From French colonialism and rickshaws to the Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu. And then, the origins and nature of the U.S. commitment from the end of WWII through the offensive of 1968. History, death, battle, ideas as only film can do it, a conspicuous example.

The American war in Vietnam left many long-lasting scars that have not yet been sufficiently examined. The worst of them were inflicted in a tiny area bounded by the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighboring Laos. That small region saw the most intense aerial bombing campaign in history, the massive use of toxic chemicals, and the heaviest casualties on both sides. Black recounts how a small group...

John Kerry tells the story of his remarkable American life -- from son of a diplomat to decorated Vietnam veteran, five-term United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee and secretary of state. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966 and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war. Kerry served as a prosecutor...

" ... exposes how presidential administrations of both parties have relied on a combination of deception and media complicity to sell one war after another to the American people. Narrated by actor Sean Penn, and based on the acclaimed book by Norman Solomon, the film exhumes five decades of remarkable archival footage to reveal in stunning detail how the American news media have uncritically disseminated, and glamorized, the pro-war messages of successive...

"In the 20th century, the U.S. government's effort to contain communism resulted in several disastrous conflicts: Vietnam, Cuba, Korea. Violence in Indonesia, and then interconnected slaughters across Latin America, arguably had a bigger hand in shaping today's world, but have been widely overlooked for one important reason: the secret CIA interventions were successful. In 1965, nearly one million unarmed civilians were killed in Indonesia with active...

Did Henry Kissinger sabatoge the 1968 Vietnam peace talks for his own personal gain? Did he orchestrate the secret bombing of Cambodia? Did he authorize covert operations to overthrow a Chilean President? This explores how a young boy who fled Nazi Germany grew up to become one of the most powerful and controversial figures in United States history.