The Fog of War
Seen it?2003 | 107 min | Documentary
Sunday Safe BetWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
Critics loved it (96% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had soft box office. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for the curious. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Eye-opening.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 47 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated PG-13: peril. Probably too much for younger kids.
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
Former corporate whiz kid Robert McNamara was the controversial Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, during the height of the Vietnam War. Augmented by archival footage and cabinet conversation recordings, Errol Morris gives the conflicted McNamara a platform on which he attempts to confront his and the U.S. government's actions in Southeast Asia in light of the horrors of modern warfare, the end of ideology and the punitive judgment of history.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
7.7 out of 10
- AwardsSolid
Won 1 Oscar: Best Documentary Feature Film.
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$5 million worldwide; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactSolid
About 91K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Errol Morris
- Robert McNamaraSelf
- Errol MorrisSelf (uncredited)
- Fidel CastroSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Barry GoldwaterSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- John F. KennedySelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Nikita KhrushchevSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Curtis LeMaySelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Richard NixonSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Harry ReasonerSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Franklin D. RooseveltSelf (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)