All the President's Men

Rating:
Summary: A diamond, cut to perfection
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Truth Never Goes Out of Style
Review: This film was released in 1976 about events that began in '72 and ended in '74 but it is in no way dated or 'old' looking. As political scandals continue through the years this story remains as exciting and terrifying as ever. Carl Berstein and Bob Woodward were two Washington Post newspaper reporters assigned to cover a break-in at the National Democratic Headquarters one summer night in '72. Woodward is such a low level reporter when told about the assignment he assumes it is the local DC Dem. HQ he is supposed to go to. Through a series of breaks, leaks, legwork, intuition, and sheer tenacity they uncover the scandal bit by bit until the future of the Presidency and indeed the country is at stake. The two told their story in a best-selling book of the same title. This film is as faithful a recreation of a book as I have ever seen. Indeed, in parts you could use the book to follow the dialogue nearly word for word. One thing I just noticed about this movie after watching another time. You never notice the number of name brand stars that are in it. Often in a film with more than a few recognizable stars you find yourself saying, "Look, there is so and so..." I only now realized I have never done that once while watching this film. That is how engrossing the drama is. It is that good. Reporter Woodward was recently asked in an interview how accurate the movie was compared to what actually transpired. He replied, "that is exactly how it happened." Hard to get a better endorsement than that. Add it to your permanent collection.

Rating:
Summary: What a Movie!
Review: This movie has it all. The media, what really goes on? Things have changed since then in ways that were never even imagined! Check it out to experience the thrill and adventure as Redford and Hoffman take you on an incredible journey behind the scenes.

Rating:
Summary: A timeless historic piece
Review: Absolutely shameful that "Rocky" beat out this Oscar nominee as Best Picture. "All the President's Men" is the faithful big screen treatment of the same-name book by the Washington Post reporting duo that dug deeply enough into the Watergate burglary that it led to the downfall of the Nixon Administration. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, each in some of their best work of their careers, portray their real-life counterparts not only as journalists but with the human frustration they undoubtedly felt while chipping away at what at first couldn't be predicted to become a major event in American history. Just what was at stake for the country is best delivered by the late Jason Robards in his role as Post editor Ben Bradlee, a performance that got Robards one of two back-to-back Best Supporting Oscars ("Julia" was the other). We even get to see Deep Throat. He's Hal Holbrook but, for reasons that still exist, we don't know who he really is and how he has obvious insider knowledge. Read the book by Woodward and Bernstein first, though, for an appreciation of the faithfulness of the movie to its subject. Not only is "All the President's Men" riveting entertainment, it's a vital historical reference. How "Rocky" beat it out for Best Picture ought to be deemed one of those Academy embarrassments.

Rating:
Summary: one of the best if not the best !
Review: 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

Rating:
Summary: True story of the scandal that ended a presidency.
Review: Watergate was THE quintessential detective story of the 20th century. The trail that led from the arrest of five small-time burglars all the way up to very top of the United States government was not one easily blazed. Yet, it was two relatively unknown and unheralded (at the time) reporters who doggedly followed the story to the very end, leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Bob Woodward had only been working for the Washington Post for less than a year, and Carl Bernstein was a slovenly, disorganized reporter who was on the verge of being fired on numerous occasions. Each saw something in the story of the Watergate break-in that all others overlooked. After some initial territorial spats over the story, they opted to work together to get to bottom of a number of discrepancies in the stories about the burglars' crime and the illogical actions that it seemed to spur. With the dogged determination to track down every single lead possible in this story, and a little help from the still unnamed 'super' source called 'Deep Throat', Woodward and Bernstein were able to 'follow the money' that these burglars were paid and uncovered a massive conspiracy by Nixon and his aides to discredit the Democratic Party and 1972 presidential opponent, George McGovern. In addition to the conspiracy to discredit, these men also uncovered a huge effort to cover it all up, to the point where many people, included these two reporters, were fearful for their lives. The end result is a part of history. A Congressional investigation was launched and, in last August, 1974, rather than let the ugliness continue, Nixon announced resignation (to this day, the only president ever to do so).

Thus, the story of "All the President's Men" comes to life. Based on the book written by Woodward and Bernstein, "All the President's Men" tells the story of this investigation. Deftly directed by the late Alan J. Pakula, it is as tense and compelling a detective story as any every put to the screen. Robert Redford portrays Woodward as a man who has two major obstacles in his, a need to prove himself as a novice reporter and an unwillingness for anyone else to go near this story. Dustin Hoffman takes on the portrayal of Carl Bernstein in a manner that seems both truthful and fair to the man. Other key characters include Jason Robards as the Post's managing editor, Ben Bradlee, and Hal Holbrook as the infamous "Deep Throat". This is the real 'Crime of the Century', and one that changed America forever. "All the President's Men" shows how it all happened.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: All the President's Men is likely a great movie for those who are interested in the process of jounalism. However, those who expect to "see" the Watergate scandal unfold may be very dissapointed. At some points in the film I felt like Watergate was really the sublot and "how news stories are developed" was the plot. This was not what I expected nor desired when purchasing All the President's Men.

Rating:
Summary: All the President's Men...All the Ingredients of a Classic!!
Review: The uncovering of the Watergate scandal becomes a great adventure in investigative reporting and a true to life paranoid thriller. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN stars one of the greatest acting team-ups in movie history. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the investigative reporters of the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The film is a detailed and riveting account, based on their book of the same name, of the United States government scandel that brought down a Presidency and changed the course of history. Great supporting cast of Jason Robards (as editor Ben Bradlee), Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook (as Deepthroat) and some familiar young faces in minor roles such as Robert Walden (Lou Grant), Merideth Baxter, and Stephen Collins. A great piece of journalism movie making that can not be equaled.

Rating:
Summary: Only for the historically inaccurate
Review: It seems appropriate to me that the late Alan Pakula would direct this irrational, ridiculous, badly-acted, and fictional movie. Besides having camp performances by Redford, Robards and Holbrook, the movie gets the crux of the facts wrong in favor of what Hollywood does best-- panderism.
The corn-fed nature of this film speaks for itself. Every other scene screams for the audience to pay attention, and presents scenarios that are unbelievable.
Truth be told, the DNC had known for months that the Watergate break-in was going to happen and did nothing about it. In fact, they left the sensitive files right in plain view. Nixon had never ordered the break-in; it was done on the suspicions of his staff, who even afterwards kept it secret from the President.
There was no Deep Throat. Walter Cronkite was right in his assertion that it was Woodward and Bernstein's attempt to make it seem more dramatic. The DNC had leaked the story to the Washington Post who jumped on it and published the convoluted stories that ended in Nixon's resignation.
To speak of the Post, they themselves have traditionally been very conspiracy hungry. In the 1950's they almost published a fraudulent series of articles, which purportedly linked Eisenhower to McCarthy. (I would wager a world cruise to watch that when the end of the world comes, the Post will run headlines like "Endtimes may affect election results")
Nixon was not informed of the break-in until 1973 when Colson and a few others leaked it to him. The comments he made on the "smoking gun" tapes were nothing more incidentals that a salacious press played up to sell papers.
The press continued this during the committee hearings, which were really witch hunts that violated every paragraph of the ethical proceedure rules. Seldom did they discuss Watergate, but attempted in vain to link Nixon and his staffers to things that were otherwise unimpeachable.
So here's to Woodward and Bernstein, the greatest fiction writers of the 20th century. And here's to Alan Pakula, the most paranoid director in all of Hollywood's history. I would sincerely recommend that we all disbelieve in this movie and re-evaluate the films that Tinseltown sends our way. (THEY ARE BARELY BUSINESSMEN, NOT SHOWMEN, AND CERTAINLY NOT ARTISTS) This bovine DVD is the most expensive coaster you will ever purchase.

Rating:
Summary: All The President's Wimps
Review: I didn't like this movie very much. I only rented it because Stephen Collins was in it as Hugh W. Sloan Jr. I liked his role because I like him and he's very attractive guy for being 55 years old. I like him best in this movie. He's also very very good as Eric Camden on the hit ABC television show 7th Heaven. Way to go, Stephen!