--- title: "The Fog of War" year: 2003 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-fog-of-war" fi1m_id: "the-fog-of-war" imdb_id: "tt0317910" tmdb_id: 12698 wikidata_id: "Q466846" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-14" updated: "2026-10-06T10:25:55.382100+00:00" region: "JP" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Fog of War (2003) Directed by Errol Morris · 1h 47m · Documentary ## Identity The Fog of War - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-fog-of-war - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-fog-of-war - **IMDb ID:** tt0317910 - **TMDB ID:** 12698 - **Wikidata ID:** Q466846 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317910/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12698, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q466846 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 78 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* Robert McNamara can explain almost everything about war except quite how sorry he is > Errol Morris makes Robert McNamara’s account of war gripping and deeply uncomfortable. The interview and archive deserve close attention, though the film sometimes gives an eloquent explanation more credit than it earns. ## Synopsis Robert McNamara sits down with director Errol Morris to revisit a life spent close to decisions about war. The former American defence secretary discusses Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the limits of judgement in positions of power. Morris arranges his account around eleven lessons, combining the interview with archive footage and recorded conversations. John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro and Curtis LeMay appear in the historical material. McNamara considers what leaders know, what they fail to understand and how they explain their choices afterwards. The focus remains on his recollections and his account of responsibility. ## Review Errol Morris’s *The Fog of War* is a gripping documentary with one serious limitation: Robert McNamara has considerable control over how his account is heard. The former American defence secretary reflects on Vietnam, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the difficulty of making decisions with imperfect knowledge. Morris organises his reflections into eleven lessons and gives him room to think. The result deserves close attention, provided we keep asking questions that an intelligent, articulate man can make surprisingly easy to forget. McNamara addresses the camera directly, and cinematographers Peter Donahue and Robert Chappell make that encounter absorbing without offering much relief from it. There is time to study the speaker as well as to follow what he says. The production design by Steve Hardy and Ted Bafaloukos stays unobtrusive, an appropriate choice in a film whose main attraction is someone explaining himself. We need to concentrate on McNamara, and the interview gives us little excuse to look elsewhere. Editors Doug Abel, Chyld King and Karen Schmeer give the interview movement through archive footage and recorded conversations. They make the shifts between recollection and historical material easy to follow, without reducing everything to a brisk illustrated lecture. The recordings are particularly valuable because McNamara’s account no longer has the soundtrack entirely to itself. John F. Kennedy and Curtis LeMay appear in that historical material. Philip Glass’s solemn score helps sustain the unease, though it sometimes supplies more gravity than the material needs. We were unsettled by the recorded conversations. Hearing the people involved speak, alongside McNamara’s recollections, makes their decisions feel less safely remote. The voices do the work here, and the music is most effective when it leaves us room to listen. The difficult part is deciding how much credit to give McNamara for being willing to talk. Morris lets him explain himself at length, and a lucid account can begin to feel like a sufficient answer even when the question concerns responsibility. We found ourselves listening with respect, then wondering how much of that respect belonged to the intelligence of the speaker rather than the choices he was describing. That discomfort is useful, but the film does not always press hard enough on the distinction. Anyone looking for a prosecution will find Morris’s patience frustrating. We think his approach is largely justified: giving McNamara time to reason aloud makes it possible to hear where those reasons become evasions. The eleven-lesson structure is less convincing when it implies that such enormous mistakes can be made useful by numbering them. A political documentary need not deliver a sentence, but it does need to leave us equipped to question the person it has asked us to listen to, and this one does. Allow more than its 107 minutes if watching in company. There is plenty here to disagree about, including how far Morris should have challenged his subject and whether giving him so much time was the right decision. We recommend it to anyone prepared to argue afterwards. *Fi1m score 84, published 14 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics are impressed. The reviews agree that Errol Morris has found a rich subject in Robert McNamara and a clean way to organise him: eleven lessons drawn from a life that runs through the Second World War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. The praise clusters around the direct-to-camera interview, the archival footage, the editing and Philip Glass’s score, and around Morris’s decision not to prosecute his subject but to let him talk. Several critics say politicians should be made to watch it. The reservations are about that same restraint. A minority wonder whether Morris is too gentle, and whether McNamara’s word should be taken at face value. The Independent finds the film gripping but comes away unsure if its subject is an honest broker or a war criminal, and notes the absence of emotional regret. The New Yorker treats it as a moral travelogue that leaves viewers divided over his refusal to apologise fully. No critic dislikes it; the spread runs from admiring to unsettled, with nobody below the middle. ## Straight answers **Is The Fog of War worth watching?** *The Fog of War* is worth watching for anyone interested in how powerful men explain their decisions afterwards, and we scored it 84. Errol Morris lets Robert McNamara reason aloud about Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is gripping and uncomfortable in equal measure. Our reservation is that his eloquence sometimes earns more credit than his choices deserve, so watch it prepared to argue. **How long is The Fog of War, and what is it rated?** *The Fog of War* runs 1h 47m. It is a documentary film. **Where can I watch The Fog of War in Japan?** *The Fog of War* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from ¥440. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How does The Fog of War compare to The Thin Blue Line?** *The Fog of War* and [*The Thin Blue Line*](https://film.one/film/the-thin-blue-line) are both Errol Morris documentaries about competing accounts of what happened, with Philip Glass scores that refuse to let the audience rest. The earlier film is the tighter of the two, with a man's freedom hanging on the details and re-enactments that argue a case. *The Fog of War* is the more patient and the more frustrating, because it lets its subject speak with less challenge. **What should I watch after The Fog of War?** After *The Fog of War*, try [*The Thin Blue Line*](https://film.one/film/the-thin-blue-line) (1988, Fi1m 90): Morris examines competing accounts again, with a man’s freedom hanging on the details. Then [*The Battle of Algiers*](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers) (1966, Fi1m 93): For another unsparing examination of political violence and the people authorising it; and [*The Act of Killing*](https://film.one/film/the-act-of-killing) (2012, Fi1m 88): Another encounter with men whose accounts of violence demand careful, sceptical listening. ### Reviews we read (17) - **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): Morris delivers a brilliant, nuanced examination of McNamara's career as defense secretary during Vietnam, highlighting the intellectual, moral and political complexity of his 11 lessons. As a cinematic experience it is rich and full-bodied, respecting its subject while revealing the inner man. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/the-fog-of-war/4013717.article) - **Slant Magazine**, Joshua Vasquez (90/100, inferred): The film structures McNamara's reflections around eleven lessons on the limits of reason and human judgment, maintaining ironic distance while sympathetically probing his conscience and America's. It stands as one of Morris's best works, a haunting portrait of a life interwoven with history that expects few easy answers. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-fog-of-war/) - **The Guardian**, Philip French (90/100, inferred): The film is a masterly, riveting and challenging documentary that uses McNamara's direct-to-camera interview and archival material to explore lessons from history. It highlights his reflections on war, power and ethics while noting his restraint in not speaking out earlier against the Vietnam War. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/04/philipfrench) - **The Times** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film essential viewing and one of the most important confessional films ever made. McNamara's candid reflections on his decisions and the near-misses of the Cold War are singled out as fascinating. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/the-fog-of-war-spksq7rt3ss) - **Time Out**, TCh (90/100, inferred): McNamara reflects on a life spanning WWII, the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam through 11 philosophical lessons of his own. The film is brilliantly realised by Morris and should be mandatory viewing for politicians. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-fog-of-war-eleven-lessons-from-the-life-of-robert-s-mcnamara) - **Empire**, David Hughes (85/100, inferred): McNamara reflects on his career with archive footage and tapes backing some claims, proving crafty in interview. The film is a must-see, never less than fascinating re-examination of Vietnam regardless of one's view of its subject. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/fog-war-review/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Errol Morris's documentary as one of the year's best for revealing the complexities and moral ambiguities of Robert McNamara through intimate interviews and philosophical questions about war. He singles out the exquisite Philip Glass score, fresh archival footage, and the film's demonstration that good intentions can lead to horrifying outcomes. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-dec-19-et-fog19-story.html) - **Variety**, Todd McCarthy (80/100, inferred): Errol Morris delivers a compelling, thoughtful and involving documentary structured around eleven lessons from McNamara's life, exploring moral issues, human foibles and historical events through extensive interviews and exceptional archival footage. The critic notes its bracing non-confrontational attitude that enriches understanding without changing opinions outright. [Read](https://variety.com/2003/film/awards/the-fog-of-war-2-1200541464/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (70/100, inferred): The film presents McNamara reflecting on his life and decisions through eleven lessons, revealing the uncertainty and frailty of leaders in wartime. Ebert highlights McNamara's introspective interviews and the film's use of archival footage and Philip Glass score to underscore moral complexities of war. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fog-of-war-2004) - **Sight and Sound**, J. Hoberman (70/100, inferred): The film offers McNamara a platform to reflect on his career and the lessons from events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam, without aggressively prosecuting him. It is a chastening experience that humanizes its subject while underscoring the road to hell paved with good intentions. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/101) - **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias (70/100, inferred): The film allows McNamara space to reflect on his actions without damning or exonerating him, evoking the truth in its contradictions through virtuoso technique and archival footage. It revisits the past with an eye on the present, highlighting lessons on proportionality, unilateralism, and the fog of war. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-fog-of-war-1798199258) - **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (70/100, inferred): Morris's documentary is a sober, beautifully edited portrait that should be studied by leaders, organizing McNamara's reflections into lessons about war and human error. It suggests that in wartime nobody in power really knows anything, with a solemn Philip Glass score and historical clips. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/11/movies/film-festival-review-revisiting-mcnamara-and-the-war-he-headed.html) - **Evening Standard**, Antonia Quirke (65/100, inferred): The documentary casts a gloomy spell as McNamara reflects on his life and wars, with few clarifications coming as a surprise. The taped conversations and his final inability to complete a thought stand out as the most revealing moments. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-fog-of-war-7380344.html) - **The Independent**, Nick Barber (60/100, inferred): The film is shocking, funny, gripping and cleverly assembled but leaves the viewer unsure whether McNamara is an honest broker or war criminal. Morris presents him as reflective yet the critic questions if we should take his word and notes the lack of emotional regret. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-fog-of-war-pg-gothika-15-the-cat-in-the-hat-pg-scooby-doo-2-monsters-unleashed-pg-all-tomorrow-s-parties-nc-54755.html) - **The New Yorker** (50/100, inferred): The film is a feature-length interview and moral travelogue where McNamara confronts firebombed cities, near nuclear catastrophe, and the morality of victory. It raises difficult questions about responsibility, with audiences divided on McNamara's reflections and lack of full apology. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/01/19/late-review) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the documentary powerful and absorbing, highlighting McNamara's erudite and sincere reflections on war, nuclear risks, and leadership lessons that remain relevant today. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-fog-of-war-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) - **Paste**, J. Robert Parks (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Errol Morris’ film an amazing and relevant portrait of Robert McNamara that raises important questions about war and human nature. They single out the rhythmic editing, Philip Glass score, and archival footage for particular praise. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-fog-of-war) ## Details - **Director:** Errol Morris - **Director:** Errol Morris - **Cinematography:** Robert Chappell, Peter Donahue - **Editor:** Doug Abel, Chyld King, Karen Schmeer - **Music:** Philip Glass - **Production design:** Ted Bafaloukos, Steve Hardy - **Producer:** Errol Morris, Michael Williams, Julie Ahlberg - **Cast:** Robert McNamara as Self; Errol Morris as Self (uncredited); Fidel Castro as Self (archive footage) (uncredited); Barry Goldwater as Self (archive footage) (uncredited); John F. Kennedy as Self (archive footage) (uncredited); Nikita Khrushchev as Self (archive footage) (uncredited); Curtis LeMay as Self (archive footage) (uncredited); Richard Nixon as Self (archive footage) (uncredited) - **Runtime:** 1h 47m - **Release (Japan):** 11 September 2004 - **Genres:** Documentary ## Where to watch in Japan - Amazon Prime Video: rent ¥440, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy ¥1, hd *Checked 2026-09-14.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, DE, ES, FI, GB, IE, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NZ, PT, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2004: Best Documentary Feature Film (won) ## If you liked this - *The Thin Blue Line* (1988), Fi1m 90: Morris examines competing accounts again, with a man’s freedom hanging on the details. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-thin-blue-line.md) - *The Battle of Algiers* (1966), Fi1m 93: For another unsparing examination of political violence and the people authorising it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers.md) - *The Act of Killing* (2012), Fi1m 88: Another encounter with men whose accounts of violence demand careful, sceptical listening. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-act-of-killing.md) - *The Sorrow and the Pity* (1969): Marcel Ophüls uses interviews to unsettle comfortable accounts of wartime conduct. - *Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb* (1964), Fi1m 93: For when the reasoning of powerful men becomes too frightening to take straight. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/dr-strangelove-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bomb.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-fog-of-war