Wag the Dog

Barry Levinson and David Mamet\'s 1997 satire about manufactured wars and presidential distractions has the misfortune of being correct in real time — the Clinton-Lewinsky parallels broke a month after release. The film\'s tone of weary cynicism has aged better than anyone expected, or hoped.

• Released within weeks of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.
• The film's Sudan plot uncomfortably anticipated the actual 1998 missile strikes.
• Robert De Niro signed on for just $25 million.
• Adapted by David Mamet from the novel "American Hero".
• Cited in subsequent national security textbooks.

• "This is nothing."
• "You watch the war on television."
• "Why does a dog wag its tail?"
• "Because a dog is smarter than its tail."
• "It's a pageant."