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Summary: Remarkable Film. A must see.
Review: As a filmmaker who has been involved on the production side of filming drama, documentaries and biographies for many years, I commend Mr. Morris, both for his command of the art and craft of storytelling and his savvy at choosing the perfect subject.He has taken, what seems like a fairly simple way of filming and interviewing someone, namely Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of State, a most compelling, charismatic, complex and fascinating human being who has lived a life unlike most others, and Morris has created a centerpiece of pure cinema. Cinema meaning: emotion, drama, heartache, story, plot, character and many more elements that go into the telling of a good tale. Credit also goes to Robert McNamara himself who has an epic story to tell, with the twist of a character dilemma caught in the trap of service to country, principles, conscience and right and wrong. One is left with the dichotomy of not knowing what to think. We shake our heads in wonder at what seems to be the niceness of a fellow human being (McNamara) yet he astounds us at the horrendous atrocities he has been a party to. Three little words still churn repeatedly over and over in my head "We were wrong". And without giving away any plot or suspense, this is what I think this film is all about. Most people in government will never admit to being wrong. It takes a very special human being to be open and come clean. How many Generals and how many Secretaries of War will ever admit to being wrong, or Presidents for that matter? Here we have a living human being (McNamara) who seems to march to the same drummer as all of us, yet, was subject to a high office grandeur that separated him from humanity itself and the delusion of incorruptibility, by simply thinking he was being right. Seems to me that humanity will continue to make the same mistake again and again because that is who we are, egos hell bent on being right. Just look at the divisiveness of our political landscape that has everyone thinking they are right without really understanding the other side. The Fog of War is an epic story very well told. Very timely. Oscar well deserved. Philip Glass should have an Oscar for his great music soundtrack.
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Summary: Mr. McNamara reveals all...In His Own Words!
Review: While network & cable news television reveal(s) inside political information to its' viewers, they only tell a fraction of the story, and only reveal what the viewer wants to hear at that. Docudramas/biopics, on the other hand, tell the complete & entire story as is, all without leading the onlooker astray in the process. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara's account is no exception, of which, during the course of "The Fog of War"'s one hour, forty-five minute run, enlightens its' viewers with a biographical and pictorial collage of Mr. McNamara's hectic and universal life in government. Also contained within the fascinating, as well as extremely personal pages of Mr. McNamara's diary, this "Soldier of Fortune" really gets down to business, and isn't gun-shy in the slightest when discussing issues relating to the Cuban Missile Crisis (including Fidel Castro's reign of power [as well as his reign of terror against the United States Government and its' proud citizens]) and the Vietnam War. McNamara also manages to sneak in a poignant and mesmerizing real-life story pertaining to his frienship with the Kennedy family, as well as standing toe-to-toe with President Johnson and his administration. Robert discusses said wars from a business standpoint as well, including a "lesson" in the economic laws of supply and demand. Even with an I.Q. ranging in the 99th percentile (I.Q. of 140 or higher), McNamara concedes that even he has his faults, and acknowledges that no one's perfect by any means imaginable. By looking at this insightfully provocative and candid account, even I don't have to be a genius (of which I'm not, trust me!), to see that a man of Robert S. McNamara's talents and intellect, has any noticable flaws, of which there are extremely few, I'm quite sure. But, don't just take my word for it, just weigh all the merits of this particular "...Fog...", and see your way clear for yourself (either at an art-house cinema locale near you, or on video or DVD in the not-too-distant future) real soon!
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Summary: Historical insight on an epic and uprecedented scale.
Review: Robert McNamara, one of the most influential leaders of our time, submits in this brilliantly composed documentary to one of the most excruciatingly intimate looks at ones own life I've ever been privileged to. "Fog of War" chronicles R.M.'s rise to power from a modest (1920's) middle class childhood, through his years as a "super-student", his brief but extremely successful stint in the private sector, the "from left-field" recruitment by J.F.K. himself from Ford Motor Company (where he was serving as the first non-Ford family President for something like 2 weeks) to become Secretary of Defense during one of the most "white knuckled" periods in human history (Cuban Missile Crisis), then a horrible romp through Vietnam under Johnson. Roughly two hours of interview with RM are punctuated by still/full motion clips, and audio related to the events he was pushed into, behind, embroiled in, or all the above. Knowing what little I do about the Director (and whatever bias' he may have), and McNamara (I was born at the tail end of Vietnam), this was a compelling, pertinent (in so many ways to our present national dilemnas), and entirely interesting movie. Even those relatively uninterested in politics or history would have a hard time suppressing fascination with the paramount decisions the man staring back at them from the screen had to make. His accounts of the discussion that went on behind closed doors during the Cuban Missile Crisis literally sent chills down my spine as I looked up and realized that the man being interviewed may very well be as much the reason for my being alive as my parents! It's unfortunate for McNamara that he remained in office after JFK died, for it was during the tumultuous and confusing years of the Johnson administration that policies such as "pre-emption" and "containment" would lead to such admittedly awful mistakes as our engagement in Vietnam was. But the lessons he learned, the mistakes he admits making as a relatively conscientious decision maker, are so incredibly valuable. In particular, I found his revelation about empathizing with "the enemy" to be among the most valuable of his lessons. McNamara organized a meeting (some 25 years after Vietnam) with the leaders that opposed him during the war and learned that the way the Communist North viewed the war was fundamentally different than McNamara thought. He learned that the North believed that the US (instead of "containing the spread of Communism) was just another Imperialist nation trying to enslave it (as France had done for so many years before), and that they basically viewed the War as a struggle for freedom and independence that would have likely justified fighting to "the last man". I don't think this movie is necessarily anti-war, or anti-McNamara, I myself found allot about him admirable, including the bravery it took to do a film like this. However, I believe that many will villify him as a "murderer of a million". By way of example, I was standing at a urinal after the movie when some guy who had just seen it took to trying to start up a conversation about the movie by saying "Looks like we got another one in Rumsfeld, eh...". I replied "I hope so" (which petrified and insulted him). I don't necessarily "hope so", but my dramatic retort was more meant to challenge the ungrateful villification of McNamara. I think if every leader with the kind of extraordinary weight in responsibility that McNamara had stepped up and offered honest insight like this, the world would undoubtedly be a safer place to live. Hope this was helpful.
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Summary: The Fog Illuminates
Review: Without a strong interest in history, everyone may not enjoy The Fog of War. While it's one of the most powerful documentaries I've seen, that is at least partially because it puts into context my place in world history in a novel way: I am a child of the first generation-- my parents' generation--- which almost annihilated itself completely, and our generation and those behind us now take it somewhat for granted that the capability of complete human extermination exists. Errol Morris, the director, and Robert S. McNamara share at least this goal: they do not want that power taken for granted. I even liked the wonderfully understated Philip Glass score, although I am not typically a Philip Glass fan. Whether the film would succeed simply as a black-and-white movie or would be as affecting, without the power of history behind it, is difficult to judge: it is rivetingly thought-provoking rather than entertaining. However, the accumulation of historical footage of events and public and private conversations of the powerful, both video and audio, is itself an astonishing achievement. Definitely I want to own this movie on DVD, as I will want to watch it several times to learn everything from it that it could convey--- certainly more than McNamara's succinctly titled "Eleven Lessons"--- , and something different could be learned from it if I watched it at three or four year intervals for the rest of my life.
As film, it might be compared to "The Kid Stays in the Picture": a searingly honest, introspective account of a person's life. However, while Evans was an important filmmaker, McNamara made history, both before and after his stints in the Cabinets of Kennedy and Johnson, and world power was his milieu. McNamara's retrospection of his mistakes and the lessons learned from his life are profound, rather than merely fascinating. While Evans is an extraordinarily talented man, McNamara may be one of the most brilliant men of his era. That he makes this record at the age of eighty-five, and makes it not merely to be his self-exculpatory legacy, is staggering proof of his still-active mental prowess, and his willingness to process intelligence into wisdom. He doesn't make these shockingly honest revelations to convince us of his brilliance or his talent, but to let us also be boggled, as he is, by the concept that we human beings have the power to annihilate ourselves, our society, our species, and that some of us are stupidly willing to do so.
He hopes that the lessons he learned will help us avoid the same mistakes in the future. He is not after credit, or assignment of blame, but after some honesty in the way we interpret what we think we know--- about him to a much lesser extent than about history. He does not ask for sympathy; in fact, he refuses to discuss some of the most personally painful aspects of his life. His mention of his and his wife's affliction with polio is almost off-hand. His grief over the death of JFK is all the more poignant because he is trying to hide it. He does not talk about putting himself in harm's way in VietNam, and explicitly avoids detailing the personal threats menacing him and his family because of his position and the militant opposition to the war in VietNam. McNamara does talk about service to his country, and the fact that he was poised to be an extremely wealthy man at the helm of Ford Motor Company when he accepted a government job--- a Cabinet position as Secretary of Defense under Kennedy-- that he was not entirely sure he was ready to accept. He is frank about those mistakes and misconceptions that he held earlier in his life which he now recognizes as mistakes, but clear-eyed when he talks about the fact that some of his actions would have resulted in his trial as a war criminal if he hadn't been on the winning side. He is not only brilliant, but much wiser, and very human. McNamara is a man who has learned the power of humanity's flaws, and this movie is his and Errol Morris's reverberant exposition of the flawed humanity of power. (A-)
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Summary: All eleven lessons are extremely important to us all.
Review: Errol Morris did his homework for this movie. 20 hours of film and tape. The music by Philip Glass is outstanding. The film, the interaction in the first person, the archival footage, some in three dimensions are mind boggling. The music is very unique and original. The messages are clear. In war the human mind cannot comprehend the complexities. "How much evil must we do, to do good?" Having assisted in the production of the film, I know how hard everyone worked to make this unforgetable film. It should be required viewing for all military and flag officer candidates as well as all presidential candidates. SEE IT. It is worth every minute. Even if you are too young to remember Vietnam. Even if you served in Vietnam and hate Mr. McNamara. You need to see this important film.
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Summary: Eleven lessons? Why eleven? And what is this fog stuff?
Review: This film is a personal telling of American policy and warmaking since War II. The central figure, Robert S. McNamara was an exemplary implementor of management and operational research concepts applied to warfare. Working from Mr. McNamara's reflections on his years as Secretary of Defense this film suposedly offers "Eleven Lessons". But the catch is, the central object is "The Fog of War". How far does the fog extend? Uhh... in hindsight it seems to be everywhere. After watching this movie I tried to find a printed list of the "Eleven Lessons" on the internet. Without the musical accompanyment, I'd like to put these so called lessons on my Rhetorical Dissection Table. Hey, movies are like songs, not philosophy texts. Why Eleven Lessons? Eleven is such an unsatisfying number. Eleven is prime. Eleven lacks the symmetry of twelve. Eleven lacks the menacing abundance of thirteen. Eleven has a nice technical feel and it hints at a background philosophy. This movie is a piece of art. This movie is an invitation for you to remember all the history you can and to re-work your personal learning. The lessons shown on the screen as text speak to one side of your brain. The other side of your brain is activated by the soundtrack and images of this film which echo the 20+ year old movie Koyaniskatsi. I call this movie art because it interacts your personal experience. Some of the lessons may be Socratic reflections that we do not know as much about who our enemies are or why as we think. In matters of warfare, the fog interacts with the action at hand. For my 14 year old daughter (who asked to see this movie) This film is interacting with her reflections on the American-Iraq war. For my wife, a veteran of too much of the hard part of management, she found Mr. McNamara a likable person, contrary to her expectations because he is attractively honest. Not naked frankness however, as he says: "I usually answer the question I wish the reporter had asked." For myself, this movie presents important ideas from a worthy spokesman. It is gripping as Mr. McNamara acknowledges what he did, describes his 1995 meeting with North Vietnam officials, and reveals the awful meaning of "The Fog of War".
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Summary: Where is this playing within 50 miles of San Francisco, CA
Review: Where is this playing within 50 miles of San Francisco, CA? Please email or ...
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Summary: Extraordinary insight into McNamara and War
Review: First, I am a HUGE fan of Errol Morris. He manages to capture the psychology of his subjects so well. In the case of McNamara, he confronts McNamara with the analytic paradigm that led him to war. He asks a simple question, how can you justify the things that you did, perhaps only in a support role, in raining war on people both in Japan and Viet Nam. McNamara does not back down, and Morris does not force his opinion onto the viewer too much or McNamara. One is left to ponder statements of McNamara's like, "If we lost, I would be convicted as a war criminal." Or McNamara responding to a question about Viet Nam, "Look, I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't. I'd rather be damned if I don't." What you see so clearly is the humanity of a man who, rightly or wrongly -- I happen to think rightly -- helped lead a country to war and was, at least indirectly, responsible for probably a million deaths. How does this person manage this? How does he himself?
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Summary: Mr. MacNamara and our first preemptive war
Review: In the midst of our second preemptive war, we hear from Secretary MacNamara about how we threw away the lives of 58,000 soldiers in Vietnam. Just as we entered Iraq fueled by a fairy tale (weapons of mass destruction), so did we enter Vietnam fueled by another fairy tale (the domino effect). I hope the people of our nation will see this film and recognize that preemptive war is always wrong because it arrogantly assumes we know what will happen if we don't invade, and what will happen if we do. In fact, we cannot know what will happen in any war, particularly in a part of the world where the culture is radically different from ours. We were beaten in Vietnam and are being savaged in Iraq because of the arrogance of our leaders. Isn't it time to elect wiser ones?
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Summary: MUST NOT BE MISSED!!
Review: The FOG OF WAR is an important documentary that needs to be seen by young and old alike for historical and contemporary reasons.
Errol Morris's FOG OF WAR gives Robert McNamara, former secretary of defense and Vietnam War architect under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, a chance to explain how he went wrong. Those like me who had lived through the Vietnam War and knew down to the patriotic -- yes patriotic -- American marrow in our bones that the war was wrong can perhaps be forgiven for not forgiving McNamarra and his cohorts who now simply declare, "mistakes were made." Killing more than 58,000 of our countrymen, wounding mentally and physically five times that number while creating a hell on earth sent to kill millions of humans in Vietnam halfway around the world is unforgivable. Asking now to be understood or even for redemption for such a colossal "mistake" is extreme hubris. Today, president George W. Bush's "preemptive" war on Iraq is not so different from the now notorious Vietnam War. The film ends with McNamara clearly not answerng Morris's more probing questions. Morris says these were a small sample of the many questions McNamara refused to answer. McNamara published his almost but not quite mea culpa book in 1995, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam." In it he had acknowledged the "mistaken" conduct of the war. But it was met less with praise for its honesty than with fury among Vietnam veterans and the survivors of the dead. Probably, confused and traumatized by that experience, McNamara is reluctant to set off any more anger aimed at him. Yet, by the movie's end, this documentary portrait has taken us from the ultra competent McNamara to the cunning bamboozler whose face advertizes to the world the emptiness of his rationalizations; a man who evades talking about uncomfortable truths. Yet McNamara remains an almost likeable guy, very intelligent and contemplative, reciting his seemingly honest analysis of his life's mistakes. An important fact presented by FOG OF WAR is that the U.S. was never winning it. Our generals always had claimed "progress" - and especially McNamara himself was laying out a statistical analyses of the war that so confidently showed that we could not possibly be losing. But his figures had nothing to do with the terrible facts of what was happening to our soldiers on the ground. FOG OF WAR shows black-and-white archival footage of Secretary McNamara almost gleefully talking up the war in the early days, but then things change. We see McNamara stepping off a plane after a fact-finding trip to Vietnam and tell the press, "The military operations are showing very substantial progress." It's obvious from the expression on his face that he no longer believes what he himself is saying! Maybe McNamara had been a brilliant man, but he certainly wasn't a very convincing liar. The Vietnam War experience has obviously not changed our leaders' behavior. In Vietnam, it was the peasant Vietnamese in their black pajamas who had been dehumanized by McNamara. Now, todays leaders fail to empathize with the"towel head" Iraqis - failing to recognize that our troops' occupation of their country feels differently to an Iraqi than it does to us. They continue blaming the Iraqi turmoil on sabotage by a handful of Saddam Hussein loyalists labeled "insurgents" by our Psyops professionals. We are not supposed to recognize the nationalist anger that America is provoking. In his heyday, McNamara questioned the patriotism of any American who dared to challenge the wisdom of his Vietnam policy. Today, Bush and Rumsfeld say if you don't agree with their Iraq policy then you're a disloyal American. From FOG OF WAR, we can learn that if Bush and his group get four more years to wage this miserable war in Iraq then we'll let ourselves in for the same lasting Vietnam-like quagmire anguish. The anguish will be similar to the one we had been forced to live through because our nearly forgotten, former leaders only NOW dare to tell us that they had made big mistakes 40 years ago! See FOG OF WAR. You'll be amazed at how precisely history repeats itself when the minds of very clever men in Washington become ruled by their hubris rather than by common sense.
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