A Bright Shining Lie (film)
| A Bright Shining Lie | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | War drama |
| Based on | A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan |
| Written by | Terry George |
| Directed by | Terry George |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gary Chang |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lois Bonfiglio |
| Producer | Greg Ricketson |
| Production locations | Lopburi, Thailand Cirebon, Central Java, Indonesia |
| Cinematography | Jack Conroy |
| Editor | Nicholas Beauman |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Budget | $14 million[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | May 30, 1998 |
A Bright Shining Lie is a 1998 American war drama television film written and directed by Terry George, based on Neil Sheehan's 1988 book of the same name and the true story of John Paul Vann's experience in the Vietnam War. It stars Bill Paxton, Amy Madigan, Vivian Wu, Donal Logue, Eric Bogosian and Kurtwood Smith. It aired on HBO on May 30, 1998.
Cast
[edit]- Bill Paxton as Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann
- Karina Logue as Barmaid
- Amy Madigan as Mary Jane Vann
- Donal Logue as Steven Burnett
- Harve Presnell as General Paul Harkins
- Robert John Burke as Frank Drummond
- Bill Whelan as Ron Dray
- Lim Kay Tong as Colonel Cao Huynh Van
- Seng Kawee as VC Leader
- Vivian Wu as Lee
- Van Thoa Trinh as VC Commander
- Richard Libertini as Marriage Counselor
- James Bigwood as Office Manager
- Ed Lauter as General Weyand
- Kurtwood Smith as General Westmoreland
- Eric Bogosian as Doug Elders, a composite character not in the book melding elements of real-life people in the book, Daniel Ellsberg and Douglas Ramsey, who both worked with Vann; Ellsberg and reporter David Halberstam had asked that their names be removed from the production after reading an early draft of the screenplay[2]
- James Rebhorn as Ambassador Bunker
- Les J.N. Mau as Colonel Dinh
- David Warshofsky as Terry Pike
- Thanh Nguyen as ARVN Translator
- Pichariva Narakbunchai as Annie
- Kris von Habsburg as a US Soldier
- Matthew Ascherl, Simon Gaut and Jamie Watts (American GI's), featured in opening scene(s) at airfield
Award nominations
[edit]In 1998, the film was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. In 1999, Bill Paxton was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the film.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Richmond, Ray (May 27, 1998). "A Bright, Shining Lie". Variety. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ Rick Lyman (May 20, 1998). "HBO's 'Shining Lie' Draws Early Complaints". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
- ^ "A Bright Shining Lie (TV)". FilmAffinity. Archived from the original on 2015-10-26. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
External links
[edit]
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Categories:
- 1998 television films
- 1998 films
- 1998 drama films
- 1990s American films
- 1990s English-language films
- 1990s war drama films
- American drama television films
- American films based on actual events
- American war drama films
- Drama films based on actual events
- Films about the United States Army
- Films based on non-fiction books
- Films directed by Terry George
- Films scored by Gary Chang
- Films shot in Thailand
- HBO Films films
- Vietnam War films
- Vietnam War films based on actual events
- Television films based on actual events
- Television films based on books
- War television films
- English-language war drama films
- American drama television film stubs
- War drama film stubs