No End in Sight (2007)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
12 wins & 19 nominations total
Charles Ferguson’s documentary provides a good summary of the decisions that led to the mess in post-war Iraq, and offers politically interested audiences something they’d been looking for: a lowdown on the decision making.
If you’re like me and have always wondered how the heck we ended up in such a hot mess in Iraq after the war, then Charles Ferguson’s documentary is a must-watch. It’s like a CliffsNotes version of all the bad decisions that were made, but with way more drama and intrigue. And if you’re a political junkie, you’ll love getting the inside scoop on all the decision making that went down. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Production Company(ies)
Red Envelope Entertainment, Representational Pictures,
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2007
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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 42m
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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): Jul 27, 2007 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 30, 2007
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
No End in Sight, documentary, Iraq War, American invasion, Bush administration, military officials, government officials, President George W Bush, decision making, mismanagement, critical look, interviews, Charles Ferguson, Jennie Amias, Audrey Marrs, Jessie Vogelson, Magnolia Pictures, Campbell Scott, narrator, reviewed by Caryn James, David Fear, Cliff Doerksen, Nick Schager, David Ansen, Roger Moore, Richard Propes, David Lamble, Felicia Feaster, Michael Atkinson, Kelly Vance, Nick Rogers, Alex r, Alec B, Luke B, Brody M, box office, budget, MPAA rating, produced by, directed by, written by, genre, critic reviews, audience score, streaming, theaters, TV shows, actors
Worldwide gross: $1,433,319
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,053,327
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,411
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 223,918
US/Canada gross: $1,433,319
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,053,327
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,028
US/Canada opening weekend: $31,533
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $45,173
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,243
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,865,136
Production budget ranking: 1,984
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,542,876
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$2,354,685
ROI to date (est.): -53%
ROI ranking: 1,710
– Charles Ferguson as Director and Writer
– Jennie Amias as Producer
– Audrey Marrs as Producer
– Jessie Vogelson as Producer
Director(s)
Charles Ferguson
Writer(s)
Charles Ferguson
Producer(s)
Jennie Amias, Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs, Jessie Vogelson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
12 wins & 19 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (98) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (94) | Rotten (4)
Charles Ferguson’s gripping No End in Sight relies on former Bush administration officials to make the case that in its earliest stages the American military operation in Iraq was catastrophically mismanaged.
November 30, 2017
Caryn James
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
David Fear
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Cliff Doerksen
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A thorough, level-headed examination of the Bush administration’s failure to properly prepare for, and execute, the war.
August 10, 2008 | Rating: B+
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
Lucidly, dramatically and without resorting to partisan rhetoric, Charles Ferguson’s not-to-be-missed documentary “No End in Sight” lays out in convincing, appalling detail the disastrous missteps of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
April 7, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
This is a movie about the very officials who boasted ‘I don’t do quagmires’ (then-defense secretary Rumsfeld), but who hadn’t actually done the planning or simple reading of other people’s plans that might have avoided that very fate.
September 13, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The first great documentary of 2007.
September 18, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
The “Eureka” moment in Charles Ferguson’s exhaustive catalogue of our government’s screw-ups is an Iraqi man crying at the sight of a burned-out building…
May 26, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
[A] bracing documentary that asserts what most of us already know: The Iraq war has been a travesty.
January 28, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
Ferguson’s film is intelligence-report methodical, providing a primer on how we got into Iraq and what screw-ups have made the situation spiral out of control.
April 18, 2016
Michael Atkinson
In These Times
There’s no shortage of opinion, but what Ferguson is aiming for in this fascinating 102-minute dissection is a professional critique of foreign policy.
April 28, 2011
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express
A persuasive argument that the inception of, and response to, the Iraq War perverted America’s ideals and intellect. Its moderate temperament hides obvious roars: Remembering outrage is all that will keep this from again occurring unopposed.
September 19, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap…
Plot
Chronological look at the fiasco in Iraq, especially decisions made in the spring of 2003 – and the backgrounds of those making decisions – immediately following the overthrow of Saddam: no occupation plan, an inadequate team to run the country, insufficient troops to keep order, and three edicts from the White House announced by Bremmer when he took over: no provisional Iraqi government, de-Ba’athification, and disbanding the Iraqi armed services. The film has chapters (from History to Consequences), and the talking heads are reporters, academics, soldiers, military brass, and former Bush-administration officials, including several who were in Baghdad in 2003.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features narration by actor Campbell Scott.
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