How does a nation slip into war? Dateline-Saigon profiles the controversial reporting of five Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists -The New York Times' David Halberstam, the Associated Press' Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and legendary photojournalist Horst Faas, and UPI's Neil Sheehan -- during the early years of the Vietnam War as President John F. Kennedy is secretly committing US troops to what is initially dismissed by some as 'a nice little war in a land of tigers and elephants.' 'When the government is telling the truth, reporters become a relatively unimportant conduit to what is happening,' Halberstam tells us. 'But when the government doesn't tell the truth, begins to twist the truth, hide the truth, then the journalist becomes involuntarily infinitely more important.'
Direction
Sam Waterston's narration drips with weary authority.
Editing
JFK's secret tapes vs. public statements — devastating cuts.
Writing
Halberstam's quotes hit like indictment speeches.
Director
Thomas D. Herman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Malcolm Browne's famous burning monk photo nearly didn't run — AP editors initially thought it too disturbing.
The film's release in 2017 reframed these 1960s debates for the 'fake news' era — Herman specifically wanted audiences to recognize the pattern.
US
