Why We Fight
starring: Gore Vidal, John McCain, Ken Adelman, John Ashcroft, Osama Bin Laden
directed by: Eugene Jarecki
directed by: Eugene Jarecki
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Product Description:
This dissects the political economic & historic reasons behind the last 5 decades of american war-making.Studio: Sony Pictures Home EntRelease Date: 01/22/2008Run time: 98 minutesRating: Pg13
Amazon.com:
Fans of Oliver Stone's J.F.K. will recognize the opening moments of writer-director Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight, in which outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower warns of the pernicious and growing influence of what he called the "military-industrial complex." But Stone's movie, which uses the same footage, was a work of fiction. While those who disagree with the decidedly leftist point of view in this documentary will probably consider it the product of paranoid liberal fantasy as well, there's enough credible material, much of it supplied by the targets of Jarecki's criticisms, to make Eisenhower look like a prophet and everyone else uneasy about the dark confluence of politics, money, and war that controls the country's fortunes. The message here is that while there may be some who sincerely believe that America's various military engagements (in Iraq, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and elsewhere) since World War II are the product of our God-given duty to spread freedom and halt the influence of evil ideologies around the world, the real reason we fight is that war is good business. This is hardly a bulletin; anyone who is surprised by allegations that politicians pander to defense contractors, or that Vice President Dick Cheney helped secure huge deals for Halliburton, the company he formerly headed, simply hasn't been paying attention (Politicians lie? How shocking!). In fact, the principal drawback to Jarecki's film is simply that there's nothing particularly revelatory or compelling about it. Only when he takes a personal approach does he go beyond the obvious; the story of a retired New York policeman and former Vietnam veteran whose son died in the World Trade Center, who wanted revenge, but who became seriously disillusioned when Bush admitted that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, adds some much needed human interest. Still, Why We Fight, which includes a director's audio commentary track and a few other bonus features, serves as a grim reminder that the world's most powerful nation has strayed far from the principles of our founding fathers, a development that does not bode well for America's future. --Sam Graham
This dissects the political economic & historic reasons behind the last 5 decades of american war-making.Studio: Sony Pictures Home EntRelease Date: 01/22/2008Run time: 98 minutesRating: Pg13
Amazon.com:
Fans of Oliver Stone's J.F.K. will recognize the opening moments of writer-director Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight, in which outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower warns of the pernicious and growing influence of what he called the "military-industrial complex." But Stone's movie, which uses the same footage, was a work of fiction. While those who disagree with the decidedly leftist point of view in this documentary will probably consider it the product of paranoid liberal fantasy as well, there's enough credible material, much of it supplied by the targets of Jarecki's criticisms, to make Eisenhower look like a prophet and everyone else uneasy about the dark confluence of politics, money, and war that controls the country's fortunes. The message here is that while there may be some who sincerely believe that America's various military engagements (in Iraq, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and elsewhere) since World War II are the product of our God-given duty to spread freedom and halt the influence of evil ideologies around the world, the real reason we fight is that war is good business. This is hardly a bulletin; anyone who is surprised by allegations that politicians pander to defense contractors, or that Vice President Dick Cheney helped secure huge deals for Halliburton, the company he formerly headed, simply hasn't been paying attention (Politicians lie? How shocking!). In fact, the principal drawback to Jarecki's film is simply that there's nothing particularly revelatory or compelling about it. Only when he takes a personal approach does he go beyond the obvious; the story of a retired New York policeman and former Vietnam veteran whose son died in the World Trade Center, who wanted revenge, but who became seriously disillusioned when Bush admitted that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, adds some much needed human interest. Still, Why We Fight, which includes a director's audio commentary track and a few other bonus features, serves as a grim reminder that the world's most powerful nation has strayed far from the principles of our founding fathers, a development that does not bode well for America's future. --Sam Graham
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Why We Fight tells the story
A dash of the Michael Moore style of documentary, but much more factual and accurate in historical basis for the thesis: Sometimes America fights because the Industrial Military Complex has more power than elected leaders.Great interviews with McCain back before his quest for the Presidency led him off the real Straight Talk Express.Try to ignore a couple of the more slanted interviews... Gore Vidal is full of it! Otherwise, much food for thought that needs to be considered.
Rating: - Why we fight
I bought this movie on advice from a dear friend. Aside from the content itself (intriguing and somewhat bothersome from a moral point of view) the DVD came in 'mint' condition and arrived prior to its expected delivery date. I would definitely purchase DVD's from this seller again.
Rating: - The war is the continuation of... BUSINESS by other means !!!
Von Clausewitz once stated that "War is the continuation of politics by other means" but this excellent documentary shows us that modern wars are being waged with other purposes in mind.
One should watch this DVD immediately after Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Alex Gibney's "Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room" to get a glimpse of how corporate America have been intertwined with politics in the last few years. If this trend persists, maybe America's future will be the same as ... Read More
Rating: - "You begin to wonder... there's something wrong with the entire system.."
Heartsick. As I should be. As any human being with a shred of humanity left should be. And no one more so than the patriotic American.
"Why We Fight," Oliver Stone's stunning documentary on the real reasons behind the wars in which Americans are and have been involved, is a film every American should view, and more than once. Is war ever the right answer? I will not argue that it is not. There are such times. And there have been wars that I believe we should have fought. Self-defense, ... Read More
Rating: - Thought provoking
It's not about left or right, because as the movie points out at the outset,both the left and right agree.They like the military-industrial complex.Watch this movie, and marvel at how prescient Eisenhower was in 1961.This movie is high quality, riveting, entertaining, and thought provoking.I will save you the trouble of wondering whether or not to buy it for fear of partisan bias: just buy it and just watch it.This is coming from a guy who voted for Bush in 2004, whose views have shifted, ... Read More
- Why We Fight tells the storyA dash of the Michael Moore style of documentary, but much more factual and accurate in historical basis for the thesis: Sometimes America fights because the Industrial Military Complex has more power than elected leaders.Great interviews with McCain back before his quest for the Presidency led him off the real Straight Talk Express.Try to ignore a couple of the more slanted interviews... Gore Vidal is full of it! Otherwise, much food for thought that needs to be considered.
- Why we fightI bought this movie on advice from a dear friend. Aside from the content itself (intriguing and somewhat bothersome from a moral point of view) the DVD came in 'mint' condition and arrived prior to its expected delivery date. I would definitely purchase DVD's from this seller again.
- The war is the continuation of... BUSINESS by other means !!!Von Clausewitz once stated that "War is the continuation of politics by other means" but this excellent documentary shows us that modern wars are being waged with other purposes in mind.
One should watch this DVD immediately after Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Alex Gibney's "Enron: The Smartest Guys in The Room" to get a glimpse of how corporate America have been intertwined with politics in the last few years. If this trend persists, maybe America's future will be the same as ... Read More
- "You begin to wonder... there's something wrong with the entire system.."Heartsick. As I should be. As any human being with a shred of humanity left should be. And no one more so than the patriotic American.
"Why We Fight," Oliver Stone's stunning documentary on the real reasons behind the wars in which Americans are and have been involved, is a film every American should view, and more than once. Is war ever the right answer? I will not argue that it is not. There are such times. And there have been wars that I believe we should have fought. Self-defense, ... Read More
- Thought provokingIt's not about left or right, because as the movie points out at the outset,both the left and right agree.They like the military-industrial complex.Watch this movie, and marvel at how prescient Eisenhower was in 1961.This movie is high quality, riveting, entertaining, and thought provoking.I will save you the trouble of wondering whether or not to buy it for fear of partisan bias: just buy it and just watch it.This is coming from a guy who voted for Bush in 2004, whose views have shifted, ... Read More
