Customer Reviews

All the President's Men [VHS]

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This Oscar winning 1976 film is about Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two Washington Post reporters who broke the biggest story of the 1970's - that of the Watergate scandal. It originally seemed like a small story, a break-in at the Democratic headquarters, but because of these two young men doggedly going after the facts, it brought down a president.

Starring Dustin Hoffman as the chain-smoking and quirky Bernstein, and Robert Redford as the more sophisticated Woodward, there is a chemistry between them which gave them the impetus to push way beyond the limits of what the story required, and as one discovery led to another, build on the accumulated details to go even further. Both the men were good at sizing up people, and the film shows how, in one interview after another, they got each interviewee to reveal those details that could fit into the king-size puzzle that they had taken on. Martin Balsam, cast as the managing editor, wanted to give the job to more senior reporters, but as Jack Warden, the metro editor, pointed out, the two young men had a passion for the story that was very special. Jason Robards, the executive editor, was quick to question all their facts, but generally supported them all the way.

Throughout, there are lots of shots of the massiveness of the tall buildings in contrast to the smallness of the men. And, when it came to the secret informer who they called "Deep Throat", those scenes were cast in shadow. The pacing was excellent and the there was tension throughout, which kept me fascinated even though I knew the eventual outcome. This story became an obsession with the two reporters and it seemed as if nothing would stop them. Occasionally, it got a bit repetitive, but that is the nature of good reporting, which can also be called good detective work.

The film brought back the reality of the 1970s, from the hairstyles to the manual typewriters. I found myself thinking about the cell phones and computers we take for granted today, as I watched them pour through phone directories as well as thousands of library take-out slips as they followed up on every clue. The acting, of course, was excellent as well the screenplay, which focused entirely on the news story, rather than becoming maudlin with the personal lives of the men. I give this film a high recommendation. It's definitely worth seeing.

The enduring brilliance of the 1976 film "All the President's Men" is not due to the handful of great performances by legendary actors. It's not due to the shockingly true story it documents. What sets "All the President's Men" apart, making it one of the great suspense thrillers of all time, is its utter authenticity.

The film does not make a single misstep. Each low key scene after another, solidly crafted, realistically portrayed, slowly builds a growing sense of dread. Like reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, we discover each clue. With great apprehension, we begin to realize this peculiar Watergate burglary is leading to one of the great scandals in American history.

I have seen "All the President's Men" at least 10 times, and each time my respect for this film grows. I am amazed by the camaraderie during the editorial meetings, so realistically portrayed. Equally impressive is how two larger-than-life actors Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman (as Woodward and Bernstein) disappear into their roles. Rarely noted, these two superstars give what is arguably the finest performances of their storied careers. By film's end, they are no longer Redford and Hoffman but two young reporters, intensely on the trail about to break the story of the century.

One of the great supporting casts of all time is important to the success of this film. Jason Robards, Jack Warden and Martin Balsam as the Washington Post editors who grudgingly guide and support their young reporters, are nothing short of brilliant. And then of course, you have Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander, Ned Beatty, Robert Walden, Stephen Collins and Lindsay Crouse in crucial, but memorable supporting cameos.

The late director Alan J. Pakula was the perfect choice for this film. An expert in paranoid thrillers ("Klute," "The Parallax View," "Presumed Innocent"), "All the President's Men" must be considered his crowning achievement. Hollywood has a history of changing true stories for dramatic embellishment, and Pakula should be applauded for sticking to the facts (as should William Goldman, who wrote the tight screenplay based on the Woodward/Bernstein novel of the same name) and creating an authentic recreation. It must have been an incredible challenge to make a film with so little action (no explosions, murder or gun fire).

In "All the President's Men," the pounding of the typewriter key is akin to the firing of a cannon. Eventually, as we see Woodward and Bernstein furiously typing away while on the television Richard Nixon is sworn in for his second term as President, we realize just how great a country the United States is. We are all accountable for crimes, even our highest elected leaders. This is a free country, perfectly personified by our free press. "All the President's Men" flawlessly documents this.

The beauty of this film is it is a better watch today than it was in the 70's. Remember that this movie was made only a couple of years after the events it chronicled. My favourite moments were those that obviously inspired the X-Files television series, and the wonderful depiction of a 70's newsroom with its scruffy reporters (or at least its attempts to make pretty-boy Robert Redford look scruffy) and incessant clickety-clack of a multitude of typewriters. Those not familiar with the Watergate players (as I was not) may get lost in the names, but fortunately you don't have to understand it all to appreciate what a great film this is. I missed a lot the first time, and I'll probably miss a lot the next time, but it'll be worth watching again and again. It ranks up there with The Russia House as a political thriller, but is even more engrossing because it is true!

The DVD picture and sound was crisp, but any sort of extra would have been nice. Who can figure out Warner Bros? Some of their DVDs are excellent (Contact, L.A. Confidential), but this one is bare-bones. Still, it is priced to own.

All the Presidents's Men is a truly wonderful film.

Unfortunately, it was also one of the first films to be released on the DVD format. Because the format was experimental, the studios were not willing to spend lavish amounts of money to create a DVD when the format might not even sell to the public (see Sony's Mini-Disc). So in what was a sound business decision, but a horrible decision for fans of the film, All the President's Men was given the bare bones treatment. Why spend the money is nobody is going to buy the machine to play the disc? That means both no special features (which still plagues some new releases) as well as making the quality of the film transfer just plain bad. Is it better than VHS? Yes, but not by much. A couple of the other reviews have mentioned that the picture and sound quality is fine. I'm guessing that these folks either lack the technology to exploit the marvels of DVD, or simply have not viewed enough DVDs to know what is good from bad.

Unfortunately, this is simply bad. The report from Widescreen Review speaks for itself, but I think it important to restate that fact that the positive reviews about the DVD transfer are wrong. All the President's Men doesn't have the action-packed scenes that take full advantage of Dolby Digital sound. But the 2.0 Dolby that is used isn't good. There is too much background noise and there isn't much difference between using your home theatre system vs. the speakers from your television. And compared to the picture quality, the sound is great. As I watched the DVD, I couldn't believe how bad the picture quality is. I know that a 25 year old film isn't going to be as crisp and clear as a film made last summer. But film restoration projects have made films that were shot in the 30's look way better than this DVD does. The film is grainy, the colors are not sharp, and the images aren't always too clear.

Warner Brothers has started to re-release some of its early releases and has given them better handling. Nothing has been anounced about All the President's Men, but one would hope that it too will receive a make-over in the near future. I'd save my money until that happens -- this disc is such a small upgrade from VHS that it isn't worth it.

Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman deliver Oscar worthy performances,
while Jason Robards won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in this movie
which is (in my opinion) one of the best "political" films ever made. I'm not even sure if it was nominated for Best Picture, but I have to say...This movie
was better than "Rocky" OK. The movie won four Academy Awards;
The one I mentioned above, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound. It's also rated PG, which is strange because they use the word f**k at least 8 times in this movie and nowadays, two uses can get you slapped with an R rating. But the movie opens as we witness four men breaking into the Watergate Building, which we all know was the setting for Democratic National Headquarters. The police show up and catch the men in the act of setting up survelliance/bugging the place and the story shows up
Bob Woodward's (Redford) desk. Woodward is a reporter at The Washington Post who reports the story and then begins to see oddities about it. Why would men break into the Democratic National Headquarters? Who sent them? Etc. Eventually joining in the act of helping him is Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) who begin a thorough investigation of the scandal that begins to turrn up names very high up in government and eventually even The President of the United States, Richard Nixon. Bernstein and Woodward worked their a$$es off to get this story, through apparent death threats and when people wouldn't talk to them, and they got it all right. Robards plays their boss, Ben Bradlee and deserved his Oscar. Another performance that was really good, although his face is almost entirely hidden in shadow is Hal Holbrook as the mysterious Deep Throat. Deep Throat was one of Woodward's informants who apparently worked high up in the government and seemed to know everything about the Watergate cover-up. Except he refused to just give up and information, only hints and could never be directly quoted or even referred to. Woodward, to this day has not given up the identity of Deep Throat or even gave the vaguest idea of who he might've been. Anyway, for a movie about reporters trying to unravel a cover-up, this movie was incredibly entertaining and exciting. It's never boring, it's never dull; both Hoffman & Redford play their parts extraordinarily well, which causes us to like the movie even more. And it's strange too, the movie doesn't end with Nixon resigning; but instead ends with Nixon taking his 2nd Oath of Office. We're given the remainder of the details as they're typed up on a Typewriter. I though the ending was abrupt, but perfect.

GRADE: A

Don't bother purchasing the current dvd. See what is coming soon:

Warner Home Video have announced the Region 1 DVD release of All The President's Men (Two-Disc Special Edition for 21st February 2006 priced at $26.99 SRP. The Academy Award winning motion picture about the Watergate burglary investigation that ultimately brought down the administration of Richard Nixon will arrive from Warner in two-disc special edition form in the same week as President's Day.

Newly remastered, the DVD bonus materials include commentary by Robert Redford (a first in his distinguished career), vintage featurettes including a making of the film and an interview with Jason Robards from the Dinah Shore show, as well as a new featurette about "Deep Throat" Mark Felt, whose identity was only recently revealed.

Features include:
Commentary by Robert Redford
Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of All the President's Men
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
Vintage featurette Pressure and the Press: The Making of All the President's Men
Vintage Jason Robards interview excerpt from Dinah!, hosted by Dinah Shore
Alan J. Pakula thrillers trailer gallery

To the outsider, Washington DC may be the jewel of American cities -- our center of truth, justice, and the American way. Of course, we've learned over the decades since this film was made just how little truth comes out of DC, how little justice there is in the US, and that the American way has probably evolved into consumerism, violence and myriad hatreds. This film was made during more innocent times, when a President abusing his power was shocking and immoral, unable to be tolerated. It is about the traditional philosophy and mission of journalism -- to expose the truth and inform the people. The content of the film, when you watch it, is going to contrast sharply with our media today. Redford and Hoffman give strong performances as two somewhat quirkly characters, very human, with the ambition to serve journalism according to the ideals of the time. The controlled intensity of Redford's performance plays well against Hoffman's conniving style, as both team up to investigate one of the biggest stories of modern US history. This is no dramatized film either, although I didn't read the book on which it is based so I cannot say if the story wasn't altered to suit Hollywood. However, the style of the film borders on being a documentary. There are no extraneous scenes, no frivolous characters, and every actor in this film is so professional and talented that you do know that you are witnessing real life rather than watching a fictional, sensational story. The cinematography, mainly taking place in the news office, is creative. Whether or not you agree with the outcome of Nixon's presidency, this film is exciting, with a sort of non-stop build up to an energetic level of suspense. You know the ending, so the film instead relies on showing you the people involved and the effects on all their lives. There aren't any scenes in what we expect to be the true seats of power -- the great halls of politics in DC. Rather the action centers around the newsroom and in the places where people really live, their homes. When I saw this film in the theatre way-back-when, or even watching it now on video, the only problem I have with it is that it ends abruptly. I don't know if that was due to a limited budget or if the producers/directors/writer/actors/somebody felt that the gist of the story had been told. This type of film should not be forgotten -- a responsible film that exposes the underlying dangers of investing power in potentially corrupt or unethical men.

Based on a book with the same title co-authored by Bernstein and Woodward and directed by Alan J. Pakula, this film focuses on two unlikely partners employed by the Washington Post whose investigative journalism eventually helped to reveal the nature and extent of President Nixon's involvement with a break-in at the national headquarters of the Democratic Party in 1972. It is indeed a credit to the collective talents of the film's director, cast, and crew that the film retains its dramatic edge throughout, given the fact that the break-in occurred years before. Those who saw the film when it was first released already knew a great deal about the burglars and subsequent efforts to cover up complicity "at the very highest levels of government." When seeing this film again recently, I was impressed by how compelling its narrative remains. Also, I was more aware than I had been before of the subtle humor which enlivens several of the conversations, especially between Bernstein (Hoffman) and Woodward (Redford). When the film begins, Bernstein and Woodward are relatively inexperienced reporters who (literally) stumble upon one of the most important political news stories of the 20th century. Their first challenge is to convince the Post's executive editor Ben Bradlee (Robards) and other senior executives that the story is worth pursuing. Then as their investigation lags, meanwhile enraging the Republican administration, Bernstein and Woodward fear that they will be pulled from the story. They desperately need a break. And then....

All of the performances are rock-solid. Robards was nominated for, received, and deserved an Academy Award for best supporting actor. William Goldman also received an Academy Award for his adaptation of Bernstein and Woodward's book. Of special interest to me, then and now, is the direct access the film permits to the daily operations of a major newspaper. In many respects, journalists such as Bernstein and Woodward share much in common with police detectives as they generate and evaluate leads, pursue those most promising, conduct interviews, assemble evidence, etc. It is exceptionally hard work, often boring and even frustrating. Jane Alexander provides one of the strongest performances as a bookkeeper who enables Bernstein and Woodward to "follow the money," both to those who received it and those who provided it. With regard to Deep Throat, his/her/their identity is known only to Bernstein and Woodward...and perhaps to a few others. For the purposes of the film, Hal Holbrook plays that role (as always) with appropriate style and grace.

In years to come, I think this film will continue to be enjoyed and appreciated less for the entertainment it provides and more for its value as a dramatic commentary on events but also on non-events. Yes, Bernstein and Woodward's efforts eventually led to the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of several of the President's men...and then to the reluctant resignation of the President himself. But what if the Washington Post and other major news media organizations had lost interest in the Watergate break-in? What if Nixon and his administration continued? Of course, we will never know.

- that was how presidential Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler referred to the attempted June 17, 1972 break-in at the Washington, D.C. Watergate building in his initial comments on the event. Not worthy of further notice, although "certain elements" might try to "stretch this beyond what it is." Ziegler would come to eat his words several times over when, as a result of the Pulitzer Prize-winning reports by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, one senior government official after the other lost his post to the prospect of exchanging suit and tie for prison garbs, until at last even President Nixon himself was compelled to resign from the office which, as he'd declared only shortly before, he had "no intention whatever of ever walking away from."

Based on Woodward and Bernstein's bestselling book and released only two years after Nixon's resignation, "All the President's Men" chronicles the two reporters' investigation of the infamous money trail leading from the burglars' court arraignment and notations in two of their notebooks to White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman and to a conspiracy which, as the reporters would discover, went far beyond a simple attempt to plant bugs at the national Democratic headquarters, and was chiefly engineered through the Republican Committee to Re-Elect the President (appropriately acronymed "CReeP"). While the events are somewhat streamlined and not all of the individuals actually involved in the conspiracy are mentioned - wisely so, as even the information that is given takes either several viewings of the film or a close reference to the underlying book to be fully digested - the movie faithfully depicts the events as they are described in the two reporters' account.

Woodward and Bernstein were an unlikely match; both regarding their personalities and their respective backgrounds: Woodward an Illinois native, Yale graduate and former naval officer with upper-crust ties, only nine months with the Post when the Watergate story broke; Bernstein a D.C. native and college dropout with liberal leanings, who had worked his way up in the business from age sixteen onwards. Yet, over time they not only came to be friends but actually worked together so closely that their colleagues took to addressing them collectively as "Woodstein." Equally unlikely was their staffing on the Watergate story, as neither of them was a senior journalist with the Washington Post, nor were they on steady assignment with its national desk. Yet, largely due to patronage by the paper's Metro Editor, as well as eventually Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, they were able to pursue their investigation to its very end.

Starring as Bernstein and Woodward are Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford (who had purchased the film rights to the story shortly after the book's publication and is also one of the movie's co-producers). Both actors performed a tremendous amount of research for their roles, which enabled them not only to perfectly portray the two lead characters - and this although Redford in particular has virtually no physical resemblance to Woodward - but also to convey their tenacity in pursuing a story that even their own colleagues at first didn't want to believe, and in whose development they were hampered at every corner. Similarly, Jason Robards, who won a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar and several other awards for his role as Ben Bradlee, convincingly nails the famous newsman's mix of New England pedigree and tough talk; and Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Hal Holbrook are equally compelling as Metro Editor Harry Rosenfeld, Managing Editor Howard Simons and Woodward's only recently-revealed, profoundly clandestine source "Deep Throat." Outstanding in a cast featuring dozens of actors are further Jane Alexander as bookkeeper and reluctant source Judy Hoback, Ned Beatty as Florida prosecutor Martin Dardis, Stephen Collins as former Haldeman aide and CReeP treasurer Hugh Sloan, Robert Walden as California attorney/smear campaign organizer Donald Segretti and Penny Fuller as Woodward's and Bernstein's colleague Sally Aiken, who uses her personal contacts to provide crucial CReeP insider information. (Plus, watch out for F. Murray Abraham's brief appearance as one of the arresting officers at the Watergate.)

What makes "All the President's Men" so compelling are, of course, first and foremost the true facts of the underlying story; the sheer enormity of a conspiracy constituting nothing less than a full-fledged attack on the electoral process and on the very foundations of the American democracy, and involving the entire U.S. intelligence community and almost all of the Republican establishment, up to and including former President Nixon. Appropriately, the movie is styled in the way of a documentary, resisting all temptations to hype the events and relying entirely on its stellar cast and on the authenticity provided by its D.C. location shots, by the recreation of the Washington Post's newsroom (with numerous props supplied by the paper itself), and by actual TV footage from the era. And although David Shire is credited for his soundtrack contribution, the film's most memorable sounds are not those of his almost non-audible score but the hammering of the reporters' typewriters, of the news ticker announcing the story's final developments, and of the gunshot- and whiplash-enforced pounding of the opening caption. Not surprisingly, the movie also won the Academy Award for Best Sound, in addition to Robards's and those for Best Writing (William Goldman, with input from Carl Bernstein and his former wife Nora Ephron) and Best Art Direction. Why it didn't also win the "Best Movie" award, I will never understand. (Rocky who?!)

"Nothing's riding on this except the First Amendment of the Constitution, the freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country," Ben Bradlee tells Woodward and Bernstein after their investigation has almost faltered over a misunderstanding with two sources regarding Haldeman's involvement, and he adds: "Not that any of that matters. But if you guys [mess] up again, I'm going to get mad ..." They didn't give him reason to. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history - hopefully never to be repeated, anywhere in the world.

Also recommended:
All the President's Men
Breach of Faith
Watergate: The Presidential Scandal That Shook America
The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat
Shadow : Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate
Nixon - The Election Year Edition
Thirteen Days (Infinifilm Edition)
The Candidate
Quiz Show
Advise and Consent

This film could not and would not be made today. It was written for thinking adults, and its quiet introspective style no longer exists in our popular culture, if at all. It is that rare movie that grows better with repeated viewings.

Filmed only four years after the events it documents, All The President's Men accomplishes the impossible by adapting Woodward and Bernstein's book of the same title to a suspenseful, driving screenplay. It came at a time when Watergate wasn't dusty history, and a movie about it seemed audacious because everyone knew the end of the story. I first resisted seeing it, thinking it would be a glossy, shallow flick (neither Redford nor Hoffman were the heavyweights they are today).

After watching it again recently and then reading the book, I was struck by how closely the film follows the text. It manages to elegantly distill the essential moments of a complex chain of events; only departing from the book in a few minor details. First-time viewers today won't know the names (or even the context) but the gist will be clear.

Redford and Hoffman are submerged in the lead roles; you forget it's them. Both have brilliant, seemingly improvised sequences as they wrestle to get information from balking or unwilling sources. But every supporting actor is also superb: Balsam, Holbrook, Warden and Robards are all at peak form. It's hard to remember that you are watching an enactment and not the actual events (the security guard at the Watergate complex who discovered the break-in is played by the real one). The movie was made with the full cooperation of Woodward, Bernstein and the Washington Post, creating a heightened sense of realism.

The Post's newsroom really deserves credit as an extra: the large space was meticulously reconstructed and busily filled with background people doing exactly what they should be doing. Look at those sequences carefully and you'll be astonished at the fidelity to detail. There is a scene that shows how the paper chose its daily headlines, by having a bunch of editors in a room joking and yelling at each other; it's a vérité masterpiece.

What makes All The President's Men truly special are the tight editing and cinematography. It's a detective movie, and every second shows how a journalist builds a story from facts, denials, contradictions, and (sometimes) bluffing. It also shows the consequences of being wrong (Nixon's spokesman, Ron Ziegler, is shown in a famous press conference denouncing the Post). Not a moment is wasted on secondary information; there is nothing about Woodward and Bernstein personally except what can be seen in their actions, although that's plenty. Every cut is visually crisp and directly propels the story. There are many takes that still feel fresh, without benefit of any computerized effects: the title intro, a pull-back shot in the Library of Congress, a juxtaposition of a TV showing current events with the reporters in the background.

After rewatching the movie some years back, Bob Woodward commented about the end scene in the movie, where the reporters confront their editor, Ben Bradlee, with their ultimate realization. Woodward thought Bradlee's movie answer was incorrect, and he checked his notes. Bradlee's actual response was, "What the hell do we do now?"

Watergate was about denial as much as any crime; the guilty wouldn't admit it and no one else would believe it -- until forced to. It violated a faith many people held in government and helped create the corrosive mistrust of politics (and the media) so widely held today. The issues raised in All the President's Men are as current as this morning's paper and as important as anything in it. Journalism is not simply about reporting facts, but the truth as well; our freedom lives and dies with it.