PATH TO WAR

PATH TO WAR - 2002 HBO TV

RATING - NR but probably PG for tense situations & some language.

AWARDS - GOLDEN GLOBE + 17 Other Nominations

STARRING - Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Michael Gambon

RATINGS - 19 Amazon (4.4/5), IMBD (7.4/10)

STORY - PATH TO WAR is an HBO film, almost a docudrama, about the war in Vietnam-not the one fought on the battlefield but the one being fought in the White House. Donald Sutherland (Clark Clifford) and Alec Baldwin (Robert McNamara) are outstanding and Michael Gambon (Lyndon Johnson) also turns in a terrific performance of a President fighting the battles of ego and conscience. LBJ was a very complex personality and much of that persona comes through in the film. The eerie part is the comparison between then and now-a President from Texas, with two daughters, a divided country, fighting a war that doesn't seem winnable, against an enemy that is hard to quantify. In fact, it seems like many times during the movie you could just substitute Iraq for Vietnam and it would fit perfectly. Combines actual newsreel footage in the film making it feel even more real. Obviously, a very traumatic period in American history, this is a fascinating look behind the scenes at how we got into Vietnam and, finally, the decision LBJ made to start the peace process and not run for re-election so he could concentrate on ending the war. Sadly, he never lived to see the official end to the war. Watching this and THE FOG OF WAR, the Academy Award winning documentary about Robert McNamara, gives a great inside look at the people behind the decisions that affect millions of people, here and abroad. You see the human frailties as well as strengths. At one point, LBJ was complaining to Clark Clifford about the advice he had been given, and Clifford looked him in the eye, and told him that no matter what the decisions had been there were his and he alone had to take responsibility. A very powerful film worth watching. While younger children probably won't be interested anyway, there is some language (LBJ was no saint) and a little bit of violence during the anti-war rallies. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/20/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD

THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER

THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER - 1973

RATING - NR but probably PG for some language and tense scenes.

REVIEWS - 32 Amazon reviews (4.5/5), IMBD (8.0/10)

AWARDS - Prime time EMMY plus other nominations.

THEMES - The Cold War, government in time of crisis, diplomacy, nuclear war, docudrama.

STORY- THE MISSILES OF OCTOBER (1974-NR) is a tense, tight, made for TV, docudrama about the Cuban missile crisis. It is a Golden Laurel award-winning film based on all historical evidence about those 13 days in October, 1962. Many of us have forgotten or never knew the crisis 45 years ago that brought us to the edge of nuclear war and possible extinction of life as we know it. Unbeknown to America and with full denial from Russia, the USSR had begun to build a nuclear missile arsenal in Cuba that was capable of destroying all of America and most of South America and it was 90 miles from our shores. When a U-2 spy plane discovered the project from 14 miles above the earth, it precipitated perhaps one of the greatest confrontations in world history. The two superpowers, the two nations capable of annihilating one another were face to face. Not that these weapons weren't already the greatest concern of the world already, but why was Russia putting these clearly 'offensive weapons' only 90 miles from the U.S. What were they up to? JFK and his administration had 10 days to figure it out and react before the missiles would be fully installed. The film is about those 13 days in October when the U.S. and Russia played the ultimate nuclear chess game. The film is mostly about the American side but also shows a very interesting side of the Russians during this time as it bounces back and forth between the two leaders. The tension was unimaginable as this was no theoretical discussion about war, this was nuclear war on our doorstep. It makes the discussion of WMD's in Iraq look like a elementary discussion. In reality, this might be a great film for all our leaders to watch before going to war. Kennedy had to face Khrushchev as well as his own military machine, who wanted to take out the nuclear weapons with military force. Kennedy, for all his personal flaws, really seemed to grasp the dangers of war and what responding militarily could do to the world. He chose, instead, to use our military might as the bargaining chip for peace. Khrushchev, also, had to battle his 'comrades' who were eager to take on the U.S. and he showed great courage in standing up to them and negotiating with the U.S. This is a well done film about a historical moment in our history that could have changed the course of world history overnight. As one reviewer said, this proves that history does not have to be boring. Should be required viewing for everyone under 50 as a reminder that we can deal with the most difficult of all situations and not have to go to war, even though it could have ended up with two nations destroying each other. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/13/2007

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD