Berlin Public Library

A bright shining lie, HBO pictures presents a Bleecker Street Films production

eng

videorecording

Rated R

A bright shining lie

DVD

40653720

HBO pictures presents a Bleecker Street Films production

118

The story of Lt. Colonel John Paul Vann and his work as a military and civilian advisor in Vietnam over a ten year period (1962-72) until his death in an accidental helicopter crash. As a military advisor, Vann attempted to fight corruption in the Vietnamese army, recognizing the need to build trust among the Vietnamese peasantry. When his recommendations were ignored by the U.S. military, he exposed falsified battle reports and other deceptions to a New York Times reporter, effectively ending his military career. As the war escalated, however, Vann returned to Vietnam as a civilian advisor under Nixon's "Vietnamization" program, ending as the defacto commander of Vietnamese forces in the successful defense of the Central Highlands during the 1972 Easter Offensive

general

live action