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Errol Morris et Robert S. McNamara s'entretiennent sur le siècle le plus cruel de l'humanité.Errol Morris et Robert S. McNamara s'entretiennent sur le siècle le plus cruel de l'humanité.Errol Morris et Robert S. McNamara s'entretiennent sur le siècle le plus cruel de l'humanité.
- Récompensé par 1 Oscar
- 14 victoires et 16 nominations au total
John F. Kennedy
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Fidel Castro
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Richard Nixon
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Barry Goldwater
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Lyndon B. Johnson
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Nikita Khrushchev
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Curtis LeMay
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Errol Morris
- Interviewer
- (voix)
- (non crédité)
Harry Reasoner
- Self - TV interviewer
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (voix)
- (non crédité)
Woodrow Wilson
- Self
- (images d'archives)
- (non crédité)
Histoire
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesThe "Eleven Lessons" listed in the film are as follows:
- 1. Empathize with your enemy.
- 2. Rationality will not save us.
- 3. There's something beyond one's self.
- 4. Maximize efficiency.
- 5. Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
- 6. Get the data.
- 7. Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
- 8. Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
- 9. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
- 10. Never say never.
- 11. You can't change human nature.
- GaffesWhilst McNamara is talking about American industrial capacity, a montage is shown of stock footage. It includes Sherman tanks on a manufacturing line and three bladed propellers. However, the last bit of footage isn't American - it is footage of T-34 tanks being manufactured in the Soviet Union.
- Citations
Robert McNamara: I'm not so naive or simplistic to believe we can eliminate war. We're not going to change human nature any time soon. It isn't that we aren't rational. We are rational. But reason has limits. There's a quote from T.S. Eliot that I just love: "We shall not cease from exploring, and at the end of our exploration, we will return to where we started, and know the place for the first time." Now that's in a sense where I'm beginning to be.
- Crédits fousDirector of Officeland Security: Jackpot Junior
Commentaire à la une
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. McNamara, the man who served as Secretary of Defense in the early days of the Vietnam War. McNamara is astute, articulate, lively and thoughtful, and as a wizened man of 85, he is able to look back on the events of his life with the kind of analytical clarity and sober-minded judgment that only old age can provide.
Wisely, Morris allows McNamara to speak for himself, providing very little in the way of poking and prodding as interviewer and filmmaker. McNamara looks at his long and varied career through the prism of eleven lessons he's learned about life and human nature. Each of these revelations is tied into a specific chapter of that career and life. We see McNamara taking stock of his actions as they relate to World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and most notably, of course, the Vietnam War, in each case ruminating aloud about the moral imperatives and ethical decisions he faced on a daily basis as his crucial role in all of these events played itself out. Some may find his comments to be a bit self-serving, an attempt to whitewash the facts and minimize his own responsibility, particularly as concerns his involvement in the Vietnam War. Yet, in many instances, McNamara accepts the judgments of history and admits his culpability, even if he generally does so in a broader war-is-a-necessary-evil context. There are moments during his reminiscence when McNamara actually wells up with tears, thinking about the immense loss of life and personal tragedy that inevitably result from man's insane obsession with destroying his fellow man while all the time acknowledging that at times wars must be fought and casualties endured for a greater cause. All throughout the film, McNamara returns to this refrain, additionally warning us that, in the nuclear age in which we live, the human propensity for warfare could very easily lead us over the precipice to global devastation and annihilation as a species. We have little reason to believe that McNamara is not being sincere in his comments, although some more cynical viewers may wonder if he isn't merely saying what he thinks he should be saying in order to secure a more favorable reputation and image for himself as his life comes to a close. If that is, indeed, the case, Morris seems blissfully unaware of it, since he basically accepts McNamara's statements at face value. As an added and perhaps unintended bonus much of what McNamara says has a pertinent, timely, almost prescient ring to it, as the U.S. struggles through yet another foreign engagement, this time in Iraq.
As a documentary filmmaker, Morris demonstrates his usual skill at combining archival footage with one-on-one interviews as a way of bringing his subject matter to life. The caveat here is that Morris provides no counter voices to challenge any of McNamara's statements or his interpretation of events. Yet, as McNamara relates the story of his life, a fascinating history of 20th Century American foreign policy emerges in the background. We see many of the seminal figures from McNamara's time playing out the roles history and the fates assigned to them, from John Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson to Nikita Khrushchev to a whole host of other key players on the world stage. In addition, Philip Glass and John Kusiak have provided a haunting score to go along with the haunting images.
As the title suggests, this is a complex film on a complex subject and McNamara and Morris leave us with no pat or easy answers. That is as it should be.
Wisely, Morris allows McNamara to speak for himself, providing very little in the way of poking and prodding as interviewer and filmmaker. McNamara looks at his long and varied career through the prism of eleven lessons he's learned about life and human nature. Each of these revelations is tied into a specific chapter of that career and life. We see McNamara taking stock of his actions as they relate to World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and most notably, of course, the Vietnam War, in each case ruminating aloud about the moral imperatives and ethical decisions he faced on a daily basis as his crucial role in all of these events played itself out. Some may find his comments to be a bit self-serving, an attempt to whitewash the facts and minimize his own responsibility, particularly as concerns his involvement in the Vietnam War. Yet, in many instances, McNamara accepts the judgments of history and admits his culpability, even if he generally does so in a broader war-is-a-necessary-evil context. There are moments during his reminiscence when McNamara actually wells up with tears, thinking about the immense loss of life and personal tragedy that inevitably result from man's insane obsession with destroying his fellow man while all the time acknowledging that at times wars must be fought and casualties endured for a greater cause. All throughout the film, McNamara returns to this refrain, additionally warning us that, in the nuclear age in which we live, the human propensity for warfare could very easily lead us over the precipice to global devastation and annihilation as a species. We have little reason to believe that McNamara is not being sincere in his comments, although some more cynical viewers may wonder if he isn't merely saying what he thinks he should be saying in order to secure a more favorable reputation and image for himself as his life comes to a close. If that is, indeed, the case, Morris seems blissfully unaware of it, since he basically accepts McNamara's statements at face value. As an added and perhaps unintended bonus much of what McNamara says has a pertinent, timely, almost prescient ring to it, as the U.S. struggles through yet another foreign engagement, this time in Iraq.
As a documentary filmmaker, Morris demonstrates his usual skill at combining archival footage with one-on-one interviews as a way of bringing his subject matter to life. The caveat here is that Morris provides no counter voices to challenge any of McNamara's statements or his interpretation of events. Yet, as McNamara relates the story of his life, a fascinating history of 20th Century American foreign policy emerges in the background. We see many of the seminal figures from McNamara's time playing out the roles history and the fates assigned to them, from John Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson to Nikita Khrushchev to a whole host of other key players on the world stage. In addition, Philip Glass and John Kusiak have provided a haunting score to go along with the haunting images.
As the title suggests, this is a complex film on a complex subject and McNamara and Morris leave us with no pat or easy answers. That is as it should be.
utile•385
- Buddy-51
- 11 juil. 2004
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- How long is The Fog of War?Alimenté par Alexa
Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Site officiel
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- Brume de guerre
- Lieux de tournage
- Sociétés de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
Box-office
- Montant brut aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 4 198 566 $US
- Week-end de sortie aux États-Unis et au Canada
- 41 449 $US
- 21 déc. 2003
- Montant brut mondial
- 5 038 841 $US
- Durée1 heure 47 minutes
- Couleur
- Mixage
- Rapport de forme
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003) officially released in India in English?
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