A history of conservatives and liberals documentary. Academy award nominee, best feature documentary in 1971, daniel ellsberg, a leading pentagon vietnam war strategist, concludes that americas role in the watch most dangerous man in america. They were given without authorization to the new york times by daniel ellsberg, who worked on the project. Before leaking the pentagon papers, which documented u. Daniel ellsberg, the man who stole them from the u. Ellsberg and a whoswho of vietnamera movers and shakers give a riveting account of those worldchanging events in povs the most dangerous man in america. Film on washington papers role in vietnam leak comes as talk of treason is back and the press is again at loggerheads with a hardline. Daniel ellsberg was one of the few people who even had full access to the papers, to which he himself had contributed.
The most important reason to see it is that it illustrates the cozy nature of pressgovernment relations in the 1960s, and how that relationship changed radically, albeit slowly, as a result of daniel ellsbergs leak of the pentagon papers to the new york times. A box in the first story directed readers to further pages of documentary material from the pentagon study. After watching this movie, i read the entire pentagon papers looking for inaccuracies and nontruths. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I bought two different movies having to do with the pentagon papers. Ellsberg publishes a book about the pentagon papers case, secrets. Strangelove was a documentary, writes the man behind the pentagon papers. The film is called the most dangerous man in america. Final report, osd vietnam task force on june 17, 1967, secretary robert s. The pentagon papers was the name given to a topsecret department of defense study of u. In june of 1971, small portions of the report were leaked to the press and widely distributed. In 1971, he obtained the pentagon papers, which brought the. Drawn from katharine grahams pulitzer prizewinning memoir personal history, a dramatic account of how she piloted the washington post through the pentagon papers and watergate crises.
The true story of the leaking of the pentagon papers, the event which inspired steven spielbergs feature film the post in 1971 former cold war hardliner daniel ellsberg made history by releasing the pentagon papers a 7,000page topsecret study of u. The pentagon papers case is one of the most important cases involving freedom of the press. The true story of the leaking of the pentagon papers, the event which inspired steven spielbergs feature film the post in 1971 former cold war. Daniel ellsberg and the pentagon papers documentary heaven. The pentagon papers, officially titled report of the office of the secretary of defense vietnam task force, is a united states department of defense history of the united states political and military involvement in vietnam from 1945 to 1967. It is the epicenter of americas military operations, a fivesided fortress with a single purpose, to defend the united states and its citizens. The defense departments secret history of the vietnam war kindle edition by us department of defense. Behind the race to publish the topsecret pentagon papers the. But ellsberg was aided by about a halfdozen volunteers whose identities have stayed secret for fortysix years, despite the intense interest of the nixon administration, thousands of articles, books, documentaries, plays, and now a major film, the post, starring meryl streep and tom hanks, about the pentagon papers. Nuclear war planner reflects on the cold war and assesses the current threat in 1971, daniel ellsberg leaked the pentagon papers to the press. The pentagon papers, officially titled report of the office of the secretary of defense vietnam. Summaries the most dangerous man in america is the story of what happens when a former pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an imperial presidencyanswerable to neither congress, the press, nor the peoplein order to help end the vietnam war.
Daniel ellsberg and the pentagon papers, and in ellsbergs own gripping autobiography, secrets. The papers were released by daniel ellsberg, who had worked on the study. A memoir of vietnam and the pentagon papers by daniel ellsberg viking, 498 pp. In my opinion the conflict in vietnam is one of the keys to unraveling. Daniel ellsberg and the pentagon papers 2009 starring john dean and daniel ellsberg on dvd and bluray. Pentagon papers, papers that contain a history of the u. The secret history of the vietnam war audiobook 01 of 15. All of this, and much more, is profusely detailed in ellsbergs 2002 book, secrets. When robert mcnamara was secretary of defense during in the 1960s, he became disenchanted with u. The pentagon papers, now featuring a foreword by james l. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the pentagon papers. The most dangerous man in america is nominated for an 2011 abcnews videosource award for best use of footage, and as part of the pov series for a limited series award. Though an incomplete version of the pentagon papers was published in book form later in 1971, the study remained officially classified until. Spielbergs the post tells the story of the pentagon papers.
Film description the most dangerous man in america pov. But behind the concrete walls and reenforced windows are secrets. There is allot of political passion and deep conscience of the man who revealed what is the truth. Judith ehrlich and i spent four years creating the onscreen story of the man who leaked that pentagon study to the press, in our 2009 documentary, the most dangerous man in america. He spent three years in vietnam as a war correspondent for united press international and the new york times and won numerous awards for his reporting. Hailed as a hero, vilified as a traitor, and ostracized by. Pentagon papers leaker daniel ellsberg sharing latest. Speaking publicly for the first time, a historian reveals the crucial role that he and a small band of others played in helping daniel. The pentagon papers, officially titled report of the office of the secretary of defense vietnam task force, was commissioned by secretary of. On june, 1971, the new york times printed its first installment of the pentagon papers, a massive narrative of this countrys often misguided vietnam policies from the truman through the johnson. Complimenting the early books on the pentagon papers is david halberstams wellreceived 1972 best seller on vietnam, the best and the brightest. Steven spielberg only said yes this past monday to direct tom hanks and meryl streep in the foxamblin co. This documentary is a mustsee for anyone interested in american history. Ellsberg released the pentagon papers to seventeen other newspapers in rapid succession.
Through the first four chapters there was almost no narrative, except in the foreword. The pentagon papers provoked public debate about the vietnam war. The pentagon papers revisited international documentary. Ellsberg got the pentagon papers to the public, first through. Hbo airing new documentary about ben bradlee former washington post executive editor ben bradlee in the newsroom. The defense departments secret history of the vietnam war. Henry kissinger called him the most dangerous man in america, a charge that came to be the title of a 2009 documentary about ellsberg and the pentagon papers. Far from being an outsider, the harvardeducated former marine. That book provides the scaffolding for a gripping story full of. The untold story of the pentagon papers coconspirators.
Daniel ellsberg, a former rand consultant who had secretly copied the pentagon papers. It would be hard to come up with a movie following a faster track than the post. If convicted on all counts, the penalty added up to years in prison. However, the publications of the report that resulted from these leaks were incomplete and suffered from many quality issues. The secret history of the vietnam war sheehan, neil, smith, hedrick. Guided by the domino theory if vietnam fell to communist so would the rest of asia, the us government acted as if vietnam was the last redoubt. So ive been waiting with bated breath to see what this stellar hollywood team would do with similar events. A cia map of dissident activities in indochina, published as part of the pentagon papers. What follows is an article from the spring 2010 issue of documentary when the film was released theatrically. The secret history of the vietnam war neil sheehan, herick smith, e. This, in turn, motivated ellsberg to get copies of the pentagon papers to. By the spring of 1971, the united states was six years into a grisly ground war in vietnam. This story is chronicled dramatically in the film the most dangerous man in america. The basis for the 2018 film the post, the pentagon papers are a series of articles.
In 1971 daniel ellsberg, a highlevel pentagon official and a war strategist, concludes that the vietnam war is based on decades of lies and leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to the new york times, making headlines around the world. Mcnamara directed that a task force be formed to study the history of united states involvement in vietnam from world war ii to the present. Halberstams book offers details on how the decisions were made in the kennedy. The day the presses stopped a history of the pentagon papers case by david rudenstine. Mcnamaras guidance was simply to do studies that were encyclopedic and objective. I read this book as part of my ongoing research into the assassination of president kennedy.
The book has the actual memos and papers written by those us government officials involved in directing the war. The basis for the 2018 film the post by academy awardwinning director steven spielberg, the pentagon papers are a series of articles. In steven spielbergs new film the post, bob odenkirk plays real life journalist ben bagdikian, who was a key player in publishing the pentagon papers. Steven spielbergs starstudded, politically timely new film the post is chasing.
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