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

Directors:

Judith Ehrlich
Rick Goldsmith

Writers:

Lawrence Lerew (written by) &
Rick Goldsmith (written by) ...
(more)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience...

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam War | President | Watergate | Pentagon Papers | Country Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations

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
Bud Krogh	...	Himself - Director, 'Plumbers' Unit - Nixon White House (as Egil Krogh)
Pete McCloskey	...	Himself - Representative, California
Wayne Morse	...	Himself - Senator, Oregon (archive footage)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself - President (archive footage)
Thomas Oliphant	...	Himself - Reporter, Boston Globe (as Tom Oliphant)
Dan Rather	...	Himself - Reporter (archive footage)
Tony Russo	...	Himself - RAND Analyst
Thomas Schelling	...	Himself - RAND Analyst / Nobel Laureate
Hedrick Smith	...	Himself - Reporter, New York Times
Janaki Tschannerl	...	Herself - Peace Activist
Leonard Weinglass	...	Himself - Russo Defense Attorney
Howard Zinn	...	Himself - Historian

Directed by
Judith Ehrlich
Rick Goldsmith

Writing credits
Lawrence Lerew		(written by) &
Rick Goldsmith		(written by) &
Judith Ehrlich		(written by) &
Michael Chandler		(written by)

Produced by
Lynn Adler	....	associate producer
Judith Ehrlich	....	producer
Jodie Evans	....	executive producer
Rick Goldsmith	....	producer
Max Good	....	assistant producer
Claire Greensfelder	....	consulting producer
Karen Payne	....	consulting producer

Original Music by
Blake Leyh

Cinematography by
Vicente Franco
Dan Krauss

Film Editing by
Michael Chandler
Rick Goldsmith
Lawrence Lerew

Production Management
Jorge Trelles	....	production manager

Sound Department
Nick Bertoni	....	sound recordist
James Lebrecht	....	supervising sound editor
Alex Wilmer	....	sound designer

Animation Department
Eli Noyes	....	animation director
Tom Rubalcava	....	layout artist (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Michael Chandler	....	consulting editor
Jesse Spencer	....	on-line editor
Jesse Spencer	....	post-production coordinator
Stephen Vittoria	....	editor: Theatrical Trailer

Other crew
Lisa Callif	....	clearance counsel
Thomas A. Cohen	....	legal services
Michael Donaldson	....	clearance counsel
Kenn Rabin	....	archival consultant

Production Companies

• Kovno Communications

Distributors

• First Run Features (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• Antidote Films (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Dogwoof Pictures (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Gravitas Ventures (2010) (USA) (video) (VOD)
• NHK BS1 (2010) (Japan) (TV)
• YLE TV1 (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

Kovno Communications

Goofs:

Anachronisms: (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.

Movie Connections:

References Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

The story of a moral giant

Daniel Ellsberg was an ex-marine and top policy wonk, who became convinced that the Vietnam War was wrong. He was also convinced that the government knew it was wrong, but continued to fight mainly to save face. Considering this a moral abhorrence, he leaked top secret papers to the press. They didn't betray really damaging information, but they were an embarrassment to the government who tried to prosecute Ellsberg. To discredit the leaker, President Nixon ordered his aides to burgle his psychiatrist, starting a chain of events that led to Watergate. Eventually, after Nixon had resigned, the war finally ended, although Ellsberg was disappointed that his publication of the truth has failed to turn public opinion decisively against it at an earlier time. It's a fascinating story, and this documentary re-lives it. Most compelling is the sense that Ellsberg gives of a man motivated by an extraordinarily strong inner moral compass; while the likes of Nixon would do anything to hold onto what they had, Ellsberg risked a life in prison in the hope of ending the war. Today, our politicians seem to some to be making the same mistakes their forebears did; we have also learned something of how they lie to us, but still have not stopped them. Ellsberg is still trying. He emerges from this film as a giant of a man.