Rating: 
Summary: Oranges & Lemons
Review: Nixon was a cruel President,30 odd years back,oh yes. BUt This one you'll just LOVE. Anthony Hopkins is great here,he really gets into the neurosis quite well, as for the whole HISTORY part,well,who cares huh???,as long as Nixon is seen as a proud humanitarian,i'm happy. No really,I love this film. Where else do you get a GOOD Larry Hagman performance huh?Check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: Richard Nixon on acid
Review: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Anthony Hopkins did a fine job, but what do we need with a psychedelic re-telling of the life of Richard Nixon? The reality was bad enough.
Rating: 
Summary: MEANDERING MASTERPIECE
Review: Visually, Nixon is a stunning cinematic masterpiece; very few people could have mastered the collage technique as wonderfully--and seamlessly--as Stone. However, there is a lot wrong with this masterpiece: Number one--Anthony Hopkins. His being cast makes as much sense as bacon-flavored ice cream. Okay, okay, some of you will say, "But he's doing an INTERPRETATION of Nixon." But Stone's meticulousness at historic visual accuracy (don't some of the shots look exactly as if they were filmed in the '60s?) makes Hopkins' presence all the more jarring. People like me may be called crybabies for wanting an actor to look exactly like the man he portrays, but fer goodness sakes--Nixon's face--that scowl, those jowls--is so iconic; how could anyone think he could pull this casting decision off? At any rate, Anthony Hopkins' lack of resemblance to Nixon creates a vacuum that another actor with lesser ability but more resemblance would have filled. Problem 2--just what the heck is going on in this film! This movie is so esoteric, it plays like a film for Watergate insiders and aficianados! If you happen to be G. Gordon Liddy et. al who were involved in Watergate, you'll thoroughly know what's going on. If you were like me--someone curious about that particular point in time who wasn't born at the time, you'll be scratching your head going, "Who's that? What happened? What happened there? Huh?" The reason why I saw this was that I wanted to understand the Watergate scandal. Turned up Snake Eyes on that one. Sorry, Ol--I thought JFK was a masterpiece, though.
Rating: 
Summary: "This is god-damned Disneyland...."
Review: Oliver Stone's fascinating insight into the Nixon administration is not for everyone's delight. The closest thing to a "JFK" sequal, 'Nixon' rolls all the players into a ball of naughtiness & takes it from there. Hard to keep up with if un-familiar with the facts surrounding the 'watergate-scandal', but if you know your homework it's alot of fun. Superb casting,I must say, Stone started this epic right after "Natural Born Killers" so it has all the internal flare of film-making. Immense enjoyment on DVD, this film IS very under-rated,losing 'Best Picture' oscar to Mel Gibson's "Braveheart"... you can see how not everybody wants this film around in the long-run. Thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Oliver Stone's most underrated movie
Review: It's too bad that Oliver Stone's reputation as a conspiracy nut got in the way of this movie getting the recognition it deserves. After all, with the exception of its implications against J. Edgar Hoover, there's nothing in this movie that wasn't already understood about Nixon. What Stone gives us is a sweeping and fascinating look into the soul of power --all its roots and trappings included. To those of us who were born after the Nixon era, his name is only synonymous with corruption. But the film gives such an insight into his character that he comes off as a sympathetic, tragic figure, not the historical charicature he's known as today. This movie captures the turmoil and drama of the second half of the 20th century like few films do. Despite its length, it's not overlong. In fact you can tell that some items were quickly glossed over for length reasons. Regardless of how you feel about Nixon the man, the movie is a superb look at a fascinating American political career.
Rating:
Summary: Great performance by Hopkins
Review: Stone's film is not a re-enactment of the memorable Wartgate TV drama, but an artful creation of what might have taken place in the Whitehouse at that time, and why. Hopkins portrayal of Nixon is mesmorizing, the script is fascinating and the direction is invisible and masterly. I would only quibble with the use of actual news clippings etc of the time presented in the form of collages. The effect is counterproductive to the pace of the movie (making it appear slightly sloppy) and adding unecessarly to the overall running time. The heart of the story is still the coverup. To paraphrase one of Hopkins line as Nixon "Watergate is about a stupid little break in, no lives lost, no one hurt, I mean it's not like Vietnam where people are being killed" It's really a tragic, sad story and I woudn't recommend it to anyone feeling depressed!
Rating:
Summary: Powerful. A Great Work.
Review: Oliver Stone's "Nixon" is an extremely powerful study of not just Richard Nixon, but of politics and power. Of how our system works, about the dark corners we rarely hear about, only when things like Iran Contra come to light. This is an epic biographical study of one man and how he shaped history. Anthony Hopkins gives a performance that immediatly ignites the screen with a fury. Stone's directing is that of a master. He truly is a genius in not only the craft of screenwriting, but directing as well. The screenplay by Stone, Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson is wonderfully complex. Like "JFK," this is a masterpiece in film assembly. There is so much information in here, so many characters, all skillfully written into a grand, intense and powerful work. Everything from the Kennedy assassination to the assassination of Patrice Lumumba are explored here to some degree. I also loved the way in which Stone with cinematographer Robert Richardson, combine so many film formats. Some scene are in color, others in black and white, and some scenes are shot in both formats. The score by John Williams is rich and powerful, even inspiring. This is a huge, brilliant movie. "Nixon" is a great, great film that everyone intersted in how the system works should see.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing And Incredibly Powerful And Deep!
Review: Oliver Stone is one of the greatest filmmakers that there has ever been! Here in "Nixon," he presents a stunning study of power and the abuse of power. Films like these are rare and extremely powerful works. It is an equel to Stone's "JFK." This is not a study of history, but of power and the demons in one man's mind. The conspiracy angle is great with some fantastically written characters. "Nixon" is a study of politics. This film is more powerful than Shakespeare! I think all Americans interested in how the government works should watch this thrilling and powerful epic. I also loved the amazing editing and inserting of images like documentary footage with the film itself. "Nixon" is a masterpiece! I can't believe the Oscar for 1995's Best Picture was given to "Braveheart" when "Nixon" deserved it. This is great dramatic filmmaking at his best!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing like having Nixon to kick around!
Review: The movie starts on a dark and windy night. As rain pours and lightning strikes, the camera approaches an empty, somber White House. Who do you guess despairs inside? If your answer is Nixon in a black nightgown playing the organ by the light of several rusted candelabra, you'd be wrong, but it would have made a better picture! In fact, it's nothing but a Boris Karloff B horror movie disguised as a serious statement by conceited director Oliver Stone, whose paranoid prejudices envision hidden demons in every person he dislikes. It's fun, though. An all-star cast caricatures all sorts of Washington ghouls you'd love to hate (my favorite is Bob hoskins playing J.Edgar Hoover as a raving fruit!). Although Joan Allen, Ed Hermann and Paul Sorvino do resemble the characters they impersonate, the rest rely more on a leap of faith on your part, and in Anthony Hopkins' case, a big somersault! He should have put on a nose prop! My advise: Rent it first.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing!
Review: Although never one for historical accuracy, Oliver Stone has once again crafted an intoxicating motion picture. If you like politics, "Nixon" is hard to resist. And even if you don't enjoy politics, this is an entertaining tour-de-force. The DVD transfer is overall quite good, with the 2.35:1 widescreen a joy to watch. I found Anthony Hopkins' performance terrific, and the "flashbacks" to the childhood days poignant and at times beautiful. I would highly recommend this movie to all film buffs.
|
