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

[JHan]

This documentary crossed my mind out of the blue today and I had to watch it again.

Brilliant, Poignant, and Masterful treatment.. even during McNamara's evasive moments.

[Voltaire2]

1. Vile war criminal

[JHan]

2. he admits to that around the 34:00 mark thereabouts.

I don't trust his recollection on Cuba, from what I've read he too wanted to bomb the missile sites. That's not the impression he gives here though..

[Voltaire2]

6. Yes he remains a liar to the end.

[JHan]

8. well that's not the sum total of the man.

He is very honest and candid at times in the interview.

[Voltaire2]

9. Indeed he was also a mass murdering war criminal.

I thought I was clear on that. Liar to his last breath and a mass murdering war criminal.

[JHan]

10. No he was not a liar to his last breath.

I won't drink tea for a McNamara fever but glib assessments of him aren't helpful. He wanted to atone for his sins, and his book In Retrospect is very much worth the read.

[Music Man]

3. This film is a masterpiece.

Such a fascinating work that captures the complexity of McNamara and the Vietnam War. Every bit as applicable today. Phillip Glass' score for this documentary is perfectly eerie.

I watched this in high school around 2006 and haven't thought about it since. Thank you so much for posting.

[JHan]

4. Yep, it's a masterpiece of a documentary.

McNamara is sharp, incisive yet also broken and tragic... The most telling quote for me personally is when he said he was "part of a mechanism" - mechanism of war. That quote made me step back a bit...Secretaries of State , Secretaries of Defense and Presidents come and go but the architecture of conflict and war remain.

You're spot on about Phillip Glass' score- his aesthetic is a perfect fit.

Next up for me is the other Morris documentary which is on Rumsfeld , I've put off watching it for a while now. The trailer was ingratiating, maybe cuz it's Rumsfeld.

[longship]

5. I saw it in the theater. Quite a good film.

May have to put it in my NetFlix queue.

[JHan]

11. Yep it's very good, have you seen Morris' take on Rumsfeld?

Rumsfeld makes the thing unwatchable. My Gawd.

[betsuni]

7. I love this documentary.

[JHan]

12. it struck me like a bolt when I first saw it.