All the President's Men

MOVIE REVIEW OF All the President's Men (1976) R

Cast
Director:	alan j. pakula	Runtime: 2hrs 18min ( 138min)
carl bernstein	.....	dustin hoffman
bob woodward	.....	robert redford
harry rosenfeld	.....	jack warden
howard simons	.....	martin balsam
deep throat	.....	hal holbrook
ben bradlee	.....	jason robards
bookkeeper	.....	jane alexander
debbie sloan	.....	meredith baxter
martin dardis	.....	ned beatty
hugh sloan	.....	stephen collins
sally aiken	.....	penny fuller
foreign editor	.....	john mcMartin
donald segretti	.....	robert walden
frank wills	.....	frand wilis
eugene backinski	.....	david arkin
bernard l. barker	.....	henry calvert
eugenio r. martinez	.....	dominic chianese
markham	.....	nicholas coster
kay eddy	.....	lindsey ann crouse
miss milland	.....	valerie curtin
virgilio r. gonzales	.....	nate esformes
frank sturgis	.....	ron hale
james w. mcCord	.....	richard herd
alfred d. baldwin	.....	gene lindsey
carolyn abbott	.....	allyn ann mcLene
joe (fBI agent)	.....	jess osuna
And As Themselves In Archive Footage:
	Spiro Agnew
	walter cronkite
	gerald ford
	richard kleindienst
	pat nixon
	richard nixon
	ronald l. ziegler

WHAT I KNOW

The movie begins with actual (archived) news footage of June 1, 1972: President Nixon arriving at the Capitol building at 9:30 to address the House of Representatives. Next we see (end of news footage) the break-in at the Watergate Hotel, the Democratic headquarters at the time. In this opening scene, we watch as the break-in is being discovered and called in to authorities. [NOTE: The actor playing the security guard who discovers the break-in is played by the actual person who did so, Frank Wills.]

Before Oliver Stone, there was Alan Pakula. The difference here is the source. Pakula made his movie surrounding the Watergate Scandal from a book written by the two reporters who investigated and exposed the incident.

Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) is relatively new on the staff of the Washington Post, but he is an aggressive investigator. He teams up with fellow reporter Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), who initially sees Woodward as a mere rookie, but soon learns that he is dealing with a serious professional.

After a close brush with being thrown off the story, Woodward teams up with Bernstein to take on the task of exposing the Watergate scandal to the public.

They run into more roadblocks than progress. Most of these roadblocks include people who are evasive or act like they have no knowledge of the issue.

Woodward and Bernstein indirectly discover that witnesses are being intimidated into keeping quiet…and they're not very discreet about it. But the hush is effective enough to keep the reporters frustrated. However, they aren't about to give up.

Much of the success of the reporters is due to help from a mysterious anonymous source of Woodward's, dubbed Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook). At the time of the movie, the identity of this person was still unknown. In 2005, the identity of Deep Throat was finally revealed to be former FBI associate director William Mark Felt.

WHAT I THINK

Just to introduce the name Robert Redford into the content of any film or project is to praise it without question. This is no exception. A cast filled with stars just adds to this movie the extra bonus that sets it above the bar. Performances are superb. The story itself is intriguing, but might be a tad confusing in book form. Ironically, it is based on a book. So, if you are so inclined, I suggest you read it…before seeing this movie, if possible.

Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, and Jason Robards, among others, give their all and put their best into these characters. As if they ever don't.

I feel I must apologize for such a brief review, but there's not much else to say. As far as the writing, it's based on a book written by the characters themselves, so it's just simply great! I would be silly…okay, stupid…to say I would change anything. Music…there isn't much. Directing…I don't see anything notable…the focus is on the story, but nothing stands out as bad. Nothing outstanding, though…Sorry, Mr. Pakula.

I'm hoping that it is sufficient to say, that if you are interested in the Watergate investigation, you will love this movie. If you don't think you're interested in the investigation, I suggest you become interested, and watch this movie.

For those of you who know the outcome of the scandal, this is a documentary of the reporters who investigated and reported on the incident. For those who do not know the story, it is an intriguing political cliffhanger.

QUOTES
Finally, a short list of quotes I think are worth repeating. You may recognize some, but these are my own picks, not ones that are particularly famous:

• Woodward : I don't mind what you did. I mind the way you did it.
• Cop : Are you sure you want us? Car 17 is closer, and they're in uniform.
  Dispatcher (voice) : They're getting gas. You take it.
• Deep Throat : Follow the money.
  Woodward : What do you mean? Where?
  Deep Throat : Oh, I can't tell you that.
  Woodward : But you could tell me that.
  Deep Throat : No, I have to do this my way. You tell me what you know, and I'll confirm. I'll keep you in the right direction if I can, but that's all. Just follow the money.
• MacGregor : I don't know! You're implying that I should know. If you print that, our relationship will be terminated.
  Woodward : Sir, we don't have a relationship.
• Woodward :[on the phone with Paul Herrera, who is speaking Spanish] Momento[sic]…Eh, do any of you guys speak Englis…er…any of you guys speak Spanish?
• Woodward :[to Bernstein] Is there anywhere you don't smoke?
• Woodward : How long have you worked at the committee?
  Ms. Abbott : Committee?
  Woodward : Yes, uh…the Committee to RE-Elect the President.
  Ms. Abbott : Oh, uh…Oh, I don't work at the Committee to RE-Elect the President. I work at Garfinkles. In the accounting department.
  Woodward : Ms. Abbott?
  Ms. Abbott : Yes.
  Woodward : Judith Abbott?
  Ms. Abbott : Carolyn…Abbott.
• Bernstein : I'm pourin' down the cups of coffee, trying to get it out of her before she throws me out of the house.
  Woodward : Give me the notes so I can start…
  Bernstein : These are the notes.
  Woodward : These are the notes?
  Bernstein : Yeah, I got stuff on napkins, matchbooks, I'm writing in the bathroom while she's gettin' the coffee. I'm a walking litter basket.
  Woodward : This is crazy. How am I gonna…
  Bernstein : Well, you'd be crazy too if you were operating on twenty cups of coffee.
• Spiro Agnew :[archive television footage] I have full confidence in Mister Mitchell…uh…and in the people in the Republican organization…and uh…I think that, uh, that kind of unattributed report at a time like this is, uh, counterproductive. You must bear in mind that, uh, those who published it have shown their sympathy for the other ticket.
• Deep Throat : What's the topic for tonight?
  Woodward : Ratfucking.
  Deep Throat : In my day, it was simply known as the 'double cross.' In our present context, it means infiltration of the Democrats.
• Deep Throat : I don't like newspapers. I don't care for inexact, acute, and shallowness.
  Woodward : CREEP's slush fund that financed the ratfucking…we've just about got that nailed down. I don't know how… [noise is heard in the distance]
  Deep Throat : Did you change cabs?
  Woodward : Yeah.
• Ronald Ziegler :[archive footage] Why is the Post trying to do it? They have a man, uh…the editor of the Post, by the name of Ben Bradlee. I think anyone who would want to honestly assess what his political persuasions are would, uh…uh, come to the conclusion quite quickly that he is not a supporter of President Nixon's. I respect the free press. I DON'T respect the type of journalism…the shabby journalism that is being practiced by the Washington Post. All I know is that the story that ran this morning is incorrect. It has been so stated as being incorrect by not only me, but by the individual whos grand jury…secret grand jury testimony they based their story on. That individual has denied that he ever so testified.
• Bradlee : Go on home. Rest up. Get a nice hot bath. Fifteen minutes. Then get your asses back in gear. We're under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing riding on this except the First Amendment of the Constltution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that mattered…but if you guys fuck up again, I'm gonna get mad…G'night.
• Justice Earl Warren :[archive footage] If you will place your left hand on the Bible, and raise your right hand and please repeat after me…I, Richard Nixon, do solemnly swear…
  Richard Nixon : I, Richard Nixon, do solemnly swear…
  Warren : …that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States…
  Nixon : …that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States…
  Warren : …and will, to the best of my abilities…
  Nixon : …and will, to the best of my abilities…
  Warren : …preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States…
  Nixon : …preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States…
  Warren : …So help me God.
  Nixon : …So help me God.

RATING

Here is my personal rating of this movie. This rating is out of ten meows.
¹⁰ /₁₀

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