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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I thought Capturing the Friedman's should have won the Best Documentary Oscar until I saw Fog of War. If you are thinking about staying home this weekend and want to watch a film that gets you thinking, then Errol Morris' Fog of War is your best bet. Winner of the 2003 Academy Award for best Documentary Feature, Fog of War documents Robert McNamara, U.S. Secretary of State under Kennedy and Johnson, and his recollection of everything from his tenure as President of Ford Motors, to his involvement, as an advisor, in the foreign policy and subsequent standoff of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Fog of War uses archival and interview footage with McNamara to explain the eleven lessons he learned from his time working as Secretary of State. His political savvy is captured onscreen as he brings the viewers up to speed on some of the historical decisions he helped foster, the results to which saw him become the President of the World Bank.
Fog of War acts as a reminder of the importance of past political decisions in a more comprehensive and constructive way thank Michael Moore is capable of.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By J. Jacobs
Format:DVD
In his own words Robert Strange McNamara tells of his early life and his career, notably his service as Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Through his narrative, viewers obtain a unique retrospective on critical international events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the bombing of Japan and the Vietnam War.
McNamara sticks to the history. His personality is revealed by the way he speaks about events he found moving, but he dodges the tough personal questions, such as those about his family, his responsibility and his sense of guilt.
Clearly a reflective man, the lessons he provides are worthy of consideration by all, not just government leaders. In seeing some of the same mistakes made in current foreign relations as those McNamara recounts, viewers recognize the cycle of history, and human falliability.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mary Lynn
Format:DVD
I rented this movie because i had heard from many people that it was a fascinating insight into the life of a very important person of the last century. The movie, however, is mostly just McNamara justifying the horrendous things he and Curtis Lemae did in Japan and the things he did in Vietnam. This movie was billed as a movie that would make people think twice about war but Morris doesn't challenge McNamara at all the entire interview. McNamara even admits that he answered the question he wished he had been asked during press conferences instead of the one that had been asked and he certainly uses that tactic in the movie. I do not recommend this movie unless you want to hear someone justify firebombing Japan and carpetbombing Vietnam.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
History Lesson
Really enjoyed the old film footage and the frank answers McNamara gave to difficult questions. Well researched.
Published on Sep 6 2010 by Brejean
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Candid Admission of Inadequate Leadership
I found Errol Morris's documentary study of the life of Robert McNamara, former Defense Secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations during the 60s to be both enlightening... Read more
Published on July 6 2009 by Ian Gordon Malcomson
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I was part of a mechanism"
"The Fog of War" is an excellent documentary directed by Errol Morris, and based on several interviews that Morris made to Robert McNamara. Read more
Published on Jan 8 2007 by M. B. Alcat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hindsight is better than no sight
This was an excellent, informative and well balanced inquiring into the mind of Robert S. McNamara.
There are many plusses to this documentary. Read more
There are many plusses to this documentary. Read more
Published on Sep 17 2006 by bernie
4.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating look into the mind of a maverick
i didn't know anything about robert mcnamara when i rented this video, but now I feel like I know enough to fake my way through a dinner party. Read more
Published on Mar 26 2005 by culture vulture
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth watching with the noted reservations
The Fog of War has received rave reviews on Amazon.com, but this review will not add to that long list. Fog is the word most appropriate for McNamara's discussion of Viet Nam. Read more
Published on July 18 2004 by Russell Fanelli
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Documentary Of The Architect Of The Vietnam War!
If ever there was a modern tragedy comparable to that of poor Macbeth, it is surely that of feckless, clueless Robert McNamara, the former Secretary of Defense under Presidents... Read more
Published on July 14 2004 by Barron Laycock
5.0 out of 5 stars
finding excuses or scapegoats?
by watching this docu and the other one, lbj, borrowed from the public library, i've known that the two terms secretary of defense and the secretary of the state, dean rusk, were... Read more
Published on July 11 2004 by justareader
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lessons Learned
For his award-winning documentary, "The Fog of War" - a study of the moral complexities of war and those who wage it - Errol Morris has found the perfect subject in Robert S. Read more
Published on July 11 2004 by Roland E. Zwick
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Spellbinding Account Of Vietnam In Retrospect
"Spellbinding" is the word that comes to mind when I think of director Errol Morris's "The Fog Of War. Read more
Published on July 10 2004 by Jana L. Perskie
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