A Bright Shining Lie

original title:
A Bright Shining Lie
other titles:
(Die Hölle Vietnams)
country / year of production:
USA / 1998
original length:
120 min. , color
premiere:
30 May 1998
genre:
melodrama
based on:
Neil Sheehan. A bright shining lie. John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. New York: Random House, 1988.
director:
Terry George
film script:
Terry George
producer:
Lois Bonfiglio , Greg Ricketson
cinematographer:
Jack Conroy
editor:
composer:
Gary Chang
cast (role):
John Paxton (Col. John Paul Vann) , Amy Madigan (Mary Jane Vann) , Vivian Wu (Lee) , Donal Logue (Steven Burnett) , Eric Bogosian (Doug Elders) , John Paxton , Amy Madigan , Vivian Wu , Donal Logue , Eric Bogosian
more:
Kurtwood Smith (General Westmoreland) , Kurtwood Smith
plot synopsis:
Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann spends ten years (1962-72) in Vietnam. When Vann exposes falsified casualty figures, deceptive battle reports, and other lies about the war, journalist Steven Burnett relays the truth to American newspapers, and Vann takes heat from higher-ups. Meanwhile he's involved with a Vietnamese girl, and his wife is forced to lie so he won't be court-martialed for sexual relations with an underage Vietnamese girl. Back for a second tour, he gets another young Vietnamese woman pregnant and is forced to marry her. Returning in 1965 as a civilian, he's decorated and eventually promoted to general for his contributions during the Tet offensive.
keywords:
war crimes , war correspondent , made-for-TV film , journalism
war:
Vietnam War (1946-1975)
literature:
James H. Willbanks: The Vietnam War. Burlington: Ashgate, 2006. ISBN: 0-7546-2559-1
remarks:
For his novel "A Bright Shining Lie" author Neil Sheehan received 1988 the Pulitzer Prize.
HBO invested $14 million in this docudrama, making it the most expensive two-hour movie ever produced by HBO Pictures.
availability:
DVD