MovieChat Forums > Thirteen Days (2001) Discussion > Best McNamara Film Depiction?

Best McNamara Film Depiction?

posted 16 years ago by pe81171
12 replies | jump to latest

For those that have seen both 'Thirteen Days' and 'Path to War' who do you think played the better Robert McNamara-Dylan Baker in 'Thirteen Days' or Alec Baldwin in 'Path to War'? I thought both did quite well and made for an interesting comparison to one another. I recommend watching 'Path to War' after watching 'Thirteen Days' because you can see some of the same characters who did so well during the Cuban Missile Crisis do so poorly during Vietnam.

Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race.

[–] oscars075-1 15 years ago

Baldwin all the way. He had a much more challenging role in Path to War and he pulled it off.

[–] ejbriel 15 years ago

The guy who played McNamara in "Fog of War" really nailed it...

Oh, yeah...

[–] pe81171 15 years ago

Yes, its interesting that McNamara appeared in 'Fog of War' and around that time there were about three movies that he was depicted in.

Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race.

[–] siargao 15 years ago

Nice one, ejbriel - that fella was remarkably like McNamara!

[–] lylesanford 15 years ago

I'll take Baker. His performance in TD was among the film's finest. He should've gotten a nomination for it. So believable and he was completely into the character.

[–] malonedave-1 15 years ago

I think this is the best Robart MacNamara portrayal I'v seen to date. Interesting that Curtis LeMay was on EXCOMM. He was LeMay's Cheif of Staff during WW II, and now as SECDEF LeMay was reporting to him!

[–] pe81171 15 years ago

That is interesting. I think in 'Fog of War' McNamara talks about working with Lemay during World War II and the firebombing of Tokyo.

I agree that Dylan Baker really did a fine job of playing McNamara. I like comparing how different actors like Baker and Baldwin play the same historical character.

Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race.

[–] cgcarey73 15 years ago

He does talk about that, LeMay had remarked that had Japan defeated the U.S. in that war rather than the other way around that he and McNamara would probably both be executed as war criminals. I'm not going to touch with a ten foot pole whether the bombings were justified or not but given the staggering number of civilians killed I'm sure LeMay was completely correct (but then, had Japan been winning the Navy and Army pilots presumably wouldn't have been in the position to carry out those bombings in the first place).

http://www.ditext.com/japan/napalm.html

Is a quick little capsule of the information. It's a pretty sobering comparison that McNamara made, I think we sometimes forget how horrific modern warfare is for civilian populations since the U.S. has never been subject to sustained and heavy attack. 9/11, Pearl Harbor, sinking of the Lusitania, etc., all were horrible events but they pale in comparison to what's happened to civilian populations in plenty of other countries during war time.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Boliwill 15 years ago

Baker!

[–] jakob3 14 years ago

Baldwin gives a better portrayal of the early McNamara;
Baker's McNamara shows more emotion, as the later McNamara did
(after his doubts about Vietnam became impossible to suppress).

During the CM Crisis, I think McNamara came across to top military
brass as tough, eloquent and intellectually intimidating.
The Baker portrayal, so true to the inner McNamara, probably
was not what people perceived in 1962.

[–] sinclair670-1 14 years ago

I prefered the actor who played him in Missiles in October.