1 / 8
RUNTIME
Did you know
Clocks in at 165 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Path to War
"He promised peace, but chose war."
2003 2h 45m EN
👍
6.7
SOLID
★6.7TMDB · 63
DramaHistoryTV MovieWar
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A powerful drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams that takes a provocative insider's look at the way the USA goes to war—as seen from inside the LBJ White House leading up to and during the Vietnam War.
“He promised peace, but chose war.”
Cast
Michael Gambon
Lyndon Johnson
Donald Sutherland
Clark Clifford
Alec Baldwin
Robert McNamara
Bruce McGill
George Ball
James Frain
Richard Goodwin
Felicity Huffman
Lady Bird Johnson
Philip Baker Hall
Everett Dirksen
Frederic Forrest
Earle G. Wheeler
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- John Frankenheimer
- Writers
- Daniel Giat
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 23 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Richard Francis-Bruce shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Michael Gambon and Donald Sutherland and Alec Baldwin carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "He promised peace, but chose war.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0218505 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
Only 63 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
John Frankenheimer directs. Stephen Goldblatt behind the camera. Richard Francis-Bruce cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Clocks in at 165 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
- 2Released 23 years ago.
- 3Directed by John Frankenheimer, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Editor Richard Francis-Bruce shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 5Michael Gambon and Donald Sutherland and Alec Baldwin carry the top of the cast.
- 6Marketing tagline: "He promised peace, but chose war.".
- 7IMDB entry: tt0218505 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 63 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
- 9Classified under 8 themes, including "vietnam war", "vietcong", "usa president", "cold war".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Stephen Goldblatt
- Editing
- Richard Francis-Bruce
- Production design
- Waldemar Kalinowski
- Makeup / hair
- Timothy A. Miguel
- VFX supervisor
- Robert W. Morgenroth
- Sound
- Steve Pederson
- Stunt coordinator
- Bud Davis
- Runtime
- 165 min · 2h 45m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $17,000,000
- Original language
- EN
Also by
John Frankenheimer
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Production companies
Who made it
- AV
Avenue Pictures
US
- ED
Edgar J. Scherick Associates
US
HBO
US
HBO Films
US
Key crew
- StuntsMimi Lesseos
- StuntsJacob Chambers
- StuntsLee Waddell
- Stunt DriverLynn Salvatori
- StuntsRick Kain
- Stunt DoubleJoey Anaya
- StuntsBlaise Corrigan
- Camera OperatorBruce Alan Greene
- Steadicam OperatorBruce Alan Greene
- Production DesignWaldemar Kalinowski
- EditorRichard Francis-Bruce
- Executive ProducerEdgar J. Scherick
- Makeup ArtistTimothy A. Miguel
- HairstylistJoy Zapata
- Executive ProducerHoward Dratch
- ProducerGuy Riedel
- Makeup ArtistKris Evans
- Hair Department HeadToni-Ann Walker
- Art DirectionJan O'Connell
- Makeup ArtistKimberly Felix
- HairstylistOra Green
- Makeup ArtistMark Landon
- Makeup ArtistGretchen Davis
- Executive ProducerCary Brokaw
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- vietnam war
- vietcong
- usa president
- cold war
- failure
- advisor
- 1960s
- difficult choice
Release history · US
When it landed
- TV2002-05-18
Also known as
International titles
- Путь к войнеRU
