger brinksmanship .

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Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as Thirteen Days include Munich, American Soldiers, K-19: The Widowmaker, Miracle At Midnight, Rosewood, First Invasion: The War of 1812.

Thirteen Days was released in theaters on December 25, 2000.