No End in Sight (2007)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Charles Ferguson

Writer:

Charles Ferguson (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | War

Tagline:

The American Occupation of Iraq - The Inside Story From the Ultimate Insiders

Plot:

A comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.

Plot Keywords:

Occupation | Iraq | White House | Civil War | Incompetence

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Campbell Scott	...	Narrator (voice)
Gerald Burke	...	Himself
Ali Fadhil	...	Himself
Omar Fekeiki	...	Himself
Robert Hutchings	...	Himself
Paul Hughes	...	Himself
Marc Garlasco	...	Himself
George Tenet	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Bamford	...	Himself
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Donald Rumsfeld	...	Himself (archive footage)
Paul Wolfowitz	...	Himself (archive footage)
Colin Powell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Samantha Power
Feisal Istrabadi	...	Himself (as Faisal Al-Istrabadi)
George Packer	...	Himself
Joost Hiltermann	...	Himself
Ahmad Chalabi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lawrence DiRita	...	Himself (archive footage)
Barry Posen	...	Himself
Lawrence Wilkerson	...	Himself
Seth Moulton	...	Himself
David Yancey	...	Himself
Hugo Gonzalez	...	Himself
Chris Allbritton	...	Himself
General Jay Garner	...	Himself
David McKiernan	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Fallows	...	Himself
Nir Rosen	...	Himself
Paul Eaton	...	Himself
Robert Perito	...	Himself
Paul Bremer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Walter Slocombe	...	Himself
Amazia Baram	...	Himself
Yaroslav Trofimov	...	Himself
Ray Jennings	...	Himself
Linda Bilmas
Ann Gildroy
Sérgio Vieira de Mello	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jamal Benomar	...	Himself
Mahmoud Othman	...	Himself
Paul Pillar	...	Himself
Zalmay Khalilzad	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert Gates	...	Himself (archive footage)
Aida Ussayran
Matt Sherman	...	Himself
Ashton Carter	...	Himself

Directed by
Charles Ferguson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Ferguson		writer

Produced by
Jennie Amias	....	producer
Charles Ferguson	....	producer
Alex Gibney	....	executive producer
Audrey Marrs	....	producer
Jessie Vogelson	....	producer
Mary Walsh	....	associate producer (as E. Mary Walsh)

Original Music by
Peter Nashel

Cinematography by
Antonio Rossi

Film Editing by
Chad Beck
Cindy Lee

Production Management
Alan Oxman	....	post-production supervisor
Jessie Vogelson	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Neil Cedar	....	sound editor
Gautam Choudhury	....	additional location sound
Paul Flinton	....	additional location sound
David Hocs	....	location sound mixer
Peter Miller	....	sound recordist
Peter Miller	....	additional location sound
James David Redding III	....	sound re-recording mixer
James David Redding III	....	supervising sound editor
Charles Tomaras	....	additional location sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Maryse Alberti	....	additional cinematographer
Mia Barker	....	assistant camera
Charley Beyer	....	additional cinematographer
Ben Bloodwell	....	assistant camera
Mariusz Cichon	....	assistant camera
Nathan Clapp	....	assistant camera
Andrew Federman	....	lighting assistant
Christopher Gleaton	....	assistant camera
Tom Hurwitz	....	additional cinematographer
Alan McIntyre Smith	....	gaffer (as Alan Smith)
Rey Miranda	....	assistant camera
Edward Rodriguez	....	assistant camera
Jon Shenk	....	additional cinematographer
Joia Speciale	....	assistant camera
Brett Wiley	....	additional cinematographer

Editorial Department
Will Cox	....	colorist: high definition
Donna Donato	....	assistant editor
Bob Eisenhardt	....	editorial consultant
Edward Jaszi	....	assistant editor
Antonia Law	....	assistant editor
Alan Oxman	....	editorial consultant
Sandy Patch	....	editor: high definition
Stephen Stept	....	editorial consultant
David Kuther	....	additional editor: HDTV (uncredited)

Music Department
Brian Deming	....	score mixer
Brian Deming	....	score recordist
Tracy McKnight	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Jay Beverly	....	production assistant
Kit Bland	....	production assistant
Ryan Bronz	....	production assistant
Robin Cutter	....	production accountant
Richard Dworkin	....	transcriptor
Jacqueline Eckhouse	....	production counsel (as Jackie Eckhouse, Esq.)
Kathy England	....	production insurance
Ali Fadhil	....	translator
Blair Foster	....	additional archival researcher
Roja Gashtili	....	production coordinator
Warzer Jaff	....	production crew: Iraq
Amer Mohsen	....	translator
Christopher Murphy	....	research and archival footage
Emily Osborne	....	production coordinator
Dana Reiser	....	production insurance
Nir Rosen	....	production crew: Iraq
Andrew Siceloff	....	production intern
David Smallman	....	litigation counsel
Greg Steinbruner	....	production assistant
Dan Stein	....	production assistant
Robert Stein	....	legal counsel
Bethany Thomas	....	production insurance
Adriano Valle	....	production assistant

Thanks
Jake Abraham	....	thanks
Yasmina Ykelenstam	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Red Envelope Entertainment
• Representational Pictures

Distributors

• Magnolia Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Red Envelope Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bigstar Motion Design  graphics
• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity
• Falcon Security  security services
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Sync Sound  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

No End in Sight: Iraq's Descent Into Chaos (Australia)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Company:

Red Envelope Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Goodbye Solo (2008)

Not rose colored

As you may have inferred from my many sardonic comments about the neocons, I oppose the war in Iraq. The documentary No End in Sight confirms my opinion not shared by everyone to be sure. But this documentary, written, directed, and produced by Charles Ferguson, an information technology expert and member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution, shows in a rare non-ideological way, the mistakes made up to and during the Iraq invasion.

This is not an incendiary Michael Moore screed; it puts the left's argument in cool, rational light for the right to see clearly and attack as is its right. Ferguson grimly reminds us that information about the absence of WMD's was ignored to further an agenda that began immediately after 9/11 with the order to confirm a link between Al-Qaeda and Hussein's Ba'athist regime.

If you want more insanity, how about the order to disband the entire Iraqi army and Ba'ath party members from government service. That 2004 brought an insurgency of disaffected Sunni men who could have been serving in the necessary local army was no surprise. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's lack of preparation for post-invasion operations is just another depressing fact brought out by this sober, if not surprising or dramatically compelling documentary.

If you read the New York Times, you won't need the information in No End in Sight, but Ferguson puts it together so carefully and responsibly you might want to refer to it as you debate the neocons who claim the surge is working and the end is in sight. They need glasses, and not rose colored ones. But then retaining political power does mighty strange things to one's vision.