Best movies like The Fog of War
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Fog of War Starring Robert McNamara, Errol Morris, Fidel Castro, Barry Goldwater, and more. If you liked The Fog of War then you may also like: Thirteen Days, The Unknown Known, Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived, The War at Home, Why We Fight and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
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The Unknown Known
Former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
This provocative documentary utilizes archival news footage, documents and audio tapes to speculate on what President John F. Kennedy might have done in Vietnam if he had not been assassinated in 1963 and was reelected in 1964. Directed by Koji Masutani.
The War at Home
Documentary film about the anti-war movement in the Madison, Wisconsin area during the time of the Vietnam War. It combines archival footage and interviews with participants that explore the events of the period on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.
Why We Fight
Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.
No Way Out
Navy Lt. Tom Farrell meets a young woman, Susan Atwell , and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice, is also romantically involved with Atwell. When the young woman turns up dead, Farrell is put in charge of the murder investigation. He begins to uncover shocking clues about the case, but when details of his encounter with Susan surface, he becomes a suspect as well.
Regret to Inform
In this film made over ten years, filmmaker Barbara Sonneborn goes on a pilgrimage to the Vietnamese countryside where her husband was killed. She and translator (and fellow war widow) Xuan Ngoc Nguyen explore the meaning of war and loss on a human level. The film weaves interviews with Vietnamese and American widows into a vivid testament to the legacy of war.
The Atomic Cafe
A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
An American Affair
In the early 1960s, teenager Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) becomes obsessed with his new neighbor, Catherine Caswell (Gretchen Mol), a divorcée and free spirit. Stafford spies on Caswell as she meets with strange men, and, despite the warnings of his conservative parents, he begins working for her as a gardener. Amid rumors of her affair with President Kennedy, the two become close, but political intrigue surrounding her acquaintances soon infringes on their friendship.
Countdown to Looking Glass
A fictional confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The narrative of the film details the events that lead up to the initial exchange of nuclear weapons from the perspective of an on-going news broadcast.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike.
Frost/Nixon
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.
Fahrenheit 9/11
Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Flight of the Intruder
U.S. Navy pilot Lt. Jake Grafton and his bombardier buddy, Lt. Cmdr. Virgil Cole, are two soldiers embedded in the Vietnam War growing frustrated by the military's constraints on their missions. Despite the best efforts of their commanding officer, Cmdr. Frank Camparelli, to re-engage them, this disillusioned pair decide to take the war effort into their own hands with an explosive battle plan that could well get them court-martialed.
Four Days In November
1964 American documentary film about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Dear Eleanor
Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
This riveting documentary depicts former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a warmonger responsible for military cover-ups in Vietnam, Cambodia and East Timor, as well as the assassination of a Chilean leader in 1970. Based on a book by journalist Christopher Hitchens, the film includes interviews with historians, political analysts and such journalists as New York Times writer William Safire, a former Nixon speechwriter.
Rush to Judgment
Mark Lane interviews witnesses to the Kennedy assassination and exposes serious flaws in the conclusions made by the Warren Commission.
Oswald's Ghost
For the Baby Boomers, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy took on the same sense of tragedy as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks did for Generation Y - not only for the effect that it had on the nation's morale but for the conspiracy theories that would follow in its wake as well. In the aftermath of the assassination,
Medium Cool
John Cassellis is the toughest TV news reporter around. After extensively reporting about violence and racial tensions in poor communities, he discovers that his network is helping the FBI by granting them access to his footage to find suspects.
Hearts and Minds
Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.
The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
Documentary about women's experiences of labour, in factories, mines and dockyards, in the USA during the second World War and how it affected their work and career aspirations once they were encouraged to give up such employment in peacetime.
Path to War
A powerful drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams that takes a provocative insider's look at the way the USA goes to war—as seen from inside the LBJ White House leading up to and during the Vietnam War.
The Pentagon Wars
From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work.
Point of Order!
Point of Order is compiled from TV footage of the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, in which the Army accused Senator McCarthy of improperly pressuring the Army for special privileges for Private David Schine, formerly of McCarthy's investigative staff. McCarthy accused the Army of holding Schine hostage to keep him from searching for Communists in the Army. These hearings resulted in McCarthy's eventual censure for conduct unbecoming a senator.
All the Way
Lyndon B. Johnson's amazing 11-month journey from taking office after JFK's assassination, through the fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his own presidential campaign, culminating on the night LBJ is actually elected to the office – no longer the 'accidental President.'
Twilight's Last Gleaming
A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.
Rich Hall's Red Menace
2019 marks the 30th year since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Rich Hall examines the relationship between the West and the USSR in his inimitable fashion.
By Dawn's Early Light
A nuclear warhead launched by Soviet insurgents protesting the waning Cold War destroys the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. The destruction sets off a race between American and Soviet politicians to prevent a nuclear holocaust. While the U.S. president feverishly works to keep the military and political machine from going into overdrive, various subordinates panic. When the president is believed to be killed in a helicopter crash, zealous advisers take over.
Killing Kennedy
Drama documentary based on Bill O'Reilly's and Martin Dugard's 2012 non-fiction book "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot". It follows the parallel lives of John F. Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald from the winter 1959-1960 to those fatal days in Dallas in November 1963, when they both died within two days after each other and were buried on the same day - John F. Kennedy in a state funeral in Washington D.C., broadcast live both to Europe and the Pacific, while Oswald was buried in Forth Worth at a small funeral where the attending reporters were asked to act as pallbearers.
Wartorn: 1861-2010
With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, this documentary brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
JFK: The Making of a President
A documentary of the life leading up to the election of John F. Kennedy as president and the controversial life prior that created the legend.
Primary
Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occuring.
In the Year of the Pig
Both sober and sobering, producer-director Emile de Antonio’s In the Year of the Pig is a powerful and, no doubt for many, controversial documentary about the Vietnam War.
Parkland
November 22nd, 1963 was a day that changed the world forever — when young American President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. This film follows, almost in real time, a handful of individuals forced to make split-second decisions after an event that would change their lives and forever alter the world’s landscape.
First Strike
Dramatization of a devastating nuclear strike against the United States by the Soviet Union, followed by interviews with analysts and military figures. Produced by the United States Air Force.
Hitler in Colour
Documentary using only original colour footage charts the 12 years from Adolf Hitler's rise to power to the fall of Berlin in 1945. Complemented by eyewitness material, tracks the dramatic transformation of Germany into a Nazi state, looks into Hitler's relationship with his lover Eva Braun and replicates pivotal events, including Nazi rallies, the invasion of Poland, Hitler's meeting with Lloyd George, the horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp, Warsaw's Jewish Ghetto, the Battle of Britain and the fall of Berlin.
National Geographic: Inside The Pentagon
The Pentagon encompasses the military nerve center of the United States, reaching out to far-flung battlefields, formidable weaponry, and a culture that permeates more of America and the world than many realize. Inside the Pentagon interweaves stories covering the sweep of the Pentagon's 58-year history, taking viewers into the restricted inner workings of the American military machine, including the new war on terrorism and coverage of the historic response following the attack of September 11, 2001.
Stealing the Superfortress
How the Soviet Union was able to copy the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, and the influence of the resulting Tupolev TU-4 on the Cold War.
LBJ: The Early Years
LBJ: The Early Years was a television movie that appeared on the NBC network in February 1987, depicting the life of former President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1934 until 1973. Actor Randy Quaid won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Johnson.
A Bright Shining Lie
Something in his past keeps career Army man John Paul Vann from advancing past colonel. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he comes to despise some South Vietnamese officers while he takes charge of some of the U.S. forces and continues his liaisons with Vietnamese women.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "Imperial" Presidency-answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people-in order to help end the Vietnam War.
Thirteen Days
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.