The Power of Nightmares : Adam Curtis : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

This film explores the origins in the 1940s and 50s of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East, and Neoconservatism in America, parallels between these movements, and their effect on the world today. From the introduction to Part 1:

"Both [the Islamists and Neoconservatives] were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. And both had a very similar explanation for what caused that failure. These two groups have changed the world, but not in the way that either intended. Together, they created todayÃÂÃÂs nightmare vision of a secret, organized evil that threatens the world. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. And those with the darkest fears became the most powerful. " The Power of Nightmares, Baby It's Cold Outside.

Part 1 - Baby it's Cold Outside | 64kbps | 256 kbps | mpeg2
Part 2 - The Phantom Victory | 64kbps | 256 kbps | mpeg2
Part 3 - The Shadows in the Cave | 64kbps | 256 kbps | mpeg2

An NTSC DVD ISO is available to make burning this to DVD easier.

This movie is part of the collection: Feature Films

Producer: Adam Curtis
Production Company: BBC
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Adam Curtis

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Reviewer: victorkiriakus -

- January 31, 2010
Subject: The Voice of Reason
The movie did an excellent job of showing how the U.S. government exaggerates and even lies about the threat of organized Islamic terrorism to scare the public into paying outrageous sums for Defense and Homeland Security while our economy heads to a depression.

For those of you that are open-minded enough to question the U.S. government even further, I cannot recommend enough that you watch "Terrorstorm" which is free on the internet. "911 Press for Truth" can be rented from Netflix and is also excellent.

I also highly recommend visiting the great historian/economist/engineer William Engdahl's website. He is the greatest writer on geopolitics of our time. His books are vital to understanding the corporate forces responsible for the U.S. government's use and even involvement in terrorism.

Do these things and you will find it hard to not think the U.S. government was either involved in or allowed 911 to happen.

Reviewer: GDanton -

- January 3, 2010
Subject: G. Danton
Probably the best example ever put on film of the concept of the "doppelganger" (i.e. the alter egos of the Islamic Jihadist movement and the NeoCons). What was particularly clever, was that the film is presented in a fashion similar to the plethora of NWO/ZOG/Anti-masonic/Anti-illuminati conspiracy tomes that have been making the rounds over the last 10 years; yet there really isn't a shred of conspiracy theory stuff in this piece, which is quite refreshing.

I first discovered this excellent documentary a few years ago, so I had a chance to fact-check it thoroughly. I have yet to find one thing they either falsified, exaggerated, or distorted; however a significant amount of opinion, was injected into the third part of the series, but that's the film-maker's right. My favorite portion of the film is the first part, which also passed muster with several DOD friends with whom I screened it with, who are far from liberal in their politics.

Of course as they say, "facts tend to have a liberal bias", and I find that the film's detractors here seem to object to it not from an aesthetic point of view, but strictly from an ideological one. It's also intriguing (and telling) that the reviewers from the conservative side of the spectrum seem to get so vitriolic about it.

Reviewer: jonavark -

- December 21, 2009
Subject: This is GREEEAAATTT!!!!
This is an excellent way to show my classes how liberal elitism can destroy communications between people of different beliefs. I really wonder how people can watch this and not see the extensive reach this guy takes. It's a pretty sick comparison. Not slick. Sick. Coming from someone who is neither a muslim and nowhere near a conservative. I think he's done himself a disservice.

Reviewer: fatima74 -

- October 6, 2009
Subject: review
i grew up amidst all this, if anyone is interested, they can read my review here: http://rebel-dv.com/wordpress/?p=123

Reviewer: scotty_perey -

- September 4, 2009
Subject: Very powerful and insightful, no wonder it's blacklisted in the US...
Contrary to what troyriser says, the two camps (Neo-cons and Jihadists) are very similar indeed. They both lament a certain degradation of societal values (or their version thereof) as a result of "too much" freedom.

And both camps tolerate violence as an end to the return of those values.

Interestingly, if merely coincidental, the two movements were actually even born in the same neck of the woods: University of Chicago (Leo Strauss) for the former, and what is now know as University of Colorado at Greeley (Sayyid Qutb, on exchange from Egypt) for the latter.

So troyriser can regurgitate vague keyphrases and talking points like "moral relativism" from his subscription of National Review, big deal. I'd prefer some substance to his categorical dismissal of this incredible and shocking exposé.

Watch this show, and it's doubtful that you'll ever regard news from the MIddle East the same way again...

Reviewer: troyriser -

- August 22, 2009
Subject: Neoconservatism is NOT comparable to Islamic extremism
The premise of the film is absurd. Equating American conservatives, 'neo' or otherwise, to Islamic extremists is an exercise in far-Left magical thinking, combined with a heapin' helpin' spoonful of the moral relativism for which liberals are justifiably notorious. Note: recent studies have shown tinfoil hats actually INCREASE mind-controlling radio waves transmitted by the Illuminati. Just so you know.

Reviewer: Cherel -

- June 6, 2009
Subject: Thank you from the USA
Obviously biased, but fascinating and 100% censored in the US. Thank you for letting us download this series in the land of Obama-worship and censorship.

Reviewer: silentwarrior -

- May 27, 2009
Subject: Our money is funding this nightmare
Seriously check out Occupation 101 on google video.

Reviewer: jdubya57 -

- May 10, 2009
Subject: Good Documentary.
While I do not subscribe to or endorse the opinions and views of the writer/producer OR the BBC, this series of vids is without a doubt must see viewing.

It's tracings of the origins and growth of the neocon and radical islamic fundamentalist movements are spot on. The archival footage alone makes it worth watching.

I thank Mr. Price for making this series freely available for distribution.

Reviewer: du2vye -

- April 29, 2009
Subject: Not Available in the US
This film is still copyrighted and Curtis Adams gave permission to freely distribute the film in the US. No network would show this series in the US and no distributor would touch it in the US.

This was a highly acclaimed series initially produced by BBC. As could be expected, the series received criticism, but it was well documented and facts are ... well, facts. They have stood the test of time.

That's disturbing US media doesn't have more investment in reporting truth. The Power of Nightmares has been shown the world over. At least 5 times in Canada. More than that in UK and Western Europe. And many times in Australia, NZ, throughout South America ...

It would be difficult to find someone that hasn't seen this film anywhere but in the US and yet, the bulk of the film deals with US history.

Curtis does an admirable job refraining from making opinions and sticks to facts that he had backed up on his website. He does have a bias and he gives in to making comments in the final episode for the last 15 minutes. I can see where not everyone would agree.

What this film does is present a historical timeline from the beginning of the neo conservative movement and the taliban. They share some of the same sources in the beginning (50's). That's why I say it's fact based. It's verifiable history.

There are many debates, that when put into context, are simplified. At least that's what this film did for me. It cut through so much rhetoric and clutter that's through out such that it was hard to know who was telling the truth. Not anymore. I did look to blow holes in some of what's reported and it doesn't work. Facts are facts.

This film simplifies life. It's a must-see for everyone in the US. It should be a crime this series wasn't distributed here, not even on DVD..

Reviewer: questionstill - - April 26, 2009
Subject: Good information and very eye opening
I have a question: What does it mean to be a liberal?What is the definition of it?

I dont understand because I hear so many different meaning of these words.

Reviewer: ellisonhorne -

- April 21, 2009
Subject: A MUST SEE BY EVERY AMERICAN
Such a shame this outstanding documentary has never been broadcast here in the U.S. Without question it is one of the most important works of investigative journalism on the Neo-Con(men) ever produced. It won every top award in British documentary journalism and was one of the most widely watched documentary series in British history.

Even today, this is still a "must see" by every voting American. PBS are you listening?

Such a shame these Neo-Con(men) are not in prison for the atrocities they have caused.

Reviewer: roger_rabbit - - April 2, 2009
Subject: mine
""kris1999 - - July 6, 2008
Subject: This is still in copyright
Mr. Walden is correct, this is a BBC film so it should NOT be in archive.org because it is still under copyright.

But I can't find any obvious way to report this to the maintainers of archive.org. Am I missing something?""

-------------------------

get a life wanker - information is free - viva la revolution

www.infowars.com

Reviewer: PH1941 -

- February 25, 2009
Subject: Thought provoking and very worthwhile
I am revisiting my original review to hope that your viewing of it will help expose in your mind that the Neo Progressives use fear as effectively as the Neo Conservatives...one need only look at the un-necessary fear being ginned up by Presiden Obama. Fear = Power & advances of political agendas without question by a paralyzed populace. Enough! I thought Obama was going to be different; but he is using the Bush / Rove playbook to accomplish different, and no more worthy, goals. I am done being a pawn of fear and manipulation by politicians. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!

I hope the author of this film, which honestly and plainly exposes fear as a tool of manipulation for political power, will follow it up with something exposing the two other biggest false fears laid in front of the American (and world) people: The Global Warming "crisis" and the American Health Care "crisis".

No intelligent viewer will come away from this film without a greater understanding that the "bigger" a problem government attempts to fix, the bigger the underlying lies are.

I long ago abandoned the Republicans and Democrats here in the USA. They spend their energy splitting us, the electorate, into divisions just large enough to protect their power base - and no larger. If we knew the truth about the endless list of "emergencies"...we wouldn't need them much, would we?

Watch this film and then think about what other crisis situations are being created to scare the crap out of you and to scare you INTO believing things that just aren't true.

Reviewer: XPR -

- December 21, 2008
Subject: Great song
Fantômas actually did a version of that particular morricone-track. A little heavy on the evil. Interesting posts here ;)

Reviewer: jpcruz -

- September 8, 2008
Subject: Enlightening
A powerfull insight on two paralell ideological trends of the contemporary world, one of a more political nature, other more religious, but both engaged on twisted, maquiqueist and uthopical visions of moral truth and social perfection. And both aimed at disaster. Dismissing it as propaganda is clearly assuming that one didn't even saw the films, that in no point claims, for instance, that the Soviet Union was not a threat.

Reviewer: rob13 -

- August 30, 2008
Subject: Source of music
A few people are asking about the music. One particular piece that is repeated throughout is "Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion" by Ennio Morricone.

Reviewer: dissolved -

- August 2, 2008
Subject: One of the most enjoyable and insightful documentaries in recent history
As for the opening theme (in all 3 parts), it's Brian Eno's 'The Ship' which is off of the album 'Another Green World.'

Reviewer: BRobert -

- July 18, 2008
Subject: Pure Propaganda
I am 65 years old and have experience with communism and most recently 9/11. What fiction can you spin on these events?

It is not exciting to believe in evil; nevertheless, it is reality.

Power is also a force as strong as money. In these areas you will always find terrorism.

How can you place spin on people blowing up themselves and others?

Liberalism versus conservatism will color each others pages with different hues.

Liberal minds will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel upon the blast.

Reviewer: lump516 -

- July 13, 2008
Subject: Smoothly Made, Thoroughly Wrong-Headed
Just a few points. I am no expert on history, so I will no doubt be shredded:

The original Neconservatives were never liberals. They were ex-Communists who became disillusioned with their original Great Dream. Moving from the Left to the Right, they brought their puritanical disdain for humanity and their gift for internicene warfare with them. Oh, and their conviction that they knew what was best for everybody.

There WAS a Soviet Threat. Maybe not directly to the U. S., but certainly to the West in general. You doubt this? Ask a Czech or an Estonian. If the Soviet threat is gone, there's sure as heck a Russian one, as anyone in Chechnya could tell you.

Islamic Fundamentalism may have become more public in the past 40 years or so, but it was always there--in the mosques and backrooms of many Arab countries. It was repressed, first by the colonial powers and then by the first wave of dictators that replaced them, but it never went away.

The maker of this film is right that the terror card has been played too often by power-hungry conservatives, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The trick is dealing with it sensibly. Which mean showing both the Bush crowd and the left-wing fantasists out of the room so that the grown-ups can figure out what to do next . . .

Reviewer: catfishbob -

- July 13, 2008
Subject: Music by Brian Eno
Somebody wrote asking about the music. It's by Brian Eno, if my memory serves me, either "Another Green World" or "Before and after Science".

Reviewer: StotchX - - July 6, 2008
Subject: Let information be free
Enough said

Reviewer: kris1999 - - July 6, 2008
Subject: This is still in copyright
Mr. Walden is correct, this is a BBC film so it should NOT be in archive.org because it is still under copyright.

But I can't find any obvious way to report this to the maintainers of archive.org. Am I missing something?

Reviewer: Danny Eller -

- June 30, 2008
Subject: Well done but still Idiotic!
The premise that "Neoconservatives" used or rather fabricated the Soviet threat in order to control the US Population is flat out ludicrous, period. The documentary states that the Soviet threat was manufactured but fails to take into account the Soviets vast buildup of forces throughout Eastern Europe, their expansion throughout the Stans, their use of either the country’s military itself or Guerilla Armies from Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Columbia and others in a proxy-war not only against the US but against all Western Democracies.

The producers of this "Documentary" go on to equate the threat of Islamic Terrorists with the “manufactured” Soviet threat as another manufactured threat in order for the Neoconservatives to use as a way to instill fear in and control of the US population. They fail to account for the 3000 dead on 9/11 (mostly Americans but which also included innocent victims from over 80 countries) nor do they account for the numerous other attacks against both the US and other Western countries over the past two decades. Attacks like the 1993 bombing of the twin towers in New York, the bombing of two US Embassies in Africa resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Africans, the bombings of the trains in Spain and the buses in Great Britain, all resulting in numerous deaths of innocent people. Yes I guess then that the threat of Islamic terrorism is manufactured...yeah right.

Reviewer: Jow -

- May 31, 2008
Subject: excellent
Superb documentary...his other documentaries are also amazing see the Century of the Self, Power of Nightmares, Pandora's box and the Mayfair Set on this website.

See these also:

Mayfair Set
http://www.archive.org/details/The_Mayfair_Set_Part_1
http://www.archive.org/details/TheMayfairSetPart2
http://www.archive.org/details/The_Mayfair_Set_Part_3
http://www.archive.org/details/Mayfair_Set_4

Pandora's Box (DVD) format
http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_1_of_3
http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_2_of_3
http://www.archive.org/details/Pandoras_Box_DVD_3_of_3

Century of the Self
http://www.archive.org/details/AdaCurtisCenturyoftheSelf_0
http://www.archive.org/details/The.Century.of.Self.Part.2.The.Engineering.of.Consent
http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtisCenturyoftheSelfPart2of4
http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtisCenturyoftheSelfPart3of4
http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtisCenturyoftheSelfPart4of4_0

Power of Nightmares (MPEG2)
http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares

Power of Nightmares DVD format
http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmaresDVD

The Trap
http://www.archive.org/details/AdamCurtisTheTrap

Reviewer: Mr. Walden - - May 30, 2008
Subject: Why is this here?
On what basis is this included in the Feature Films archive? Is it public domain? If so, its status should be included in the written portion. A permission from the BBC ought to be referenced.

Reviewer: freddyzdead -

- May 25, 2008
Subject: All those "crises"
This is to PH1941 who seems to think that global warming and the degeneration of the American health care system are "false myths". What rockhave you been living under? I live in Australia, which has the best health care system in the world. I have lots of relatives in the USA and I have seen firsthand how deprived they are in this area. You are enslaved by your HMO and powerless to do anything about it or go anywhere else.

The global warming is obvious to see, although there is still a slim possibility that it is a cyclic phenomenon, like ice ages, and is normal. Nobody seems to know what triggers ice ages, or whether we may have already started one.

None of that has anything to do with this doco, which is obviously biased, but not as much as Michael Moore's stuff. Or the BS that comes out of Washington.

Reviewer: Digital Earl -

- May 24, 2008
Subject: Stuff you'll never see or hear from US commercial media.
A documentary like this, comparing the histories of the rise of neoconservatism in the West and the rise of extreme Islamism in the Middle East, side by side, would be considered "too hot to handle" by the US commercial media, if not outright un-American and treasonous.

This is the problem with US commercial news, which is corporate controlled and entertainment driven (profit driven). They, except for shows like Frontline on PBS, very literally sell out the truth.

So, thank goodness for the Beeb, and thanks to the Internet Archive for hosting this thorough, controversial and very important historical overview.

Reviewer: danno636 -

- May 24, 2008
Subject: Good stuff....
not too bad, i'm just a little puzzled why the Korean War or more of the vietnam war weren't factored in but not bad at all

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE OPENING TRACK???? ITS GREAT?? ANYONE?

Reviewer: teachmasturbation - - May 20, 2008
Subject: Trouble viewing
I downloaded "17iUt9Td.iso.part" to my Macbook and was unable to mount the image or open it with VLC. Any ideas? I'd hate to abandon this 4.1 GB file.

Thanks.

Reviewer: akcamay -

- April 22, 2008
Subject: The Nightmare you also continue
Though some of this might be true this is a clear piece of propaganda. it does not appear that any one is capable of producing truth. This claims that we are delusioned, and it adds to that delusion as well.

Reviewer: 129CBRider -

- April 1, 2008
Subject: Old enough to have been there.
I'm old enough, 59, to have lived through all of this in the USA and have a good enough BS detector my whole life to be able to say that it is all true about the Neo-Conservitavists and I have kept up with the US foreign policies over the years to know about funding the fight against the Russians, the BS accusations against the Clinton's (you'll notice no one is bringing any of that crap up in this election run-off), the credit that Reagan took for the fall of Russia even tho they were broke and were put under by their economy, or lack of it. I also understand that it is ideas that are the weapons of world conflict now with violence as the esclamation points. No single violent act can change anything in the world today except cause the families of those harmed great greavience.

All in all it is a truthful and revealing series and I don't doubt a word of it.

Reviewer: ChthonicTonic - - March 25, 2008
Subject: Helpful information?
To Not an American --
I know that American PBS, here in the states, has many documentaries with transcripts available. Many can be viewed online and purchased (if desired). I imagine the same might be true of BBC programmes. I suppose it just matters if your students are learning American English or Imperial English. Good luck with your classes!
-Thomas

Reviewer: firedog barking -

- March 10, 2008
Subject: How do you know if you are dreamimg?
Lots of information to understand in one viewing.You know the part when they put German sheppard dogs in their cells? I hate that. Ironic, how the certified assholes are always in power over the short written history of this planet. Luckily, Mother Earth will come to the rescue and shake the psychotic humanoids off the planet and the next evolutionary species will hopefully be better than this sad moronic world that we had to have been born into. The answer to the above question is "you don't". Tip, make nice.

Reviewer: Not an American -

- February 7, 2008
Subject: Hyroglyphs
I have enjoyed this documentary, and I use it with my Advanced students when teaching them English. Why? Because it is one of the few documentaries where you can get a complete transcript.
Today, for the first time, I read some of he reviews. One really offends me. I can hear the supercilious, superior, "I understand things that you morons cannot understand" tone of the writer. He uses the following words in his post. SAD - GIVE ME A BREAK - PLEASE all wonderful little hyroglyphs for "if you don't agree with me - because I am superior to you - then you must be a moron"
I live in Prague, and there are times I'll leave a bar when I hear an American accent spouting forth with these "I know better than you" attitudes. Just stay home pal, please - sad - give me a break!

Reviewer: john54 -

- February 3, 2008
Subject: subtitles
Really awsome documentary.

I edited the subtitles available on the net.
They are based on the transcript but did not match the audio.

I only did chapter1 so far, cause it's a lot of work. :)

See
http://subscene.com/english/The-Power-of-Nightmares-The-Rise-of-the-Politics-of-Fear/subtitle-126539.aspx

Reviewer: innernest - - February 2, 2008
Subject: Russian Weapons
In part 1, ~minute 29: If the United States did not have proof that the Russians were building more sophisticated weapons, is it not safer to assume that the enemy is as advanced to the limits of our imaginations to prepare for all possible threats?

Reviewer: babyloniangilgamesh -

- January 17, 2008
Subject: Why has not been shown by in America ?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/22/212041/57/454/425671

"An American network executive who wouldn't even let his name be used said "we would be crucified if we showed that here". These documentaries are like a graduate course in how the American and British public has been herded like cattle since the end of World War I."

Awaking for the invited !

Reviewer: Da Wizard -

- December 3, 2007
Subject: A major contribution to the historical record
Among these reviews I see a lot of bickering about minor details and editorial bias, but one thing can not be denied: The Power of Nightmares presents factual information of grave importance in modern politics, that is not available anywhere else - and does so in a manner that is accessible to the public whose interests are most directly affected. Until or unless someone does this same job better, The Power of Nightmares will stand as the definitive summary of the history and mutual dependency of the NeoConservative and Islamic Radical movements.

Reviewer: cleanupguy - - November 12, 2007
Subject: CIA, Mossad, False Flag, and a *moderate* Nixon. . ?
I found this to be informative and effective in defusing the terrorist fear factor; both good things. However, there are a couple of fairly major points I wanted to raise before offering this film my endorsement. . .

1. No mention of the concept of False Flag operations. --That is, given the strong indications that the CIA and Mossad have been involved in many of the bombing incidents subsequently blamed on Islamic Terrorists, I find it disappointing that Curtis made no mention of this dimension of the problem. Perhaps, as a film maker, Curtis decided to avoid exploring this as it would have further complicated an already complex issue. But still. . , leaving out the London Train Bombings and all of the evidence of foul play stemming from within the government would have gone a long way to making this film a more complete exploration of the whole subject.

And I also found Curtis' presentation of the concept of Liberalism disingenuous. I realize that editorializing in a documentary is considered bad form, (though he certainly felt confident enough in making many bold statements without offering evidence), but I felt it was entirely inappropriate to present and leave dangling with no counter-argument the idea that Socialist values are the root cause of Western problems and by this omission, allowed it to stand a legitimate motivation for Neocons and Islamic terrorists, however poorly executed their actions. Curtis is clearly smart enough to know the power television has in planting ideas without being necessarily overt, and I found his doing this to be sneaky. --And presenting Bush Sr. , Nixon and the CIA as moderate forces. . ? Pardon me? I find it very difficult to believe that Curtis was unaware of the Iran Contra hearings and similar. Curtis strikes me as having more than just a bias. He's either a fool or he has some kind of creepy personal agenda.

So ignoring this and the various blind spots deliberately left in the material, this was a otherwise fairly decent film. But I wouldn't trust this Curtis guy any further than I could throw him.

Reviewer: Roy Ward -

- August 19, 2007
Subject: Mostly good, but some distortions
I found this really well put together and thought provoking. I choked a bit in part 3 when the introduced the "precautionary principle" as "don't wait for the evidence", rather than "if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action", which is quite different. If that distortion is in there, what others are there that I don't know about? There's also a lot of hyperbole in the introduction/conclusion.

I still think this is a must-see, as it puts a lot of historical threads together in a very watchable way, and helps expose something that is horrifying even if it is flawed by some exaggeration.

Reviewer: truthwillsaveus -

- August 12, 2007
Subject: the real nightmare
the real nightmare is that our republic is more threatened every day by these fearmongers. this series should be required watching by everyone. going back to the roots, it is credible and comprehensive enough to be believable but concise enough for most thinking people to sit through. the biggest thing missing is the real neo-con ideal...MONEY AND POWER. the combined power of mega corporations (energy, military industry and contractors, pharmacuticals, etc) and the politicians owned by them to literally control public perception through the media which it also owns is allowing our constitution, our founding principles, and possibly our very futures to be destroyed. THE TRUTH WILL SAVE US!

Reviewer: blahblahblah12345 -

- June 18, 2007
Subject: ummmm.....
chew on this for a second.

"History is a trick played on the dead."

this is a phrase that a history teacher once told me and it has always stuck with me. anytime i see a film like this or what have you i am always led to take the information with a grain of salt and to remind myself that no one ever has the whole story and that what we see and hear is the truth but unfortunatly it never will be the whole truth. why it is that we all fight it is beyond me.

Reviewer: G2G2 -

- June 16, 2007
Subject: Brilliant
An accurate, unbiased, well researched look into the parallel formation of the Neo-Con philosophy and that of fundamentalist Islam. Puts todays events into proper perspective.

Reviewer: TadFromPoland -

- June 1, 2007
Subject: Rules of this struggle
The first phase -- the liberal American society attracts people all over the world. They begin to adapt the principles of the liberal American society to their countries.

The second phase -- peoples like Qutb and the other Muslim Brotherhood members afraid of development of the principles of the liberal society in their countries begin to fight not only with their compatriots attracted by these principles but also with liberal societies that attract their compatriots so much.

The third phase -- American neoconservatists experienced in fighting against internal liberals and against foreign communists during the Cold War begin to organize society with the help of Christian fundamentalism in order to fight bravely against Islam fundamentalism.

The fourth phase -- the uncontrolled polarization is open. Two completely opposite set of social principles divide increasingly the world into two groups of peoples. The development of the worldwide market economy is halted and in places is even moved back.

CONCLUSIONS -- as long as any fundamentalists are allowed to set the tone for the worldwide information society, the liberals are ineffective. However, the attraction of going to the worldwide market economy works not in the fundamentalist environment but in the secular one: hence liberals will prevail anyway.

Hello, Steve (historydoc), does "the shallowness of this film" deserve the loss of four stars? I think that the loss of two stars is enough.

Hello, Jeffbbs, have you already found the subtitles? There are also at http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/subtitles/99954/the-power-of-nightmares-the-rise-of-the-politics-of-fear-en . Sadly, they aren't satisfactorily synchronized with the film.

Regards,
Tadeusz Lemańczyk
http://www.geocities.com/tadfrompoland/

Reviewer: Dan L. -

- May 25, 2007
Subject: Interesting
Perhaps a little simplistic, but interesting given the limitations of time and the fact that the audience is not familiar with many of the historical facts in the piece. I'd watch a 20 hour version if it delved into more detail!

I think many of the stylistic tricks (e.g. such as the comical music when FBI terror arrests are proven to be total fiction) actually takes away from the piece. It makes it seem more biased. I think the facts should simply be allowed to speak for themselves (and do....). For example, the 'terror' arrests in Miami since this piece was made in 2004....a pure joke to be sure. The FBI and gov't can't stop falling all over itself to try to convince us there are sleeper cells in every neighbourhood.

I disagree with one of the fundamental assumptions of the documentantary which implies that this is a one-way street; a fiction which has been completely imposed on us. I think our reactions, fears, prejudices, and paranoia also have a considerable influence on politicians. As we 'drink the Kool-Aid' we and the politicians who run after our votes and respond to our fears also become complicit in the perpetration of myths. I also believe the media has acted shamelessly, particularly since 9/11/2001. They have not been there to call out ANYONE for abuses. Where were they before the Iraq war (pt 2)? Rumsfeld alone has told enough lies and 1/2-truths to warrant a warrant (no pun intended).

Video Quality: 4/5
Content: 4/5
Style: 3/5
Importance/pertinence: 5/5

Reviewer: congruent -

- May 23, 2007
Subject: Creating his own "Nightmare"
Unfortunately this video is incredibly biased. And as others have pointed out, selectively edits little segments of video to create it's own "Nightmare" - the very thing it's trying to denounce in the video! The fact of the matter is, this man obviously has no idea what it means to be a "Neo-Conservative," his caricatures are unsurprisingly the same ones that 9/11 conspiracy theorists (Rosie O'Donell), "War for Oil" conspiracy theorists, and anti-capitalist socialists like to use. The first thing to look for when determining the objectivity of a movie is it's caricatures, how do they portray both sides? Do they present multiple (this is HUGE!) angles and evidence from the OTHER view point? People who say that "the war has caused more civilian deaths than terrorist's have ever caused..." are complete morons. Do you think that these Islamists are just upset at us for invading so one day they decided that it would be a good thing to kill some children? Recently a young boy was found tortured in Iraq by one of these "groups" - electrodes attached to his tongue. You people need to get your heads checked. A poll recently done shows that 1/4 Muslims in the United States think it's ok in some circumstances to bomb CIVILIANS to accomplish Allah's will. Now I'm not saying that Muslims are "bad" but there's obviously something a little off if they can say that. You people refuse to see how difficult it is to wage urban warfare in the middle of civilian dwellings. You refuse to see how these people lived under Saddam. Was their life better? Yes. But why? Because there wasn't a WAR with the very type of people that refused to let them live in peace. Imagine for a moment that in the United States you were FORCED to be of a particular religion, let's say Christianity. Would you want someone to do something about it?

Reviewer: XDelusion -

- May 13, 2007
Subject: Larger than George Bush
Of course the agenda's here are much older than the "Neo-Conservatives" and of course the Republican or Democratic parties for that matter.

None the less this film will help give you a larger understanding to some of the Major Problems at hand.

There are a couple Google Videos worth looking up.

One of them is:

Money as Debt.

The other is:

The Creation of the Global Union by: Robert Gaylon Ross, Sr.

These 3 videos in general should help open up new windows all together.

Reviewer: theshowpodcast.com -

- May 3, 2007
Subject: THESHOWPODCAST.COM
hitler did not kill the jews.
the germans did!

George W. Bush did not kill 1 million plus innocent people. The USA did!

Throughout history people allow themselves to be lead blindly, into chaos, by their very own leaders.

Reviewer: adrianTRfilms -

- May 2, 2007
Subject: Excellent, Informative Documentary
I am thrilled to have been introduced to this Documentary by a good friend. I found it to be a terrific summary of the events leading up to the war in Iraq as well as a solid explanation of the ideology behind our current political structures here and in the Middle East.

I highly recommend this film series; I think it should be show it as part of the public school curriculum.

In response to Kevin VandeWettering:
Anti-Bush propaganda film? Are you serious? Just because the facts may paint Bush in an unflattering light does not make those facts propaganda. I bet you think NPR is also anti-Bush propaganda. Aren't you paying attention?

Reviewer: Kevin VandeWettering -

- April 25, 2007
Subject: Would have been an excellent documentary... but...
You might forget you were watching a liberal, anti-Bush propaganda film, but it is.

Equating our conservatives with the radical islamic movement is not justified. It's preposterous, but in keeping with the unwarranted hatred of Christians and conservatives among the liberals in our society.

This movie is a very well done, sometimes historically accurate if you can ignore the false premise that you can equate American conservatism with radical dissidence.

It paints Sayed Qutb as some sort of folk hero that was abused by the governments of the time and this is the reason he was a terrorist.

Poor Sayed. I, for one, couldn't be more pleased that this murdering lunatic is dead and I'm not too critical of the methods the Egyptians employed to get him to reveal his conspirators in the plot to flood the Nile delta causing massive death.

Reviewer: www.PNACATTACK.com -

- April 12, 2007
Subject: Excellent Document movie - I have send link to movie for thousands!
Excellent document movie. I know 9/11 was inside job like Russian )799 too. MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Part III after cold war ended, WARSAW IMPACT and DDR collapsed and USA biggest business - Arms industry faced silence. 2005 Word record! But FEAR FIRST! like 1964 and 1941..."a New Pearl Harbor" "SURPRICE" attack!
Allowed by Bush administration. Executed/allowed by Bush administration. Trauned by ISI. Maybe MOSSAD too. Like they do Kurds now too and like they helped Saddam against IRAN.

Reviewer: MrTruth -

- March 31, 2007
Subject: Attention: Floff
You said that born again Christian leaders, Bush and Blair and our brave soldiers, have killed your children etc.

Firstly: Who said Bush and Blair are true born again Christians? Just because someone claims to be Christian, doesnt mean they are true born again Christians. For example, even the Italian mafia claim to be Christians.

Secondly: Who are you to try to justify the killings done through your false religion?

Reviewer: curtis_adams -

- March 31, 2007
Subject: Bad Idea
Here is a bad idea. Stay up for a couple of days. Make sure you don't sleep at all. Drink a lot of coffee or whatever you have to do to get you to that walking dead level of perception, you know, loopy. Also, shut yourself off from everyone. Don't talk to anyone, not your family or your friends or anyone. Shutyourself in the basement and try to keep the lights low. Surf the internet for as long as you can stand, but be sure to only go to sites that talk about 911 or other politically charged conspiracy laden topics. Also, you may want to look up obscure scientists and philosophers that have sort of a spooky feel. I recommend Norbert Wiener and maybe Hegel (existentialism is cool too, but it can get too optimistic for the mood I'm trying to create). So by now you should be thinking that the CIA has tapped all your phones, everyone you know is a government informant and the Chinese are going to come marching down main street any day now. If not, declare yourself an avowed Marxist, don't shave for a while, and if you have to go out for cigarettes or whatever, wear an eye patch on your least favorite eye (mines the left). Now, some of you may be saying "Marxist, me, never." That's cool, just replace that nasty word with any "red flag" movements that you feel comfortable with, Branch Dravidian, Unibrower, Dimes and Nickels. Anything that will pointlessly and ridiculously draw the ire of Big Brother (but don't go overboard. We want to get paranoid, not arrested). Once you've done all this, watch these movies. Like I said. Bad Idea.

Reviewer: GilGaShem -

- March 29, 2007
Subject: Limits to the mind and behavior oh my...!
Well lets see... kind of awkward being someone ain't it huh? mmmh lets see well first of, to be human, takes a very special dosage of limitations to be human, kind of like concocting that ultimate sweet essence who'll swoon every women off her feet and into yours arms mmmmhh ( heavy duty thinking) i hear cogs turning and crushing with a sickening shrill of metal filings grinding against metal.

Lets see. Being human, what 's it all about being human. It means being limited in cetain ways that make you conform to being human at least so it goes between the greater numbers of humans, so they let us feel and reason so right?

Lets see, science has only evolved so much, tehre's still no such things as time machines and secret man made flying objects called space vehicles, also there no such thing as an orbital space station around mars and tehre's no such thing as free energy, thre 's only oil and there will only be energy big uncle sam can meter, what use is there to energy uncle sam can't meter, how's that to be charged anyway, huh nonsense, we need good old reliable mater friendly energy uncle sam can pocket the profit, now that is talking.

We haven't yet gone to mars, you know, there really was no civilization there ever, don't you get any ideas.

Oh and teh sr-71 better known as black bird and its previous projects were just a creation of humans you know, no help from any other civilization, that was just a human project , no foreign help.

Also when you look at venus or any other planet or star during nightime, that maybe a ufo rather than what you think it is, i mean just like going to your local mcdonalds, you look at it, think it's a mcdonald's and yet it isn't, you see it is just your imagination, everybody knows that people are prone to see things, i mean, you can be looking at a thing up there in the sky and think it's a weather baloon and go like " Oh i seen a weather balloon , i seen a weather balloon!" when in fact it's just a displacement vehicle from an octillion possible regions of outer space, probably from around sirius which accounts for like 10 per cent of the probabilities, so in fact it' what you s«could call a ufo, not a weather balloon ok.

And oh when you see BUsh on TV, well, maybe it's not bush at all, maybe it's just your friend larry doing a prank on you, i mean we cannot trust our own eyes, we can't let such important things be let on teh whims of senses can we?

So that if Bush says he wants to protect americans, mmmh, maybe he means the opposite, maybe what he means to say is, he means to kill all americans, or at least most of them anyway, mmmhh yes i know he means well...

I know Mr.president Bush means well... but what if by making us think he means well he is actually meaning to do us harm, i mean, like killing us all, like gassing us or mind controlling us into freezing ourselves to death in teh nearest lake or just eat and drink ourselves to death with coke and burgers or something like that, have you ever thought about it?

So lets see, mmmh everybody's driving a hard bargain here huh?

Reviewer: goop -

- March 22, 2007
Subject: Stupid people...
This is a VERY well put together documentary. Two very common misconceptions I have noticed are:
1. Terrorism is not a threat.
--This documentary does NOT say terrorism is not a threat in ANY way--they say ORGANIZED terrorism is not a threat. They make that point blatently obvious.
2. This documentary is liberal "trash."
--Another example of ignorance (i.e. people not watching the documentary). This documentary bashes liberalism as much as it does anything else--conservatism (not neoconservatism) is the most practical according to this documentary.

GET YOUR HEADS OUT FROM UNDER THE SAND AND WATCH IT...

Reviewer: floff -

- March 20, 2007
Subject: just a thought
i'd just like to point out that despite the brutal deaths caused by islamic fundamentalists, far, far more innocent men women and children have been killed in the name of freedom by our born again Christian leaders, Bush and Blair and our brave soldiers.

Reviewer: mstamper -

- March 17, 2007
Subject: Absolutely brilliant
How fortunate we are that a film of this power is available to download and view. A devastating indictment of fundamentalism of every sort. Negative reviews consist of gems like "Without having seen this film, I can already tell what a joke it is." To "review" something without bothering to see it is so ludicrous that no further comment is necessary. This should be seen by every American.

Reviewer: debut1 -

- March 11, 2007
Subject: seing from the inside it may well be power of dream
first, congrats., for the architectonic constructs of all three parts.as a documentary i would rate this very high, not so much for cinematography as for the explanatory commentry.all three parts are linked on a time horizon of history rather than the `combo' style of m moore.i learnt about the influence of leo strauss for the first time though i wont read the book, `natural right and history' since i dont think he would exceed c schmidt's theological , manichean idea of the political.
i think that you have exaggerated real power controls excercised by the neocons.
the combined creation of this nightmarish vision by both the islamists and neocons has definitely eclipsed the liberal dream.this is a definite danger signal to the world that lives outside islamists and neocon `visions'.it appears that the gains of enlightenment have been annuled by a return of god/manifest destiny/divine providence/post-mytered promised paradise - gymnosophism- by means of extreme violence, fear and war. confected theology has hybridized politics. i wont extend the arguement by saying that the world, as of now, is returning to the monstrous middle ages.what is worrisome is the ousting of the left over reason by hybrid religions, call it wahabism or post-millennial christian fundamentalism.serious distortion of history is on a warpath.
yet, both islamism and neocon fundamentalism are united at the level of abstract universality of monotheism.your documentary shows how this power of meme results in reciprocal warfare and terror.
basic differences, in functional terms are more important. the army, on the one side is under the command and trained in ideology at best, but the army on the other side - meaning people- are giving some meaning to their deaths - the suicide bomber is staking his/her life for the protection and good of others of his/her kind, in terms of belief.Even though all this is a part of military strategy [of the lessor armed], still one cannot ignore such fundamental acts on the plane of simple being as meaningful death. For the weaker side, a meaning is forced in the act where a simple tribal human being turns out to be a moral subject who has taken the fear of sting from death.In this context of infinite war that exceeds total war,death of civilians and innocents is very much a part and parcel of the deadly, nightmarish reality. The horizon of your documentary has grasped the reality of a living nightmare.Thanks.

Reviewer: tom500k -

- March 7, 2007
Subject: Help Save the Constitution! See Power of Nightm.
Adam Curtis reveals the complex truth about Bush's war and power grab in a compelling fashion. He starts in the 1940s to show how the US government in its lust for empire, and against the knowledge much less the wishes of its own citizens, created worldwide death, misery and blowback.

It's hardly a surprise that this BBC masterpiece can not be viewed on TV in the US , but only on the Internet.

Watch the first 10 minutes, and I promise you that you will view the entire 3 hours series.

Reviewer: James Joyce -

- February 8, 2007
Subject: THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAQI WAR
"TPONM," has not been shown by in America. This is not correct. It must be shown. As an Independant who supported the Iraq invasion out of fear of nuke attack on America, I now know I was played and took the bait. I have spit it out. I now feel that cheney, rummy and bush all belong in jail. They morphed a legitimate war against a terrorist organization, into a war for oil............

This entire lot belongs in jail.................

Reviewer: Schmazly -

- January 31, 2007
Subject: A note to detractors
I liked a few comments I read indicating that the role of Democrats were not clearly protrayed in the film. Still, the connection with Leo Strauss was great, and for all those who view the movie as shit I encourage them to learn who Leo Strauss was. His book "Natural Right and History" would be a good start. Rumsfeld et al. worship this guy, if only in certain company. The way I see it, you either agree with Strauss's ideas against popular democracy or you don't. Please don't just spout terms like, "this is leftist shit". Read, and then address the real issue - as Strauss does.

Reviewer: AlexJonesLemming -

- January 26, 2007
Subject: Neo-Cons, Tri-Lateralists, Al-Qaeda
This film illuminates a whole lot about scary problems are facing America (and the world) from within, but the main place this falls short -- and looks "liberal" like F911 -- is that it gives a pass to the Dem Party. The DLC and the Tri-Lateral Elites hold nearly the same concepts and goals as the Neo-cons, usually re-framed in "soft-cop" terms.

If you delve into some of the quotes of Leo Strauss, and follow through with Michael Ledeen, the AEI (home of the "Surge option") and the sister PNAC group, look at their American Nazi roots, you will be amazed. There's the Repub Party. There's the Contract on America gang. THEN there's the Neo-Cons farther down the spectrum.

However Zbig Brzezinski's statements about a Technotronic Society of Elites managing the populace by FEAR and propaganda fed by "magnetic personalities" is a near parallel to the Neo-Cons attitude towards the masses and self-rule.

Everyone is a MORON except them.

What's fuzzy to me is the difference between the Al-Qaeda that the CIA helped create and then COVERTLY supported for DECADES though the late 1990's --- versus an Al-Qaeda that might exist independently of CIA. Who knows if there really is an independent Al-Qaeda that is not a subsidiary of CIA? I don't.

Deeper discussion on "War and Globalization" by Dr. Michel Chossudovsky. The AUDIO is on archive.org, for vid go to takeoverworld.info or snowshoefilms.

ENTERTAINING show, compared to many Alex Jones flicks which can get grueling.

Reviewer: Ghosheh -

- January 16, 2007
Subject: More out there
Excellent programm. From a Muslim's point of view, me, I agree with much of the points made. The "Islamists" were radicalized to the extreme, or over the edge, by the brutal governments AND their own lack of understanding of the soul and spirit of Islam. I can see them every where. My fear is that with the “War on Terror” many Muslims are drifting to their side. The concept of an “Islamic State” is another fable.
Additionally, the forces of the extreme from both sides have united with the forces of power, money and plain greed. Do you know that Iraq will be the LAST country in the world to run out of Oil. It is followed by Kuwait, then Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and so on. Did you know that the FIRST country to run out of oil will be the USA? There is much more to this than just 2 crazy factions fighting it out. There is the China threat, the Iranina threat, the Eroupian Union Threat. The Neos will get a new threat for you when the first one is faild. It is thier source of power. OK, Iam rambling.

Reviewer: Jeffbbs -

- January 14, 2007
Subject: Subtitles
Does anyone know of a place you can get subtitles in other languages for this? I live in Korea and want to show this to my friends but can't find any subtitles. help?

Reviewer: goodseed -

- January 13, 2007
Subject: Less propaganda, more truth.
It was a good documentary with good information and an obvious bias. Check google video for "The Clinton Chronicles" and "Obstruction of Justice--The Mena Connection." Also see "Mena Connection: Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA, Drug smuggling."

If you want to know more about what the neo-cons do, see "911 Mysteries" and "TerrorStorm" on google video.

The truth is much more complicated than "Power of Nightmares" leads us to believe. "Power of Nightmares," like "Farenhiet 911," is a soft sell.

Reviewer: slartybardfast -

- January 11, 2007
Subject: Pretty good
It is definitely worth watching regardless of your politics (assuming you have an open mind). Seems to have some bias to it, however, it does raise some interesting questions and things I didnt know.

Reviewer: sufi786 -

- January 5, 2007
Subject: strongly urge you to download these films
I also strongly urge you to download these films, burn them to DVD or CD, and show them to as many people as possible.

because every body has right to know the truth

Reviewer: vaporlock -

- January 2, 2007
Subject: Great!!!
This documentary will be a learning experience for most people; although, people who are too wrapped in their own ideology or have too short attention spans may have a problem sticking with it through all three episodes. Even if you only take what the interviewed people say about themselves, without the context created by the film maker, it is scary enough. Throw in the film maker's ideas, and its very scary. The few one stars listed in the review section seem to be people that either didn't really watch the film, people who read a few things about it and formed a hard and fast opinion before they saw the film, or sheeple who listen to too much Rush Limbaugh and are incapable of understanding that they have been lied to. People who compare this film maker to Michael Moore probably didn't watch any of either director's films.

Reviewer: barbosity -

- December 13, 2006
Subject: Best Film Ever
Every American should watch this film. It is important enough that I suggest every college professor (teaching almost any subject other than math) should be watching this film and having a debate about it afterwards as a part of their course. In fact, I am a tad bit angry at some of my old professors for not exposing me to this. I had to stumble across this film by chance while doing other online research. The worst thing about it is the fact that most Americans DO NOT EVEN KNOW THIS FILM EXISTS! I found it by chance and I consider myself to be pretty much a Internet addict, college student and blogger who is pretty savvy and always online. Most people do not have time to search the Internet for this movie. I suggest that (unless it would cause undue legal trouble) we should have screenings here in the US, at least. Actually, I wish that someone would find a way to get this into theaters or video stores or at least on cable. We absolutely must have this in America. It explains a lot and would help many of us immensly (as it did me). I mean it is pretty historically significant, even if not totally balanced (I mean what is). The point is that the core facts are all sound and overall this hard hitting piece hits the nail on the head IMHO.

Reviewer: Count Hiroshi -

- December 13, 2006
Subject: DVD ins and outs
for the minds and lives at stake, someone please enlighten me on the best software for making these mpegs into playable dvds? best dvd ripper? any reliable freewares?

in unrelated news, Ian Curtis has just condensed this series into a film recently shown at Cannes.

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1376032.htm

Reviewer: KingNot -

- October 30, 2006
Subject: Liberal Hogwash Is Cool
This was just an amazing picture. Just like every other good bit of informative media, I had to come to the internet to find it. American media companies would be playing this type of stuff nonstop if they were truly liberally-biased. It's painful to watch but it's really eye opening as well.

Reviewer: Truth? -

- October 28, 2006
Subject: Like it..but
The series is well done, however, not very neutral and leaves many material details out. For example, where is Eisenhower, Kennedy and the set-up for all this history before 1949: The Yalta Conference leaders dividing up the world before the series even starts? The first program says that liberals were "in control since(1967)the War" meaning WW11. Really? No objection to missiles in Cuba by Kennedy? Then the Neocons gain a foothold because of the riots in 1967 clips of Johnson? No mention of the race conflict of that decade that saw leaders assasinated (and not by neocons). No acknowledgement of the advancement of Advisors in southeast asia to Combatants by Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson to fight the "Domino effect" of Communism? Were all the Liberals duped for so long or were there real debates on all these issues? The most famous TV commercial was against Goldwater by Johnson in 1964 saying in effect that Goldwater would be more likely to drop the Bomb. Fear tactic? So many holes give me a sense that the authors are out to prove a theoretical point at the expense of all the facts. Perry Mason..are you kidding?. Other specific points are totally false. For example, the notion that Christian leaders told their congregations "not to vote" until they were energized by the Neocon connection (are they fair with clips only from TV evangelists?) The election of Jimmy Carter was energized in part by his admission of being a "born again Christian" and Billy Graham was an advisor to liberal and conservative president alike. The second show makes a big deal out of conservative people voting for Clinton without mentioning the real kicker: Perot! Or the Fed rate increases.
Of course, the CIA is "Bad or Good" depending on who has an axe to grind to protect themselves. The villianization of Wolfowitz and glorification of Kissinger are amusing. Overall, the historical scare tactics purported are different from the past in only one big area: The availability of more 24 hour media coverage without any restraint. Both sides of this political debate are guilty of twisting. History remains in the eye of any idealog.
Thanks for a chance to report my view.

Reviewer: GirdwoodTelevision -

- October 7, 2006
Subject: Alex is an idiot.
"Best" is misused in the previous revue.
Don't be an idiot.
Clearly the huge MPEGs are "BEST".
However if you prefer a smaller file size download the file that serves you "best".
Let me ad for clarification's sake:
Quick Time is under few circumstances "best".
It's a compromise for those that can't make the "best" choice for them selves.
Thanks for the help though...

Reviewer: Alexander D -

- August 27, 2006
Subject: download the MPEG 4 on the left
use the mpeg 4 format, that is apple quicktime.
Best sound and video, no extra codecs and software required.

the 256kb is the best.

Reviewer: DigitalTribes -

- July 29, 2006
Subject: A Must See.
"The Power of Nightmares" is not a perfectly constructed documentary, but it main point is flawlessly made over and over. We have been tricked and manipulated into passivity. Who knows how deep this lie goes. This is a must see for all political and religions persuasions, and well worth the long download.

Reviewer: PMoore -

- July 27, 2006
Subject: Chapter 1 download trouble
I downloaded the MPEG2 file for Part 1, but it's only a 10 minute segment of the first show. Does anyone know how to download the complete first show in MPEG2?

Reviewer: Midex -

- July 11, 2006
Subject: The Art of Deception
We can confidently assume those who perpetrate lies to the mainstream shall actively sustain layered diversions and pursue with slander others who try to expose the truth.

Layering is achieved by presenting 90% truth with 10% further lies. This was the effect of Mike Moore's F911. This is the effect of TPON.

The official accounts of the attacks of 911 are absolutely fabricated. For those willing to discover the truth for themselves, search "911" at video.google

http://www.serendipity.li/jsmill/post_1.html

"... in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie..." (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, p.134)

Reviewer: sys64738 -

- July 5, 2006
Subject: Great subject
Great subject but a little on the boring side.

Reviewer: Sudz -

- June 25, 2006
Subject: For those that rubbish this.
If we only take one thing away from this then Rumsfeld's continuous misleading statements across the years should give serious cause for concern. Time after time he has manipulated the truth; for what reason? Once we see this then we can start to unravel the rest of the BS we're sold by our leaders.

Liberal, Conservative or whatever matters not. Our politicians have to do the right thing and here they are failing miserably. Yes we live with terrorists amongst us but is it a high risk problem? Simply - no! More people die of road accidents and mis-diagnosed diseases or wrong treatments. We need to step back and look at what causes hatred and creates terrorists and fix it. Most people won't take up arms to air their grievances it's just the few and that's where a highly targeted operation needs to be put in place. Rhetoric and attacking countries won't solve the underlying issues.

Reviewer: jdblackwell -

- June 14, 2006
Subject: Google has a link to the stream
To those agonizing over delivery--stream it on Google Video or use a file server like Limewire to get an MPEG file that will play on anything. Archive has the only Century of the Self, though. A must see but its in low res .mov file.

Reviewer: matlas -

- May 29, 2006
Subject: How to play video easily
Guys, use VLC Media Player to watch this movie. It works great (for the mpeg2 version definitely).

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Reviewer: victoria2dc -

- May 29, 2006
Subject: A couple more questions...
SIGH... oh @#$@!!!

I downloaded the file. I go to install and it tells me I need the NEWEST DirectX file, which is DirectX Version v9.0C. I go to MS to download and it wants to validate my software, which it can't do because I use Windows 2000 Professional operating system.

I call MS and they want to charge me $245 for their help!!!

Oh @#$$# Meanwhile, I'm thinking it might work with the WRONG DirectX version. I start to install it and it tells me to UNINSTALL other codec versions to avoid problems!

Ah @#$@ - I know how to uninstall/install software, but I don't know which programs with codec information that I should uninstall because I don't know what codecs are, and I don't know the names of the programs.

PG... sorry to bother you on a holiday!

If you get this message, would you please write to me at victoria2dc@gmail.com? If you can help me through this, I'll LOVE ya forever! I REALLY want to see this neocon stuff!!!

Cheers!
Victoria

Reviewer: PGLove -

- May 29, 2006
Subject: VICTORIA
Hi Victoria,

When you say plug-ins I assume you mean you're having trouble with either sound or picture. The k-lite codec pack will sort it out, and you should never have a problem again.

type "k-lite codec pack" into google, the 1st 2 links will be for free-codecs website, the 1st link fails, the second works.

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.53 is in orange, just below click 'download' and then you will see 6 download links, the 1st works fine.

It's 34MB but well worth it. However when you install it will ask if you want to remove old codecs and change associations. Be careful what you let it do, if you use iTunes for example. I would advise against allowing it to change associations unless you know how to change them back yourself.

Let me know how you get on, or if this is not what you meant :)

Good luck

Reviewer: Christian T -

- May 13, 2006
Subject: Neoconservatism = integrism
An awesome documentary, and another gem produced by one of the last few respectable news networks in the world, showing in a pale light the ideological roots of what could be understood as the political extremism that destroys today's Western civilisation. The greatest thing about it is how it shows the American neo-conservatives and the muslim integrists as being not only political twins, but being from the same mother.

Of course, this is a reductive perspective, and my biggest complaint with this documentary being it's avoidance of the whole issue of corporate control over the US and the rise of military-industrial complex over the US foreign and civil policy. But still it serves wonderfully as an understanding of what, aside from financial interests, drives the US neocons so-hardly in their constant push to create "global villains" and justify State terrorism both domestically and internationally by, well, the false threat of terrorism.

Reviewer: pop.vulture -

- May 1, 2006
Subject: Still relevant
This is the first time I have watched these documentaries since last year's London bombings, and they still pack a punch now, nearly two years after they were first screened.

The thesis of the documentaries is that after September 11th, although terrorism is still a threat, it is not the 'international network of sleeper cells' we have been lead to believe. al Qaeda is presented here as a 'brand' rather than an organisation per se. It might be said that terror groups adopting al Qaeda tactics independently, as in London, pose an even greater danger, but this is not an argument Curtis is making.

It is about the philosophies driving the two major forces in the war of terror-- the Neoconservatives and their enemies, the Radical Islamists. This is a good thing to watch if your understanding of either movement is lacking (or you were unaware, as I was, that they had specific guiding philosophies).

The user Pavws, who asked (rhetorically) in their review whether the US carried out the September 11th attacks themselves, seems to have missed the point. The Power of Nightmares looks at why (not necessarily how) powerful myths have been created about terrorism, and how the public's imagination can be used to restore confidence in a government.

Even if you don't agree with Curtis' conclusions, as a few viewers here haven't, we would all benefit by arguing about the war on terror with the same informed level of discourse these documentaries enable.

Reviewer: Pavws -

- April 18, 2006
Subject: We won't be fooled again?
I am a conservative thinker and I found this to be a real eye-opener. Did we not all swallow the out right lie exposed herein of the "network" that "Al Queda" is supposed to be? It helps very much that the PLO, Hamas and other such muslem organizations exist. But what has been perpetrated is a lie that is as monstrous as anything the Nazis could ever dream up and for the same reasons. Evidently we have all forgotten our history because it is repeating itself only one generation out. That fear is a very viable source of political power. Can you say George Orwell "1984". Have you even read or seen it? To wake up you don't have to dial 9/11.

How is it we are so quick to believe these "myths"? Are we so conditioned by the media (which as any good propagandist, knows to exploit and/or control) and our own fearful evil hearts to believe the worst and fall into the hands of megalomaniacs? Does the press have no other agenda but to give us shock entertainment? They are as much if not more so to blame as the politicians, as they are supposed to be the people's "vanguard" against such horrendous distortions of truth. How long has it been and only now does the press start to peel off the scabs and find a little scratch that was reacted to like a 33rd degree burn from nuclear fall out. Not to say that 9/11 was a small matter, but the need to create such an absurd imaginary force behind it. American foreign policy is as much to thank for such a retaliation.

The chicken or the egg question of the day is of course: Had the U.S. known of such an attack, would they have stopped it? Or how about this mind bender: did they do it to themselves using this created "organized enemy" as a cover? It did give them carte blanc to ramrod and run rough shod over any country they claimed as "a terrorist training grounds" since then didn't it? And judging by the insanity of it all do you think that is so far fetched?

As of late the press has had to take a new tack as the public's opinion grows tired and even starts to figure out for themselves at least some if not all of what it was about.

I found the seeds for this nightmare scenario that we live in now to be very compelling. To a large extent I agree with both factions for the loss of vision and purpose. The hedonism and self -centeredness caused by liberal idealogy did run out of gas, it was a literal dream from a pipe. There is no infectionless "free love" in floating cars. God was replaced by Science and that has brought us to the brink, not utopia for the sake of comfort, pleasure and convenience; slurpys in new and improved convertable mini-vans with Blue Tooth technology so we can shut the ADD kids up with a DVD as we Blackberry in peace while we drive wired on Prozac.

Of course I don't agree with the manner and actions taken by either faction. But it does show that we are all the same in that regard when it comes to power.

The really crazy part is how the aggresive Amer-r-rican parnoia gave rise and power to what should have been a few crazed zealots of Islam that could not even get support from their own people. Now they may have truly stirred more shit than their fan will handle. But that was the point I guess. The one created the other and both seem right in their pro-active actions. The Yanks with their "really nice guy with a big stick" image to uphold needed something to clobber (again) to remind the rest of the world what really good people they are and that they really mean it. And the Islamists get proof of what evil they and the west can do.

Of course there are some really stupid points made that are more opinon based on bias and outright stupidity - like Christians not voting until the strausians said they should, but for the most part you get an idea of the madness which certainly infects these elite power hungry types and the lengths human beings will go, and ways they wield power.

A very thought provoking series. And yes anyone giving this a one star rating definitely has his head firmly planted like chewin' tabbaccy between the cheeks with no gums.

On topic of films like this, look for a DVD called "Uncle Saddam" He wasn't exactly too cool either. But I'll tell you a secret..he had every right to take BACK Kuwait. Do a little research yourselves. Learn how to think for yourselves and brush up on U.N. treaty's after WWII.

Reviewer: jgruber -

- April 7, 2006
Subject: A fascinating and detailed study of neoconservatism and the Straussian
The vast majority of the one-star reviews are written by people who didn't even bother to watch this series. Unfortunately this documentary has been a target of pro-war hawks, and people have been told to give it the Michael Moore treatment. This series is not sensational at all, unlike Moore's, and has nothing in common with conspiracy docs like Loose Change.

What this documentary does not do, contrary to what some of the red-faced reviewers have said:

It does not imply that there is a neocon conspiracy that is "equal to the islamofascists," as one reviewer said. I don't know how that could possibly be deduced from any of the chapters.

What it does do:

1) Introduces philosopher Leo Strauss as a political thinker with influence rivaling that of Karl Marx (Wolfowitz et al were actually his students), since many of his fans are now in high positions in the White House and the Pentagon, and Bush himself has adapted his principles.

2) Establishes that there is a political atmosphere of nightmare manufacture, and that while there is a terrorist threat, it is not a united front against democracy worthy of the New World Order than has been created with the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The main reasons were that the Muslim Brotherhood, and similar violent movements, were falling apart of their own accord leading up to the invasion of Iraq. A parallel is made to the policies regarding the Soviet Union, which the documentary states fell apart by itself, and not because the neoconservatives had supported the Taliban in their fight against the Soviets.

3) Exposes many of the hypocrisies and injustices that have occurred because of the Straussian myth that we are currently living under. For instance, the random rounding up of Arabic-looking people in Afghanistan. They were sold to us like cattle.

Many people simply cannot believe that things are going so badly in the two wars we've created. They wish to only see a tiny trickle of news through whacko publications like the Free Republic. That's their choice and nothing can be done about it.

Reviewer: qwan -

- March 25, 2006
Subject: Why are you afraid of reality, because big brother is watching???...shame on you
Why are people refuting this documentary so much.
Listen guys who are giving this a bad review. If no accepting reality is going to help you sleep at night then dont watch documentaries like this.
See i dont believe in what fox news says so i dont watch it. I dont go on their site watch their program and then bitch about it.
I think that all those who are giving it a bad review are maybe people of those very conspiracies who are doing their job of blemishing the truth.
These links someone posted about why TPON is lies is just a well written article there is no evidence in those articles that suggest TPON is false. I dont even think they have watched the documentary. They are just a propaganda machine.
And if you really believe that people like adam curtis are the left or the right or politically driven you are wrong.
There is no left of right they are the same.
If tommorrow the majority of the world population or just the american populations start believing in communism(hypothetically speaking) then i am sure a communist government will come to power with the same people controlling.
I hear some people who cry foul at everything that suggest the truth.
I have seen people cry out foul at Alex jones www.infowars.com. Even i personally feel that he is a very frustated individual and borderline crazy.
But one thing about him. All he does is gives you documented news and things that you missed in your busy life.
Because all news makes it to the mainstream media. There are fanatic journalists out there who search for the truth and put it out there. He just shows screen captures of websites and recorded audio and still people say he is a liar. I saw a video of foriegn and american soldiers conducting battle drills in the middle of the a residentical area at night.
The mainstream hollywood movies are propaganda.
I still remember each and every movie of the 80-98 which was about the future would show america or the world in martial law. They actually made us believe and expect as an eternal truth of the future was martial law. I remember one movie which showed the year as 2010. I think if not for these people and these documentaries were would very well be a martial world with the entire population implanted with microchips.
I think these documentaries and people are makeing the NEW world order of whatever you may call it to change their plans. Thank them atleast we are free for now, maybe our children wont be..

Reviewer: owen1218 -

- March 25, 2006
Subject: Puts things together nicely
Does an excellent job working together the motives of the neoconservatives and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, in an accurate if nonetheless slanted way. Even if you don't learn a terrible lot, it's rather beneficial to see things put together in a coherent fashion. My appreciation to Adam Curtis for allowing this be placed for free download.

Reviewer: Calvinistic Scot -

- March 19, 2006
Subject: A Great Documentary - Unmissable
This is the type of broadcasting the BBC does really well. Any simple viewer, who lacked thought and the ability to listen, would think this was slagging off America, or even the liberal discourse. Not at all, this is a commentary on the new power elites. I am not sure this goes the whole way to explaining our societal flux, but it certainly gets you a long distance. Liberal conversations like Syrianna and Constantant Gardener also help this process.

This series is unmissable.

Reviewer: en_gm_t_c -

- March 19, 2006
Subject: A Lib'ral Wussie Speaks...
First of all, I think it's soo funny (I really do laugh) when anyone parallels liberals with nazis. The only parallel that my enlightened mind can think of, coming from a fellator of Rush Limbaugh and his ilk of course, is: lib'ral is evil, Nazis is evil. I get it, I get it. I'm not gonna tire my fingers making such an inane point, so I'll say this alone: the National Socialist German Worker Party was a right-wing organization. There are more than a few parallels between it and other right-wing groups. Why isn't this clear to you people? I can understand a well-reasoned argument for some conservative cause. I often agree with them, when they are well-reasoned. Hearing this lockstep chorus of anti-liberalism really makes me afraid for the future of this country. After having lived in Germany, I concluded that that country at least purged itself of any nationalist right wing sentiment (listen up, Rush fellators) after the war. If watching this still leaves you a sorry little grumbling chickenhawk, then I really have less than pity for your incurious little existence in wyoming or wherever you people dig your caves.

Reviewer: Gregg Reynolds -

- March 14, 2006
Subject: The Power of Nightmares
Outstanding!

Provides great insight into U. S. foreign policy including the beliefs of many specific people involved in the process.

An excellent documentary. Revealing the truth can be very threatening.

Reviewer: journeyrob -

- March 12, 2006
Subject: Excellent!!
This documentary should be required viewing for everyone. You may not agree with some of the conclusions, but there are a lot of facts here and it is a real education on what is going on in our world today. Even many conservatives that I know who have watched it agree with many points and admit they learned a lot. The rest of you hard core conservatives that imediately dismiss everything there, you remind me of the coyote. No matter how many times you fall off a cliff, or have an anvil land on your head, you still never seem to get it. (..)

Reviewer: newmaam -

- March 12, 2006
Subject: The Power of Nightmares....
I have to agree with one review in that this movie runs along the same lines as F 9/11, however I do feel that it's a more in depth historically political explanation then one of media or conspiracy or a combination of both. This documentary examines the battle of idealology that, in my opinion, is the scariest war that has been. A war that stems from the results of selfish individualism. My previous blame was placed on psychotherapists who have insisted in looking out for the good of oneself rather then the good of mankind. Perhaps this was a result of the immediate gains of a liberal democracy by the 60s and 70's. Regardless, my experience has been that in Toronto, where I live, most that enjoy the freedoms and material posessions that are assocated with our capitalist democracy are those most apt to write an unfavorable review of a movie such as this. In my opinion, a movie is not needed to see the truth. In my experience, most can't handle the truth.
Awesome!

Reviewer: Bodwyn Wook -

- March 11, 2006
Subject: A divided generation
THE Trouble with the increasing precedence in public discourse of images over words in this documentary is the same as that which afflicts the made-for-TeeVee 'terror war'. The whole media-enterprise, the manufacture of pictures, accompanied at best by a binary discourse, is of course motivated (as is all fundamentalism) by the terror of insignificance that troubles the much-divided 1946-64 generation. As to 'conspiracy', it is axiomatic that factions have interests and will try to serve these. However, as an historical matter it is important to note that in the long term stupidity virtually always trumps plots and scheming. In our much-divided society, this is the more so because most perhaps simply are not paying attention. Many are diverted by a host of surrogate interests, the Internet, 'pro' sports, kiddie porn, SUV's and shopping. Others, vaguely nervous of all this dionysianism and without much vocabulary, are convulsed by anti-gay & anti-abortion religious frenzies. The left dream of state-liberalist demi-elites ordering everyone around in therapy and on welfare, 'for their own good'. On the right, other state-liberalist (NB) elites fiddle with the Constitution and try to put on a convincing series of display-wars in Iraq and so on, mainly for the edification of China. What do YOU think possibly can be the result?
This much is so: if the generation now 'in power' (but hardly in charge!) does not come up with something better in the remaining 2-3 Presidential terms within its grasp, then the burden of history has ALREADY collapsed on the shoulders of our twenty-something children.

AS To islam, and muslims, one may hardly say anything:
I know something about Arabic and islamic history--most do not. And, make no mistake about it, no real understanding can be conveyed by western media to western people about these wholly other people. It is a conflict between people of the picture and people of the book. In the new age already upon us, we are witnessing the passing of the Old Atlantic West, above all with the loss of literacy and all of our once-refined narrative-forms. All that can safely be said is that now, with the end of the Renascence civilisation, the new cultural impulse of humankind will necessarily have to come from Asia--and, the conflict between Asians.

Reviewer: bb7 -

- March 10, 2006
Subject: explained by incompetence
The main problem with this video is that it attributes to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. The idea that there is a neo-conservative conspiracy in America is silly. The explanation of neo-conservatism and their rise to power in America is too simplified.

What makes this video interesting are the parts covering the history of radical Islam, Afghanistan and Al Qaeda. It also has entertainment value and is edited well.

Reviewer: Dil_420 -

- March 7, 2006
Subject: thanks
can anyone tell me where i can find the other two parts of the film!

Reviewer: JessieB -

- March 6, 2006
Subject: An eye opener...
Having grown up in the "buckle of the bible belt"... no one questions these things....
It was interesting to see how similar the conservative Christians are so similar to those they claim to be needing to "convert". Interesting to see why people like that are so paranoid.
That the sons of poor people from small towns are statistically more likely to die in combat, makes it seem that these topics should especially be a concern of more rural areas.

Reviewer: IT Sme -

- March 6, 2006
Subject: Somewhat interesting, but mostly bad.
This may be worth watching for some of the background information on the big figures in the radical Islam movement, but otherwise this comes across as a British and humorless version of Michael Moore's F/911.

Everything that does not agree with the film maker's views is a fantasy, phantom, or unreal imagination, or an attack on the liberal movement. Some things just go over the top, like how one moment they say George Bush Sr. stopped the first Gulf War which angered the evil neoconservatives since he was a pragmatist, then 20 seconds later he's leading the radical neconservatives that alienated the voters in 1992. (??) What about Ross Perot and his thrid party candidacy?

As expected, everything bad that was ever said about Clinton is untrue, and in this view there was never even any threat from Soviet Russia, never mind the Cuban missile crisis. Who's running the neoconservatives is never really named except, while the Islamists are explained in great deal.

I think the producers focused so much on "fantasies" and "phantoms" that the same charges could be leveled against them. Why bother disproving anything? Just weave your own fantasy.

Reviewer: repealthe22ndamendment -

- March 5, 2006
Subject: Sickening Disgusting Garbage
This documentary is nothing but lies by some disgusting British liberals. One of the people in there is part of a liberal propaganda organization who thinks that the liberal media in America is actually conservative media(The one who says he wrote lies about Clinton). Also, the documentary even contains music from a group called Skinny Puppy who actually staged a mock beheading at one of their live shows like the ones going on in Iraq. After they behead the guy they take off their masks and they're Bush and Cheney. That's what I call slander and any self respecting documentary filmmaker should have never put music from a group like that in their documentary if they actually had any credibility.

Reviewer: valeyard -

- March 4, 2006
Subject: Please
Without having seen this film, I can already tell what a joke it is. Trying to compare islamofascism with "neoconservatism." Please.

Islam is ridiculed and they burn buildings and people. When conservatives are ridiculed they do what? Oh, I forgot, they win elections.

Apparently, that's the same thing when you are a sore loser. Give me a break. If this isn't indicative of the pathetic paranoia of the left, I don't know what else could be.

Sad.

Reviewer: CrispusAttucks -

- January 30, 2006
Subject: The Power of the Incessant Message
I think that if the U.S. media can show it's populace the TV version of the government's "official story" of 9/11 for the past 5 years - without any disclaimers about it's "authenticity" - then this video should be mandatory viewing as well.
As far as some negative reviews here, and "why people believe strange things" - the strangest thing I ever believed was that 19 Arabs with boxcutters defeated our multi-trillion $ air defense system without a hitch on 9/11. And I certainly DID believe it, at first anyway. Until I started watching the archives again with a questioning mind.
And I am totaly shocked that the National Review gave it thumbs down. They're not normally prone to having a predictable political agenda. : )

Reviewer: rsgeek -

- January 29, 2006
Subject: A bit frustrating, but well worth your time
While this series has its problems (namely, some very far-reaching conclusions are drawn from fairly weak data), it's worth your time if only for its treatment of the philosophical background and histories of both the neoconservative movement & modern radical Islam. Oddly too, this series doesn't even mention the ongoing war in Iraq, and gives minimal coverage to the Project for a New American Century (http://www.newamericancentury.org). I see these two points as being missed opportunities. If part 3 had examined the "role" of Iraq in the plans of the PNAC and in the mind of Wolfowitz, et al., I think it would have been far more convincing than what is in the existing treatment (although it wouldn't have supported the series' thesis that al Queda is a strawman created by western elites to maintain their power through fear).

Reviewer: jimpharo -

- January 29, 2006
Subject: The Film Speaks for Itself...
...and the reviews say a lot more about the reviewers than the film!

This is a six-star film. While there may well prove to be inaccuracies, exaggerations or (gasp!) emotional appeals in it, it's overall message surely has the ring of truth. One of the most convincing things to me was when the film recalled the 1970's mania for Soviet-fear. As a college kid in those days, I can recall how much the Soviets were trumped up as the greatest menace ever, and thinking that for a society hell-bent on world domination they were doing a lousy job of it. And sure enough, when the Soviets fell, any notion that they were on the verge of taking over the world was shown as the fantasy it always was.

This is an important work that poses hard questions, especially to US/UK minds that have had nothing but a steady diet of propaganda for so long.

Reviewer: AllSides -

- January 27, 2006
Subject: Powerful film -- no wonder it's banned in the U.S.
In this day in age when an iron media curtain surrounds the United States, it's nice when a little free expression makes it through, even if you have to download or watch it on the internet.

This film is so explosive it's been banned by every television outlet in the US, and had one meager and brief showing at an arthouse theater in NY City in which every playing was sold out. (This was the version that won awards at Cannes Film Festival, not the slighly longer one online.)

There is so much eye-opening truth -- right in the words of Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the cabal which has hijacked our country -- that this movie will make you think.

Did you know that . . .

1) that Al Queda is a word invented by the US and not Bin Laden?

2) that every "terrorist" prosecution you've read about in the U.S. since 9/11 turned out to be baloney, no real terror crime, despite much ballyhooing by the US corporate media?

3) that the guy who started the Islamic movement was a democratically-elected politician in Egypt who was very popular because he opposed US corporate takeover in Egypt during the 1950's and 60's, and that he was a fierce critic of Sadat whom he said was corrupt and taking payoffs to giveaway Egyptian resources? (which we now know he was) And that as a result of his criticism of the Egyptian government, the man was arrested and tortured (with the help of the CIA trainers), and that as a result of his torture, he decided violence was the only way to fight, and Islamic terrorism was born as a result? (Anyone thinking of Abu Garib and the rest of the torture we're doing these days?)

4) that the same group of Neocons in power today faked a bunch of intelligence in the 80's to try to make Russia look far far more dangerous than it was? And that Republicans then used this propaganda for local political purposes?

This is a movie you should download and burn onto a DVD. You will want to watch it repeatedly and let your friends watch, too. This is an amazing story which exposes how the right lies, cheats, steals and murders to keep power and money. It should be required viewing for every high school kid, because if it were watched, the GOP would collapse and it would be the end of imperial wars for conquest and resources which we've seen a lot of during this and the previous century.

Reviewer: alex2 -

- January 24, 2006
Subject: don't be a fool
http://www.peterbergen.com/bergen/articles/details.aspx?id=221
http://www.samizdata.net/blog/archives/006829.html
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/davis200410211043.asp
http://crookedtimber.org/2004/10/21/the-power-of-nightmares
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1330499,00.html

Reviewer: Mr. Y -

- January 22, 2006
Subject: Strange.
It's actually fairly strange that everbody who has given this documentary a bad rewiev, and claims it's just spreeding lies, hasn't been able to give one single fact that acctually contradict the documentary. The critic insted is that the producer is a moron...

Of course this film isn't the ultimate truth, but it shows a couple of pretty interessting theorys. And personally I think you have too be pretty tradgic too give this film a one star review.
I meen, even if you didn't like the content, it's still very well produced.

Reviewer: unrated -

- January 21, 2006
Subject: squandered opportunity
It's laughable to just assume this "documentary" is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. From the ominous manipulative music to the extreme mental contortions which are required to force things that are quite different into being some how similar. Massive exaggerations making islamists into feeble comic figures and the neocons into a bumbling illuminati cabal. It just gets rather cartoonish.

The criticisms bellow strangely assume curtis is some kind of truth teller. or at the very least believe that the end somehow justifies the means. Strike one against the enemy! No fair minded person would not detect the extreme bias in this documentary. its not that it does not contain grains of truth, and in fact it has some compelling footage, but its for nothing as it is contaminated and in service of Curtis's fringe beliefs.

its sad that it is allowed to hide behind the prestigious organization that is the bbc as it has none of the journalistic integrity and intellectual honesty. You might ask yourself if this film holds some great truths, then why is it ignored by the mainstream media and legitimate mainstream academics. Is it a vast conspiracy? Or is it just that it doesn't hold up to scrutiny. You might also pretend that its just that the media has not been exposed to this "truth". But you would be wrong, its the same tripe bandied about by the likes of Chomsky and other fringe figures in endless conferences/speeches/videos/books for the last few decades and is seen as fringe politics by the mainstream. Curtis just repackages it with a polish it has not seen before, which i guess is some achievement. See it for what it is, a selective use of history to push a rather fringe political view point.

Its quite a shame Curtis squandered his opportunity to come up with a real documentary that would simply explore the complex reality of history to educate instead of indoctrinate. He gives us tidbits of interesting and revealing footage/speeches that while not new are probably revelatory for many of his viewers, but then he abuses that authority and trust to push his twisted interpretations and conclusions. It makes the film worthless but for the confirmation of the biases of those who were already believers.

Some might accuse me of being a neocon, but they would be dead wrong. I am just for the truth. Political nonsense from whatever side pollutes the debate and leads to nothing good. if you are in a fight, its best to know your opponent, the reality of your opponent, not to make up a feel good caricature to mock or to support irrational conpiratorial beliefs with. To believe that Curtis is being honest with you is to believe a vast media conspiracy covering up his revealed truth.

Reviewer: Janes -

- January 20, 2006
Subject: Essential viewing
I like Adam Curtis way of presenting and selection of topics. This is one of the essential topics never discussed in mainstream media and every public TV should reserve some of its air time to show his opinions of the psy-strategies today. I also recommend his 'The centrury of the Self'.

Reviewer: Kalon -

- January 20, 2006
Subject: Negative reviews still mean worth seeing.
Personally I think its a great documentary and find it very easy to accept most of the points.

Though there are people whom did not find the message so paletable and gave the series a low rating. Even these people I'm sure would agree that it was worth watching.

It's a well done documentary and if you don't agree with any of it, its still fun to get all huffy and shout about with your friends. In the same way some "liberals" would about Bill Reilly or Rush Limba.

So enjoy, wether you rant or rave.

Reviewer: Ben1979 -

- January 20, 2006
Subject: no review - just a question
...concerning the copyright status of the series. Does anybody know/can find out? I just wonder why something that recent is here for download. Thanks.

BTW, here's a link to the BBC page for the documentaries: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/4202891.stm

It's a great series. Very good explanations, good research. Very convincing and - let me say - not that controversial (at least in academic circles) in Europe as it seems to be in some circles in other countries (America + England).

Reviewer: Dazed Alive -

- January 17, 2006
Subject: the power of critical thinking
I am disheartened to see that negative (and positive)reviews of this documentary series are long on rhetoric and short on factual content. I have not the time to go through all examples of this but will use the latest review by Fred Tam as an example.

"be careful you don't become what you probably hate or scorn. remember the mirror image of a neocon is not truth, it is yet another monster."

What does this mean exactly? A little emotional aphorism to begin, followed by something meaningless about the "mirror image" being "yet another monster". Presumably Fred means to point us to the opposite of a "neocon" - but what IS that in reality? He does not say, except to tell us it is not "truth" - and it is a "monster". Fred does not tell us why it - whatever it may be - is not the truth or why he believes it to be a monster.

"curtis is clever fellow and this documentary certainly is a polished product, but viewed from a objective perspective its more about the power of propaganda than anything else. "

The key words here are "veiwed from an objective perspective". Here Fred is styling himself as the "objective" observer who has discerned the documentary to simply be about the "power of propaganda". We wait now for evidence of both assertions.

"Curtis basically distorts and selectively uses history to support his conclusions."

Another assertion backed by no evidence and we are still waiting for evidence for his first two assertions made above.

"Essentially the same crime he thinks the neocons and such are guilty of. Over simplification of the vast complexity of the real world to fit a grand narrative is the mistake of conspiracy theorists.
and in his need to draw parrallels between neocons and islamists he has been forced to stretch the truth. he relies on the viewers ignorance of history. and the sad thing is many will just eat it up. you know what they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

More assertions with no evidence to back them up. Surely there are places in the film where Fred could point to and say "here for example is an over-simplification", "here for example is a stretching of the truth", "here for example is a distrotion of history". No, he does none of these things. At the same time he impunes our intelligence by implying that to believe what the film is saying, the viewer must be historically ignorant. Again there is no evidence supplied.

Fred goes on and on in the same vein. Making grand, sweeping assertions, backed by no evidence at all. Using emotionally laden terms such as "manipulative propaganda" (exactly what fred is doing!); "preexisting biases" (exactly the perspective Fred is guilty of coming from!); "subtle bending of the truth" (Where is Fred's evidence?); "politically motivated" (Again, where is the evidence - and I would ask Fred to examine his own motives closely); "making huge stretches so you can believe the absurd" (Now we can see that Fred is in truth using this very principle to construct his own diatribe); and finally Fred implies that the film is part of some sort of grand conspiracy theory, directing us to such sites on the internet (really Fred ... perhaps the "conspiracy" is born of your own paranoia surrounding films that oppose your own world view?)

In short we need evidential material to back any assertions we make, otherwise whatever we raille aganst - or cheer for - will simply remain an emotinal propagandist diatribe that does nothing to further our knowledge of such matters or to inform us of what the true underlying message of such films mean to the world and our place in it.

Sorry Fred, but critical thinking backed by evidence is what we neeed, not emotional diatribes that simply muddy the waters.

Reviewer: fred tam -

- January 17, 2006
Subject: the power of propaganda. a perfect example is this film
be careful you don't become what you probably hate or scorn. remember the mirror image of a neocon is not truth, it is yet another monster. curtis is clever fellow and this documentary certainly is a polished product, but viewed from a objective perspective its more about the power of propaganda than anything else. Curtis basically distorts and selectively uses history to support his conclusions. Essentially the same crime he thinks the neocons and such are guilty of. Over simplification of the vast complexity of the real world to fit a grand narrative is the mistake of conspiracy theorists. and in his need to draw parrallels between neocons and islamists he has been forced to stretch the truth. he relies on the viewers ignorance of history. and the sad thing is many will just eat it up. you know what they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

nothing new of substance is brought to light in this documentary. better documentaries on the history of the middle east and neocons from frontline are avaliable from frontlines website. not to mention countless books on the subject. pbs unlike the bbc does seem to have higher standards for the documentaries they will air.

its too bad. i know he didn't make this film to be a clever self aware example of propaganda, but as a highly biased bit of manipulative propangda made to cater to the preexisting biases of those in much of his target audience who will desperately want to believe his version of history. its far more polished a film than one made by michael moore, and in ways it is more subtle in its bending of the truth, but that doesn't make it any better. its a shame as i liked his century of the self series which was much better. this is not what we need. we need people taking rational unbiased views of history and its effect on the present. we do not need politically motivated film makers like curtis making "documentaries" to distort history in the opposite direction of their political enemies making the world even less of a rational place. frankly it does a disservice to the cause to decieve those who would be on your side, and to make them believe things that discredit themselves and their movement. the plain truth is bad enough, making huge stretches so you can believe the absurd does yourself no good no matter how good it feels.

familiarize yourself with the thinking behind conpiracy theories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

michael shermer founder of skeptic also has a book called "why people believe weird things" thats gets into conspiratorial/irrational thinking.

The Power of Bad Television
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/davis200410211043.asp

Reviewer: Steve Withers -

- January 1, 2006
Subject: Best Examination of Neocons and Islamists seen so far
What sets this film apart from "normal" media content is the detailed examination of the recorded statements and views of the key players in both the Islamist and Neocon groups - and it examines how each uses fear to further its ends.

Of particular interest to me was the look at what was actually found in Afghanistan after the US invasion. Clearly the news coverage at the time was Pentagon-fed rubbish that bore no relation to reality. There were no vast bunker complexes. Al Qaeda was not an "orgnization" in the usual sense. There was nothing to fight but an idea....and guns are not only useless - but counter-productive.

Where the film attempts to stereotype each side, I have assumed it do so in order to aid a broader understanding and that an detailed, nuanced examination would take a lot longer to convey in film format. But this is a weakness of the visual medium as compared to books, and not a failing of this film any more than any other.

The core message here - that fear is used to manipulate the public for political purposes - is clearly sound on the facts presented in it and supported by the independently variafiable information from other sources.

These films should be compulsory viewing before any White House speech is broadcast or any Pentagon press conference.

Reviewer: someguy2 -

- December 8, 2005
Subject: Reviewing the review of the reviewer reviewing the reviewers
Sorry, coulnt resist.
Heres my review of episode 2:

Just realized that nowhere in the vid did I hear it call itself a documentary (which is what I based my part-1 rating on), so as a western/musical, I give it a solid 5 stars!
The production really is 1st rate, and you have to admire someone accomplishing that with a minuscule budget.
The general premise really is generally accurate, that hysteria is good for biz if youre in government, but anyone that needs that obvious climate hammered home for some hypothetical masses hasnt much faith in individual descernment.
Its alot of hhhoey.
Personally I dont see this as attacking US government, but running interference for them just as UFO weirdo`s help cloak secret projects.

Review of Part one:
Eliminate the facts, and whatever remains, however compelling, must be bullshit.
(or something like that)

Same old wine in a brand new bottle.
This montage of bargain-basement news clips coupled with conclusions, depictions and opinions rates right up there with fehrenheit 911 (a twit`s-eye-view of history).
It goes down smoother right after panorama ephemera though.
Alas, poor BBC. I knew thee well.

Reviewer: Bruce227 -

- December 6, 2005
Subject: Reviewing the reviewers
Our reviews highlight a problem, so I'm not reviewing the film. I'm critiquing us reviewers!

About 35 writers gave it 4/5 stars, six gave it 1 star, and very few went down the middle.

Yep, it polarizes.

Like every emotive issue, our minds are made up and we either love or hate the evidence as it suits us. But our minds hardly ever change, despite the evidence. Why? We know we're usually being manipulated and never know if we can trust the evidence. Those we might despise because they ignore politics aren't stupid however. They also know this, even if intuitively.

We should concede that even button-pushing pseudo-documentaries contain some valid information - the interviews, for example, were at least real, powerful people expressing historical viewpoints. The fun then is deciding if they are telling it straight - or 'spinning' for the interview.

So, as some thoughtful souls warned, we should ALWAYS keep an open mind, sifting and weighing the evidence (however and from wherever it arrives) even if it means behaving like a one-person committee - and never making your mind up. If we were all like that we would probably never start a war - and nothing much would get done, either :)

And there is another problem. We all wish WE had the power to change the world - to our point of view. The terrorists, the 'Neo-cons' and you and me.

We, the reviewers, represent the great unwashed, those who not only didn't watch, but never would, let alone 'give a toss.' And yes, they too are polarized in their opinions and rarely change, whatever the 'evidence.'

But they don't want to inflict opinions on us.

And out there is that great oblivious grazing herd of humanity who wish we would just shove off and let them get on with eating, sleeping, ..

Well, shove off.

Reviewer: LiberalismIsAMentalDisorder -

- November 28, 2005
Subject: Liberal Tripe
I don't even give this 1 star. Maybe a negative 5 stars on the basis that it only undermines everything moral in this world as Michael Moron's film. Jeez, he even looks like a moron!!

After the attacks in London how in anyone's right mind can you say that liberalism is so great? Liberalism is nothing more than a plot started long ago by communists trying to undermine the moralist societies simply to cause what they have succeeded to do, and that is for us to become ultimate partisans and basically causing the civil war that is going on in politics today.

JFK was more right wing than any right winged conservative living today and he was a democrat. He was the greatest President of the 20th century.
Winston Churchill was Britains greatest Prime Minister as well warning us of the Liberalism that is being brought forth in the world back in 1939 and warned of it's destructive power blinding those who are weak enough to be enticed by it. The whole Hippie anti-war generation of the 60's and 70's was part of the liberalist plot led by communism, and unfortunately I was one of them. SHEOPLE !!!!!

I want to puke every time I hear "it's time for a change" by some NEO NAZI Democrat, oops sorry, Liberalist!!! There is no more democratic party any longer accept that the Republicans are now the Democrats and there aren't any real conservative Republicans left!! So what are you all complaining about?

It was the Clinton administration that put the Taliban into power and now we are reaping from his stupidity!!

So let's become saluters off the communist party and have ALL our rights taken away. If England were more conservative instead of being a bunch of gay, baby killing, politically correct liberalists, there never would have been any attacks by the terrorists because they would have been put to death in May when they demonstrated in England and yelled "Death to Tony Blair!! Death to George Bush!!"

WAKE UP SHEOPLE and do some thinking for yourselves for once... If it weren't for Winston Churchill and Conservative powers of this planet during World War 2, we would all be lampshades right now!!! And if we don't wake up we will be lampshades very soon!!!

Here's an idea.. Read 'Liberalism Is A Mental Disorder' By Michael Savage after you see this crap of a so called documentary and THEN let's see your reviews...

[edited by BeatriceM to delete junk characters]

Reviewer: exposethelie -

- November 25, 2005
Subject: Excellent I love it.
Though this series doesn't come out and say " the U.S Govt pulled off 9/11" it points to that direction. I applaud anything that helps expose the lies and the agenda of these criminals.

http://au911.tripod.com/

Check this website for proof of government orchestration of 9/11 and other 'terrorism'.

Reviewer: wikichris -

- November 20, 2005
Subject: An excellent documentary
I have no doubt that this "documentary" (it's not a traditional documentary) is biased, some facts are twisted, and Curtis' ultimate conclusions may be flawed but basically this documentary is nothing but excellent.

Come on critics, it's not ALL lies. There's a lot of GREAT historical review of where Islamic extremism has come from and the story of the politics of super powers.

The vast majority of the public know nothing about what is presented in this film. Pro: It gets you started thinking about these things in 3 hours Con: I guess showing this to people who may just believe every word and conclusion could be detrimental.

Brilliant editing and a great sound track.

Giving it 1 star is just stupid.

Do not watch it and believe every second but I absolutely must tell you to watch it and keep an open mind!...then have a think!

Reviewer: greiner3 -

- November 19, 2005
Subject: A wonderful movie to spend some time with
Politics aside, this is cutting edge historical and cultural movie clips. The writers are top notch and the editors scoured through mounds of old film clips and present the best in this documentary. A must see for those who appreciate the finer things in life.

Reviewer: Tom Potter -

- November 16, 2005
Subject: The producer and reviewers missed the boat
Both the producers and reviewers
of "The Power of Nightmares" missed the boat,
on the root cause of the present conflict.

As can be seen by examining history and current events,
the gang that used Russia as a base from which
to instigated the Class Wars of the 1900's,
migrated to Israel and America,
after the Native Russians regained control of their nation,
and they are using these as bases from which
to instigate the Religious Wars of the 2000's.

Bush is a willing participant in the war-for-profit and power game,
just as FDR was.

If FDR had gone after the Class War Instigators
rather than getting in bed with them,
WWII would has lasted two months, and there would have been
no millions of deaths, no holocaust, no Cold War, no Korea, no Vietnam ,
no nuclear weapons, no instigation of global religious war, etc.

If Bush had gone after the Religious War Instigators
rather than getting in bed with them and Sharon,
there would have been no 9/11, no movement of America
toward a police and military state,
no loss of freedoms to Americans,
no danger to American's at home and abroad,
no shattering of the national budget,
no war on the Iraqi people,
with its' attendant cost, depletion of
non-renewable resources, environmental damage, etc,
no loss of trust by most nations of the world,
no hatred of America by hundreds of millions of Muslims,
no raid on Social Security,
no bankruptcy of major airlines,
no dollar flight,
no meltdown of the dollar,
no meltdown of America,
no weakening of the United Nations,
no weakening of NATO,
no neglect of New Orleans, America, and American interests,
etc.

The major weakness of a democracy,
is that immoral, profiteering, manipulators
can effectively buy the government at a low price,
by finding politicians like Bush, Clinton, FDR, Blair, etc.
and giving them the financial and media support
they need to rise above the pack.

As Philip, Alexander the Great's father said,
"There are no city walls so strong,
that they cannot be breached,
if you can get a donkey load of gold up to the wall."
The same is true with a democracy such as America has,
and immoral manipulators steal gold from the masses,
and use the gold to buy more politicians.

The producers of "The Power of Nightmares" are promoting the same dichotomy as the gang that instigates conflict for power and profit. They, like Bush and FDR, are either dupes of, or conscious agents of the gang.

--
Tom Potter
http://no-turtles.com
http://photos.yahoo.com/tdp1001
http://tom-potter.blogspot.com

Reviewer: badfeng -

- November 15, 2005
Subject: An Excellent Documentary that Gives a Historical Context to 9/11
If you're going to see one documentary this year, the three part BBC series "The Power of Nightmares" should be it. Its tone is less propagandistic than Michael Moore's 2004 documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" and it explains how the political climate that spawned 9/11 was created.

...

The documentary explains the strategy of the neo-conservatives and the political philosophy of their mentor, Leo Strauss. Strauss was, in essence, an elitist: he taught his students that it is necessary for social stability that the masses be energized and given a collective purpose through the use of myths. The myths are to be promoted and maintained by an elite. Individualism is to be discouraged in the masses, as it can lead them to challenge the myths and lessen their sense of purpose. Without a sense of purpose, the masses might not be comfortable with their place in the hierarchy. This would decrease social stability and endanger the long-term interests of the society as a whole.

(Full review online at:
http://www.frogstylebiscuit.com/index.php?articles_function=show_detail&name=articles&id=139)

The documentary limits its scope to exclude black operations, however... I would love to see Curtis tackle focus on the secret operations the governments use to fuel their myths. Discussing this, however, is risky territory as you are tackling myths that have billions of dollars behind them.

Reviewer: proberts9 -

- November 6, 2005
Subject: Interstering perspective on History
Keeping in mind this film presents a particular perspective, Adam Curtis', his view and the parallels he presents are interesting. If this film does nothing more than introduce viewers to Leo Strauss it is successful, as most liberals as well as Bush administration/PNAC own supporters don't know who it was that formed the political philosophy of our current president's cabinet. In the end, Curtis asserts that extremist are the enemy; be they Islamic extremists or Christian extremists.

For the 1-star critics: Please post specifics about false information presented, or links to counter-arguments. Simply saying "that's Bullshit" is not a counter-argument. Let me illustrate: To Moxley, the conservative reviewer who is unaware that conservatives are capable of sowing hate for thier fellow man like terrorists, I would offer the statements of Jerry Falwell (Oct 24, 2004 "Kill them all in the name of the lord."), Ann Coulter (Sep 12, 2001 "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."), and Bill O'Reilly (Jun 17, 2004 "What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of [the Iraqis], just like we did in the Balkans. Just as we did in the Balkans. Bomb the living daylights out of them.") There are extremists on both sides advocating wholesale murder.

Reviewer: mtk -

- October 29, 2005
Subject: I think EVERYONE should see this series
The series takes as its subject a comparison of two extreme ideological groups which have tried to shape the entire world for the past fifty years using power, influence and violence. Fundamentally the series is a comparison of these two ideologies that have been at varying times successful and unsuccessful in their agenda. This is a presentation of a chronological summary of thinkers and enablers who have made up the historical groups known as:

The Islamic Fundamentalists and the US American Neoconservatives

The Power of Nightmares is a remarkable and important historical doc because it goes back to Syed Qtub and Leo Strauss to detail the ideology behind the currents of thought that have struggled against one another, worked together to defeat the Soviet Union in Afganistan and ended up in direct conflict in a

winner-take-all-fight-to-the-death

which is taking place even now in the guise of the neocons War on Terror [which should rightfully be called a War of Terror].

But more, this series properly addresses the tactic of fear adopted by both groups, and especially that used by the neocons to propagandize humanity into electing politicians willing to use the fear-model for their own selfish interests - Tony Blair is really exposed as an opportunist by this series.

These three programs are amazing. I learned so much and I deeply wish more and more people could see them so we could begin a discussion to reframe the global power conversation that is being dictated to us by military and militant authorities.

Curtis' series does not address the possibility of Neocon or US American complicity in the attack on 9/11 nor does it properly address the Clinton era in context ...

He portrays 9/11 as executed by extreme readers of Islamic Fundamentalism [attrivuting it to KSM (the CIAs initials for Khalid Sheik Mohammad)] and leaves it at that. And Curtis portrays Clinton as a fundamentally good global agent who was buried by a neocan cabal which trained its powers of attack at him [painting Clinton as a victim].

In these ways, I have differences with Curtis, but neither does he take a stance on these matters that threatens the possibilities lined out by many other researchers and documentarians with more access and focus on them. He simply leaves them as generally accepted media ideas for the sake of a wider, more historiographic perspective that is really very very brilliant.

a GREAT historical view of conflicts authored by and between the necons and the Islamist Extremists ... really important work.

please find some one with high speed connection - universities would be perfect places to achieve this - and broadcast them widely.

Film clubs, organizations, peace groups, non-profits, NGOs, students or professors or faculty or staff with access to computer labs with high-speed connections: please download this important three part series from the BBC and have public viewings and showings ...

I urge this because I think it would make a great beginning to reframing the 21st century conversation.

in solidarity
mtk
citoyen du monde

Reviewer: malfunction -

- October 4, 2005
Subject: The problem with liberalism.
As an anarchist and socialist, what I found incredibly fascinating about this documentary is the discovery that I share a critique of the depravity of liberal society with the neo-cons and jihadists.

There is something real to the breakdown of community and social good brought on by individualism, greed, and materialism.

I, of course, have a very different solution. Instead of a powerful myth or religious fundamentalism, anarchists advocate a free, democratic society without property. But the starting critique is surprisingly similar.

Reviewer: XmarkX -

- September 30, 2005
Subject: Fun, but be wary
Last night I stayed up all night watching a documentary by Adam Curtis called The Power of Nightmares. It was hugely enjoyable, although like most documentaries it was grossly simplistic. It claimed to compare two parallel movements, American neo-conservatism and Islamism, which is a convenient journalistic premise which is amped way beyond its basis in reality. Essentially, the documentary was about American neo-conservatism which was then imposed as a model for portraying Islamism.

It's portrayal of neo-conservatism is in itself a bit weird. The implication seems to be (though this is never said explicitly, of course, since it is complete bullshit) that prior to neo-conservatism, America was not engaged in a war against phantom enemies around the globe in opposition to which it defined itself. In point of fact, the Indochinese adventures of the 1960s and early 1970s were crazier than anything we are seeing today. Noam Chomsky would tell you this - he would tell you that America is an imperialist juggernaut that has always been trying to extend its interests/tentacles. But when Curtis gets onto more recent ground, in the third part, he becomes far more acute in dealing with the way the neo-cons have actually operated - though he failed to really explain how they came to take over the second Bush administration.

His explanations of the Salafists are almost bizarre, and make me long for he solidity of Marxist analysis. He speaks as if the rise of Islamism in the early 1990s was entirely caused by returning jihadis from Afghanistan, and speaks as if the Palestinians did not exist and as if the grievances of oppressed populations did not exist. He simply likes to cast Salafism as an ideology without popular support that drives its small band of adepts to insanity. This is an interesting thesis to explain what is happening in Iraq, viz. that there are just some Salafist crazies ('Al Qaeda') will just kill anyone they feel like. However, it fails to deal with important differences between neo-conservatism and Salafism, such as that Salafism is based on sincere religious beliefs and comes as a response to real injustices. While these guys might be even worse than neo-conservatives if they had their finger on the button, the point is that they are nowhere near any button, and the most they aspire to is a united Islamist caliphate, not global domination, which is precisely what the neo-cons, armchair generals to a man, aspire to.

Basically, this kind of democracy is an entertainment product for lefties. It includes some interesting points of fact, but selects its facts so as to make a number of core implicit conclusions, which are all basically bullshit. Essentially the claim is that the problem is extremism and that all extremists are as bad as one another, which feeds to a simple liberal position that just basically wants Clinton back in the White House. It is therefore perfectly safe for the BBC to put out for public consumption, even though it encourages views to the left of Tony Blair.

From http://interbreeding.blogspot.com

Reviewer: Rumpl4skn -

- September 19, 2005
Subject: Hmmmm......
I can't help but notice all the reviews that have just 1 or 2 stars here sound like sour-grapes, apologist "plants" for Bushco.

Are you guys being financially compensated, or is it just embarassment over the polls plummeting as fast as the Twin Towers on 9/11?

Let's face it folks - this is not garden variety politics we're talking about here. It's Liberalism vs. Conservativism, it's that hackneyed old "good vs. evil" we've heard so much about (but not QUITE the Bush version, btw).

Anyone who still talks about global evil as if the next U.S. Presidential election will fix anything, has their head up their ass. Wake up.

Reviewer: davidlaska -

- August 30, 2005
Subject: mpeg 2 coding is not just here
down loading mpeg 2 files and mpeg 1 and mp4 from any site can be a encoding problem when you try to watch. Go try a site with all the resources and still you may not be able to play the file smoothly. Try a mpeg2 file from nasa,s zoom to a city collection and see for yourself. I get around some of the encoding problems by have a mac and PC. This is not a archive.org issue only.
Now back to subject, I am still downloading.

Reviewer: ssilver -

- August 23, 2005
Subject: Another Great Adam Curtis Series
This is a great documentary series. Many of Adam Curtis' earlier works are also available on the net. They all tie into each other.

You can find them here:
- The Mayfair Set (1999) http://tinyurl.com/88c86
- Century of the Self (2002) http://tinyurl.com/b46ky
- Pandora's Box (1992) http://tinyurl.com/bzqyz

Reviewer: Samizdat -

- August 22, 2005
Subject: 911: the Road to Tyranny
I'll get round to my review; downloading film now.

Now, we over at the Internet Archive's "911: the Road to Tyranny" may not have the name recognition BBC has, but we got the goods, where exposing the Fascist tyranny in Washington goes.

http://archive.org/details/911theRoadtoTyranny

Reviewer: me#1 -

- August 16, 2005
Subject: ConservatismIsAMentalDisorder
"It was the Clinton administration that put the Taliban into power and now we are reaping from his stupidity!!"

Why are you stopping there? Why aren't you going back to Reagan when we first started training and arming Osama and the mujahedeen in afghanistan to fight our proxy war with the soviet union. Talk about shit coming back. You should reexamine your what you sow is what you will reap philosophy.

Dimwit, I won't even get into the rest of your statements. It's a global world, you can't just stick your chest out and tell people what to do anymore. Something the US is coming to realize slowly especially as it becomes less and less useful to the world.

You just can't blow shit up to get your point across (it sucks i know, but it's true).

Reviewer: morpheus.la -

- August 10, 2005
Subject: Interesting documentary
Adam Curtis seems like a talented guy. Two of his previous efforts, Pandora's Box and The Century of the Self were both interesting. I thought that The Power of Nightmares is his best film, so far. I found it entertaining how he's woven the stories of the rise of the Islamists and the neo-cons together. As a political moderate, I find him considerably to my left, but that doesn't prevent me from enjoying what he has to say. He makes some excellent points, specifically that politicians today (regardless of affiliation) seem to prefer fear as their tool of choice to push their agendas and that both the American neo-cons and Islamists profess some rather extreme beliefs. The film's core thesis that Al-Qaeda is not an organized terrorist network is probably correct, as evidenced by Tony Blair's public comments about Al-Qaeda in the wake of the recent London bombings. There are plenty of terrorists out there, but lumping them together under as Al-Qaeda isn't going to help us to defeat them. Watch the program. Ignore the loud-mouthed yahoos screaming "liberal", if they paid attention they'd have noticed that Curtis is equally scathing in noting the failure of the liberal dream. The yahoos are just scared of opinions that diverge from the voices they're hearing in heads. And BTW, Curtis does have some solid academic credentials, having taught at Oxford University, before deciding to become a documentary filmmaker.

Reviewer: Knapster -

- August 8, 2005
Subject: Complex, interwoven and through provoking
Curtis' film is complex and ambitious in its terms of reference.

Essentially what he attempts to do is place our world (now haunted by terrorism) into a historical and ideological context - to provide a narrative and therefore an explanation of 'what's happening'. When most press coverage merely extends the motives of these people to being 'evil doers' on one hand or purely antithetical to the western 'system' on the other, his film is riveting and enlightening in its scope.

Some commentators have criticized the film as flawed in various respects. Firstly it's complexity and ambition allow it to be open to the charge of being 'incomplete' and while events in London 'seem' to contradict it, this film becomes all the more compelling in the current climate.

The thing is Curtis is not saying terrorism or terrorists don't exist. In some sense terrorism or bombings (as shocking acts in themselves) are the red herring of the film - the real focus is socio-political. What Curtis is saying is that while terrorism has always been with us, it is not "al Qa'ida" that is exceptional, but the response to it.

For, as he explains, in a world that believes in 'nothing', the fear created by those who believe in something has great purchase. The paradigm shift has been to move away from a 'what is' science based reasoning, to a precautionary 'what if' based one - which can go anywhere since our fantasies about 'what could happen' are limitless. We presume the worst.

Both the terrorists and the politicians have played on this fear and the two groups (the Islamists and Neoconservatives) have played into each others hands, becoming resurgent as a result. They are (as he ends the film) the last ideologies, but when they fade Curtis portents that politicians will have no visions (good or bad) to offer us any more.

His conclusion is firmly anti-political. He offers no program. Even though his choice of archive material is satirical and almost mournful of our materialistic, over-fed, media orientated and atomized society - there is no sense he wants to advocate another and add it to the pile of those that have come and gone. He is a cynic, but like all good cynics he is an old fashioned moralist at heart.

Reviewer: cyclic -

- August 4, 2005
Subject: powerful stuff.
Did anyone hear that The Power of Nightmares was made into a 3hr documentary film that was screened at Cannes in May this year? I've not seen it or heard of a release recently, there seems to be a deathly silence around PoN in the mainstream media...

Reviewer: Grym -

- July 27, 2005
Subject: Interesting, Well-produced, but Flawed
Adam Curtis' "The Power of Nightmares" is definitely worth watching. The earlier episodes, in particular, provide a lot of information on the history of both modern Islamic fundamentalism and neo-conservatism in the United States. The documentary (a misnomer for this form of entertainment) is also well-produced with a decent soundtrack and interesting editing. Sadly, however, Curtis' vision eventually becomes hopelessly skewed.

In short, Curtis' working thesis is that:
1.) There is no international, organized terrorist group--except for the IRA.

2.) The commonly held belief of the existence for (1) is due to it being propagated mainly by neo-conservatives for both political and ideological reasons

3.) Both Islamic fundamentalism and neo-conservatism share a hatred of western liberalism.

How he arrives at the conclusion for (1) is questionable. For two episodes he builds up the Islamic fundamentalists and cites how the planers of the 9/11 attacks hoped such an attack would bring muslims from around the world to their cause. And then, in the third episode, he just concludes that they AND their idea (?) are dead now. His evidence? That we didn't find them in Afghanistan. Never mind the fact that many Pakistan did nothing to stop them from crossing the border. Never mind the fact that organized bombings in London, Madrid, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Russia all required training, materials, personnel, and financing that had to come from SOMEWHERE. He doesn't even address whether or not 9/11 and subsequent Iraq war did, in fact, bring more to the Islamic fundamentalist cause. At best, his conclusion on this point is flawed. At worst, it represents an almost racist perception that angry fundamentalist muslims are incapable of organizing themselves.

While that is the most glaring flaw, the whole piece is littered with mistakes like this. Nevertheless, it is interesting and on some points is very astute, but if you do watch it, take its conclusions with a grain of salt--or at least a healthy dose of realism.

Reviewer: stuartbc -

- July 23, 2005
Subject: LINKS TO ALL CHAPTERS : The Power of Nightmares
CHAPTER ONE
http://ia108025.us.archive.org/1/items/ThePowerOfNightmares/chapter1.mpeg

CHAPTER TWO

http://ia108025.us.archive.org/1/items/ThePowerOfNightmares/chapter2.mpeg

CHAPTER THREE

http://ia108025.us.archive.org/1/items/ThePowerOfNightmares/chapter3.mpeg

Reviewer: apwsmith -

- July 14, 2005
Subject: Stunning
This is an utterly rivetting piece of work. It draws together a plethora of details and events that I remember with historical context that i was previously aware of to draw startling conclusions. Whether every detail is correct or not, this movie will cause you to think and will have some new revelation for all but the most widely read and knowledgeable people. In these times of manufactured truths, heavily filtered information, and careful management of the media, we all have to choose what story we believe. I have found most of the stories to date - from both right and left and especially those coming out of the United States - simply fail to answer the questions that I have. This is the first time someone has drawn a picture I can start to believe in. Plausible, realistic, and it doesn't resort to hyperbole or extremism. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: DMArnold -

- July 14, 2005
Subject: required viewing
Most Americans don't realize there are many societies in the world who regard democracy and individual freedom with the same fear we reserved for Communism during the Cold War.

When is individual liberty a bad thing? The answer is, when it distracts citizens from society's goals as a whole. How, then, to combat such a thing? Create a myth for the people to believe, something to divert their attention from their selfish, animal beings. Religion will suffice. The masses need to be led by someone posessing a higher knowledge. That is the duty of the annointed elite.

Does the above sound like the philosophy of the Islamic Taliban? In actuality, it is that of Leo Strauss, in many ways the philosophical father of American Neo-Conservatism, the doctrine driving the current Bush adminstration.

These films from a BBC series explore the parallels between Neo-Conservatism and fundamentalist Islam. Whether or not you agree, the arguments presented are food for thought.

Question authority. Both Strauss and the Taliban will hate you for it.

Reviewer: Jeffrey Melton -

- June 16, 2005
Subject: Astounding and intelligent.
This is an astounding, well documented and intelligently argued documentary on the origins of American Neoconservatism and Islamist Fundamentalism and the origins of the current 'War on Terrorism'. I highly recommend all three episodes.

Reviewer: Beige -

- June 15, 2005
Subject: Come on folks . . .
I am not a conservative. I hate the way they argue on the internet, so I would never want to be a conservative. PoN presents a number of sub-arguments to support its central argument. Those sub-arguments (e.g. that the evidence used to indict terrorist suspects has been extremely flimsy etc. etc.) are, for the most part, supported by evidence. If you have problems with those sub-arguments (or with the central argument), you are free to present evidence of your own and then we can all have a proper debate and learn something in the process. Phrases like "errant presuppositions" shouldn't really have anything to do with it, not unless your fundamental objective is to make yourself like a dork. What I would ideally love to see is a website devoted to evidence (in support of and) in opposition to the sub-arguments presented in PoN, with all the relative citations. All you keyboardkommandos seem to have a lot of time on your hands. Get on it . . .

Reviewer: mateu -

- June 15, 2005
Subject: Come on.
Speaking as one who has done and continues to do the research on the subject, Adam Curtis is obviously operating from errant presuppositions that disqualify the whole assertion of this film. Radical Islam indeed has a world domination issue, as clearly commanded by their book, but the comparisons between Islam and Conservatives are contrived beyond the scope of reality. Silly, actually. You cannot support a presupposed conclusion by cutting segments of data together in a way to support yourself, then actually expect reality to work in your favor. Facts are stubborn things unchanged by the depth of passion or conviction. It looks more like Curtis is selling an agenda of fear rather than his subject as he claims. A pot-addled frat boy could have conceived a better theory, but it would still be errant.

Reviewer: panny1 -

- June 14, 2005
Subject: Great Series - where's part 4?
Thouroughly enjoyed this series - a clear and great understanding of what is really happening behind the scenes.

Maybe I've made a mistake, but there only seems to be 3 out of the 4 episodes here - where can we get the 4th?

Reviewer: Droid -

- June 4, 2005
Subject: Great Film-Shows the Power of Fear and Propaganda
There is no doubt the film is spot on, the 'War on Terror' is purely a scam to get Americans to sacrifice their sons, and daughters and tax dollars for the latest neo-con/right wing scheme to make loads of money and, they hope, to rule the world and it's diminishing resources. The fact that not one Al Queda member has been found, not to mention found with even a popgun or enough explosive for a bottle rocket, in the US in the last three years shows the organization is less a threat than America's own WMD armed right-wing anti-government nutcases, like Willima Krar :

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B16FC385D0C718EDDAF0894DC404482

"William Krar of Noonday, Tex, who had weapons cache containing fully automatic machine guns, remote-controlled explosive devices disguised as briefcases, 60 pipe bombs and cyanide bomb big enough to kill everyone in large building; says Krar's arrest was result not of law enforcement effort against domestic terrorists, but a fluke; "

The movie could have gone on to speculate on the likelihood that the anthrax letters, ready to go in anticipation of 9/11 and mailed one week later on 9/18/2001, were likley a 'black-ops' as the anthrax was US Ft. Detrick sourced weaponized Ames strain, available only from the US gov't, and letters were of course mailed to Democratic Senate leaders who were holding up the Patriot Act, Leahy and Daschle, as majority party at the time. Unnamed Bush White House staff in fact started themselves on anti-anthrax CIPRO immediately on 9/11/2001, perhaps in anticipation, but with adequate 'plausible deniabiltiy' of what was the well planned 'next nightmare' , the anthrax attacks, which provided a great follow-on to 9/11, particularly with the 'Death to America, Death to Israel' notes conveniently provided with the deadly germs. Of course the anthrax case is unsolved, and never will be solved. See link below for the White House CIPRO link:

http://www.judicialwatch.org/1967.shtml

"Jun 7, 2002 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5172

FBI & BUSH ADMINISTRATION SUED OVER ANTHRAX DOCUMENTS

Judicial Watch Wants to Know Why White House Went on Cipro Beginning September 11th

What Was Known and When?.............."

Reviewer: EsTiSi -

- June 3, 2005
Subject: Hmmm...
An interesting film. Unquestionably partison but original. The purity of history is as illusory as the integrity of propaganda. However, an idea that organizes facts in a new way deserves to be explored, and fortunately humanity has been blessed with the creative faculties that enable us to do so. Kudos to the BBC and archive.org.

Reviewer: rgs_uk -

- June 1, 2005
Subject: Watch out for more BBC bashing in the future
This was shown on national BBC Television and has since been re-edited and shown at the Cannes Film Festival. It may get a US cinema release. It was courageous of the BBC to transmit this.

No American TV channel has so far aired it. Enough said...

Expect to see many more attacks on the BBC from the right-wing in the United States for obvious reasons.

Even if you don't agree with the premise, it is also worth watching for the way in which the Director mixes in old archive and movie footage -- some of it the kind of stuff that is available for free use here at archive.org.

Reviewer: mr. superbad -

- May 30, 2005
Subject: Excellent documentary
Puts past and recent events in a unique and, well, disturbing perspective. To think if we had only cooperated with the Russians in their pull out of Afghanistan, and helped them create a stable government, the Taliban might have never risen to power.

Reviewer: SPFan -

- May 22, 2005
Subject: The Documentary Provides Plenty of Facts
Some have claimed it provides no facts to back up its evidence. However, the people who have said this have provided no evidence whatsoever to counter anything found in this documentary except for extremely vague reviews that reveal nothing. There are commentaries by people who were actually in the CIA discussing the Terror Network book and Team B. The second volume actually has an individual who actually wrote a lot of those articles about Clinton that he now claims he made up. The last volume shows several pieces of evidence to back up the claims about the the suspected terrorists who were jailed with little evidence as well as discussing the studies the US government did with dirty bombs that showed they weren't effective weapons. It also shows interviews with people in the British military saying they hadn't captured or killed anyone who was officially part of Bin Laden's terror network. There's actually a heck of a lot more to back this stuff up than Michael Moore's recent documentary. With all of this information that has been hammered into our brains all of these years it's kind of hard to swallow a lot of this. If you don't already know the Neo-Conservative movement as it is known today is generally considered what is currently the policy of the United States, which is vastly different from the Republican Party of old. Originally, it was supposed to be liberals who turned into conservatives. Now it's mostly considered a product of think-tanks such as The Project for The New American Century (PNAC) and is a policy of unilateral war to solve some of the problems around the world. These policies were planned years before George W. Bush was even in power by people such as Paul Wolfowitz who created an invasion plan for Iraq during the Bush Sr. administration that was considered too extreme for that time(The plan specified specific oil reserves and other aspects of the plan that seem familiar to what has happened in the past few years). The PNAC plan also details an Iraq invasion as well as several other invasions in the Middle East. PNAC is well known in the academic world right now and is considered the blueprint for the current Neo-Conservative world view. A lot of people who are called Neo-Conservatives reject the term. However, it have become a fairly common term and is considered by other conservatives to be a valid term to describe their political views. Wikipedia.com has a good writeup about all of this describing the origins and criticisms of the term.

Reviewer: Subvert Press -

- May 22, 2005
Subject: The Doorway To Hell!
If you watch this film, you will become a Communist and murder unborn babies. Do you want to become a Communist? Do you want to murder unborn babies? Of course you don't. But if you watch this film, you will do both of these things and more. You will smoke reefer, you will march in those evil peace rallies with filthy hippies and Satanic liberals, you'll even start hugging trees and dating ethnic minorities. See how insidious this demonic liberal media is? Your very eternal soul is at stake, my friend! Do you want to risk an eternity roasting in the flames of eternal hellfire? Then for God's sake, don't watch this film! You have been WARNED!

Fyron Brymstoan, MD, Ph.D, D.Th, OBGYN, BMF, YMMV, LMAO

Reviewer: historydoc -

- May 20, 2005
Subject: From an Historian's Perspective
I am not a conservative. I am a history professor at a state university. Do not rush to believe the interpretations put forth here. Journalists are not required to follow the rigorous standards of evidence that bind serious academics, and this is one example of what can happen. When an honest look at either the extreme faction of Islam or the imaginary group called "neo-cons" would be inconvenient for the driving agenda of this film it is disregarded in favor of conjecture. Even the basic categories here are questionable, as Moxey has pointed out in his own way.

Those who wish to denounce spun, unsubstantiated (or -able) propaganda must keep this film in their sights. Those who wish to learn should carefully study the difference between evidence (the kind you can substantiate) and interpretation. That key line is horribly blurred in this production. Justice is done to no one except, perhaps, the film's producer, whose biases render all of the real people portrayed here as caricatures. We need honest and open discussion, not the perpetuation of a-historical stereotypes. This film is long on the latter, and seems opposed to the former. Many would like to explain the strained relations between America and Europe by pointing to shallow ignorance on the part of the former. The shallowness of this film should remind all of us that no one has a monopoly on willful ignorance.

Dr. Steven Matthews, Ph.D.

Reviewer: moxey -

- May 19, 2005
Subject: power of spin
i am a conservative.but im not jewish{neo-con is a liberal code word for conservative Jew}.if you dont know this-than you know nothing.but i was not aware that conservatives sow hate for thier fellow men like the terrorist movement does.
maybe im not bright enough to understand how teachers can show thier students propaganda like this,even if it is your strongest held ideology.
farenhiet 911 and now...this.
who is it really that is trying to sow fear?
now we will see if "diversity" of thought and speech is tolerated by those of the liberal mindset who claim to hold it so dear.

Reviewer: John Hell -

- May 16, 2005
Subject: A great teaching tool.
I showed this entire series to my high school Pre-Law class. All 30 students were blown away by what they saw. Show this to your concervative brother-in-law.

Reviewer: mgoller -

- May 15, 2005
Subject: Fahrenheit 9/11's better
Although I agree that the encoding created some difficulty (I had to use DVD software to play the larger MPEG file because I couldn't find any way to play the MPEG4 format I normally use), this documentary was absolutely a must see! I downloaded it early last week with passing interest, but became more intrigued after seeing a headline about it on Buzzflash.com. I have watched the first two segments, and I think it is the most important political documentary of our time (sorry Michael, but you have been outdone). The film is being shown at Cannes this year, and it is said that it has riveted an audience of journalists. I will purchase a DVD of this film if it is ever released in the U.S. and provide it to anyone that I believe will be open-minded enough to benefit from the insights it provides. If you can get past the encoding problems, it is well worth the effort to download and watch it.

Reviewer: wilbrifar -

- May 15, 2005
Subject: encoding problem
The series itself is excellent, but why are there such constant encoding problems with things posted on these archives? I'm sure I'm not the only one who found difficulty with these files in the mpeg2 format; despite being fully downloaded my computer showed them as being 51 seconds each, which made navigation impossible. I finally had to re-encode each episode separately, which made them viewable, yet when burned to dvd they have a jerky motion which makes tv viewing almost impossible. None of this is necessary if files are simply encoded correctly in the first place, as SOME of the files on the archives are. Someone there needs to figure out what differentiates the good files from the bad ones, and stop encoding things the bad way.

Reviewer: bulentyusuf -

- May 12, 2005
Subject: Brilliant Documentary
This is a fascinating documentary about the origins and similarities between the American Neoconservatives and the Islamic Fundamentalists, using archive footage and interviews to describe their extremist agenda of paranoia and fear. Originally aired in the UK by the BBC just before the 2004 American elections, it has not yet been shown in the States because of its controversial nature. I strongly urge you to download these films, burn them to DVD, and show them to as many people as possible.

EDIT: Here's a link to an interview with the director - http://film.guardian.co.uk/cannes2005/story/0,15927,1481970,00.html?gusrc=rss

Segments

Part 1 - Baby it's Cold Outside
Part 2 - The Phantom Victory
Part 3 - The Shadows in the Cave

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The Power of Nightmares Part 1 - Baby it's Cold Outside	1.2 GB	241.9 MB	246.4 MB
The Power of Nightmares Part 2 - The Phantom Victory	965.1 MB	240.0 MB	246.1 MB
The Power of Nightmares Part 3 - The Shadows in the Cave	984.1 MB	244.0 MB	248.7 MB

Image Files	Animated GIF	Thumbnail
The Power of Nightmares Part 1 - Baby it's Cold Outside	443.2 KB	6.8 KB
The Power of Nightmares Part 2 - The Phantom Victory	453.8 KB	1.5 KB
The Power of Nightmares Part 3 - The Shadows in the Cave	438.7 KB	3.3 KB

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ThePowerOfNightmares_meta.xml	Metadata	2.9 KB
ThePowerOfNightmares_reviews.xml	Metadata	176.4 KB
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chapter2.md5	Checksums	170.0 B
chapter3.md5	Checksums	170.0 B

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