Former Secretary of Defense, under President
Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara was one of the
most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th
century. Now - for the first time ever - he sits down one on one
with award-winning director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line)
to offer a candid and intimate journey through some of the most
seminal events in contemporary American history.
CRITIQUE
The Fog of War
was last year's most important film because it contains very
valuable lessons to both the public and our current government.
It's a history lesson, essentially, but also many other things.
Robert S. McNamara
is the perfect candidate to talk and reflect on US military and
political history of the past several decades. He was involved in
many discussions and situations with important people of the
government in between the late 50's and late 60s, and he was also
often consulted for various things. The job of the Secretary of
Defense is pivotal and important, and the things McNamara reveals
in this film is terribly interesting and highly informative. He
offers new and illuminating insight into the Cuban Missile Crisis,
the effects of the Vietnam War, the bombing of Tokyo, and many
other important events, some of which I never knew about.
Director Errol
Morris culled together many hours of footage of several days of
interviews with McNamara for this feature-length documentary.
Morris structures the film in a clever way, much like in The
Thin Blue Line, his excellent documentary about the events,
backgrounds, and people affected by the killing of a police
officer.
The Fog of War
is structured into eleven life lessons from the life of McNamara.
This way everything he says is connected to a narrative topic.
These lessons are not pretentious by any means, they make a great
deal of sense, perhaps more sense than what's been happening
around the nation for the last few years. Some of them stand out
more than others, such as "Rationality will not save us" (#2),
"Belief and seeing are both often wrong" (#7), "Be prepared to
reexamine your reasoning" (#8), and "Never say never" (#10).
Another clever thing
Morris does with the film is photograph the interview in first
person, meaning McNamara actually looks at and speaks directly
into camera. Morris developed this technique by modifying a
digital camera to give its lens the effect of a teleprompter, and
instead of text it is live video of Morris conducting the
interview. This first person interview style adds depth to the
film.
Moreover, The Fog
of War features a great deal of stock footage that has never
been seen before, at least not in this form. Also, Morris makes
great use of Oval Office recorded conversations between McNamara
and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson that were
newly released in order to support the things McNamara discusses.
These conversations, as well as McNamara's reflections and
thoughts, provide the viewer with an excellent insider perspective
of many events from the last few decades.
Providing a terrific
score is composer Philip Glass (The Hours). The score
doesn't intrude with what McNamara says, instead it effectively
supports the imagery of the stock footage as well as heightens the
level of magnitude. Morris keeps the film moving on a good pace,
but there are one or two slow bits.
THE VIDEO
Columbia presents The Fog
of War in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The interview
footage with McNamara doesn't look like video and doesn't quite
look like film, I'm pretty sure it's digital video. Picture
quality is very clear and colors are well balanced, plus the
lighting is very effective. Most of the stock footage shows its
age, but the quality is still in good shape despite dirt and
scratches. The overall presentation is very nice.
Optional subtitles
for the film include French, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese.
THE AUDIO
Columbia presents The Fog
of War in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. This
presentation is mostly all front-heavy, however the two front
speakers have really good separation. The dialogue is clear and
easy to understand, and Philip Glass' terrific score never
undermines it. Surrounds are not particularly active, except
during moments of the score. Audio quality is perfectly fine for
a film like this.
THE EXTRAS
Despite the lack
of a commentary track by Errol Morris or a featurette on his
interview technique, what is available is good enough to have,
and certainly great as opposed to nothing at all. 24
Additional Scenes (38:11) is a good collection of scenes
that didn't make it into the film. These are fully produced, no
dailies or anything. Fine editing and Glass' score is showcased
once again. McNamara describes more events and topics here, some
are introduced by title cards. One of the more interesting, if
not the single most compelling scene of all the others is Scene
13 (Expanded Exit Strategy) where McNamara answers Morris'
question, "If John F. Kennedy had lived, the war in Vietnam
would never have occurred... not on this level." Scene 21
(Responsibility) touches on the subject of responsibility for
the war. However, two or three of the stories seem a bit like
trivia. Nevertheless, all 24 scenes are interesting to watch.
These can be played individually or all at once via the "play
all" function. For some reason only Japanese subtitles are
featured here.
Also available in
text form are Robert S. McNamara's Ten Lessons.
Previews round out the extras, including two TV spots
for the film and trailers for The Fog of War, Big Fish,
and Winged Migration.
The
106-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters.
The disc comes in an Amaray keepcase with an insert displaying
books that have similar themes like the film, and on the other
side are DVD recommendations for Blind Spot, One Day
in September (terrific film), Winged Migration, and
The Statement.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Fog of War is
a great film, but more prominently it's an important one. The level of
insight McNamara provides in his candid interview with director Errol
Morris is captivating and highly informative. Sony's video/audio
quality is very good, and the 24 additional scenes make for great
supplemental material. This DVD is worth a purchase.
