No End in Sight

Theatrical Release Date: 2007 07 27 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 876964001021

Studio: Magnolia

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations, Profanity, War Violence]

Summary: On March 19, 2003, forces from the United States and a handful of allied nations invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power. American military leaders expected the conflict to last no more than a few months, and President George W. Bush declared that major military operations were over less than two months later. However, Iraq soon became a dangerous quagmire for American forces, and near the end of 2006, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, one of the key architects of America's strategy in Iraq, resigned from office due to public outcry and Bush declared he was "rethinking" his plan of attack in Iraq as the nation sank into civil war, with U.S. troops the frequent targets of attacks on both sides. How and why did America's leaders decide to invade Iraq? How did they formulate a strategy that went so far wrong? And can anything be done to salvage the situation? Filmmaker Charles Ferguson, a former advisor with the Brookings Institution, examines these questions in No End in Sight, a documentary on the War in Iraq which includes interviews with a number of figures involved in the conflict's decision-making process, some speaking on-camera about the war for the first time. No End in Sight was screened in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Awards: Documentary Special Jury Prize – Sundance Film Festival Film Presented – Silverdocs Film Festival Best Documentary – New York Film Critics Circle Best Documentary – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Documentary – San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Documentary – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Golden Satellite Award Best Documentary – Florida Film Critics Best Documentary Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Documentary – National Society of Film Critics Best Documentary – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Documentary – Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Documentary – Ohio Film Critics Best Documentary Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Documentary Feature – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Presented – Palm Springs International Film Festival

Features: Interview extras:
Richard Armitage
Aida Ussayran
Omar Fekeiki
Personal sotry: Larry Diamond - Life Under Saddam De-Ba'Athification
Disbanding the Iragi army - video letter originally produced for The New York Times web site
The CPA
Kidnapping and crime
U.S. Military conduct
Could it have been different?
Was it worth it?
Consequences
Footage of Iraq

No End in Sight

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 10/30/2007

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- No End in Sight
1. Opening Credits [2:25]
2. A Country Imploding [4:42]
3. Back History [8:56]
4. War [18:06]
5. The Void [4:33]
6. Bremer's Insurgency [8:22]
7. Insurgency Begins [14:21]
8. The CPA [12:55]
9. Bad to Worse [11:20]
10. Chaos [3:22]
11. Consequences [9:59]
12. Closing Credits [2:38]

Derek Armstrong

Despite its title, the Oscar-nominated documentary No End in Sight focuses more on the beginning of the conflict in Iraq than its lack of an ending. With help from a wide array of pertinent interview subjects, director Charles Ferguson delves deep inside the corridors of power to examine the perfect storm of decisions made too slowly, and too quickly, that turned the Iraq War into a permanent morass. Or "quagmire," even though Donald Rumsfeld disavowed the possibility that his perfect little war had reached such a messy impasse -- Ferguson nails Rumsfeld twice with the quote "I don't do quagmires." Rumsfeld's cackling jack-o'-lantern of self-satisfaction gives a face to the delusions offered up in No End in Sight, but it's clear there were plenty of other mid-level functionaries making disastrous decisions, either with or without that brashness, as well as numerous well-meaning public servants whose opinions were shut out of the process. Even harder to believe than the United States' lack of an occupation plan, which enabled the looting and destruction of countless cherished national artifacts, was the haste involved in the decision to disband the Iraqi Army. As dissected by Ferguson in parallel interviews with Colonel Paul Hughes and Walter Slocombe, a senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority, the decision to disband moved forward without consulting the most relevant experts, and may have directly spawned hundreds if not thousands of insurgents equipped with deadly combat skills. At least Slocombe, an unwitting guilty party in this affair, was willing to talk on film -- Ferguson notes that other key players "refused" to be interviewed. His preference for "refused" over the less inflammatory term "declined" gives some evidence of Ferguson's bias. Then again, the occasion was so clearly botched in every respect, the heavily critical position seems like the only valid one. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Colonel Paul Hughes  Actor 
Linda Bilmes  Actor 
Omar S.  Actor 
Richard Armitage  Actor 
Seth Moulton  Actor 
Marc Gerlasco  Actor 
Samantha Power  Actor 
Gen. Jay Garner  Actor 
Nir Rosen  Actor 
Chris Allbritton  Actor 
Gerald Burke  Actor 
Ray Jennings  Actor 
Yaroslav Trofimov  Actor 
Campbell Scott  Actor 
Walter Slocombe  Actor 
Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton  Actor 
Warzer Jaff  Actor 
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson  Actor 
Hugo Gonzalez  Actor 
Robert Hutchings  Actor 
James Fallows  Actor 
David Yancey  Actor 
Matt Sherman  Actor 
Barbara Bodine  Actor 
George Packer  Actor 
Paul Pillar  Actor 
Alex Gibney  Executive Producer 
Peter Nashel  Composer (Music Score) 
Jennie Amias  Producer 
Charles Ferguson  Director 
Charles Ferguson  Producer 
Charles Ferguson  Screenwriter 
Jessie Vogelson  Producer 
Audrey Marrs  Producer 

Country: USA