Adam Curtis knows very well how to tell a story. This strong political analysis about two major movements in contemporary history, Islamic fundamentalists and the Neo-conservatives feels like a thriller. It is a long, breathtaking political video-clip. It starts with the hypnotic intro and the haunting music of Brian Eno's 'The big ship' and after that you will be in a brilliant and intelligent edited film, in a roller-coaster of imagination and suggestion. At the same time a lot of major players in the field are interviewed and the research is outstanding. Nevertheless there are some remarks to make about the trilogy of Curtis. The storyline of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the Neo-conservatives as almost similar political movements of machines of fear is in my opinion interesting and plausible but too much constructed as a simple story of cowboys and Indians. In Curtis vision it seems like there is no room for chaos or coincidence. Although the result is an almost hermetic political vision, this documentary is a firm, intelligent and important statement and one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Try to see it somewhere.

This remarkable documentary, well written, researched, and articulate, traces the odd, parallel paths of the rise and failures of the Islamist movement and the movement of the American neoconservatives. What makes this documentary so outstanding is not just that it clearly exposes many of the myths of the so-called "War on Terror," but the fact that it places the power of these myths in a larger and very important context. This film's position is clearly that it is the failure of belief and of ideology in Western societies that has allowed neoconservative extremists to fill the gap with nightmares in order to assert power and influence. Fear works well when people do not believe in anything, since that lack of faith makes them quite vulnerable. For the Islamists, fear attempts to fill the gap in societies that have lost their Islamic faith and roots. The dirty little secret underlying all this is that both groups, the Islamists and the Neoconservatives, are, at the core, nihilists, in spite of their ideological rants and pretensions. One can only hope that a discerning public will eventually be exposed to the hollow, vain, and arrogant "men behind the curtain" in both societies, so that all can realize that these wizards of terror are just empty charlatans. The sooner that happens, the sooner we can all click our ruby slippers together and return to Kansas, and, hopefully, to some measure of sanity, and, perhaps to a genuine faith.

I've seen this documentary and believe it one of the more objective of it's kind. Others like Michael Moore and Alex Jones tend to be very aggressive, as it is, to your notion of truth. I can imagine people don't want to hear what they are saying because they feel that admitting that they are wrong proves them to be fools. Of course some people need a jolt, but most of the free thinkers out there just want real truths.Adan Curtis has done just that to my opinion. Just present traceable facts that, shown together, form a very possible picture of current events. Without making you feel silly for not knowing this, and thus giving you to freedom to choose. Of course it has a political color, but as you can see in the documentary 'outfoxed' so does the mainstream media.If you are interested in the world and why it's going the way it is. Watch this video en decide for yourself. I started looking for signs of it in my own country and I believe it's happening here as well, or at least they are trying, you'll probably find it's happening in your country too. Stay aware, stay informed, but don't believe anyone is saying at once, use your own mind, you have one, so why not.You can freely download it, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares, there is a link at the bottom under 'Video' where you can download the video.Peace Demian

This was is one of the greatest documentaries I've ever seen. I saw it as it appeared on British TV, in 3 parts, but all at the same time. It was entertaining and informative as any documentary should be and would recommend it to nearly anyone. The first sections simply explained how both Islamic fundamentalists and neo cons (Christian fundamentalists) rose to power. It went into detail how they came to power and what their motivations in office were. It is brilliantly and insightfully done switching back and forth between the two with ease and precision. It also helped to connect the two, pointing out their similarities and differences. It was even able to connect the neo cons to famous 1960's dramatic western TV series "Gun Smoke". Unfortunately by the third part the documentary began to fall apart. It became less a documentary and more a speculation making the war on terror seem like a weak conspiracy theory. These speculations had a weak base which I might have been willing to follow had the comments had any evidence to back it up. However, unlike the previous sections the third just explained these assumptions and moved on without providing the audience the evidence to draw the conclusion. It quickly lost my attention leading me with contempt. Overall the documentary was still tactful and intelligent and I learned a great deal from it.PS it might be noted that part of my dislike for the final part of the film is that I am a moderate. The film is clearly marketed to a more liberal audience, but I still enjoyed it.