Cortechba Overrated

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

MisterWhiplash Maybe Why We Fight isn't entirely successful, as it sets out to cover about sixty years of American history (albeit mostly in the past several years with Iraq, which of course then stretches back into the 80s), and once in a while looses its footing in cramming so much into 99 minutes. Why We Fight has the potential for one of those immaculately conceived documentary mini-series on PBS (Ken Burns's The War doesn't count), but as a film it thankfully suffices just enough. The only other drawback is if you're already very well-informed about all of the horrors and nightmares that the Bush administration has brought on with its war policy- which also stretches out to its corporate allies like KBR and Halliburton- there's only little tidbits of possibly 'new' information, particularly if it's on DVD in 2008 vs seeing it in the theater in 2006.But aside from these liabilities, Why We Fight is a look at the mentality and history and fulfillment of the quasi-prophecy by then exiting president Eisenhower on the military industrial complex. The director, Eugene Jarecki, chooses his targets wisely and with a well-rounded focus. He features interviews with the likes of John McCain, Gore Vidal, Richard Pearle, former members of the military (two of whom say combat the first day of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 03), and also with just a kid setting off to join the army and a saddened father of a 9/11 casualty who despite being a veteran of Vietnam supported Bush for Iraq all the way... until he realized he lied, of course. While it is more than probable that Jarecki is out to make a criticism on the Bush administration, it doesn't really stop just there. Indeed, Bush and Rumsfeld, according to Why We Fight, are the logical (though utterly maddening) conclusion of Eisenhower's words of caution to look out against the US war machine growing too far beyond control.But Jarecki doesn't forget that Bush is just one component, however huge, in the cog of war that has been rolling along as part of the US being the dominating world power. When we don't like what a country is doing, we go in and 'help' overthrow the government and install someone else who may or may not (usually may) screw things up as a dictatorship in the country. That's one part of it. Another huge part is the Cold war and nuclear proliferation. And, finally, though not least of which, the rise of the corporations that do more (and get paid more) than the US military officers in Iraq. These and more pieces, not least of which an indictment of parts of government and think tanks and the Pentagon, are part of the answer to the "Why" question in Jarecki's film, and for the most part it's all compulsively watchable. It might be a little over-packed into such a relatively short time allowance, but there are moments of inspiration (what comes closest to a 'Michael Moore' moment, if there could be one, is Jarecki including a bit at the end of a McCain statement about Halliburton being dangerous, and then getting a call right after from Cheney cutting off the interview), and some great little clips from Frank Capra's original Why We Fight short films.

alicecbr I had to watch this movie on the Internet yesterday from a site in England. That should give you some idea of how much censorship we now have in 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'. I'm in Boston and so far, there's no distributor for this movie, not even Landmark. We have to have meetings in our homes to show it.Ironic, that the Republican Eisenhower, a true conservative and brilliant mind who DIDN'T hide out in Alabama during the war, warns us in his understated way of the dangers from the 'military/industrial complex'. This complex has now grown to include our federal government in on the continuing cycle of war. And this point, the movie so aptly makes.I worked for Raytheon and we were sure to co-opt our military Program Manager by letting him know that he had a job with Raytheon after retirement from the military, a practise many 'defense'/war contractors follow. So, no wonder the Patriot missile didn't work at first. Our tests were then and are now programmed to succeed. Of course, they fail in the field, for which I used to be happy, not wanting more death for our enemy dujour. Now, however, as I see the thousands of innocents dying because of these dumb bombs so highly touted as 'smart', I regret my part in designing weapons for our 'defense'.We are now involved in Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, a policy so well pointed out here, that will keep our defense/war-mongering corporations profitable until we reap the eventual consequences of national evil. The allusions made to the Roman empire are actually too few for my liking. And there are VERY few allusions to the Germany of the 30s, not even to indicate that Bush's grandaddy helped finance the Luftwaffe factories until shut down by a more virtuous federal government than we have now.We are indeed the arms merchants of the world, and it is not an accident, but a plan. We spend more on 'defense' than on anything else in our budget, and yet we are the mightiest in the world. This movie makes the point very well. As well as the hypocrisy that accompanies it, which of course is why you will have a hard problem seeing the movie.Better, get the original Capra movies and watch them in sequence with this one. Makes the point even better. Instead of fighting the nationalized evil of Germany as we did in the 40s, my country, the freedom-loving U.S.A., is now the epitome of nationalized evil. We lie to our children, as the Sullivan boy is lied to in this movie by the recruiters, and sacrifice them on the altar of greed. If you can stand it, watch 'Munich', 'Syriana' and 'Why We Fight' in sequence. Clear pattern of a degenerating republic at the national level and extremely Biblical in proving that "He who sews the wind reaps the whirlwind." The educational system dies, and with it, the sheeple's power to analyze the lies coming from the totalitarian corporate owners. I"ll be interested in observing whether this comment even makes it to the IMDb database. Viva Maria! (1965) This would be funny if we weren't being Bombed Ourselves, 13 July 2005(This comment was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user) Brigitte Bardot makes a very convincing bomber, political assassin as she learns about bomb-making and executing the blasts from her father all over Europe and Central America. It's a play on the Irish hatred of the British.They just blow some troops up, and melt into the surroundings, much as our modern terrorists do.......and with a child like innocence about them. Malle makes fun of a lot of old-time westerns with the hero (Hamilton) dramatically dying for his love. Jeanne Moreau is quite a dancer, which I never realized before, as she and Brigitte 'invent' the striptease.This was in glorious technicolor and the naivete and innocence of the time when this movie was made can't help but sadden you as you realize how low we have sunk in this oil-crazy world where the mad dictator (Bush, not Hitler this time) invades any oil-rich countries he wants to under the guise of 'bringing democracy' to the people (althouth we have to kill them to do it). If our time wasn't such a Keystone Cop melodrama in itself, I'd make more fun of this movie. But it's fairly realistic, if you judge by what goes for reality these days.

bob the moo We all have our answer for the question about why we are fighting a bloody civil war in Iraq and why we went there in the first place. The easy answers are oil, freedom, clear and present danger, WMD's, lies, spin, whatever however this ignores the fact that regardless of who was in the White House, American military might has rarely not been dispatched to some part of the world to enforce democracy and protect the American way of life. Jarecki puts together this film as his thesis on the wider theme of North American military might applied across the globe.When Eisenhower stepped down as US President he warned about the increasing power of those involved in the business of war and, coined the phrase "the military-industrial complex". Decades have gone by but it seems that the things that concerned him have only continued – perhaps to the point where the "military-industrial complex" is no longer anything that you could point to but rather just an air of power and influence that is visible in actions far removed from the factories that make the weapons and ammunition. With this in mind, it at once seems a difficult and an easy task to make a film on the topic – if it is like air then you know it is there but nailing it to the wall is near impossible.Jarecki does a good job in overcoming this challenge as he builds a convincing picture of the rise of the military might where commercial interests play a massive role in directing the political will. It is an argument that will split the audience down political lines – I appreciate what Jarecki said about the topic being beyond political allegiances but this will play best to a liberal audience and will frustrate those who still (still?!) support the war in Iraq with the attitude of going to other places where they are against America and "kicking their asses". However, this is not really his fault because it is impossible to have a discussion about the drivers to war without focusing on the modern wars in Afghanistan and, most importantly, Iraq. And, as many are coming to realise, it is difficult to discuss the Iraq situation in almost any terms without being critical of the Government (including Congress) that brought it about.Another downside of Jarecki spending so much time on Iraq is that it prevents him actually achieving the goal he set out to do, which was to look back at the rise of the military complex and its influence on the decision to go to war – true Iraq is a bit example of that but it is not the root nor the branch, it is just another new leaf on the tree that Eisenhower saw as a growing sapling in his time. I came away from the film yet again annoyed about the reasons for this bloody war and the blowback from it (I watched this film at the end of a weekend that saw two failed car bombs in London and a suicide attack on Glasgow airport) but what I really wanted was to feel depressed about the wider problem and understand how it has been building and why it has been building. As it is, Jarecki doesn't use enough material pre-Bush and too many of his points are tied up in the emotion of the current conflict (in Iraq but also political conflict). By doing this he runs the risk that few viewers will be coming to the film with a clean slate, ready to listen – I imagine most people come in with their minds already made up (which I suspect is why the votes on the site are so high – he is preaching to the converted).It is still an interesting film though and is depressing because I have no doubt that business influences all aspects of Government and have seen little to convince me that military spending would be any different. However, like many others, Jarecki gets bogged down in the issue over Iraq and his film becomes more about that than the wider historic picture that would have made for a more compelling and less controversial way to make the same argument.

pookey56 i watched this superlative documentary months ago and am surprised i didn't write a review, which is more like a letter of gratitude. There are no spoilers here. just accolades from a grateful viewer. this montage of famed politicians, historians, people of courage and amazing intelligence is enough to recommend this documentary, if only to see a piece of history put together in such brilliant fashion, and with such a clear, unabridged message. There isn't any preaching, finger wagging, lecturing...none of that. Only pure, clear-minded analysis on an aspect of human nature which we need to expose, and understand. Hind sight is easy. Seeing the future path becoming wider is a different matter. humanity needs more films like this one. It has a way of exonerating our blackest characteristics, not by making excuses, but by making it clear that the Why of fighting is understood. If we can disseminate, expose, and understand, we can stop. kudos to Eugene Jarecki.