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