The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)

Genres - War, Historical Film  |   Sub-Genres - Biography, Military & War, Politics & Government  |   Release Date - Dec 19, 2003 (USA - Limited)  |   Run Time - 107 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - PG13
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Synopsis by Michael Hastings

Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara is the sole focus of documentarian Errol Morris' The Fog of War, a film that not only analyzes McNamara's controversial decisions during the first half of the Vietnam War, but also his childhood upbringing, his education at Berkeley and Harvard, his involvement in World War II, and his later years as president of the World Bank. Culling footage from almost 20 hours of interviews with the Secretary, Morris details key moments from McNamara's career, including the 1945 bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and President Kennedy's suggestions to the Secretary that the U.S. remove itself from Vietnam. Throughout the film, the 85-year-old McNamara expounds his philosophies on international conflict, and shows regret and pride in equal measure for, respectively, his mistakes and accomplishments.

Characteristics

Keywords

political-advisor, political-conflict, US-government, war, Cabinet, defense [military], interview, political-power, occupation [military], Vietnam

Attributes

High Artistic Quality