The film that launched a thousand journalism school students, All the President's Men chronicles how the work of reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) contributed to the public downfall of President Richard M. Nixon. The duo connected a Washington, D.C., hotel break-in with a Nixon "dirty tricks" team assigned to discredit Democratic rivals, launching a series of tense events that forced Nixon to resign.
Bryan
"If you're gonna do it, do it right. If you're gonna hype it, hype it with the facts. I don't mind what you did. I mind the way you did it."
This was a great story, and I'm glad they made a movie out of it. That said, this was more like a history channel special than one of the greatest films of all time. I was interested by how little attention was paid to the Watergate story at first, which makes the fact that Woodward and Bernstein ran down all these leads as much more impressive.
The film was interesting, but not captivating. It wasn't an experience I'll remember, it didn't change my views on the subject, and it didn't leave me wanting more. It was illuminating on the subject, but not wondrously entertaining.
Final Thought- I'm glad I saw this film, but I don't think I'd suggest it to others that weren't interest in this subject matter specifically. If journalism or history is a passion of yours, this was a very well made dramatization of the Watergate scandal. But it doesn't stand alone as a marvel of film making. It won't be on my list.
Jason
You're both paranoid. She's afraid of John Mitchell, and you're afraid of Walter Cronkite.
Bryan pretty much said it all so I'll just summarize my thoughts. The movie is an excellent portrayal of a historical moment, but entertaining it is not. I know this event in history was important for
America, but I don't understand why someone would think that a history lesson would make a good movie. Even with two powerhouse actors, this movie just doesn't do it for me.
Final Thoughts- This movie is boring, so boring in fact that I was dozing off through out the film. This movie is obviously no where near my top 100
I understand why this movie is important, representing a defining moment in history and stuff. But yeah... it can definitely be a bit dull.
ReplyDeleteAlan J. Pakula has made a WAY more interesting film about American disillusionment and paranoia about the government in the 1970s: 'Parallax View'