Dateline: Saigon (2017): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2017, Dateline: Saigon is a history and documentary film directed by Thomas D. Herman, running about 96 minutes. “Lies, deception, and the dangerous search for truth” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. How does a nation slip into war? Dateline-Saigon profiles the controversial reporting of five Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists -The New York Times' David Halberstam, the Associated Press' Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and legendary photojournalist Horst Faas, and UPI's Neil Sheehan -- during the early years of the Vietnam War as President John F. Kennedy is secretly committing US troops to what is initially dismissed by some as 'a nice little war in a land of tigers and elephants.' 'When the government is telling the truth, reporters become a relatively unimportant conduit to what is happening,' Halberstam tells us. 'But when the government doesn't tell the truth, begins to twist the truth, hide the truth, then the journalist becomes involuntarily infinitely more important.'

Who’s in it. Dateline: Saigon stars Sam Waterston as Narrator (voice), Neil Sheehan as Self, Peter Arnett as Self and Malcolm Browne as Self, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, Dateline: Saigon sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on OVID and rent or buy it from Amazon Video. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Dateline: Saigon page.

If you liked it. Fans of Dateline: Saigon tend to enjoy Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge and Green Book.