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The Fog Of War
2003
Documentarian Errol Morris directs THE FOG OF WAR, a captivating look at Robert S. McNamara, who served as the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie does not exclusively focus on this part of McNamara's career, however, and instead gives a broad overview of the man he was, his .. Read more
| Starring | Robert McNamara |
|---|---|
| Director | Errol Morris |
| Genres | Documentary |
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The Fog Of War
Documentarian Errol Morris directs THE FOG OF WAR, a captivating look at Robert S. McNamara, who served as the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie does not exclusively focus on this part of McNamara's career, however, and instead gives a broad overview of the man he was, his multitude of roles--a Harvard Business School graduate, a Colonel in the Air Force during WWII, president of Ford Motor Company--and his opinions on a variety of historical topics. Inspired by two books written by McNamara--IN RETROSPECT (1995) and WILSON'S GHOST (2001)--Morris gives McNamara a forum to talk about the decisions he made and the influence he had during his career. At the age of 85, McNamara has gained necessary perspective to do just that. Sharp as a tack, loaded with charisma, and generally fascinating, McNamara easily carries the film with his revealing interviews. Meanwhile, Morris's use of archival footage--along with maps and other effective visual aids--add context to McNamara's commentary, and Philip Glass's ominous pulsing score gives the film's important subject matter the gravity it deserves.
| Starring | Robert McNamara |
|---|---|
| Director | Errol Morris |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 47 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Documentary |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 23 Aug 2004 Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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On this side of the Atlantic, Robert McNamara is a name vaguely associated with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, whom he served as Secretary of State for Defence. He remains a much more vivid figure in the US, where a generation quivered in the shadow of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis and later protested when thousands were sent to die in Vietnam. Here, the 85-year-old reflects on a career of conflict — from his involvement in the firebombing of Japan during the Second World War to the Vietnam debacle. The film's title suggests that war is rarely a matter of black and white, and this is reinforced with some remarkable revelations and insights from McNamara. The overall impression — one that some may feel he has carefully constructed — is of a principled man who still believes that on the big issues he was right. Acclaimed film-maker Errol Morris (who won the year's best documentary Oscar for The Fog of War) provides McNamara with a platform and gently teases out some uncomfortable but unavoidably pertinent truths about the way war is waged.
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"...Shocking, funny, gripping..."
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Most helpful member's review
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24 out of 24 people found this review helpful
Fascinating and honest
Amazingly for a politician, and an american at that, MacNamarra talks candidly and authoritivly about his time in power. By coming up with a number of 'lessons' the documentary makers provide a fluency and sense of progreassion that is often missing in serious documentaries and will keep you engaged throughout.
The honesty portrayed here is thought provoking, and many of the lessons seem rather apt in the current climate, especially when MacNamarra states that the most important factor in avoiding the cuban missle crisis was that they understood their enemy - something we cant really say about the war on terror etc.
There are some great revelations and also some sincere admisions of guilt, especially over the fire bombing of japan. As with any political monologue, there is a sense of self justification, and to british audiences the refusal to admit much of the brutality in vietnam may grate, but that would be to misunderstand the depth to which that conflict still affects the americans nationqal psyche, especially within the military-political circles.
Overall this film provides great insights and will keep you interesetd throughut, as well as for some time afterwards. A must see. especially if you called george... -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
The Power of Honesty
I came to this ignorant of who Robert McNamara was and the central role he played in global events, under both Kennedy and LBJ.
Thankfully, enough contextualising material is included to bring you up to speed and you can then get on with watching McNamara being asked about some of the most contentious issues he was involved with: The Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, the deployment of a vast military arsenal against millions of civilians, Agent Orange et al.
He is refreshingly honest about both his failings and the human cost of his sucesses.
A powerful, adult documentary that makes 'Fahrenheit 9/11' look like the crude sloganeering it always was. -
News and features
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Docs Rock
- 04 Mar 2009
Inspired by the release of “American Teen”, we’ve compiled own playlist of must-see twenty first century documentaries. It’s been quite a decade for non-fiction filmmakers. Once synonymous with earnest and boring, the genre has undergone a radical facelift and enjoyed the kind of box-office success that would have been beyond the wildest dreams of the old guard of fly-on-the-wall practitioners. If Michael Apted had been charting the life cycle of the documentary film... Read more
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Documentarian Errol Morris directs THE FOG OF WAR, a captivating look at Robert S. McNamara, who served as the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie does ... -