Customer Reviews
UNCLOUDED FOG 
2008-03-13
Director Errol Morris is noted for the numerous documentaries he has made over the years. Well researched and made with an objective viewpoint, he does what a true documentary film maker does. He assembles previous footage, shoots his own footage, conducts interviews and assembles it all to tell a story. Sometimes, as in the case of THE THIN BLUE LINE, he tries to make the viewer see the truth in what his film is about. But more to the point, he does this without setting someone up or trying to make someone look bad, without ridiculing someone in an attempt to make a point. Because of this, Morris deserved the recognition he received this past year as FOG OF WAR went home with the best documentary prize at the Oscars.
The film is a look back at Robert McNamara, past Secretary of Defense under both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Some background about his life is offered, his family, his schooling and such, but for the most part, Morris wants to focus on his time under these two presidents and their involvement in the Vietnam War. Morris never attacks McNamara nor presents him as the cause of the way and our involvement in it. Instead, he presents a man who sincerely wanted out and whose advice was ignored.
The film is told in chapters, its title letting you know that at the beginning since the full title is FOG OF WAR: ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. McNAMARA. Each chapter moves in a progression as McNamara tells of the events in his life that formed him, from his time in the military during WW II through his recent past. The lessons that he has learned and tries to somewhat impart here are ones that everyone should follow, especially those in power.
McNamara was there during the missiles of October event, when we stared straight into the eye of the Russians and Cubans and said we were ready to go to war if need be. But his insight into this situation here is fascinating, helping the viewer to realize just exactly how close we came to all out nuclear war. And in his manner of presenting this fact, McNamara lets us know that he felt we would never have completely recovered from such a devastating event.
A majority of the film focuses on Vietnam. Recently released White House tapes made by both presidents are included here as we get a behind the scene glimpse of how the office works. While Kennedy values his advice and counsel, Johnson seemed to have taken him on only due to his being there when he took office. The fact that both men respected McNamara is evident as is McNamara's regret of having not removed America from Vietnam sooner.
Morris is a fantastic film maker, always letting the subject of his films speak out rather than forcing them to do so. His combination of archival footage with current interviews, his use of music and editing techniques have always made him a force to be reckoned with in the field. But it is his choice to give the viewer a glimpse into those subjects unfiltered that makes his films more real than those of any documentary film maker today.
While this film may not seem entertaining to most it is enlightening and informative. You walk away having a newfound respect for McNamara. And if you don't recall or remember the name, you find yourself wanting to discover more about him. And isn't that the objective of a documentary film maker? To draw the viewer into wanting to know more? Morris does that with ease. Let's hope he continues to do so.
The Fog of Morris: Eleven Lessons Learned from Watching Errol Morris Documentaries. 2008-03-10
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (Errol Morris, 2003)
What stuns me about The Fog of War is that Robert S. McNamara, unlike so many of Errol Morris' subjects, does not come off a moron. Rather the contrary.
When you go into an Errol Morris film, you can be sure of what you're getting. Morris' directorial style is one of transparency (and, as Billy Wilder said, the best director is the one you don't notice); he sits back, lets the subject talk, and things take their course. Almost every time, the subject finds a way to make himself out to be a complete idiot. Whether it's coincidence that Morris often films some of the most hated people on the planet, or people in the most hated professions on the planet (in the case of the short-lived and highly underrated series First Person), I don't know. After all, most of us are morons.
McNamara, on the other hand, is very composed throughout. If he's not entirely honest the whole time (and for all we know, he might not be), he at least comes off as someone who's earnest and unapologetic-- someone who stood up for the things in which he believed in the face of a government who were committed to stupidity. (Unlike many reviewers, I didn't see the "I am not responsible, but will accept responsibility" bit as evasion; I saw it as a grand "up yours" to society. "This ain't my mess, but you're going to blame me anyway. Why should I care?".) We're all well aware that Robert McNamara made mistakes during the Vietnam War. We're all well aware that he made decisions based on incomplete, or erroneous, data. (Those are far different from mistakes.) That it was too late to do him any good when he learned of, and from, those mistakes, is irrelevant. It seems to me that the point being made by McNamara-- and, by extension, by Morris-- is that the real tragedy here is that no one else, especially no one in the current administration, has learned from Robert McNamara's mistakes, either. ****
M-16? 2008-03-04
This is an interesting, enlightening video. However, I was disappointed to learn that neither Mr. McNamara nor his "whiz kids" took any responsibility for the initial failure of the early version of the M-16 assault rifle. In earlier versions, this rifle fouled easily in the tropical climate of Viet Nam. Stories of American soldiers dying with cleaning rods in their hands,trying to clean their weapons because they would no longer fire were very distressing. Suggestions were made by soldiers to have the chamber chrome-plated fell on deaf ears; McNamara and the "whiz kids" thought if the manufacturer felt it needed a chrome-plated chamber, they would have made the rifle that way. This attitude is nothing short of arrogant. It is reminicent of the early failures of the Mark 14 torpedo during WWII.
In a responsible position such as Secretary of Defense, one would think that such a person could realize that improvements can be made to military hardware, especially when the suggestions come from the soldiers who have to rely on the weapon they are required to carry to defend their lives.
An excellent history, policy, and philosophical film. 
2008-03-03
I was highly impressed with this documentary film and would strongly recommend it to those who are interested in history, the Cold War, warfare, government policy, and philosophy. It is extremely broad and has considerable depth of concept. It certainly well deserved the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
The eleven lessons acted as an armature that allowed Robert McNamara to cover a broad range of topics including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fire bombing of Japan, the initiation of the war in Vietnam (which McNamara orchestrated) and the escalation of the war in Vietnam (which McNamara resisted).
Those who would view this film seeking to find a guilty McNamara who confesses to some feelings of guilt should look elsewhere. For as the film explains so well, the vast number of unknown forces and decision makers create an atmosphere which he calls the 'fog of war' where the best possible decisions are made at the time even though intelligence is poor, information and data is lacking, and perspective and reflection is not obtainable. McNamara also reminds us of the Cold War mentality that influenced every piece of information, every diplomatic conversation, and every military consideration. McNamara tells of his growing misgivings as the death tolls reached 25,000 and a clear conceptualization of the war had not yet been formulated outside of Cold War domino theory rhetoric. This theory did not fit the intense purpose of the North Vietnamese or the corrupt military government in South Vietnam. McNamara clearly indicates that Lyndon Johnson's political instincts and unwillingness to become vulnerable resulted in escalation of the war, all of which just made him more politically vulnerable. McNamara tells of his resignation which many felt was actually a forced termination by President Johnson. The war continues to escalate until 58,000 Americans die and President Johnson decides not to run for re-election in the face of a growing national storm against this failed, confused, and unclear mission.
The eleven lessons evoked certain themes which I will explore next:
Empathy and the ability to empathize with the enemy is critical to having a full perspective on the competition or conflict. This means trying to see the nature of the conflict from the perspective of your opponent. McNamara says we never were able to fully comprehend the perspective of the North Vietnamese. We saw the war as a chapter in the larger Cold War, a war with Communism. North Vietnam seemed to be an agent of the Communists. They on the other hand saw the USA as simply an imperial power that had decided to dominate Vietnam in the future as France had dominated Vietnam in the past. Both perspectives were tragically flawed. The Vietnamese saw themselves as engaging in a Civil War for national unification and they saw themselves as highly independent from the Russians and especially the Chinese, with whom they had fought for over 1000 years.
McNamara also points out that rationality will not save you from human error and failure. He illustrates how following a completely rational string of conclusions can be faulty as more and more erroneous information or stereotypical thinking enters the mix. Here he offers an interesting story about the Cuban Missile Crisis. As this crisis quickly escalated, the White House received two messages from the Kremlin. The first was soft and philosophical and appeared to come from Khrushchev. It asks for reflection and consideration before both sides pull the strings so tight that a knot develops that can not be untied. Then soon afterward another message arrives that appears to come from the top hard line military leaders which is hostile and threatening. Many in the White House advised President Kennedy to respond to the second with equal force. However Tommy Thompson, the former US ambassador in Russia, urged Kennedy to find a way for Khrushchev to save face. The way to allow him to save face would be for the Russians to remove their warheads but to be able to say to the world that Russia saved Cuba from destruction by the USA. McNamara also points out that despite rationality, human error in any system may bring about unwanted and terrible results.
McNamara also stresses efficiency as a guiding principle. Of course he was a whiz kid who became the first person other than a Ford family member to be the President of Ford Motors. McNamara links efficiency to the fire bombing of Japan's cities. This was a fascinating and frightening portion of this film. McNamara tells of the highly effective fire bombing of 67 Japanese cities, destroying 50 to 90 percent of these cities. These were major cities the size of Cleveland, Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, Mobile, Charleston, Miami. The fact that the Japanese government would not surrender in the face of such death and destruction was amazing. McNamara tells of General Curtis LeMay's willingness to inflict great damage on the enemy using the most efficient means at his disposal. It sounds terrible and cruel but in fact may have shortened the war and thus brought an end to all the death. This discussion overlays McNamara's other point that sometimes to do good, one must do evil. He tells of the manner in which Curtis LeMay made decisions and related back to the burning of Atlanta by General Sherman.
McNamara points out that there are really no rules of war and that the losing side is frequently charged with war crimes but not the winning side. He relates that the fire bombing of Japan and the atomic bombs could have been viewed as war crimes if the Japanese had won the war. War crime is highly dependent on whether you are a winner or loser. However McNamara indicates that in conflict there should be some sense of proportionality that helps guide decision making and guide the extent of strike and retaliation.
McNamara points out that data is essential but then gives examples where seeing and believing were both wrong even when leadership thought they had the data they needed for decision making. This leads to a discussion regarding the need for correct information and clear objectives upon entering into warfare. In this regard the film certainly is relevant to the neo-conservatives that lead the US into the current war in Iraq.
McNamara urges flexibility of thought which he expresses as re-examination of your reasoning and a willingness to change course of action rather than stubbornly moving forward despite evidence that things are not working as expected.
Unfortunately wisdom is a result of painful error and is far different from knowledge. It is the nature of the human condition that we are only blessed with a limited number of painful events on which to build wisdom and often we pass away before applying that wisdom in the world. The story of McNamara is larger that the Cold War or the Vietnamese War. It is the story of the limitations of the human condition.
loved by men of all ages 2008-02-13
my brother, who was in the airforce, husband, and father-in-law all loved this movie. I would recommend this for everyone! Great gift
Must see..... 2008-05-21
Gotta watch McNamara discuss his role in the quagmire we called the Vietnam War. There is a message in this film and it isn't in the interview itself.
Excellent for thinking people.
Excellent teaching tool 2008-05-15
My husband watched this movie during one of his Administration in Education classes, he decided to buy it and use it at the high school. He was very impressed with the "lessons" in the movie, it is worth the watch.
Comment 
2008-05-06
Found this an informative movie from Robert S. MacNamara's perspective.It is good to hear what people whose decisions affect many have to say. The lessons the former Sec. of Def. presents reflect his ability to draw lessons from history. And to share them.
Though Mr. MacNamara served in the military earlier in his life his tenure as Secretary of Defense does not appear to reflect an adequate understanding of war or of strategy.
This movie shows that what he may have once thought was a straight forward and apparently clear path to victory in SE Asia, turned out to be an extremely difficult, messy and costly affair. Management in the automobile industry is I think quite different to managing a war, due to the very nature of war.
At the end of the movie I was left wondering if Mr. MacNamara having shared his lessons with us was himself out of the fog. With the less than favourable situation we presently find ourselves in in the world today, perhaps we are all still wandering about in the fog.The title of this movie is therefore quite fitting for both the MacNamara years and today as well.
Good Transaction 2008-04-26
Vendor delivered the DVD on time and as ordered. I would order from them again.
Interesting documentary: In order to do Good, You may have to Engage in Evil.... 2008-03-22
Well, the CIA would probably agree with Lesson #9: "In order to do Good, You may have to Engage in Evil".... Seriously, this film makes people evaluate or re-evaluate thoughts about War.
This is an interesting documentary, for many reasons. Other people have thoroughly reviewed this, so I am only adding my "two cents." Some folks hate documentaries, but this is worth seeing and purchasing.
