Search - A Bright Shining Lie on DVD


A Bright Shining Lie
A Bright Shining Lie
Actors: Bill Paxton, Bo Eason, William L. Mansey, Karina Logue, Amy Madigan
Director: Terry George
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Television, Military & War
R     1998     1hr 58min

Story of one man sent to Vietnam who must lead the fight in the war he cannot win.

     

Larger Image

Movie Details

Actors: Bill Paxton, Bo Eason, William L. Mansey, Karina Logue, Amy Madigan
Director: Terry George
Creators: Jack Conroy, Laurie Butler, Greg Ricketson, James Bigwood, Lois Bonfiglio, Neil Sheehan
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Television, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, All Made-for-TV Movies, Military & War
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Format: DVD - Color - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 12/22/1998
Original Release Date: 05/30/1998
Theatrical Release Date: 05/30/1998
Release Year: 1998
Run Time: 1hr 58min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 1
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Languages: English, Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Similar Movies

Go Tell the Spartans
Director: Ted Post
   R   2005   1hr 54min
Path to War
Director: John Frankenheimer
9
   UR   2003   2hr 45min
Vietnam War Story
2
   NR   2007   4hr 30min
When Trumpets Fade
Director: John Irvin
   R   1998   1hr 35min
   

Similarly Requested DVDs

Seraphim Falls
Director: David Von Ancken
   R   2007   1hr 55min
   
The Queen
Director: Stephen Frears
   PG-13   2007   1hr 43min
   
Swing Kids
   PG-13   2002   1hr 52min
   
There Will Be Blood
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
   R   2008   2hr 38min
   
Battle of Britain
Director: Guy Hamilton
   G   2003   2hr 12min
   
Changing Lanes
Director: Roger Michell
   R   2002   1hr 38min
   
The Ranger the Cook and a Hole in the Sky
   PG-13   2005   1hr 32min
   
The Cooler
Director: Wayne Kramer
   R   2004   1hr 41min
   
Lions For Lambs
Widescreen Edition
Director: Robert Redford
   R   2008   1hr 32min
   
The Life Before Her Eyes
Director: Vadim Perelman
   R   2008   1hr 30min
   
 

Member Movie Reviews

Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 8/17/2023...
This movie is about so much more than the description talks about. The movie is about the lies the government told us in order to stay in the war, which must have been backed by the companies that made the supplies that we used and gave to Vietnam. It tells about how corrupt the South Vietnamese Army was. It was about how even the reports were coerced into reporting about causalities and the war.

This was one of the best films I've ever seen on what really happened during this tragic, unnecessary war.
1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

What went wrong?
David A. Baer | Indianapolis, IN USA | 07/28/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bill Paxton is the anchor column of this lean HBO film, but the best acting comes courtesy of Donal Logue as the reporter whom Paxon's Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann befriends early on and Ed Lauter as General Weyand. There is some very stiff work from other members of the cast, but the film succeeds on the strength of the drama it portrays.

The story of what went wrong for the US operation in Vietnam is still amenable to two or three widely differing explanations, each of which has deep plausibility. LIE portrays Paxton's character understanding the nationalist nature of the communist insurrection early on when he was posted to Viet Nam as one of the United States' first military advisors there. Gradually, however, he becomes lulled into the failed ambition to solve 'Vietnam's problem' by military means as he rises to the opportunity to become 'America's warrior' over against North Vietnam's brilliant General Giap.

In spite of some contrived work, the realism of the film's subject matter is underscored by the use of some remarkable footage from the era, including tape from the astonishing Tet Offensive in 1968. Although this Viet Cong vie for the cities during the lull of the Vietnam New Year celebration was for them a military failure, it shook whatever American confidence in the enterprise remained at that date and brought high American casualty counts and images of brutal urban warfare into American living rooms.

BRIGHT SHINING LIE is a vital film for those of us who still want to understand the American failure in Vietnam, the origins of the conflict, and how best to assure that future military interventions begin with and are sustained by a comprehension of the facts on the ground and just how malleable they may or may not be."