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The Fog of War (2003)
Tomatometer
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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
McNamara's a slippery guy, and you can see Morris trying to pin him down (on the subject of personal accountability) throughout the movie.
An insanely timely cautionary tale about American omniscience and the fallible belief that rationality will always win out.
In terms of entertainment value, 'The Fog of War' may not stand out among Morris' rich resume of the humorous and bizarre. But it certainly has its place as a closer look at a man who wielded great power during one of our country's most tumultuous times.
McNamara, a robust conversationalist, is so lively that he bursts out of what is essentially a talking-head documentary.
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.
History needs to be re-examined, but it is rare for a filmmaker to have unfettered access to a reclusive figure who was so crucial in making history.
Essentially McNamara's version of himself through history, and he is such a persuasive figure.
[Morris] gave him a stage -- and Mr. McNamara took it -- to chart the tragedy of Vietnam and prove that war is too complex, too dangerous for fallible human beings in power to know what they're doing.
Offers a fascinating history lesson -- and one you'll probably never read in any book.
The interviews were filmed a year before the war in Iraq. That so many of McNamara's lessons have come into play imbue The Fog of War with an eerie clarity.
It is a riveting reminder for those who remember; a required history lesson for those who don't.
[McNamara's] humility is that of a player who has decided to keep certain hole cards his own, forever. We could think about this movie for just about as long.
An important and compelling film about the hubris of fallible men with unlimited power -- at once an eye-opening exploration of 20th-century history and a grippingly cautionary manifesto about current events.
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