THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith on their documentary.
From: Andrea Chase
Series: Behind the Scenes
Length: 18:33
Judith Erhlich and Rick Goldsmith both met Daniel Ellsberg in the course of making other, separate films and they both, separately, decided that he would be the subject of their next documentary. Joining forces, the two have made a documentary that does more than recount a watershed moment in American history, it examines what happens when a man of conscience decides to put his principles before every other consideration. During the conversation, Ehrlich and Goldsmith discuss group dynamics, eliciting unexpected moments of revelation from their subjects, getting the news of their nomination, and the ongoing problem of getting financing political documentaries.
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Piece Description
Judith Erhlich and Rick Goldsmith both met Daniel Ellsberg in the course of making other, separate films and they both, separately, decided that he would be the subject of their next documentary. Joining forces, the two have made a documentary that does more than recount a watershed moment in American history, it examines what happens when a man of conscience decides to put his principles before every other consideration. During the conversation, Ehrlich and Goldsmith discuss group dynamics, eliciting unexpected moments of revelation from their subjects, getting the news of their nomination, and the ongoing problem of getting financing political documentaries.
Intro and Outro
INTRO:This is Andrea Chase and I’m talking with Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldman about their documentary, THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS, which tracks the journey of Ellsberg, a product of the establishment, from a Pentagon and Rand Corporation analyst facilitating American involvement in the Vietnam War by staying silent about facts he knew, and cherry picking intelligence reports to reflect the reality the Johnson administration wanted the public to believe, to a conscience-stricken anti-war protester who decided in 1969 to make public classified material, dubbed the Pentagon papers. When it was published in 1971 by the New York Times, it rocked the country when it revealed the secret history of the Vietnam War and re-defined the limits of free-speech in an open society. Using archival footage, current interviews, and remarkable access to Ellsberg himself, the film considers how Ellsberg came to believe that he had no other choice but to come forward, and, in an object lesson that is as timely now as ever, why others believed that they could not.
OUTRO:
