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

The Most Dangerous Man in America performs a masterful if low-key turn at presenting the story of the publication of the Pentagon Papers, which stands with the Watergate scandal as the two greatest modern proof cases for the power of freedom of the press when when confronting a duplicitous government. We learn the story of Daniel Ellsberg's stellar career in developing and promoting President Nixon's war policies until he faces a rising crisis of truth and has an epiphany of intellectual and moral clarity: He decides he must expose the Nixon administration's bald-faced lies about its Vietnam War policies by smuggling out, photocopying, and distributing to the journalistic press some 7,000 pages of transcripts and documentation in 47 volumes that show just what Nixon knew, when he knew it, and what he actually said and did (often in direct contradiction to what he claimed he said and did). Daniel Ellsberg, now nearing 80, is a key witness to his role as are many others who had roles in the affair. Even so, if not for the tenacity, courage, energy, and risk shown primarily by Ellsberg, the government might have succeeded in suppressing the truth through its injunctions against the New York Times and the Washington Post. Only when many more newspapers proceeded to continue publication of the leaked documents did the truth reach the American people. This chapter in American history stands as a seminal lesson for every generation that should never be forgotten -- esp. in the present day, in the wake of the deceptions of the Bush administration and even the WikiLeaks issue. This documentary seems to just lay out the facts rather than push for greater emotional impact or I would rate it higher. 4 stars.