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The Fog of War (2003)
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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:130
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]
Starring: Robert S. McNamara
Starring: Robert S. McNamara
Director: Errol Morris
Director: Errol Morris
Producer: Michael Williams, Julie Ahlberg
Composer: Philip Glass
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for The Fog of War
This is a beautifully produced film, expertly edited with a haunting Philip Glass score and statistics that are meaningful and extremely disturbing.
Morris seems to go deep. But does he? The film is Morris’s but the message McNamara’s... The film is effective emotionally -- sometimes unbearably so. Intellectually...?
Morris has learned a lot over the years about how to tell a story while gradually unveiling a personality. But I wish I had a better notion of what story he's trying to tell.
Awash in artsy-farsty tinsel, The Fog Of War is full of shiny surfaces and missed opportunities. It's the cinematic equivalent of a Sharper Image catalog.
Morris’ real genius is that he knows how to listen, knows when to stop questioning and thereby let people reveal themselves, more than they intended
Emerges as a fascinating enterprise that evokes nothing so much as Victor Hugo's 'dialogue of the deaf' in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Offers a fascinating history lesson -- and one you'll probably never read in any book.
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