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A Bright Shining Lie

  • TV Movie
  • 1998
  • R
  • 1h 58m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
Home Video Trailer from HBO Home Video
Play trailer1:08
1 Video
11 Photos
DramaWar

True story of Army man John Paul Vann, whose military success provided him the fulfillment he never found in his personal life.True story of Army man John Paul Vann, whose military success provided him the fulfillment he never found in his personal life.True story of Army man John Paul Vann, whose military success provided him the fulfillment he never found in his personal life.

  • Director
    • Terry George
  • Writers
    • Neil Sheehan
    • Terry George
  • Stars
    • Bill Paxton
    • Bo Eason
    • William L. Mansey
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    1.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Terry George
    • Writers
      • Neil Sheehan
      • Terry George
    • Stars
      • Bill Paxton
      • Bo Eason
      • William L. Mansey
    • 23User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    A Bright Shining Lie
    Trailer 1:08
    A Bright Shining Lie

    Photos10

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    Top cast65

    Edit
    Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    • John Paul Vann
    Bo Eason
    • Officer Tally
    William L. Mansey
    • Officer Conroy
    Karina Logue
    Karina Logue
    • Barmaid
    Amy Madigan
    Amy Madigan
    • Mary Jane Vann
    Robert L. Hull
    • Bureaucrat Soldier
    Donal Logue
    Donal Logue
    • Steven Burnett
    'Josh' Somsak Orajan
    • Vann's ARVN Driver
    Harve Presnell
    Harve Presnell
    • MACV General
    Robert John Burke
    Robert John Burke
    • Frank Drummond
    Bill Whelan
    • Ron Dray
    Kay Tong Lim
    • Colonel Cao Huynh Van
    Seng Kawee
    • VC Leader
    • (as Kawee 'Seng' Sirikhanerut)
    Kajie Khan
    • Madame Nhu
    • (as Kajie Kahn)
    Vivian Wu
    Vivian Wu
    • Lee
    Van Thoa Trinh
    • VC Commander
    • (as Thoa Trinh Van)
    Richard Montgomery
    • General's Aide
    Andrew Borba
    Andrew Borba
    • Reporter #1 - Nick
    • Director
      • Terry George
    • Writers
      • Neil Sheehan
      • Terry George
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.41.5K
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    Featured reviews

    8tgtround

    A Great Effort

    While not in the same league as Go Tell The Spartans, which had the presence of Burt Lancaster if nothing else, this is a commendable effort to bring a huge and impressive piece of non-fiction to the screen.

    Never shown in the cinema in the UK, my wife and I saw it on imported DVD. She was very impressed (having not read the book) and thought it conveyed something of the complexity of the subject very well and was very enlightening.
    10jhcc77954

    As it really was

    The movie showed it like it really was. I did not know Vann, but two Colonels that I know did work with him. It shows who really ran the war in Vietnam. It shows Westmoreland for what he was too. The best part is that it shows how the Military had little or no say in conducting the war. It lets us see that it was a political war and that maybe it could have had a different outcome if it had been pursued correctly. The action is good, and it is authentic. Paxton is intense. His performance is often complimented on that he could have actually been Vann. Or that he could actually have been in a war. TYhe battle sequences are realistic without being overly bloody. The dialog was well presented and was mostly believable.
    Tim-121

    Should have listened to my brother

    I had received the book and DVD for Christmas last year. Being ignorant on much of the Vietnam War, I decided to read the book to see if I could apply anything to the Iraq situation. My brother told me to watch the DVD first because if I read the book first, the movie would be a huge disappointment. I read about 3/4 of the book and then watched the movie. Needless to say, the movie was a disappointment.

    It tries to cover way too much in a short period of time. Bill Paxton is OK as Vann but every scene is way to short. Several characters are composite characters rather than the actual person. Donal Logue appears to be a composite of David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan. Eric Bogohosian is completely miscast as a composite of Doug Ramsey and Daniel Ellsberg (I think they call him Doug Elders in the movie).

    The beauty of the book is the detail that it has. There's about 100 pages on Vann's 1962 stint and how he became completely frustrated with the American leadership in the war. There's about 100 pages on the history of Vietnam. There are about 100 pages on the Battle of Ap Bac and the fallout. The book weaves Vann's life in and out of the story of the Vietnam War. The movie makes Vann the centerpiece, so it becomes very difficult to get the background information and non-Vann information that one needs to understand Vann and the war. How could you do that in two hours?
    8alex128k

    Low budget, but good

    This movie may have low budget production values, but they did a fairly good job. Actual wartime footage is intermingled for good effect, especially in the opening sequence.

    I had a bit of a hard time taking Bill Paxton serious in this role at first, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that he did a very credible job portraying Lt. Col Vann with the required swagger.

    Though a bit over dramatic at times, and almost falling into cliché, I would have to recommend this movie. My only other criticism would be of the portrayal of the ARVN when under fire. The offices may have been beneath contempt, but when called to duty, the ARVN could mix it up with the best of them. They have been getting an unfair reputation for many years now.
    6jkchou

    A good effort

    For a TV Movie, this film was good. The film didn't look amateurish and the overall quality was generally very good. One scene that especially stood out was when Bill Paxton rushed to the village only to see it get destroyed. However, this movie could have been much better. The most critical error of this movie is that it tries to cover too many elements and ultimately fails to fully address them to any satisfying extent. It lacked focus. There were a lot of good ideas, such as the hidden propaganda, the conflict of war strategy of various people, the familial problems, to the questionable moral and ethical values of the main character..., but most of them were dealt with not more than a dozen lines! In short, this movie needed to be more developed and needed another revision before it was released.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The Movie was shot in Lompburi, Thailand and in Cirebon in Central Java, Indonesia. During the filming, the Major of Cirebon City Kumaedhi Syafrudin showed up at one of the filming locations in Cirebon. The Movie Director Terry George also allowed Cirebon City Major Kumaedhi Syafrudin to shoot one of the action sequences of the film.
    • Goofs
      When unzipping a body bag containing the body of a dead soldier, you can see the actor portraying the dead soldier flinching because of the zipper. And a mere couple of seconds later, he flinches again as the dog-tag is ripped from his neck.
    • Quotes

      John: It is not true that we are here to solve problems, sir. WE are the problem.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Somebody to Love
      Written by Darby Slick

      Performed by Jefferson Airplane

      Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • May 30, 1998 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Vietnamese
    • Also known as
      • Mentiras de guerra
    • Filming locations
      • Lompburi, Thailand
    • Production companies
      • Home Box Office (HBO)
      • Labrador Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 58 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

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