2010
March 2010
Saturday 27 March 2010
Sat 27 Mar, 2 pm. Seven Congress Square, Portland, 04101. 207-775-6148, info@portlandmuseum.org. Portland Museum of Art - [events]
Friday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 27, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 28, 2 p.m. NR “First, I didn’t like their decision, unbelievable, wasn’t it? You know those clowns we got on there. I tell you, I hope I outlive the bastards.”—President Richard M. Nixon (in conversation with J. Edgar Hoover, on the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the ongoing publication of the Pentagon Papers, July 1, 1971) “I just say that we’ve got to keep our eye on the main ball. The main ball is Ellsberg. We’ve got to get this son-of-a-bitch.”—Nixon (in conversation with Attorney General John Mitchell, June 29, 1971)
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, concludes that the war is based on decades of lies and leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to the New York Times, making headlines around the world.
A riveting story of how one man’s profound change of heart creates a landmark struggle involving America’s newspapers, its president, and Supreme Court. A political thriller whose events lead directly to Watergate, Nixon’s resignation and the end of the Vietnam War.
Nominated for a 2010 Best Documentary Academy Award.
“It pulses with the suspense and momentum of a sleek thriller-a wily caper flick that just happens to revolve around one of the most crucial chapters in recent American history.” Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Directed by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith, 2009
RT: 92 min.