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Poster for A Bright Shining Lie
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Released
1998 · FILM

A Bright Shining Lie

“In war as in life, the difference between truth and deception is what a man allows himself to believe.”

Directed by
Terry George
Written by
Neil Sheehan, Terry George
Runtime
118 min
DramaWarTV Movie

Synopsis

John Paul Vann, a career Army officer, is hindered by something from his past from advancing beyond the rank of colonel. He sees his assignment to Vietnam as part of the U.S. military advisory force as an opportunity for promotion. However, he openly and publicly criticizes the conduct of the war, leading to his forced departure from the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he develops a strong disdain for certain South Vietnamese officers while assuming command of some U.S. forces and continuing his relationships with Vietnamese women.

Credits

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 19

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Nicholas BeaumanShot by Jack ConroyScored by Gary ChangDesigned by Graham Grace Walker

Also known as

  • A Bright Shining Lie – Die Hölle Vietnamsde
  • Vietnam - Die letzte Rettungde
  • La guerra dei bugiardiit

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