Why We Fight (2006)
83%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 3 nominations
A provocative and timely film that explores the military/industrial complex and the motivating forces that lead us to war
Why We Fight is a documentary that takes on the daunting task of exploring the military-industrial complex and the reasons behind America’s seemingly endless wars. While some critics found it to be too one-sided or scattered, I found it to be a shell-shock of a film that left me questioning everything I thought I knew about war and politics. Sure, Jon Stewart may uncover the same hypocrisy every night on The Daily Show, but this documentary takes a deeper dive into the issue and asks the tough questions. Overall, Why We Fight is a must-watch for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of war and its impact on our society.
Production Company(ies)
Break Thru Films,
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for disturbing war images and brief language
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 39m
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Language(s):English, Arabic
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 20, 2006 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 27, 2006
Genre(s)
Documentary/War
Keyword(s)
documentary, war, military-industrial complex, defense spending, foreign policy, United States, combat, veterans, Iraq War, Vietnam War, military experts, journalists, Eisenhower, politics, capitalism, democracy, anti-war, left-leaning, Gore Vidal, John McCain, Kenneth Adelman, Joseph Cirincione, Anh Duong, Gwynne Dyer, John S.D Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower, Eugene Jarecki, Susannah Shipman, PG-13, $1.4M, Sony Pictures Classics, directed by Eugene Jarecki, written by Eugene Jarecki, produced by Eugene Jarecki and Susannah Shipman, reviewed by Roger Moore, Keith Phipps, Andrew O’Hehir, Richard Nilsen, Marc Savlov, Michael Booth, Richard Propes, David Lamble, Dorothy Woodend, Michael Joshua Rowin, Felix Vasquez Jr., Alex r, Alec B, Mark C
Worldwide gross: $1,439,972
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,123,465
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,396
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 231,567
US/Canada gross: $1,439,972
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,123,465
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,017
US/Canada opening weekend: $53,571
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $78,999
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,028
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joseph Cirincione – self
Anh Duong – self
Gwynne Dyer – self
John S.D. Eisenhower – self
Susan Eisenhower – self
Eugene Jarecki – director, producer, writer
Susannah Shipman – producer
Director(s)
Eugene Jarecki
Writer(s)
Eugene Jarecki
Producer(s)
Eugene Jarecki, Susannah Shipman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (115) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (90) | Rotten (25)
May 13, 2009 | Rating: 5/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
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.
November 27, 2006 | Rating: B
Keith Phipps
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
A film that stands out for its passion, ambition and clarion-call sincerity, even amid the contemporary onslaught of political documentaries.
October 7, 2006
Andrew O’Hehir
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
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.
March 30, 2006 | Rating: 3/5
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
… canny and somewhat overwhelming documentary …
March 18, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/5
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
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.
March 15, 2006 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Booth
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
In the end, Jarecki dares to imply that, perhaps, it is because we fight that we will not survive.
September 27, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Unfortunately, Jarecki is unable to stick to material that supports his indictment of the entire thrust of American foreign policy since WWII. Instead, Why We Fight is devoted to a one-sided indictment…
May 7, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
If the director occasionally strays into bombast, . . .he still manages to make a strong case for war between democracy and capitalism, two systems conjoined in Western thought, but now terribly at odds.
August 24, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
Left-leaning audiences will readily agree with it, but the lack of ideas on how to take on such an enormous enterprise as the military-industrial complex limits the film’s intrusion into reality.
December 17, 2013
Michael Joshua Rowin
Stop Smiling
Surely, Jarecki’s expose is an engrossing and startling documentary, but it never gives those who keep up with world events something they haven’t known for years.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Why We Fight is a shell-shock of a film.
February 28, 2008 | Rating: 7/10
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com…
Plot
He may have been the ultimate icon of 1950s conformity and postwar complacency, but Dwight D. Eisenhower was an iconoclast, visionary, and the Cassandra of the New World Order. Upon departing his presidency, Eisenhower issued a stern, cogent warning about the burgeoning “military industrial complex,” foretelling with ominous clarity the state of the world in 2004 with its incestuous entanglement of political, corporate, and Defense Department interests.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film on Fresh Kernels.
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