I was a grunt (11 Bravo) squad leader with B/1/503rd 173rd Abn. Bde. and lost many buddies over there,and though I'm still paying the daily mental and physical price for that war---I thank God for His mercy toward me.God bless you all.
And God bless you. That war was horrendous and devils were in its making: to see comments defending Nixon, et al is to witness the paucity of history being taught well. I'm old and tired of rich men sacrificing young ones for profit. The media corporations are far too influential while Dunning-Kruger effect runs rampant in the viewing audiences. Yet for all its flaws, our free press is still a so important in our country. Lol but I read The Guardian because they cover all sides of an issue - even if it's inconvenient to the bosses on the left or the right. How sad and frightening that the war we could next see will be a civil one between divided Americans. We're on the brink of fascism as it is - to say nothing of the Earth itself needing triage. Excuse me, please, for mentioning them together, but it's all connected. And we seem to have forgotten that very thing. Thank you for your service. And for telling us about it here. Salute.
Gentlemen! I'm a Vietnam vet whose father was a WWI vet. In that war my father observed two important things: The bayonet is a weapon with a worker on each end. Decisions to go to war are made in boardrooms and not in government. Please take time to remember the Gulf of Tonkin incident did NOT occur. We made it up! The first shelling was after we helped bomb some outpost of the North. LBJ lied, Nixon lied, Kissinger lied, Westmoreland lied. By the Geneva accords, which we worship, all of us were "war criminals" in that we did not declare war. One can't help but notice that most "politics" are morally bankrupt. Best of luck to us.
When we saw #45 befriend despots, it was staggering. Jan 6 was high treason. His regard for veterans in all conflicts is on record, as well. Fgs, I'm no Biden fan, and can't believe this is what we're down to in terms of choice in our country. And the profits of war continue to rise, spread and deaden moral cores of those in the inner circles of corporations. Politicians are either puppets or part of the oligarchy. We Americans have barely learned not to demonize the veterans, but that's not enough. Their benefits are still far less than they deserve or require. We used to see decent people enter politics to make a difference in our nation - and the world. I'm sure there are a few extant, but they're an endangered specie. Thank you for going to do a job that was thankless at best: I've got friends who never recovered from their time in Vietnam. Thanks for your forbearance in reading this. Blessings to you.
Just wanted to say that this really landed with me - yours and your family's commitment to it's country... ...more than that though, I found the truths you mentioned, how you relayed these realities and put the context on it all, I wish more people came across this comment - there's an undeniable authenticity in the wisdom you're sharing : continuing to serve, and I think those words you put down are spot-on, clear as a bell. Many thanks 👍🍻
Well said! So few people actually know that the Tonkin Bay incident was a complete fabrication. The CIA have openly admitted it, and yet hardly anyone knows or cares. I live in the UK, and I'm old enough to remember the entire awful conflict. Our politicians over here are no different. We've all been played for many decades now, and over 99% of us are sleepwalking to our doom.
Nixon and Kissinger devised what was called "the Mad Man Theory." Kissinger, in negotiating with the Russians, would tell them, "This guy I work for. I don't know. And he has his finger on the button."
Thanks for uploading this fascinating program which contains significant historical information presented with more clarity and compelling characterizations than most dramas about President Nixon and his advisors. The portrayals of Kissinger and Haig are particularly credible.
Today Nixon is considered a genius. 2017 Kissinger a war lobbyist interested in only his "Harvard Image" and is 91 years old - old enough to suffer his own downfall with his cronies. Though he did give a great eulogy for Nixon at Nixon's funeral.....but he had to.
This is a fantastic movie; while i don't know much about Ron Silver, he was such a great actor and the perfect fit to play Dr. Kissinger. I even told my mom and dad about this film, and they were very impressed as well.
There have been several actors who have played the role of Richard Nixon in movies and on television. Anthony Hopkins, Frank Langella, Dan Hedaya, and John Cusack are but a few that have portrayed Richard Nixon. But I think the one actor who came closest to imitating our disgraced 37th president was Lane Smith. He starred in the movie "The Final Days".
I agree; Lane played him the most realistically hands down. He got the subtle nuances of his voice down perfectly. It seems like everyone else including Beau here have made him a overly grouchy and grumpy sterotype but honestly they tend to overdo it. Lane played him more human in that one and it was refreshing. Of the Hollywood versions I love Hedaya's the best in Dick, which ironically has Saul Rebuenk playing Kissinger again for the 2nd time. He did Henry the best, granted Silver's pretty solid here.
@@athoshipner6847 He was a disgrace to our nation and party. His great legacy in international diplomacy was even diluted by his war-mongering. To suggest he didn't do more to harm our nation than help it is disingenuous at best. Perhaps in another life, he'd learn from his many mistakes, his thin skin, secrecy and desire for intrigue for its own sake. But he blew it across the board. Despite those failings, he's infinitely preferable to the devil that is Donald J. Trump: Nixon would charge him with high treason for Jan 6 alone. Godspeed.
Yeah Lane Smith did a hell of a job in the final days Nixon was a great president the only thing he did was lie and cover up but all and all Nixon was the great president to open a dialog with china He wanted to end the war he even said in his campaign speeches when people see him as a criminal and i dont care what others say about him I cant imagine what his life was after his presidency but watergate will be his legacy they didnt see the good things he did so when i see nasy comments on youtube I think people just google this shit I lived it I saw the hearings saw it on Tv I was 12 at the time
A very pro-Kissinger film (apparently based on his book). In reality, Kissinger was complicit in causing the senseless death of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds-of-thousands Vietnamese and Cambodians - mostly civilians. Kissenger and Nixon's actions in Cambodia created the foundation for the rise of the Khmar Rouge and the murder of millions. War is always horrific, but had he been anything but an American, international courts would likely have prosecuted Kissinger for crimes against humanity. The actors playing the Vietnamese leaders are really weak in this film. However, I still enjoyed watching it. Thanks for the upload.
And if he had been a part of any country outside of the United States, he'd have been lauded by intellectuals and the left wing of numerous countries for his pragmatism and been called a unfairly persecuted leader that was the victim of Western Imperialism. As for laying the foundations for the Khmer Rouge, well, you can't anticipate that something like that was going to happen. And the targets in Cambodia were Vietnamese military bases, so the civilian casualties were minimal at worst.
This is not bad actually. Great script. The White House "palace intrigues" are fun. Beau Bridges is damn good and so is Ron Silver. Playing a caricature like Kissinger, whose voice and mannerisms are so well known, must have been very demanding, but Silver modulates his voice in character very well. George Takei is also excellent.
Both 2 main characters have excellent mimicry/impersonations by actors..Kissinger and his German-Jew mumbling is exceptional.. the Nixon maybe lapses off-script mid-sentence once or twice, but excellent speaking and body-language nonetheless. Too bad movie is in 4:3 screen ratio and sub-VHS quality definition, but I still ran it through my TV to watch last night as I'm very keen on 60s/70s America and Vietnam war.
He’s the most convincing Nixon in terms of appearance I’ve seen. However, he doesn’t get Nixon’s voice any better than anyone else. Nixon didn’t speak in a low growl all the time. He had a much more modulated and richer voice than that. Nixon’s voice is inevitably done more as a caricature than as a decent facsimile.
Well 72, my war was over. Nixon, K and Hague were trying to get out. But I survived, 68-71. Now Nixon is disgraced. K is viewed with Skepticism. And we basically still have the same problem. Read Max Boots book. " The path not taken"
Don't get me wrong. Not the absolute same but still we're building multi billion dollar aircraft carriers, and we're being pushed around by Ideology. The same guys Russians Chinese talking nice but stabbing us when the opportunity presents itself.
So much in your words. And it's depressing to see the uninformed, reactionary comments here - largely from those sucking the teat of Murdoch press. (Hell, at least I get my news from different places.) I like Boot, but haven't read his book(s). Today? I'm worried about being on the brink of fascism, the sixth great extinction and ye olde Doomsday Clock etc etc. You know - all the things they say are fake news. Be well. From an old white chick from Alabama who sent all her babysitting money to McGovern back in the day 😂
And this film teaches us that all men who work for the president make all the elaborate and sophisticated plans and thoughts and the presidents just follow them.
It's the way of war from the beginning of man. The powerful seeking more power: the wealthy wanting more wealth and truly ignorant proles standing up for then based on the machinations of PR. Am I being too simplistic? A bit. There have been times pei needed to fight to defend others' lives and freedom. To think we're facing a civil war in our own country because certain media outlets have an agenda to support is unreal...yet here we are
I thourghly enjoyed this I have always been a Ron Silver fan and seeing him in this Playing Kissinger was a treat to watch the cast was remarkable thanks steagle for the upload Nixon was a great president the only thing he did was lie and cover up but all and all Nixon was the great president to open a dialog with china He wanted to end the war he even said in his campaign speeches when people see him as a criminal and i dont care what others say about him I cant imagine what his life was after his presidency but watergate will be his legacy they didnt see the good things he did so when i see nasty comments on youtube I think people just google this shit I lived it I saw the hearings on Tv I was 12 years old at the time Reply
Nixon, tragically, will be remembered for Watergate. No mention of the fact he was one of the most forward looking men to ever hold Office. He was actually FOR a near equal balance between law enforcement (for dealers, repeat/incorrigible offenders, etc..) and treatment (first-offenders, non-violent repeat offenders) in the war on drugs. Not to mention opening the door to China and generally scaring the shit out of the U.S.S.R. It was well-known they thought he was crazy and dangerous, and Nixon had no problem with that.
Yes I suppose he did, for some usually white people the drug cops give breaks but Nixon's lawyer said plain as day, we made the drug laws to get around the Civil Rights and anti-war movements, there's no way to arrest someone for being young or minority or protesting, but with drugs you can arrest them and put them away for a long time if you want to. The entire drug war otherwise known as prohibition is complete bull crap that flies in the face of logic, the sellers of any material will look sleazy if you make the material illegal and make people sneak around for it. The idea that the laws try to help the user or addict are worse than laughable, and the entire rationale of the drug war is ridiculous in the sense that, drugs are already around all over anyway, and look at the problem with Crystal meth, pretty soon they're going to figure out that you can make it out of food ingredients. A sophisticated chemist already can, extracting phenylalanine out of any protein and working that up to get phenyl acetone and reacting as per several known methods. Point is Nixon only had malice on his mind when championing the drug war
This film shows how North Vietnam negotiated the peace with the United States during the Presidential election of 1972. Issues of back channel with Hanoi and having help by the Soviet Union China and dealings with other countries. Also, Watergate was becoming an article for US public.
Bob Brown Not really.......I truly believe the 1960's was over for Democrats was with the election of Barack Obama in 2008. He is the first post-Vietnam President.
Cheap a--hole chino-a--kisser, he sold Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao out to China. Instead of Kissinger the wishy-washy with no military dust, I wish Westmoreland was the NSA during Vietnam war era.
21:32 Here we are... And I'm George Takei of the Starship Enterprise. Make peace or will beam your solar system somewhere closer to the Borg. And you don't want to be closer to the Borg.
I wonder how many of the cast got blojobs from Capt Sulu...was it a different guy every night? And more interestingly, did Capt Sulu bring anybody out of the closet as a result of bringing this film and it's cast together?
Your comments reflect a grotesqueness about your own psyche, tbh. A psychiatrist would have a field day with it. Hope you've found a measure of peace in your soul and more pertinent insights to augment your reality.
Nixon was antisemitic and racist, too. Different from the Quakers I've known tbh. And I feel quite fortunate to say this. I'm sure there are more, but this isn't what Quakers are about
