Path to War

Path to War
DVD cover
Genre	Biographical
Written by	Daniel Giat
Directed by	John Frankenheimer
Starring	Michael Gambon Donald Sutherland Alec Baldwin Bruce McGill James Frain Felicity Huffman Frederic Forrest John Aylward Philip Baker Hall Tom Skerritt Diana Scarwid Sarah Paulson Gerry Becker Peter Jacobson
Music by	Gary Chang
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Cary Brokaw John Frankenheimer Edgar J. Scherick Howard Dratch
Producers	Guy Riedel Shirley Davis
Cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt Nancy Schreiber
Editor	Richard Francis-Bruce
Running time	165 minutes
Production companies	Avenue Pictures Edgar J. Scherick Associates HBO
Distributor	HBO
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	May 18, 2002 (2002-05-18)

Path to War is a 2002 American biographical television film, produced by HBO and directed by John Frankenheimer. It was the final film directed by Frankenheimer, who died seven weeks after the film debuted on HBO. It was also the last film produced by Edgar J. Scherick during his lifetime—he died seven months after its initial airing on HBO.

Plot[]

The film deals directly with the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson and his cabinet members. The starting events portrayed begin in January 1965 with LBJ at the Inaugural Ball and ends on March 31, 1968, when he announces to the nation that he will not run for re-election.

Cast[]

The film stars Michael Gambon as President Johnson, Alec Baldwin as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Donald Sutherland as presidential advisor Clark M. Clifford, who succeeds McNamara as Secretary of Defense. Gary Sinise reprised his role as George Wallace from Frankenheimer's 1997 biopic of Wallace.^[1]

In addition, future Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons portrays a briefer from the CIA.

Reception[]

Critical response[]

Television critic Matt Zoller Seitz in his 2016 book co-written with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book) named Path to War as the 6th greatest American TV-movie of all time, writing: "This nearly three-hour epic plays like the greatest political drama that Oliver Stone never made.... This is easily the greatest of Frankenheimer's late-period TV work, which equals his finest work from the 1960s".^[2]

According to The Washington Post: "Gambon is entirely up to the task of making a larger-than-life icon seem painfully -- and in the end, helplessly -- human. It is a performance of fire and brimstone".^[3]

Awards[]

• Sutherland won a 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for his performance as Clifford.

See also[]

• 2002 in television
• Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson

References[]

External links[]

• Official site
• Path to War in HBO
• Path to War at IMDb
• Path to War at AllMovie
• Path to War at Rotten Tomatoes

Reviews[]

• TELEVISION/RADIO; A Vietnam War Film Takes On a Sudden Resonance by Bernard Weinraub, 9 December 2001, The New York Times.
• LBJ's tortured 'Path to War' / HBO movie shows two sides of Johnson in Vietnam era, by Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle, Saturday, 18 May 2002.
• Path to War, by Lesley Smith, PopMatters, 10 June 2002.