Director Frankenheimer provides a steady hand, faltering only in one or two forced scenes intended to convey Johnson's growing alienation both politically and personally.

It is painful and profound to watch a man choosing his own destruction in the belief that he can do nothing else, and these 2 3/4 hours capture that -- the heaviness of the head that wears the crown -- as eloquently as any film in recent memory.

Johnson's brash way of talking rarely revealed itself in public speeches of his day, but in "Path to War," Frankenheimer and actor Michael Gambon give us the real Johnson.

Drawing on a supremely intelligent screenplay by Daniel Giat, "Path to War" is another of those "important" films that would never make it in theaters today.