Could it be the idiot journalists that were there, who benefited, even though they never left the "parties" of Saigon except to visit secure areas? 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. However, like most movies about Vietnam, it depressed me: the tragedy & the waste are almost overwhelming! John Paul Vann became an adviser to the Saigon regime in the early 1960s. Watch A Bright Shining Lie movie trailer and get the latest cast info, photos, movie review and more on TVGuide.com. It's 1998 and we're revisiting the Vietnam War; something that had been done copiously in the 80's and a lot better. SXSW 2021--Day One //-->, Films I Neglected To Review: Goodbye Lovers, Films I Neglected To Review: "Friendship's A Gag, But Trifles Are Serious! Illustrated. This is a complex and admirable story of a complex and not entirely admirable man. It took a lot of something I don't to even follow what was going because it was so jumpy. Films I Neglected To Review: What You Get Is What You See | FOR Bright Shining Lie, A (1998) YOU CAN UPLOAD AN IMAGE SUBMIT A VIDEO OR MOVIE CLIP ADD ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW TCM Messageboards Post your comments here ADD YOUR COMMENT> This made for TV movie was absolutely fantastic as far as I am concerned. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. For a TV Movie, this film was good. | Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2000. Worth a look for those interested in the history of the Vietnam war. Films I Neglected To Review: Fonda Sings! (The story is a bit murky on this point.) Bill Paxton as John Paul Vann did a great job. Preparing for promotion to high rank, he went to Vietnam in the early 1960s as an adviser, one of the select few to take the fight against Communism right into combat. Bill Paxton was a pretty good choice for the lead role, but wasn't given much to work with. While we pay attention to our dying World War II generation, we should also be getting the stories of our Korean, Vietnam, and later war veterans. $24.95. 0394484479 9780394484471. cccc. My brother told me to watch the DVD first because if I read the book first, the movie would be a huge disappointment. 1 review, 7 user ratings, Mortal Kombat (2021) by Lybarger causes him to leave the Army but, after a short, sad foray into business, return to Vietnam as a civilian administrator who steadily accumulates unique, vast military authority. The best scenes show the dead and dying villagers that Paxton helped earlier. Whatever "charisma" means, Bill Paxton as Vann doesn't have it, though he looks the part; and the reporter from the New York Times, with whom Vann has a falling out, generates a rather large hole whenever he is on screen. Although made in 1998, the movie has a very early to mid-1980s feel to it where production values are concerned and seems to be ignorant of and learned nothing from any movies and series made on the subject since (Tour Of Duty, Off Limits, 48 Charlie Mopic, even Hamburger Hill). FAQ Needless to say, the movie was a disappointment. It's hard to sympathize with Paxton because of his moral shortcomings and bizarre decision to return to Vietnam after being decommissioned. The acting is OK, but no one really stands out, including Paxton. She is GOOD at it. The movie, produced by HBO, does a good job of following one man's odyssey, but even the catalyst for the change seems ambiguous. Pretty Bad: 15.38% A Bright Shining Lie Quotes Showing 1-4 of 4. He orchestrates a heroic victory over the North Vietnamese army, then his career ends, as does his life. This film does cannot hold a light to Apocolypse Now. Or that he could actually have been in a war. The Vietnam experience seen through the eyes of an officer average american with family back home and the good intentions, often rebuffed, that are frustatingly hard to put in place. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. Medicore scripting and directing. On his return to Vietnam he looks up the girl again. The story had potential but the script and the acting stank. It was impossible to get any idea of what he was feeling and his actions were robotic. The story itself is one that needs to be told over and over again, until the American people get the message of truth and LIES surrounding Viet Nam. User Ratings subscribe to this feed, Films I Neglected To Review: Goodbye Lovers The film seems to paint him as a hero, but it's hard to see it as portrayed. “Prevost was an imaginative gladiator of the air. Vann, who came to Vietnam first in 1962 as American military adviser who later resigned from the Army before returning to Vietnam and becoming the first American civilian to have a General's command, is the film's subject and whose journey becomes a tale of America's war in Vietnam in microcosm. Is he a good man? But, if it tries to teach, it doesn't try to preach, and at least the sun doesn't set in the East. Written by Neil Sheehan, a former Southeast Asian correspondent for United Press International (UPI) and later the New York Times, this superb book combines a brilliant and detailed biography of John Paul Vann, considered by some to be “. Who ever he or she is she need to be shown the door. There's not much for me to say because I wasn't alive during this time, but the film basically goes from 1963 to 1969 during its duration. A BRIGHT SHINING LIE John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam By Neil Sheehan Random House. Could it be the educational "communities' which have long been a hot bed of radicals (read that those with communists leanings? I read about 3/4 of the book and then watched the movie. December 2007 Issue. Bill Paxton I did not know Vann, but two Colonels that I know did work with him. /* vertreview-160x600 */ You can tell this is a movie made for TV. Ed Lauter,