All the President's Men

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Summary: DEEP THROAT?
Review: Why does everyone but me think DEEP THROAT was one person? Or even a male? I think DEEP THROAT was two people: Rosemary Woods, and John Dean. Woods leaked the info to try to get him to resign before he went to prison. Dean spewed forth enough to save himself. Rosemary Woods was Deep Throat out of a profound loyalty to Nixon, and Dean was Deep Throat II out of a profound loyalty to himself and his family. Thats what I saw.

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Summary: Great Movie to Recruit Journalism Majors
Review: This is a great movie. During my teens in the 1970s, I never read the book or saw the film of "All The President's Men." I discovered the film during this past year (1998). I love to watch this movie. And I've always liked Nixon and thought he was a great President. To me, whether you supported Nixon or not is beside the point. Watching Woodward and Bernstein slowly and methodically investigate and uncover important information, their dogged determination despite doors being slammed in their faces, made this film exciting to watch from beginning to end. They had the assignment of a lifetime.

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Summary: A Must see!
Review: A superb story and a very good film. Once you start, you are definitely not going to move from the sofa until this film is over.

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Summary: It all started with a little something called Watergate...
Review: I cannot appreciate the impact this film had back then. But I can state that writer William Goldman and the late Alan J. Pakula have left a lasting impression in Hollywood's storied history of political scandals. One however cannot underestimate the hard edge, intense performances of Robert Redford (the innocent newcomer Bob Woodward with hidden talents) or Dustin Hoffman (the ingratiating headstrong Carl Bernstein), both of whom infuse immense talent into this tale of Watergate's deception, desperation and ultimately, hope. The foreboding atmosphere... the cynical and sometimes vicious circle of characters... all make for a spark and crackle of a movie. All too true. Once viewed, never forgotten.

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Summary: THEN REDFORD MADE THE KENNEDY-STOLE-1960-ELECTION MOVIE??
Review: "All the President's Men", based on the book by Woodward and Bernstein, was impossible to resist for Redford. Nixon! Oh boy! Again, Hollywood passed up the Kennedy-stole-the-election story. What a shock! You have to hand it to these guys, though; they have talent. "President's" was masterful, thanks in large part to Goldman, who knew how to condense the story. Redford tried to play it close to the vest, and comes close to making it come off as straight and narrow. The actual truth portrayed betrays the lack of objectivity, however, at the Washington Post. Redford is Bob Woodward, a former Navy officer and a Republican. This is revealed to Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) who gives him a furtive look upon learning this shocking truth. Jason Robards is Ben Bradlee, the Post's editor. We all know the story: The DNC is broken into by Cubans with White House phone numbers in their address books, and in investigating the burglary Woodward and Bernstein suspect a larger plot, which they uncover through dogged journalism that cannot be denied. The two writers are shown to be complete heroes. Hal Halbrooke plays "Deep Throat", the White House insider who gives Woodward the leads he needs to keep investigating. To this day his identity is unknown, and it remains entirely plausible that he was invented out of whole cloth.
The story is the story, and there is no room for liberal bias in that. To Redford's credit, he does not demonize the Republicans or sermonize. Implicit threat against the pair are made, but not expanded into anything. G. Gordon Liddy did volunteer to "off" Jack Anderson for revealing CIA assets in the U.S.S.R., but there is no evidence that Nixon's Republicans ever thought about blowing Woodward and Bernstein away. Domestic political murders, as best as I can tell, are the province of the Democrats. Even in Oliver Stone's "JFK", it is Lyndon Johnson who supposedly was in on the plan to kill the President.
The bias in "All the President's Men" is subliminal, but leave it to yours truly to see it. First, there is the acronym CREEP, which stands for Committee to Re-elect the President. There have been numerous such committees over he years, and they always go by the acronym CRP. But Woodward and Bernstein turned it into CREEP. Gotcha. There is also a scene in which Bradlee, who in real life was a drinking buddy (and God knows what else) of Kennedy's, getting the news that the story is progressing and has real legs.
"You run that baby," he tells Woodward and Bernstein, then does little jig as he leaves the office. This is telling. Redford and director Alan Pakula allowed it, probably because it let them impart their own happiness over Nixon's downfall through the character. In another scene, Robards/Bradlee tells the reporters, "There's not much riding on this. Just the First Amendment and the Constitution of the United States."
Now just hoooold on there, Ben. Was Watergate really about the Constitution? Was that august document threatened? This begs the question, Where was Bradlee and Post publisher Katherine Graham when the Constitution really was threatened by their pal JFK, who stole the 1960 election? Where were they when their pal Bobby Kennedy was wiretapping Martin Luther King? Democrat operatives had to break into homes, hotels and offices to wiretap Dr. King just as the Plumbers had to break into Dr. Fielding's office, and Larry O'Brien's. A free press is undoubtedly the cornerstone of Democracy, but it functions best when it is not populated by over-inflated egos who think they are the soul arbiter of freedom of expression.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
[e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Re-birth of a Nation
Review: "All the President's Men" is the well-made movie about the political fiasco known as "Watergate". Watergate remains the biggest political mess in American history and it led to the resignation of president Richard "I am not a crook" Nixon.

The movie has big stars, including Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as the two Washington Post reporters who begin to unearth the story about the break-in at the Watergate hotel and subsequently piece together the details that implicate a long list of top politicians.

The intriguing story is helped by supporting actors Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and Hal Holbrook who plays "Deep Throat", the still-unidentified informant who guided Woodward and Bernstein along the trail of information.

The DVD includes text-based cast/crew info, casting notes, location info, a bit about "Deep Thoat", a chronology of the Watergate activity, and a list of awards which include 4 oscars.

If you don't know much about the circumstances surrounding Watergate, this is a good place to start.

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Summary: A 70's Time capsule.
Review: Nixon resigned on my older sister's 4th birthday. The actual Watergate incident took place exactly one day shy of two monthes before I was born. For my parents its something they lived through. For me, it's American History. This movie is quintessential 70's. Redford, Hackman and tricky dick. Every 70's time capsule should have a copy of this movie tucked inside a folded brown dinner jacket. Even if you don't believe a word of it, you have to admit ATPM is tremendously well made and entertaining. All the cloak and dagger sneaking around, the high-pressure newsroom meetings, the breathless interviews and the clandestine deep throat meetings are perfect Cold War/X-Files/Michael Moore conspiracy theory what-iffing. The truth is out there: Nixon not only knew, he authorized the Watergate break-in it, Reagan knew about and authorized the Iran-Contra arms sales arangement, Clinton lied and he meant to lie, aliens are alive and well among us, and George W. Bush and Co. used 9-11 as an excuse for the hostile and unwarranted takeover of a sovereign nation for it's oil. And so on. Great stuff.

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Summary: Riveting! Attention to Detail is Superb!
Review: As the author of "Strike Hard" (ISBN: 158851322X), I have always loved this movie as the epitomy of conspiracies. Director Pakula tells the story of the fall of the Nixon administration with horrifying accuracy and realism. many people still to this day don't realise the extent to which the Constitution was warped, broken, smashed, and trod upon by these people.

The performers in this movie were exemplary. Redford and Hoffman fully captured the essence of Woodward and Bernstein. However, much goes out to the others as well. Jason Robards gave a spectacular performance as the Washington Post's Ben Bradlee, which in my opinion was the best work of his career. Jack Warden and Martin Balsam were totally convincing in their roles as Harry Rosenfeld and Howard Simons respectively. These three really gave you the feeling that they WERE the management of the Post, which added so much to the realism of the film.

There is so much more to say about this film that space won't allow. As the age of conspiracy theories grows, we look to this movie. It set the precedent for which any and all conspiracy movies should contrive, and set the bar for excellence. The intrigue, suspense, and sheer realistic qualities of this movie were appalling to me as an American Citizen. It exemplifies the qualities of investigative journalism that has slowly deteriorated from our society, and is much needed if we are to keep a handle on our government.

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Summary: Classic film deserves much better DVD package
Review: "I have a wife and a family and a dog and a cat."

The four stars would be five - but a star has been lopped off for such poor presentation on the DVD - "All The President's Men" deserves a five star DVD, such as with "Thirteen Days", even moreso than the usual action picture blow-em-up epic!

I agree with previous reviewers: this film's classic status is partly due to its worth as a historical and investigative "document". Well-written, well-paced, with lots of great cameos by notable actors beginning their careers (Stephen Collins, Meredith Baxter, F. Murray Abraham, Jane Alexander, even Lindsay Crouse). Probably the finest film Robert Redford ever did as an actor.
Yet most people who were of age during Watergate have already seen this movie and have a broader, deeper understanding of the time in which it was made. Viewers like me, who were born after Watergate, may initially find the story a little cold and hard to follow. Simply, we don't have the same emotional stakes here, only experiencing the disappointment and shock of Watergate's "long national nightmare" secondhand through our parents or possibly through history textbooks. Similarly, a child born in the mid-1980s will probably not feel the same outrage over Morton Thiokol's O-ring scandal as a Gen-Xer, who likely watched the space shuttle Challenger explosion from a seat in their classroom.
In short, if you're in your early thirties or younger, you'll probably enjoy the film much more if you read the book by "Woodstein" (Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's joint nickname) first, and study the Watergate years more - otherwise, the ending in particular will seem anticlimatic instead of chilling. The book is also a much better companion to this film than the DVD extra, which are a cobbling together of vague text - even a online encyclopedia will provide you with more information. Worse, the "suggested features" option refers to "Mars Attacks" as a movie with "political intrigue"!

Rating:
Summary: All The President's Men
Review: In my opinion, the best documentary film ever made. Redford and Hoffman are excellent as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively, and the screenplay is wonderful. You really feel this movie and all it's tense, suspensful action. If you're a history and/or political buff this is a must see. By the way, good job Bob and Carl!!