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I rarely like
to saddle a film with a label like ‘important.’
Generally when the American viewing audience
sees the term ‘important’ they
generally equate it with ‘boring’
(or if they were raised in the South they
mistake the term for a lack of sexual virility).
This usually causes them to stay away in
droves. In the case of the film “The
Fog of War”, this is a real shame
because if there is anything the American
public needs to be educated about, it is
the machinations that make the U.S. government
go ‘round. There are actually people
in this country who believe every little
piece of rhetoric and spin on the stories
coming out of the current Bush Administration.
If this isn’t a telling sign of our
need for education, I don’t know what
is.
“The Fog of War” is the Academy
Award winning documentary by Errol Morris
that opens our eyes to the fact that ‘seeing
is not always believing’ in the wonderful
world of government. The focus of the piece
is John S. McNamara, who was the Secretary
of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and
Johnson.
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He sits down with filmmaker Morris, who conducts
a one-on-one interview with the surprisingly candid
and forthright McNamara, and exposes all manner
of wartime shenanigans linked to the White House
during the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as Vietnam.
He even goes back a little further into history
to talk about the bombing of Tokyo.
Those who might think that a lengthy interview
with the former Secretary of Defense would be
tedious or dull couldn’t be more wrong.
Morris deftly edits days of interview footage
into just less than two hours of fascinating and
insightful information and getting straight to
the point of many of the topics of conversation.
These conversations are intercut with all manner
of eye-opening archival film clips and recorded
conversations. There isn’t a single piece
of information given here that is anything less
than illuminating. I also liked the way the interviews
were conducted in such a way as to have McNamara
speaking directly into the camera. This might
not seem like an important thing, but it really
personalizes the piece, as if he is speaking directly
to the viewer.
The documentary looks terrific, and the sound
is just what it needs to be to make sure no comments
are lost. We’re not dealing with big car
chases or explosions (at least not directly),
so don’t expect a lot of surround sound
experiences.
The producers of the Sony/Columbia Tristar DVD
release were wise not to include too many extra
features. It’s going to be hard enough tot
get folks to sit down and watch the documentary
without scaring them off with a ton of listed
features. For those who find themselves enjoying
the piece, or perhaps (one would hope) learning
from what the film has to teach, there are about
40 minutes of deleted scenes. Most of them were
obviously edited for time, but the subject matter
McNamara talks about is no less significant than
what is included in the feature. He answers some
provocative questions, so I recommend taking a
look at these.
I learned a lot of things about our government
that I’m sure I might rather not have known,
but is imperative that I do. If anything, it is
interesting to see how responsibility is taken
or averted, depending on the success or failure
of a particular act. There is no doubt in my mind
that our current administration is one of the
worst and most idiotic of recent history, and
I take no comfort in knowing that this kind of
irresponsible behavior is not new and has run
rampant over the last century.
Directed by: Errol Morris
Extras: 24 Additional Scenes, John S McNamara’s
10 Lessons From His Life in Politics, TV Spots
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 5/11/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG (Images and Thematic Issues of
War and Destruction)
Website
Website
We'll give The Fog of War an A.
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