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Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)

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Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 51 | Rotten: 2

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Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 0

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Movie Info

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a top military strategist working for the RAND Corporation, leaked a 7,000 page document known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. Disenchanted with the nation's conduct in Vietnam, Ellsberg believed the release of the top secret paper -- which outlined the "secret history" of the war -- was crucial to educating the public about the government's lies and misdeeds. This documentary chronicles the media and political frenzy that Ellsberg unleashed, and traces

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.

Documentary

Directed By: Judith Ehrlich , Rick Goldsmith

In Theaters: Jun 1, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Jul 20, 2010

Box Office:$0.5M

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Critic Reviews for Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (3) | DVD (1)

For those who know the story, Most Dangerous Man puts it in fresh perspective. If you don't, there's probably not a better way to discover it.

April 23, 2010 Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News

| Comment

Chris Vognar

Dallas Morning News

Top Critic

This isn't a dusty chapter of ancient history, but a fresh, exciting story. Ellsberg, who worked as a defense analyst in the government-funded Rand Corp., emerges as a complex and contradictory character.

April 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune

| Comment

Colin Covert

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Top Critic

For those who lived through the turmoil of Vietnam, and for the generations that have come since, the film is an important document in its own right.

April 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

| Comment

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

Top Critic

Ehrlich and Goldsmith carve out their own little place in the canon by focusing on the ethical journey of one man who refused to shrug off his own responsibility for the war and atoned for it with a seismic act of civil disobedience.

March 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

It is a skillful, well-made film, although, since Ellsberg is the narrator, it doesn't probe him very deeply. We see his version of himself.

March 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Efficiently wedding archival footage to contemporary interviews, co-directors Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith take a chronological approach to Ellsberg's journey of courage.

February 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

Conventional in almost every sense, the documentary only scratches the surface of a man immersed in social and moral guilt during one of the most turbulent times in American history.

July 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Glenn Heath Jr.

Slant Magazine

Daniel Ellsberg was the first insider to take his concerns outside. The results changed the course of the conversation, and a country.

July 18, 2010 Full Review Source: PopMatters

| Comment

Bill Gibron

PopMatters

But because "Dangerous Man" sees the era through Ellsberg's eyes, and we hear the disgust in his voice as he describes his younger, gung-ho self, the film becomes a fascinating and clear-eyed self-portrait.

June 4, 2010 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI)

| Comment

Rob Thomas

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Stop me if you've heard this one, but sometimes politicians get us into wars that last forever and go nowhere under false pretenses.

June 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly

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Sean Burns

Philadelphia Weekly

Much research went into compiling the archival black and white news footage and photos along with audio from the Nixon White House tapes. This compelling film takes a cloak-and-dagger approach and is full of landmark historical events

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum

| Comment

Keith Cohen

Entertainment Spectrum Source: Entertainment Spectrum

This is such a gripping yarn it plays more like a thriller than a documentary.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Kansas City Star

| Comment

Robert W. Butler

Kansas City Star

It's a bit surprising that a documentary with such an unwieldy title offers such a streamlined and resonant account of history.

April 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle

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Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

The makers of the Oscar-nominated documentary feature simply set up their cameras, and then just let the subject tell his own story in his own words.

April 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City

| Comment

Jeff Vice

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Revealing and exciting, even for those oldsters who know perfectly well how it will turn out.

April 22, 2010 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion

| Comment

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

As a biography, it's sketchy (the impression we are left with is that Ellsberg is a near-saint). But as a personal take on a crucial chunk of American history, Dangerous is riveting.

April 9, 2010 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

| Comment

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)

St. Paul Pioneer Press

One man's journey to help end a war and topple Nixon

April 8, 2010 Full Review Source: Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

| Comment

Corey Hall

Metro Times (Detroit, MI)

It's a surprise that such an incredible story hasn't been told before in cinema, and the film takes full advantage of the story imbuing it with all the suspense of a thriller and raises important moral questions for the audience to consider.

April 7, 2010 Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia)

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Josh Forward

FILMINK (Australia)

There's reality and depth here, but a chill, too, that the filmmaking never quite manages to melt.

April 1, 2010 Full Review Source: Oregonian

| Comment

Shawn Levy

Oregonian

The film is also an exciting cloak-and-dagger thriller.

April 1, 2010 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

| Comment

Joe Williams

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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Audience Reviews for Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

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A stunning documentary of the man who helped launch and then bring an end to the Vietnam War. Not to mention bringing down Nixon and his clutch of horrible henchmen. A true American hero, Daniel Ellsberg is someone everyone should know about. You watch films like this in the hopes of preventing history from

July 23, 2010

Lanning : )

Super Reviewer

This documentary is something of a mixed bag. Admittedly, I knew most of the facts surrounding the Pentagon Papers, having read Daniel Ellsberg's autobiography a few years before. While also paced like a fine spy thriller at times, the film also provides an outside perspective, making it relevant in this time of war

May 5, 2011

Walter M.

Super Reviewer

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