Path to War

Path to War
File:Pathtowardvd.jpg
Genre	Biographical television film
Written by	Daniel Giat
Directed by	John Frankenheimer
Starring	(first billed only) 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
Theme music composer	Gary Chang
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Cary Brokaw Howard Dratch John Frankenheimer Guy Riedel Edgar J. Scherick
Cinematography	Stephen Goldblatt Nancy Schreiber
Editor(s)	Richard Francis-Bruce
Running time	165 minutes
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	May 18, 2002

Path to War is a 2002 American biographical television film, produced by HBO and directed by John Frankenheimer that deals directly with the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson and his cabinet members. It was the final film (theatrical or made-for-TV) that was directed by Frankenheimer, who died seven weeks after the film debuted on HBO.

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.

Synopsis

Lyndon B. Johnson wins the 1964 U.S. presidential election by a landslide. His administration strives to advance civil rights and do other good work, but the Vietnam War consumes it. Johnson's civilian and military leaders persuade him to take America's involvement in Vietnam deeper and deeper, against the advice of the President's trusted adviser, Clark Clifford, who opposes the strategy of the Cabinet's Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara.

Featured cast

Actor	Role
Michael Gambon	Lyndon B. Johnson
Donald Sutherland	Clark M. Clifford
Alec Baldwin	Robert McNamara
Bruce McGill	George Ball
James Frain	Richard N. Goodwin
Felicity Huffman	Lady Bird Johnson
Frederic Forrest	Earle Wheeler
John Aylward	Dean Rusk
Philip Baker Hall	Everett Dirksen
Gary Sinise	George C. Wallace
Tom Skerritt	William Westmoreland
Cliff De Young	McGeorge Bundy
Chris Eigeman	Bill Moyers
John Valenti	Jack Valenti
Gerry Becker	Walt Rostow
Sarah Paulson	Luci Baines Johnson
Francis Guinan	Nicholas Katzenbach
Curtis L. McClarin	Martin Luther King, Jr.
Randy Oglesby	John Stennis
Patricia Kalember	Margaret Craig McNamara
Diana Scarwid	Marny Clifford
Madison Mason	John McCone
Gina-Raye Carter	Lynda Bird Johnson

Awards

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

Academic usage

• Dominic Houlder, an adjunct professor of strategic and international management at the London Business School at the University of London in London, England, uses excerpts from the film for the Capstone course as part of the school's master of business administration program.
• Gerald Wetlaufer, professor of law at the University of Iowa, uses excerpts of the film in his course on Negotiations.
• At the University of Tennessee, Dr. Anne D. Smith has used Path to War as an exercise in decision making, Groupthink, and perceived power, within the management department of the Haslam College of Business.

See also

• 2002 in television
• Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson

External links

• Path to War at IMDb
• Official site