The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)

"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 ... See full summary »

Directors:

Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith

Writers:

Lawrence Lerew, Rick Goldsmith,

Stars:

Peter Arnett, Ben Bagdikian, Ann Beeson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Peter Arnett	...	Himself - Associated Press Correspondent (archive footage)
Ben Bagdikian	...	Himself - Editor, Washington Post
Ann Beeson	...	Herself - Associate Legal Director, ACLU
John Dean	...	Himself - White House Counsel to President Nixon
Daniel Ellsberg	...	Himself
Patricia Ellsberg	...	Herself
Robert Ellsberg	...	Himself - Daniel's Son
Richard Falk	...	Himself - Professor of International Law
Max Frankel	...	Himself - Washington Bureau Chief, New York Times
J. William Fulbright	...	Himself - Chair Foreign Relations Committee (archive footage)
James Goodale	...	Himself - General Counsel, New York Times
Mike Gravel	...	Himself - Senator (D-Alaska)
Morton Halperin	...	Himself - Supervisor, Vietnam War Study (as Mort Halperin)
Lyndon Johnson	...	Himself - President (archive footage)
Randy Kehler	...	Himself - Draft Resister

Storyline

"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" Presidency-answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people-in order to help end the Vietnam War. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg shook America to its foundations when he smuggled a top-secret Pentagon study to the New York Times that showed how five Presidents consistently lied to the American people about the Vietnam War that was killing millions and tearing America apart. President Nixon's National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger called Ellsberg "the most dangerous man in America," who "had to be stopped at all costs." But Ellsberg wasn't stopped. Facing 115 years in prison on espionage and conspiracy charges, he fought back. Ensuing events surrounding the so-called Pentagon Papers led directly to Watergate and the downfall of President Nixon, ...

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war | president | watergate | pentagon papers | country name in title | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amerikas farligaste man

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,114 (USA) (29 January 2010)

Gross:

$453,483 (USA) (30 July 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kovno Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 1h 19 mins) Three Black Hawk helicopters are shown disembarking combat-equipped soldiers, ostensibly in Viet Nam. While the first YUH-60 did in fact fly before the fall of Saigon, it was 1976 before three of them had been produced. Production aircraft were not delivered until 1978.

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Connections

Featured in The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010)

User Reviews

Fascinating American

I did not know much about Daniel Ellsberg before watching this movie. I think Daniel Ellsberg is more remembered because of the fact that the plumbers broke into his psychiatrist's office. The story of the Pentagon Papers is also known, but not as much. As can be seen in the film, the release of them did not have the kind of large impact one would expect.

I never knew that Ellsberg had such a large influence of the implementation of the Vietnam War. I was always under the impression he had just been a pen pusher not making logistical decisions. I would have never guessed that he served in that country as a civilian.

We see some other interesting facts about Ellsberg. I never knew that he was participating in peace rallies with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn. I didn't know he had an emotional sea change in his life after he heard about individuals going to prison to protest the war. It is a very interesting story.

Besides that, the documentary is well put together. There aren't any interesting or outlandish cinematographic choices. The film is very basic in this respect. I think subject of the documentary carries more that the people involved in making it.