Movieo
Poster for The Power of Nightmares

The Power of Nightmares

2004 · 3h · N/A Documentary
Directed by Adam Curtis

Seen it?

Overview

A series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
86%
Tomatometer
Fresh

Adam Curtis has become the most exciting documentary filmmaker of our time. He's at once a psychologist, a historian, a journalist, a wizard of images, and a fearlessly incisive cultural detective who delves beneath the hidden myths of the modern world.

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Fresh

Though his bias is obvious, Curtis does his homework, getting the most damning evidence from interviews with the neocons themselves.

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Rotten

A sprawling, intellectually ambitious documentary about the political phenomenon usually referred to in journalistic shorthand as the war on terror.

A.O. Scott, New York Times
Fresh

Curtis' The Power of Nightmares finds that the basis of 21st century political power is fear. And for nearly three hours he makes it very hard to argue it's not.

John Anderson, Newsday
Fresh

As partisan filmmaking it is often brilliant and sometimes hilarious.

J. Hoberman, Village Voice

Comments

Talk about the film with other members

More films

1968 with Tom Brokaw