The Fog of War (2003)
Low level coarse language
| Director: | Errol Morris |
| Actors: | John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Curtis Lemay, Barry Goldwater, Robert Mcnamara, Harry Reasoner, Woodrow Wilson |
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, 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.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 105mins |
| Origin: | UNITED STATES |
| Aspect Ratio: |
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Member Reviews (50)
50 Member
Reviews
says
Significant insights on an important period of American history, from a man in the know. But it comes across as an apology, and maybe he doesn't say all of what he knows--the sin of omission. For example, he claims he found out for the first time in the 1990's that all the Vietnamese wanted was freedom; but students all over the world were screaming that message in the streets in the 1970's. Was he deaf? Why didn't he explain how US leaders ignored it?
graeme
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Absolute carp p
Teubes
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Love this type of movie. Wish more ex politicians would do it
BF
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Great interview of an interesting man who lived during interesting times. I wish a lot more former leading figures would do retrospects like this. I think the interviewer could have asked some more challenging questions on Mr Mcnamarra's values and motivations. .
Steven C.
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Brilliant. A clarion reminder that there are real people behind historical events. A fascinatingly personal encounter with one of them. To his credit, Mcnamara is able to assess his and others actions with real honesty, perspective and considerable wisdom. Can you imagine Kissinger doing the same....
Raymond B.
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Highly recommend this documentary. Its a very personal perspective on many events that shaped recent history.
Graham L.
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Brilliant documentary. Important insights from an important subject
stimpy
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Guilty as sin mate... I don't buy your "I'm a good guy" plea at all.
Neal G.
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brilliant
Jason M.
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A. E. Scott
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A remarkable documentary in many ways. It is not often that you get someone of this stature discussing their views in such a manner.
This film will be of more interest to those who lived through the era and especially history buffs.
It does sort of leave you with the feeling that there is a huge body of information that was informing the decision making at the time that we still know nothing about. That is what I would personally wanted to find out about.
Kate M.
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Fascinating insight into American political life. Great archive footage.
Adam D.
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Tom H.
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Jim M.
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very interesting, a good view of those times.
Wade P.
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Jack K.
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If you are interested in American history then you’ll find this documentary provides a rich and thought provoking look at former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara told through his recollections, archival film and tape recordings. He evades the hard moral questions and is often fuzzy and unclear about his part in foreign policy decisions, but he is unequivocal when he says: “Our judgments, our understandings are not adequate and we kill people unnecessarily,” a clear indictment of leaders, however well intentioned, who authorize horrible deeds to try to achieve sometimes dubious objectives.
Lance H.
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Edna K.
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Jannine B.
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A very real look at the shades of grey that exist when exploring questions of morality. McNamara is both very charming and chilling with his very honest portrayal of America during war time.
Craig E.
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great movie for those interested in Cold War history.
Leonard S.
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Whilst this in not the best film of the year it nevertheless is interesting from a historical perceptive. A bit slow but stick with it!
Elizabeth D.
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Elaena G.
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Michael T.
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The chance to see a figure of his stature speaks so candidly is rare - this should be required viewing in schools.
Adrian F.
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Beyond good!! great visuals and archival footage intersperse amazingly frank account of a lifes work from a man at the centre of cold war flashpoints.
Martin B.
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World events straight from a man who was there, right in the thick of things. His frankness is refreshing. His insight into peoples fallibility even at top levels of government is both fascinating and disturbing.
Ian H.
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If you like documentaries, especially on American politics (especially the Vietnam era), this is for you. Otherwise, don't bother. Watch the former Defence Secretary McNamara admit the 'Gulf of Tonkin Incident' (which provoked America into the Vietnam war) was not what it was portrayed at the time. Four stars in its niche.
Joy O.
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Jan R.
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Logan B.
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Colin J.
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Some amazing insights by a key figure in 20th century history. In particular, I found McNamara's remarks on allied bombing in WWII and the causes of the Vietnam war to be very interesting indeed.
BJF
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One of the best documentries produced - period. Fascinating perspective from the man behind some of the major historical events of last century.
Chris Stevenson
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Ron Dawson
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Revealing.
Margaret Gillespie
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Emma Poole
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Matthew Richards
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Robert Ireland
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Maurice
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Barry F
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BARTLE
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As a documentary, reasonable coverage of events. But did not make for exciting viewing.
Emma Hurford
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Hugh Ward
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Adam Mcneilly
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The best documentry I have seen in my personal opionion. Hear from the man who helped shape history a must see.
Robyn Arnold
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Great doc.
Tony
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Essential viewing.But will the sound advice be ignored? Sometimes America makes a good documentary, this is one of them. McNamara is fearless and honest.
Clinton Hoy
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Ethne Anderson
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Marg
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Excellent documentary - McNamara is as sharp as a razor. Although he refrains from directly commenting about current world events, clearly his observations are meant to be general enough to still be relevant.