IMDb’s plot outline: In the mid-1960s, President Johnson and his foreign-policy team debate the decision to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam.
I watched this movie twice over the weekend, and I’m still blown away by it. I never thought that I would see a movie that would portray Lyndon Johnson as a central character, and certainly not as a sympathetic character. I had the feeling that the movie glossed over LBJ’s bad side, but all the same, I really felt sorry for the guy as portrayed in this movie.
This movie also served as a really effective introduction to how the US got into Vietnam, placed in the perspective of the times. I get the feeling that HBO movies like this one might someday appear in history classrooms. Others examples might include Citizen Cohn and Winchell.
The actor portraying LBJ, one Michael Gambon, benefited from an eerie resemblance to LBJ–it really looked like him on the screen at times–although his British accent would come through at a few odd moments.
Donald Sutherland played Clark Clifford, Alec Baldwin portrayed Robert McNamara, and Tom Skerritt put in a creepy performance as General William Westmoreland.
Anybody else see this? Any thoughts? Any similar HBO movies you’d recommend?
Yes, I saw this film and was surprised at how engrossing it was. It was very well acted and written. An excellent history lesson for people less familiar with the time period.
There is an interesting documentary called Telling Nicholas running on HBO. It is the story of a young boy who lost his mother on 9/11 and how the news was broken to him. It was a very strange experience watching this. It is not a film you enjoy, or even like, but are strangely drawn to.
Also, you might want to see George Wallace, produced by HBO in 1997. There is a nice connection between this film and Path to War – Gary Sinese played Wallace in both. Sinese was brilliant in the biography of Wallace.
HBO does a great job on its made-for-TV movies and mini-series. I watched Path to War last night and thought it was well done on all fronts: writing, acting, directing, etc.
OrganicMatter already mentioned Gary Sinese as George Wallace, but he also portrayed Harry S. in HBO’s excellent production of Truman.
HBO’s production of Boycott, chronicling MLK and the Civil Rights Movement’s efforts in Alabama was good, too.
The HBO history-themed mini-series worth checking out are Band of Brothers and From the Earth to the Moon.
OrganicMatter, Capt. Spaulding–I’ll check those out, thanks.
I am looking forward to seeing Path to War. I’ve always enjoyed HBO’s movies and mini-series. Are they historically accurate?
I will second Telling Nicholas. The scene where the dad is actually telling him that his mom is dead is heart-wrenching. I cried like a baby.
I’m a gen-Xer who has a minimal interest in late 20th century history. I caught it as I was flipping around and I found my self watching the whole damn thing. I liked it a lot. Although I was waiting for McNamara to remind George Ball that coffee is for closers.
As for other HBO films, I constantly find myself watching and digging The Late Shift whenever it’s on. It’s not exactly a recent HBO flick, but it has been on HBO-Comedy a lot. A great behind-the-scenes look at the whole Letterman-Leno thing. And I love how Rich Little got the role of Carson.