JohnDoe
Bryn
BrentonAll The President’s Men (1976) - Trailer Included
April 10th 2007 23:42
All The President’s Men
Director: Alan J Pakula
Writer: William Goldman
Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Martin Balsam, Ned Beatty, Jack Warden, Jane Alexander, F Murray Abrahams,
“Just follow the money” – Deep Throat
All the President's Men is the conspiracy theory movie to end all conspiracy theory movies because it’s the truth and it really happened. A benchmark film that is rigorously researched, tense, riveting and shot for realism.
In the early 1970’s the republican party headed by President Richard Nixon was caught in a web of wire taps, misinformation and political espionage. The robbery that took place in the Democratic Headquarters of Watergate undermined the security of a nation and resulted in educated society's loss of faith in the system right up till the present day.
“Now hold it, hold it. We're about to accuse Haldeman, who only happens to be the second most important man in this country, of conducting a criminal conspiracy from inside the White House. It would be nice if we were right.” – Ben Bradlee
Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) were the determined investigative Washington Post reporters who became obsessed with discovering the truth. The fall out from Watergate was still rippling through the culture when Robert Redford met with the two journalists who exposed the treachery and told them they needed to be the subject of the film.
“Look, there are two thousand reporters in this town, are there five on Watergate? When did the Washington Post suddenly get the monopoly on wisdom? Why would the republicans do it? McGovern's self-destructed just like Humphries, Muskie, the bunch of them. I don't believe this story. It doesn't make sense.” – Scott
Telling the story of what happened through their eyes, this is a detective story that gets beneath the surface of the glamorous newsroom image and shows the tedious process of information gathering. The risks involved in following hunches and the snowballing effect that the clues had on a case that went all the way to the top of the white house.
“The most powerful man in the United States is President Nixon. You've heard of him? Charles Colson is special counsel to the President. There's a cartoon on his wall. The caption reads, "When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow." – Harry Rosenfeld
John Doe says:
There is an authenticity in every frame of this expertly constructed mystery where we all know the end. Constructed with precise editing and naturalistic cinematography the journey to the stories conclusion is captivating and powerful.
The Academy Award winning screenplay by guru William Goldman ( Princess Bride, Marathon Man, Stepford Wives, Butch Cassidy) builds suspense with every new piece of information. The organic storytelling means you listen intently to what's being said and soon focus on every syllable and breath of dialogue or silence.
Directed with an objective eye by the under discussed Alan J Pakula (The Parallax View, Klute) the film is always firmly grounded in the real world. Taking great care because of the delicate subject matter Pakula combines all facets of the filmmaking process to create a believable, informative and unforgettable experience.
The music and Oscar winning sound design are sparse, used for emphasis like when the opening shot of type writing keys hitting paper boom like gunshots. If the pen is mightier than the sword then a typewriter in appropriate hands is more powerful than a locked and loaded Uzi.
Astounding with the large and meticulous set design that perfectly recreates the Washington post newsroom. The cinematography by Gordon Willis (The Godfather, Manhattan, Parallax View) boldly at the time is not afraid to use natural light and never reverts to actor close ups for emotion. Instead faces are often shadowed, eyes unseen and a fly on the wall style means that the audience feels it is witnessing something extraordinary at an unsafe distance.
Dustin Hoffman (Marathon Man, Lenny, Straight Time, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Little Big Man) as Bernstein and Robert Redford (Jeremiah Johnson, The Candidate, 3 Days of The Condor, The Sting) as Woodward are an unlikely duo. They reflect the strained differences of their real life counterparts who were also polar opposites when it came to their work methods. The two actors onscreen chemistry makes for compulsive viewing.
Jason Robards (Once Upon A Time in The West, Cable Hogue, Melvin & Howard) plays Ben Bradlee the man in charge of the Washington Post with a deceptive ease that scored him a gold statue.
Hal Holbrook (Dirty Harry) as Deep Throat also seems effortless in the part and convinces as the now notorious informant. All the supporting players are exceptional maintain the illusion of realism, Jack Warden (12 Angry Men), Ned Beatty (Deliverance, Superman), Jane Alexander, Martin Balsam etc all make an impression and that lasts.
Seems John Doe has gone on a semi-political kicks this week. All the Presidents Men is an important film that JD watches at least once a year and finds it suspensful but also more depressing with each screening. Watched through modern eyes the movie highlights that the main thing that changed after Watergate was that the news media became more and more a puppet to political whims.
Rather than encouraging freedom of the press, it has now become a thing of the past.
Channels like Fox news and all the other big conglomerate companies owned by Murdoch or Turner etc are used only for propaganda marketing on the left and right. Objective news journalism has been completely replaced by endless repeating and rephrasing of lies and sound bytes.
The days of Woodward and Bernstein are long dead, the bribery and corruption in the modern era is too rampant to even find the tip of the iceberg let alone force a President to resign or even take responsibility for wire tapping and complete disregard of civil rights under a guise of national Security.
A must see film that obviously provokes a reaction in Johnny and many others since its release.
The DVD:
Transfer: Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1/2.0 Dolby Digital
Extras: 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
The Trailer
Here is an interesting news report from Walter Kronkite on the Watergate break in from 1972…plus a Texaco environmental ad that is no less disturbing.
Below you can witness Richard Nixon’s resignation and his attempt to retain some sense of dignity in the aftermath of the scandal and how he managed to dodge the bullet till the end.
DVD Cover
Writer: William Goldman
Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Martin Balsam, Ned Beatty, Jack Warden, Jane Alexander, F Murray Abrahams,
“Just follow the money” – Deep Throat
All the President's Men is the conspiracy theory movie to end all conspiracy theory movies because it’s the truth and it really happened. A benchmark film that is rigorously researched, tense, riveting and shot for realism.
In the early 1970’s the republican party headed by President Richard Nixon was caught in a web of wire taps, misinformation and political espionage. The robbery that took place in the Democratic Headquarters of Watergate undermined the security of a nation and resulted in educated society's loss of faith in the system right up till the present day.
“Now hold it, hold it. We're about to accuse Haldeman, who only happens to be the second most important man in this country, of conducting a criminal conspiracy from inside the White House. It would be nice if we were right.” – Ben Bradlee
Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) were the determined investigative Washington Post reporters who became obsessed with discovering the truth. The fall out from Watergate was still rippling through the culture when Robert Redford met with the two journalists who exposed the treachery and told them they needed to be the subject of the film.
“Look, there are two thousand reporters in this town, are there five on Watergate? When did the Washington Post suddenly get the monopoly on wisdom? Why would the republicans do it? McGovern's self-destructed just like Humphries, Muskie, the bunch of them. I don't believe this story. It doesn't make sense.” – Scott
Telling the story of what happened through their eyes, this is a detective story that gets beneath the surface of the glamorous newsroom image and shows the tedious process of information gathering. The risks involved in following hunches and the snowballing effect that the clues had on a case that went all the way to the top of the white house.
“The most powerful man in the United States is President Nixon. You've heard of him? Charles Colson is special counsel to the President. There's a cartoon on his wall. The caption reads, "When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow." – Harry Rosenfeld
So is this the exciting part of the job?
John Doe says:
There is an authenticity in every frame of this expertly constructed mystery where we all know the end. Constructed with precise editing and naturalistic cinematography the journey to the stories conclusion is captivating and powerful.
The Academy Award winning screenplay by guru William Goldman ( Princess Bride, Marathon Man, Stepford Wives, Butch Cassidy) builds suspense with every new piece of information. The organic storytelling means you listen intently to what's being said and soon focus on every syllable and breath of dialogue or silence.
Directed with an objective eye by the under discussed Alan J Pakula (The Parallax View, Klute) the film is always firmly grounded in the real world. Taking great care because of the delicate subject matter Pakula combines all facets of the filmmaking process to create a believable, informative and unforgettable experience.
The music and Oscar winning sound design are sparse, used for emphasis like when the opening shot of type writing keys hitting paper boom like gunshots. If the pen is mightier than the sword then a typewriter in appropriate hands is more powerful than a locked and loaded Uzi.
Astounding with the large and meticulous set design that perfectly recreates the Washington post newsroom. The cinematography by Gordon Willis (The Godfather, Manhattan, Parallax View) boldly at the time is not afraid to use natural light and never reverts to actor close ups for emotion. Instead faces are often shadowed, eyes unseen and a fly on the wall style means that the audience feels it is witnessing something extraordinary at an unsafe distance.
Dustin Hoffman (Marathon Man, Lenny, Straight Time, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Little Big Man) as Bernstein and Robert Redford (Jeremiah Johnson, The Candidate, 3 Days of The Condor, The Sting) as Woodward are an unlikely duo. They reflect the strained differences of their real life counterparts who were also polar opposites when it came to their work methods. The two actors onscreen chemistry makes for compulsive viewing.
Jason Robards (Once Upon A Time in The West, Cable Hogue, Melvin & Howard) plays Ben Bradlee the man in charge of the Washington Post with a deceptive ease that scored him a gold statue.
Hal Holbrook (Dirty Harry) as Deep Throat also seems effortless in the part and convinces as the now notorious informant. All the supporting players are exceptional maintain the illusion of realism, Jack Warden (12 Angry Men), Ned Beatty (Deliverance, Superman), Jane Alexander, Martin Balsam etc all make an impression and that lasts.
Seems John Doe has gone on a semi-political kicks this week. All the Presidents Men is an important film that JD watches at least once a year and finds it suspensful but also more depressing with each screening. Watched through modern eyes the movie highlights that the main thing that changed after Watergate was that the news media became more and more a puppet to political whims.
Rather than encouraging freedom of the press, it has now become a thing of the past.
Channels like Fox news and all the other big conglomerate companies owned by Murdoch or Turner etc are used only for propaganda marketing on the left and right. Objective news journalism has been completely replaced by endless repeating and rephrasing of lies and sound bytes.
The days of Woodward and Bernstein are long dead, the bribery and corruption in the modern era is too rampant to even find the tip of the iceberg let alone force a President to resign or even take responsibility for wire tapping and complete disregard of civil rights under a guise of national Security.
A must see film that obviously provokes a reaction in Johnny and many others since its release.
The DVD:
Transfer: Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1/2.0 Dolby Digital
Extras: 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
The Trailer
Here is an interesting news report from Walter Kronkite on the Watergate break in from 1972…plus a Texaco environmental ad that is no less disturbing.
Below you can witness Richard Nixon’s resignation and his attempt to retain some sense of dignity in the aftermath of the scandal and how he managed to dodge the bullet till the end.
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Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
All The presidents Men and films of its type were the template for George Clooney and Steven Soderburg's production company when they made Good Night and Good Luck plus Syriana a few years ago.
Most recently David Fincher has said that the film was his model for the tone of Zodiac.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
docos on the disc are tops too...they even have a one on the real deep throat, who only came out of the closet a year or two ago....thanks for the nod, I needed it