The Most Dangerous Man in America - Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

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Movie
German title The Most Dangerous Man in America - Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Original title The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2009
length 92 minutes
Rod
Director Rick Goldsmith
Judith Ehrlich
script Michael Chandler
Lawrence Lerew
Rick Goldsmith
Judith Ehrlich
production Rick Goldsmith
Judith Ehrlich
music Blake Leyh
camera Vicente Franco
Dan Krauss
cut Michael Chandler
Lawrence Lerew
Rick Goldsmith
occupation

The Most Dangerous Man in America - Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers is an American documentary from the year 2009 .

After its theatrical release on January 29, 2010, the film grossed 453,000 US dollars. In Germany it was broadcast for the first time on April 21, 2010 on ARTE .

action

After several years with the RAND Corporation think tank and several years with the United States Marine Corps , Daniel Ellsberg began his new job on August 1, 1964 with United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara . His first assignment is to deal with an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin near North Vietnam , see Tonkin incident , in which several US warships allegedly came under fire. Although the incident did not occur, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on North Vietnam. Ellsberg is soon seen as the most skilled military strategist in the United States Department of Defense and is instrumental in dramatizing some incidents to the point where Johnson orders a nationwide bombing in Vietnam with Operation Rolling Thunder . He did not experience the war in which he was involved until a few years later when he visited Vietnam with his newlywed wife and she reproached him. So Ellsberg decides to join his naval unit in battle to find out for himself how the war is going. After he himself barely escaped an ambush by the Viet Cong , he discovered in the next few months that the desolate course of the war was kept secret and that he was lying about alleged successes.

In June 1967, McNamara had a summary report on the war so far drawn up to let Johnson decide how the war was to be continued. One is afraid of his anger over the miserable course so far, which is why it seems all the more surprising that Johnson resolutely orders another attack. But instead of turning the war in its own favor, it is weakening troop morale and the American public is seeing for the first time how bad things really are with their own troops in Vietnam. Ellsberg himself decides to take action and takes an opportunity where he meets Neil Sheehan, a reporter for the New York Times , to give him a secret CIA document about the actual enemy troop strength.

In August 1969, Ellsberg began to read the 47 folder and 7000 page McNamara report for the first time and saw the connections, from the French colonial power, the support of the West-loving but brutal dictator Nguyễn Văn Thiệu to the developments that led to war, which is why Ellsberg realizes that he is not fighting the wrong side, but is himself on the wrong side. And so on October 1, 1969, he begins to copy these 7,000 pages classified as Top Secret in order to then distribute them. Although he ponders for a long time whether he should risk his whole life, his family and a prison sentence, in the end he feels morally called and tries to distribute the reports to the senators and members of Congress. But nobody, not even those who are against the war, want to know about it; all reject him. So in March 1971 he turned to Sheehan and the New York Times , who, despite major concerns, printed the scandalous news item. The White House is outraged and only comments on the incidents by stating that they are betraying secrets and that those responsible will be held accountable. After the White House, as the first US media company ever, issued an injunction prohibiting the New York Times from reporting on this scandal, the FBI sent the FBI on to Ellsberg's trail. But Ellsberg manages to hide long enough to offer the documents not only to the Washington Post and 15 other newspapers reporting on them, but also to Senator Mike Gravel , who is currently doing a filibuster in the US Senate and later simply reads these 7,000 pages aloud .

Ellsberg then surrenders to the authorities and is charged under the Espionage Act with "illicit possession" and "theft" of Pentagon material, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, both politics and the media landscape are debating whether Ellsberg is a traitor or a hero who stood up for his moral principles. Henry Kissinger called him "America's most dangerous man who should be stopped" and Richard Nixon later said in his legendary interview with David Frost that Ellsberg was "a traitor who helped the enemy, which was inexcusable". Nixon also previously tried to deceive the prosecution and the media by setting up a commission of inquiry to investigate Ellsberg and a possible conspiracy . With this connection alone, the public prosecutor added eight more points to the indictment, increasing the maximum sentence to 115 years. Shortly afterwards, Nixon fails in the Watergate affair and the Freedom of Information Act is also passed on Ellsberg's actions. Ellsberg himself is acquitted for procedural errors.

He himself was disappointed that the public - despite all the risks he took on - showed little interest in the procedure despite the scandals exposed. Ellsberg is then described by his companions and friends as a person of moral integrity.

reception

The film grossed $ 453,000 at the box office.

Reviews

“It's a well-crafted film. [...] If you think of another war, which was approved by falsified evidence and ignorant cabinet members, you can justifiably think of it, but the film does not draw any parallels to it. "

- Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times

“Although Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith deserve credit for their film, which turns a piece of reality into a pulse-pumping smooth thriller with tension and dynamism, you have to be a rascal if you think evil is one of the most important chapters of the younger ones American history was already repeating itself. "

- Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post

“[The documentary] dramatizes a kind of secular spiritual journey, from warrior to anti-warrior, from analyst to activist, and from patriot to traitor. Ellsberg [...] describes the stages of this transformation with his usual precision and passion. "

- David Denby in the New Yorker

"The documentary in which Ellsberg tells his story is supplemented by archive material and eyewitness testimony and describes the motivations of Ellsberg, who was either celebrated as a hero or ostracized as a traitor."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers at boxofficemojo.com (English), accessed January 10, 2012
  2. ↑ Roger Ebert : The Most Dangerous Man in America (No MPAA rating) on suntimes.com of March 24, 2010 (English), accessed on January 10, 2012
  3. ↑ Ann Hornaday: Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Critic's Pick on washingtonpost.com on February 12, 2010, accessed January 10, 2012
  4. ↑ David Denby : Out of the Shadows on newyorker.com, September 7, 2009, accessed January 10, 2012