SUBJECTS

McNamara, Robert S., 1916-, United States -- History -- 1945-, United States -- Politics and government -- 1963-1969, United States -- Politics and government -- 1969-1974, Vietnam War, 1961-1975

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

  • Portrait of Errol Morris by Nubar Alexanian
    In Person

Built around interviews with former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, the Academy Award–winning The Fog of War is a haunted retrospective reflection on the application of US military power from World War II through the war in Vietnam. McNamara reminisces about his childhood, education (at UC Berkeley), and family life in addition to his professional career. As compelling as it is chilling, the film skillfully illustrates McNamara’s “lessons” on various themes—empathizing with your enemy, the limits of reason, proportionality in war, the need to do evil to do good—with archival footage, declassified White House recordings, animation, and an immersive soundtrack by Philip Glass. 

FILM DETAILS 
Cinematographer
  • Robert Chappel
  • Peter Donahue
Language
  • English
Print Info
  • Color
  • 35mm
  • 107 mins
Source
  • Sony Pictures Classics
CINEFILES

CineFiles is an online database of BAMPFA's extensive collection of documentation covering world cinema, past and present.

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

The fog of war (distributor materials), New Yorker Films, 2006

The fog of war (program note), Cinematheque Ontario/a division of Toronto International Film Festival Group, 2005

Errol Morris retrospective (program note), Cinematheque Ontario/a division of Toronto International Film Festival Group, 2005

The fog of war (distributor materials), New Yorker Films, 2004

Warmonger blues (article), Sight and Sound, J. Hoberman, 2004

The fog of war (review), Reader (Chicago, Ill.), Jonathan Rosenbaum, 2004

Gas attack (review), Reader (Chicago, Ill.), Jonathan Rosenbaum, 2004

Reason will not save us (review), East Bay Express, Melissa Levine, 2004

Being Robert McNamara (article), Village Voice, Ed Halter, 2003

A '60s Mr. Death explains the calculus of military slaughter (review), Village Voice, J. Hoberman, 2003

Displaying 10 of 17 publicly available documents.


View all The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara documentation on CineFiles.