Movies

HomeMoviesSearchTV SeriesBookmarksView Source
A Bright Shining Lie
A Bright Shining Lie

A Bright Shining Lie

In war as in life, the difference between truth and deception is what a man allows himself to believe.

Genres

DramaWarTV Movie

OverView

Something in his past keeps career Army man John Paul Vann from advancing past colonel. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he comes to despise some South Vietnamese officers while he takes charge of some of the U.S. forces and continues his liaisons with Vietnamese women.

Others

Budget

$--

Revenue

$--

Status

Released

Original Language

English

Runtime

118 mins

Rating

5.464/10

Release Date

30 May 1998

Country

United States of America

Cast

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton

John Paul Vann

Amy Madigan

Amy Madigan

Mary Jane Vann

Donal Logue

Donal Logue

Steven Burnett

Robert John Burke

Robert John Burke

Frank Drummond

Vivian Wu

Vivian Wu

Lee

Ed Lauter

Ed Lauter

General Weyand

Kurtwood Smith

Kurtwood Smith

General Westmoreland

Eric Bogosian

Eric Bogosian

Doug Elders

James Rebhorn

James Rebhorn

Ambassador

Les Mau

Les Mau

Colonel Dinh

Todd Sible

Todd Sible

Jesse Vann (19 years old)

Harve Presnell

Harve Presnell

MACV General

Similar Movies

7.7

Platoon

December 1986 •English

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

7.3

Good Morning, Vietnam

December 1987 •English

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

7.6

JFK

December 1991 •English

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

6.5

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

May 2004 •English

It’s 1974 and Sam Bicke has lost everything. His wife leaves him with his three kids, his boss fires him, his brother turns away from him, and the bank won’t give him any money to start anew. He tries to find someone to blame for his misfortunes and comes up with the President of the United States who he plans to murder.

8.5

Forrest Gump

June 1994 •English

A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

7.0

Rescue Dawn

June 2007 •English

A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.

6.2

Uncommon Valor

December 1983 •English

A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.

6.5

Hamburger Hill

August 1987 •English

The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.

7.3

Hair

March 1979 •English

Upon receiving his draft notice and leaving his family ranch in Oklahoma, Claude heads to New York and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to boot camp.

7.1

We Were Soldiers

March 2002 •English

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.

4.2

The Veteran

January 2006 •English

Thirty years on from Vietnam, a government official is trying to track down soldiers who went missing in action, in the hope that it may lead her to her father. Meanwhile, a war veteran is forced to relive painful memories of how he was left for dead by his own platoon, and the heinous crimes he once committed while in the line of duty.

6.2

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her

March 1967 •French

As the city of Paris and the French people grow in consumer culture, a housewife living in a high-rise apartment with her husband and two children takes to prostitution to help pay the bills.

6.5

The Quiet American

November 2002 •English

Cynical British journalist Fowler falls in love with a young Vietnamese woman but is dismayed when a naïve U.S. official also begins vying for her attention. In retaliation, Fowler informs the communists that the American is selling arms to their enemy.

5.4

The Forgotten

April 1989 •English

Based on a story by Vietnam veteran Paul Staples, the film concerns six American Green Berets, held for 17 years in a Vietnamese POW camp. They are finally released in secret, during a delicate trade-talk session between Vietnam and the United States. Captain Tom Watkins, the ex-prisoners' CO, begins to suspect that government-man Adam Roth, who is in charge of the debriefing, may be pursuing a hidden agenda that will result in the early deaths of Watkins and the five men under his command.

0.0

From Mexico to Vietnam: A Chicano Story

November 2022 •English

"From Mexico to Vietnam: A Chicano Story" is an inspiring documentary that chronicles the life of Jesus S. Duran, a Mexican immigrant who became a decorated U.S. Army soldier during the Vietnam War. Born in Juarez, Mexico, Duran moved to the United States as a child and enlisted in the Army in 1968. On April 10, 1969, while serving as an M-60 machine gunner with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), he displayed extraordinary bravery by rescuing several wounded comrades during an intense enemy ambush in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. His valorous actions led to a posthumous Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama. Directed by Andrés Gallegos, the film delves into Duran's personal journey, his family's migration from Mexico, and the broader impact of the Vietnam War on the Chicano and Latino communities.

7.1

Casualties of War

August 1989 •English

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

5.8

Air America

August 1990 •English

Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.

5.7

Flight of the Intruder

January 1991 •English

U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Jake Grafton and his bombardier buddy, Lt. Cmdr. Virgil Cole, are two soldiers embedded in the Vietnam War growing frustrated by the military's constraints on their missions. Despite the best efforts of their commanding officer, Cmdr. Frank Camparelli, to re-engage them, this disillusioned pair decide to take the war effort into their own hands with an explosive battle plan that could well get them court-martialed.

6.4

The Ninth Configuration

February 1980 •English

Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.

6.2

Faith of My Fathers

May 2005 •English

Faith of My Fathers is based on the story of Lieutenant Commander John McCain's experiences as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years during the Vietnam War, interleaved with his memories of growing up in a heritage rich with military service.