Fresh
Ultimately, Why We Fight reveals itself as yet another leftie doc with an anti-war agenda. But the mere fact that it takes time to ask questions and listen to opposing viewpoints sets it apart from the pack.
Keith Phipps, AV Club
Why We Fight
It Is Nowhere Written That The American Empire Goes On Forever
2005 · 1h 38m · PG-13
Documentary, History
Directed by
Eugene Jarecki
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Why We Fight
Overview
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.
Director and cast
- Eugene Jarecki Director
- Ken Adelman as Himself
- Chalmers Johnson as Self - CIA, 1967-1973
- John Ashcroft as Himself (archive footage)
- Joseph Cirincione as Self - Carnegie Endowment for Peace
- Osama bin Laden as Himself (archive footage)
- Gore Vidal as Self - Author, "Imperial America"
- George W. Bush as Himself (archive footage)
- Charles Lewis as Self - Center for Public Integrity
- George H. W. Bush as Himself (archive footage)
- Richard Perle as Self - Advisor, U.S. Dept. of Defense
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
78%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A film that stands out for its passion, ambition and clarion-call sincerity, even amid the contemporary onslaught of political documentaries.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Rotten
The fact is, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show uncovers this same hypocrisy every night, and does it in two minutes with irony and humor, while Why We Fight attempts it with outrage and scolding.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
Rotten
Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight takes on enough subjects to make five great documentaries, but as a result is so scattered that it doesn't quite make for one good one.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
Fresh
It's impossible to imagine anyone, right-leaning or left, coming away from this hugely important documentary unshaken by its representation of the United States and its military establishment.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
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