Since the end of World War II, when Ho Chi Minh declared the entire nation independent from French colonial rule, Vietnam has been in a state of ongoing warfare. Armed conflict over who was going to govern persisted throughout the late 1940s into the early '60s, but the number of American military advisors remained small. By 1965, however, as it became clear that the South Vietnamese army was no match for the determination of the Vietcong, more and more American men were sent to Vietnam -- with more and more funds needed to support them.

As Johnson struggles to find the best and quickest way to win a war he didn't start, his advisors argue vehemently about the pros and cons of bombing North Vietnamese targets in retaliation for Vietcong offensives, a gradually escalating strategy labeled "Rolling Thunder." In these meetings, anti-escalation advocates like Clifford and Ball are regularly pitted against McNamara, a Kennedy carryover who finds himself witnessing such horrific anti-war incidents as a protester setting himself on fire outside McNamara's Pentagon office.

The eventual failure of Rolling Thunder and other military operations proves devastating for the President, as it becomes clear that Ho Chi Minh is determined to win a military victory, and that defeating the Vietcong will require far more soldiers, time and money than the American public will endure. In addition to turning the American public against the President, the war also diverts funds intended for critical domestic programs, and Johnson's influence with supporters like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Curtis McClarin], is severely diminished. By the time freshman Senator Robert F. Kennedy denounces the war -- Johnson bitterly observes RFK had supported the Vietnam initiatives as his brother's Attorney General -- and announces his candidacy for president in 1968, Johnson knows that the war in unwinnable. His ability to govern the nation has been crippled, and his dream of the Great Society will remain unrealized.

PATH TO WAR recreates the intense, emotional meetings among Johnson and other key figures that begin with the President's reluctant decision to adopt the Rolling Thunder strategy, and continue through the end of his tortured administration. Held at the White House, the Pentagon and Camp David, these meetings take a huge toll on the President, and end up dividing his cabinet. By the end of his term, McNamara, Ball, Bundy and Goodwin have all left the administration -- and a worn and defeated Johnson stuns the nation with the announcement of his decision not to seek reelection.

TELEVISION

An HBO film about LBJ's struggles with Vietnam resonates with fresh meaning in light of America's current war.

By DANA CALVO, Times Staff Writer

DOUG HYUN / HBO

More than 285 actors in dark suits and thin ties stood in the crisp-looking White House of the 1960s as director John Frankenheimer demanded louder applause for Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, played by a bespectacled Alec Baldwin. There is something eerie, though, on the set of HBO's "Path to War," which explores the agonizing decisions reached by Lyndon B. Johnson about the Vietnam conflict. It is the drizzly late October day after President Bush said there was credible information about another possible terrorist attack, and Frankenheimer finds little reassurance in the parallels between his current project and this country's new, unfortunate reality.

"You have another president from Texas," the 71-year-old director said in between bites of corn on the cob during a home-style Southern lunch break in his trailer. "You have another president [who] knows little to nothing about foreign affairs. You have another president facing a war he may not win. I've been accused of making movies ahead of their time, like 'Manchurian Candidate.' It would be nice to make a movie that could conceivably be of its time."

At $17 million, "Path to War" is one of HBO's biggest investments. It meticulously tracks the relationships between President Johnson and his two most influential war advisors, McNamara and Clark Clifford. Donald Sutherland plays the white-haired attorney, and Michael Gambon ("The Insider") is President Johnson. On this day, McNamara's departure ceremony is being filmed. The scene was shot in an ornate, high-ceilinged room of the Pasadena Civic Center, which set designers converted into the East Room of the White House with a large fake chandelier and Styrofoam-framed portraits. Off camera, crew members read newspapers carrying headlines of the terrorist warning.

"It's incredibly timely, because, while the circumstances are different, it's about how a president conducts a war and the pressures within a cabinet," said the film's executive producer, Cary Brokaw, who feels the need to point out the irony in one of his other productions for HBO: the 1997 film, "Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing." "There are clearly parallels to be drawn," Brokaw said. "LBJ was led to believe that by escalating the U.S. involvement the war could be won. It has a very profound reference to the world we're living in day-to-day and our actions in Afghanistan." The crew's original shooting schedule, which included exterior shots of the Pentagon, the White House and Lafayette Park, was scrapped after the attacks because filming permits were impossible to secure in the locked-down capital. Images of the White House will be digitally inserted into the background of several scenes.

Written by Daniel M. Giat, "Path to War" is the story of the development project that could. It first landed at HBO eight years and almost 30 drafts ago. At one point the film was a four-hour miniseries, but it is now scheduled to air in May at no longer than 2½ hours. This is the first screenplay that Giat-who has made a living on what he calls a "handful of development deals"-will ever see come to life. It is a deeply personal project, and, like so many people who came of age during the Vietnam War, Giat recalls biographical milestones that seem hinged to events in the conflict. He remembers walking out of his synagogue on Long Island after practicing for his bar mitzvah when he learned the Tet offensive had just occurred. "I thought, 'Great! The war will be over by my bar mitzvah. What a great gift!'" But that was in 1968, and by the time Giat graduated from high school in 1972 he had a draft number, even though he was never called up. "I was so opinionated and yet so unknowledgeable, and that has always been very embarrassing for me." His shame and an admitted case of survivor's guilt produced a student of the Vietnam War. As he described a defining moment in the development process, he wiped away tears, shook his head and apologized. The memory reaches back to 1996, when he stumbled upon a U.S. Marine Corps reunion at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. "I witnessed one of the most moving moments of my life," Giat said. "The chaplain, the second in command, called them to the wall, where they laid the wreath. I always felt I wrote this in tribute to them." Giat was exhaustively conscientious in his research. Attached to the script is a 99-page annotation, as well as a lengthy list of sources.

But overall, the film aims to humanize Johnson and show how his image of a Great Society, with attention to people of color and poverty, was completely trumped by a doomed war he knew would become his legacy. "Unfortunately, his tragedy is the nation's tragedy," said Howard B. Dratch, who first met with Giat in 1991 to brainstorm a film about the Johnson administration. Dratch is now one of the executive producers, and he says he remembers countless meetings with HBO executives when he was the only one who still thought the script was alive. In 1992 Giat and Dratch brought the treatment called "Counsel to the President" to independent producer Edgar Scherick, a World War II veteran whose film credits stretch back to "Take the Money and Run" (1969) and "The Stepford Wives" (1975).

Scherick urged them to shine a more focused light on Johnson's tragedy as caused by the conflict. "It's the story of a man and my country under terrible pressure, and it's good food for drama," Scherick said. "During Vietnam I had four children, and I was in no position to do much protesting .... I've been [producing for] a long, long time. I'm not a child. In the future when a student wants to know what it was like in the White House at the time, they'll dig this movie out. It's a look at the terrifying dilemma our country was caught up in." While "Path to War" is heavy on meetings and policy talk, it also contains moving subplots, like the one about McNamara's wife and son, who developed bleeding ulcers as the U.S. became more and more deeply involved in Vietnam.

"It's a hard movie to do because you have to emotionally involve the audience," said Frankenheimer. "If they just want to learn, they can go to the History Channel for that. They don't need me." He said the relationship between Lady Bird and LBJ has to play out like a love story, or viewers won't see Johnson's quieter moments. "Lady Bird was the only person that Johnson really trusted. I have to establish the warmth of it-the depth of it." Many of the scenes contain chunks of dialogue between Johnson and his advisors, and Frankenheimer is determined to let the camera sit still on the face of the actor speaking. But other scenes, such as the one being filmed on this day, require hundreds of extras. In all, 99 actors have speaking parts in the movie, although Gambon dominates the script. He had been approached 18 months ago by HBO, when Barry Levinson was still the director, but Levinson ran into scheduling conflicts, clearing the way for Frankenheimer.

A dialect coach helps Gambon mask his British accent with Johnson's Texas drawl. Makeup artists have dyed his eyebrows and designed a toupee for him that mimics Johnson's receding hair line. Although Gambon stands 6 feet tall, costumers gave him shoes with thick soles and inserted lifts to bring him up to Johnson's stature. "When [you've] got the lifts on and make those speeches, you feel presidential," Gambon said. "But you feel so responsible." Some of the fictitious lines exchanged between characters seem prescient of today's debates about the U.S. military action following the Sept. 11 attacks. During one briefing Clifford asks the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Earle Wheeler, "If the president proceeds with this plan, what in your view would constitute a victory?" The general responds that a "military victory in the traditional sense is not what we are seeking."

"Path to War" aims to look at the turns taken by the most powerful men in the country. While Frankenheimer thinks there is redemption for Johnson, especially in Gambon's portrayal, the film ultimately shows how sloppy things can get, even within the protected walls of the White House. "These are human beings, and they go on the best instincts they have," Giat said. "But we have to be mindful of their flaws and their hunger for power and influence."

Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times

(from the USA)

Date: 19 May 2002

Summary: Another excellent historical docudrama from HBO...

...on the heels of "The Gathering Storm". "Path to War" begins with Lyndon B. Johnson's inaugural ball and ends with his rejection of candidacy for another term. Between, unlikely Brit-cum-Texan Gambon delivers a masterful portrayal of President Johnson as a crude but sagacious politician who struggled with the demons of the Vietnam era not unlike another American president who served during an unpopular war which tore at the fabric of this country a century before. A well crafted HBO documentary which needs and takes little license with history, "Path to War" will likely prove a spell-binding watch for those interested in American political history and a good historical review for anyone with an interest in the Vietnam era.

(from Israel)

Date: 24 January 2004

Summary: Good historical docu-drama

It is hard to watch 'Path to War' and avoid remarking the similarity between historic and present circumstances. Although dedicated to the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, the film brings to mind the situations the current US President had to face - after being elected on an internal social agenda, he has to face an external conflict and runs down on a spiral towards an external war costly in American and other peoples human lives. The film is interesting by itself, although there may be many comments to be made on the accuracy of the historical details. 'Path to War' also succeeds better than other films in bringing to screen historical characters and giving them a life of their own - Johnson, Clark Clifford, Bob McNamara are well built film characters in the film. I recommend this film, and not only to the history fans - 8 out of 10 on my personal scale.

(from Canada)

Date: 4 October 2003

Summary: Excellent and truly compelling...

....effort at depicting the essence of Lyndon Johnson and his tragic presidency. Michael Gambon is a superb actor and his portrayal of the 36th president is by far the best I've seen yet. Most films depict LBJ as essentially some Texan buffoon without a clue. In reality, Johnson was a superb politician whose hopes and dreams for his country were ultimately thwarted by a war he never wanted in the first place. 'Path to War' shows how a man with all the strength, talent and skill to do potentially great things finds himself losing the battle on both fronts. The war on poverty that he so dearly cared for being defeated by the war in Vietnam, and as his own administration and the country turn against him, the downfall of a political giant.

I would suggest that this film be shown in high school classrooms as a way to educate our young people about LBJ, the man, his times and his legacy. Vilifed though he may be by many, 'Path to War' is truly a fantastic portrayal of the human side of the man and how he struggled to do what he thought was right for his country and for the world.

(from Teri! USA)

Date: 20 May 2002

Summary: Enlightening

I was just a young child during the whole of the 60s. Even still, it was a troubling and scary time. This film explained a lot to me as to how we became so embroiled in a war not of LBJ's or even JFK's making. And, I don't even blame the advisors. What would you do...what would any of us do, especially in the mind-set of the early 60s...when the U.S. was engaged in Cold War and saw it's self as the ultimate power and protector of Democracy and the Free World (As a matter of fact, don't we still view ourselves that way today?). Men such as McNamara sincerely believed they were giving the President sound advise, but when it became clear the War in Vietnam was a mistake, Johnson's ego would not let him consider pulling out of the war. As stated in an earlier review, once he was committed to the war...that was it. He was gonna see it through, even if it meant a one term Presidency.

All the cast was marvelous. Michael Gambon was very credible as LBJ. And, I particularly enjoyed Donald Sutherland, Felicity Huffman, James Frain (I'm a big fan of his), and even Alec Baldwin (whom I usually can't stand). The scene where LBJ intimidates a cowering George Wallace aptly conveys his art of manipulation. And, the scene where Johnson threatens to send a frustrated and resigning Dick Goodwin to Vietnam as a Marine private aptly conveys his habit of scaring the bee-jeebies out of his underlings. I also was especially moved by the scene where the Quaker anti-war protestor burns himself alive in front of McNamara's Pentagon office. I really think this is one of Baldwin's best performances. I also want to say that I think, for the most part, the Brits (Gambon and Frain) did a fantastic job with their accents (one Texan...one Bostonian).

In short, it was a very well done docu-drama. Frankenheimer did himself proud...and unlike Oliver Stone, he let the facts speak for themselves. It was a timely film, especially in this day of America's New War. And, it was an enlightening history lesson. Heart felt thanks to all envolved.

(from New Mexico, USA)

Date: 18 May 2002

Summary: A history book written by the losers...

In some ways the most dramatic illustration of the bifurcation of American society during 1968 is presented in this movie and then gone in the blink of an eye. LBJ is watching a series of TV broadcasts excoriating him. Among the clips is one of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who states that he (who had been silent on Vietnam for so long) can now no longer keep from speaking against violence and against the greatest purveyor of violence in the world, his own government. It's difficult to imagine Johnson recovering from King's speaking out. Blacks had been among his most resolute supporters for years. LBJ liked them and sympathized with them and they responded in kind. I did some minor canvassing for Eugene McCarthy earlier that year and was surprised to find that every black family I spoke to politely turned away my arguments. It didn't matter to them that they felt Vietnam was draining resources that were needed for domestic programs, or that the disenfranchised were suffering disproportionate casualties. (Know how many sons of Harvard died in Vietnam? Guess.) They fully supported LBJ because of his unyielding and thoroughly courageous stand on civil rights, as the issue was then called. How King's change of heart must have hurt him.

The movie as far as I can tell is pretty accurate. Inevitably, characters come and go, and the story itself is complicated enough to be occasionally confusing. If you want a more thorough analysis of how to go about letting slip the dogs of war, try Halberstam's "The Best and the Brightest." The acting is fine, with no one's performance outstanding. Frankenheimer's direction, with its drumbeats, hand-held camera, and fast editing of protest marches, recalls his "Seven Days in May." The script sometimes comes up with lines that are a little too epigrammatic to be swallowed whole.

LBJ's passionate commitment to the solution of domestic problems is carefully laid out, and it was real. His forte as a politician was in manipulating others in order to get his way and, minor earlier malfeasance aside, his way was one to be admired. What the film soft pedals or leaves out entirely is a side of his character that was really and truly vulgar and exceedingly unpleasant for subordinates. You didn't have to be a wuss to feel uncomfortable when, as a highly educated senior aide, LBJ would call you into the bathroom for a conference while he was taking a dump. The tongue lashings that Jack Valenti alone endured would fill up a marine boot's schedule for his entire stay on Parris Island. He was also an egomaniacal blowhard too, and there is little of this in the film. While still Vice President, he ran into Russel Baker, at that time White House reporter for the NY Times, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into his office, shouting, "You -- I want to talk to YOU." He harangued Baker for half an hour, accusing the press of lying about his lack of power, of being outside the loop, as VP. Midway through his tirade, Johnson buzzed in his secretary, scribbled a note and handed it to her, then took up where he left off. When a weary Baker finally stumbled back into the hallway, another reporter said: "Do you know what it was he wrote on that note to his secretary? It said, 'Who is this I'm talking to?'"

A bit of this side of LBJs character might have gone some distance in explaining his gradual and reluctant commitment to war. He was the kind of guy who could not admit that he was beaten, a tragedy really, in the same way that Hamlet was a guy who could not make up his mind. It wasn't just that his advisors misled him. It was that he couldn't bring himself to back down. This is one of the things that worried me when I heard our next president from Texas say, "My mind is made up, and I'm not going to change it, because I'm not the kind of guy who changes his mind." (No? Hold on to your hats, boys.)

You come away from this movie filled with a genuine pity for LBJ who, in Vietnam, had got hold of his tar baby. He really had little choice but to resign. When he did, he went to his ranch and manipulated local merchants so they put his order for an oil sump on the fast track, using the same friendly but conspiratorial tones that he had once used in running the country. He grew his hair out to Beatle length, crept into Doris Stearn's guest room in the mornings in order to have someone to talk to, a lonely man. A tragic story, well done.

the Film: Those words are spoken by Lyndon Johnson (Michael Gambon) well into Path to War, the typically ambitious and almost wholly successful recent HBO production, and in many ways it succinctly - and pointedly - summarizes the film's main concern. The film addresses the escalation of America's involvement in Vietnam during Johnson's first full (and only) term as President, through the lens of Johnson himself and his two most trusted advisors: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Alec Baldwin), who helped guide President John F. Kennedy through the Cuban Missile Crisis and initially advocated increased involvement and a resolute plan of action; and Clark Clifford (Donald Sutherland), long-time Johnson friend and Kennedy advisor who was never convinced that involvement was well-advised, but ultimately acquiesced and tried to guide Johnson and his administration though the political minefield once the entrenchment reached the point of no easy return. Beginning on the eve of his inauguration in January of 1965, Path to War effectively charts both the increasing involvement in Vietnam and the demise of what Johnson sought to be the primary focus of his administration - the Great Society.

Fueled by the promise of ushering in a new era from his pulpit, Johnson sincerely desires to confront hunger, poverty, healthcare, and civil rights and begins to do so in earnest - his first year in office is characterized by a flurry of bills forwarded to the Hill, and indeed, the political focus is as he directed. However, as McNamara warns from the outset, the conflict in Vietnam simply has to be addressed as American advisors are increasingly under attack by galvanizing forces. Johnson, who wants nothing to distract him (or the Congress and the public) from his vision, believes that he merely needs to know what is necessary to win decisively and to get out. Under McNamara's advisement, he commits more firepower, then troops, all to no avail - the resilience of the Vietcong proves extraordinary. As the military budgets - and, more importantly, the human cost - begin to increase, Johnson realizes that he will eventually have to take this matter to both the Hill and the public.

As Johnson becomes increasingly distracted from his beloved Great Society and the needs of his party, he begins to lean even more heavily on the advice of McNamara relative to the conflict. Knowing his brinkmanship and influence on President Kennedy may have very well helped America avoid an almost unthinkable nuclear catastrophe, his reliance is perfectly understandable. McNamara, as presented here, is not rendered a mere hawk - although he advocates escalation, his ideas do not adopt the air of abstraction. He challenges Gen. William Westmoreland (Tom Skerritt) and Gen. Earle Wheeler, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Frederic Forrest) for empirical data, not military speculation. Clifford, on the other hand, is one of the few who initially warns of the dangers (actual and political) of increased involvement - that it will take far more troops than anyone seems willing to acknowledge, far more wounded and killed, and a far greater political cost for a war that appears increasingly implausible to win in any traditional sense of the word. Along with Undersecretary of State George Ball (Bruce McGill), Clifford repeatedly attempts to sway Johnson from the seemingly impenetrable pull of McNamara. Here too, Clifford is not presented merely as a prescient dove - he is a pragmatist as well as an ideologue (as is McNamara), and his primary concern rapidly becomes protecting his old friend. Path to War continues throughout its 165-minute duration to explore the motivations, intentions, and responses of these three men through to Johnson's stunning speech wherein he conceded personal and professional defeat by announcing that he would not seek - nor accept - his party's nomination for reelection.

The script, written by Daniel Giat, and the production, aided by research from historian Michael Beschloss (who acted as consultant for this production), certainly sounds, looks, and feels authentic. Apparently, the production teams were instructed to employ a relentlessly exacting eye - even the maps and photographs of Vietnam used as references for the President and his Cabinet were those actually used during the conflict. Archival footage is also used, sparingly but to excellent effect: Dr. Martin Luther King's second march from Selma; Sen. Robert Kennedy's opposition to Johnson and the war (invoking the specter of John from which Johnson never thought he would emerge, perhaps correctly); anti-war and peace demonstrations as they grew in both size and vitriol; and, finally, the largely mechanized, horrific images of the bombings.

The three leads all deliver thoughtful, carefully constructed performances brimming with subtlety. It can prove easy to forget how effortlessly effective both Sutherland and Baldwin can be - they have appeared in many lesser works not worthy of their particular talents, but here they excel. As representatives of initially opposite positions, they understand these are intelligent, powerful men not always above or removed from their own strong personalities. There is a great exchange between the two after a pivotal Camp David meeting wherein McNamara's position has prevailed over Clark's: as the men speak, McNamara is proud, but not smug, almost as though he has just been victorious in a trying game of chess against a worthy opponent; Clark, realizing his defeat, tries to ascertain if McNamara honestly believes in his mind and heart that this is the right trajectory for his country and his President. This is intelligent, rewarding stuff.

Gambon, the acclaimed British actor knighted in 1992, is more than equal to the task at hand. His Johnson is a wily, smart, and heartfelt creation, not far removed from historical accounts of the man himself: intelligent, but deeply suspicious of intellectuals; well-intentioned, but prone to bossing and outright manipulation; cocksure, but somewhat insecure deep below the surface; a man of his own ideas and action, resentful of his associations to (and comparisons with) the Kennedy clan, and rendered politically impotent by his choices. We are essentially witnessing the self-imposed downfall of a proud and powerful individual, and Gambon infuses his performance with an even physical gravitas. As the film progresses we see Johnson ruminative, vengeful, contradictory, confused, saddened, enraged, etc. That Gambon makes all of this so palpable more than suffices for his lack of mastery of Johnson's accent. Lastly, though certainly sympathetic to Johnson and cognizant of what he might have accomplished, the film does not let him off the hook in any way - as spoken by Clark, Johnson (and we) are pointedly reminded that although Johnson was certainly advised, the decisions ultimately rested on his shoulders alone.

The cast is rounded out by a stable of solid, entertaining supporting players: Felicity Huffman as Lady Bird Johnson; James Frain as speech writer Dick Goodwin; Chris Eigeman as Press Secretary Bill Moyers; John Alyward as Dean Rusk, Secretary of State; John Valenti as Jack Valenti, Assistant to the President (yes, that Jack Valenti); Philip Baker Hall as Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen; Cliff De Young as McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor; and, lastly, an unbilled Gary Sinise as George Wallace, reprising his role from Frankenheimer's previous George Wallace of 1997.

the DVD:
Video: Presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, the Path to War DVD simply looks fantastic. For a cable television production made on a modest budget, the film never appears less than genuine - from its production design to the sets themselves, the overall attention to period detail is extremely impressive, as is Stephen Goldblatt's cinematography. Director (and four-time Emmy award winner) John Frankenheimer, old pro that he was, directs with verve and sound judgment. Employing a static camera, the occasional tracking shot, handheld cameras, and thoughtful composition, he directs so effortlessly that it's easy to not notice what he is doing and fall easily under the drama's spell. For a film such as this, that's about the highest compliment I can give. The transfer is excellent - flesh tones are perfect, black levels are deep and solid, and with the exception of a scene or two, there is no evidence of graininess or damage to the source print.

Audio: Path to War includes three DD 2.0 tracks, in English Surround, French Stereo, and Spanish Stereo. The DVD sounds great - although there are only a few instances of intentional sound design that calls attention to itself (gunfire, bombing raids, passing cars), they are rendered effectively. The score by Gary Chang never really moved me (which is too bad - with more effective music, Path to War may have bordered on the sublime), but it sounds appropriate and fitting in the way that we have grown to expect soundtracks for this sort of film to sound. Bass tones are rich, and there is never any tininess or lack of depth apparent. Dialogue, obviously the largest concern of a film such as this, sounds great. Very impressive.

Extras: There are quite a few interesting extras to be found in HBO's release of Path to War, especially those done in conjunction with TIME magazine:

TIME Magazine extras:
Milestones on the Path to War, which provides a broad yet useful outline of the conflict;
Path to War: Verbatim, which proffers some quotations from historical figures regarding Vietnam;
Vietnam by the Numbers, which offers some statistical insight, from the number of draftees to the number of conscientious objectors to the war;
L.B.J. & Vietnam: Public Opinion, which illustrates America's increasing disenchantment with the war through Gallup polls from September of 1965 through February 1968;
L.B.J. Slideshow, comprised of a dozen or so photographs with brief written commentary;
and, lastly, a
Questions and Answer session (in writing) between director John Frankenhimer and TIME Magazine.

DVD-Rom features: Also prepared with the cooperation of TIME Magazine, Path to War includes links to articles and additional information regarding the history of the conflict: "Path to War Timeline and Strategy Simulator"; Understanding America's Longest War"; "the Best and the Brightest"; "Lessons of a Lost War"; and "Back in TIME".

HBO Featurettes: Lastly, there are some brief, slick featurettes on board:
Behind the Scenes Featurette (3:57), which is essentially a promo piece but not without some modest value;
Cast Interviews, also promotional, which lasts for 1:40;
and Director Interview which lasts 1:20.

Although the extras included do not quite live up to their billing (it seems like there is much more here than there actually is), the TIME extras do help add context and answer some additional questions that the film may raise. Director Frankenheimer died unexpectedly last year, and it's too bad that some of the main actors could not have been called in to discuss their experience working with him - I do not know what sort of schedule HBO was working with, but it would have been an extremely valuable addition.

Final Thoughts: It is a rare film indeed that can enthrall and rivet viewers when the outcome is already so widely known. Path to War, with the help of a highly literate, intelligent script by Daniel Giat, does exactly that. Further, it resists the all too seductive tendencies of employing either revisionist history or flat, hollow characterizations that often plague films with such explicitly political concerns. The film never adopts a superior or smug attitude toward the events and the players that shaped them - the policy makers presented here are unquestionably patriotic and have what they believe to be their country's best interests in mind. That their policies ultimately failed, and that they advocated their positions so ardently, only adds to the all-too-recognizable human dimensions of the characterizations.

Boasting a triumvirate of stellar, fully realized and multi-dimensional performances by Michael Gambon, Alec Baldwin, and Donald Sutherland, as well as the vigorous direction of the recently departed John Frankenheimer, Path to War is a resounding success. One need not be a political fiend or policy wonk to enjoy this film - its drama and characterizations unfold in such a tragic, understandable manner that it renders the work both emotionally affecting and intellectually respectful. Very highly recommended.

IMDB link for Path To War