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The Pentagon PapersRating:
Release Date: 17 February, 2004 Retail Price: $19.99 OUR Price: $17.99 You SAVE: $2.00! Cast: Complete Cast (8 total) |
The Pentagon Papers Reviews
The embodiment of "Love your country, fear your government!
This movie came out on TNT within a month of the start of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." I had taped it off the TV and made copies of the TV broadcast for just about everyone I knew.
For those of us who watched with jaws dropped as Congress voted nearly unanimously to support the war, the movie brings back in vivid detail the times from the late 60's. I appreciate that it brought out the personal inner turmoil of a man who was initially a "hawk" (because he felt that Communism must be stopped), but who became convinced that the Viet Nam War was wrong and that he needed to do something to stop it, even at the risk of being tried for treason.
Having lived in Washington throughout the entire Watergate affair, leaving a week or two after Nixon, I really appreciate the delicious irony of the fact that Nixon was so anxious to discredit Ellsburg that he had his "Watergate Burglers" break into Ellsburg's psychiatrist office and steal his file. It was this contamination of due process that resulted in Ellsburg's trial being thrown out of court.
This movie is a must-see for any student of democracy, and any American who is under 45....
Intelligent, thought-provoking drama
Despite excellent supporting performances, this movie is really a one-man show: it's all about Spader's smart, emotional performance as Daniel Ellsberg.
Very little of the movie happens in the Watergate time-frame from which we know Ellberg's name. Most instead covers the ten years (roughly 1963-1973) during which he reached the point of thinking the most patriotic act he could take was to release top-secret Department of Defense material about the Vietnam war. It's an engrossing exploration of the great questions: what is duty? to whom do we owe loyalty?
Nothing explodes, except during a few striking, necessary scenes in Vietnam. Thanks be for intelligent film-making.
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