All the President's Men
1976 Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Synopsis
At times it looked like it might cost them their jobs, their reputations, and maybe even their lives.
In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
Cast
Popular reviews
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This is perhaps one of the best procedural films ever made and what I respect about it is that it approaches its subject matter without frills and added fictional distractors to spice up the story. It sticks to the task at hand and, much like the journalists featuring in the story, it is intent on presenting the account as close to the truth as possible.
Alan J. Pakula seems to understand one thing very well here and that is that if you want to tell a story as intricate as this one, you have to make sure that the audience will listen to those telling it. He does that brilliantly by allowing for a lot of dialogue, not forcing himself…
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The thing that never fails to amaze me whenever I watch All The President's Men, and I've seen it several times now, is the way it manages to be a thriller without really being a thriller.
Because it really isn't, is it? Aside from a bit of a scare after one of the meetings with Deep Throat, there are no conventional thrills here. Plus there is the fact that this is, of course, a true story. Yet throughout the majority of its running time, there is an air of tension and feeling of danger running through it that you don't really shake off until the very last reel - even more remarkable in that we all know how this story…
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79/100
Amazing what you can get away with when the subject is so recent and momentous that a general audience can be trusted to respond to minutiae. Zodiac actually seems concise by comparison (it also has a killer to cut away to for a while, whereas this is 100% investigation after the break-in), and Pakula continually makes choices that would be considered daft in almost any other Hollywood context: introducing his protagonists with zero fanfare, as if they were bit players; training the camera on notes and doodles in order to foreground a slow accumulation of bewildering detail; letting actors shout at each other over the sound of an airplane passing overhead, when neither the plane nor the shouting has…
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"JUNE 1, 1972"
The film opens with an extreme close-up of a typewriter giving the date Nixon returns home from China. Sixteen days later would be the break-in at the Democratic National Committee - Watergate complex in Washington. The typewriter works with great effect, like gunshots, and does so throughout the film. Safe to say I don't think a laptop or cellphone would have the same impact...I love these types of films, a procedural that moves at such rapid pace it feels like a Hitchcock thriller! A Separation comes to mind as well as The Social Network; half the fun is trying to keep up.
All The President's Men features some amazing performances and some great screenwriting. Bob Woodward…
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Written as part of a classic film series called The Film Canon.
Some movies know they’re movies. If done well, they are aware that their job is to tell us a story, and invite us along for the ride. Whenever you hear a movie described as a ‘satire’, ‘parable’, or ‘epic’ – as well as anything labelled sci-fi or fantasy – you know that the movie knows it’s a movie. Other movies plop you into the middle of real life, an alarming world populated by characters who talk and think and act like real people. These movies don’t give us a nice fifteen minute block of exposition and character introductions to situate ourselves in the cozy atmosphere of our living…
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"Is there any place you *don't* smoke?"
This is masterful film making. Explaining what makes this great would be to explain the whole movie.
Redford seems more charming/interesting when he is busy doing stuff instead of trying to be charming ie: The Sting. Hoffman is a great counterpoint for he and Redford's chemistry.
Usually I don't have the focus or ear for politics but this film is built more on spy/conspiracy tones in a political world.
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A classic for sure, the movie does a great job of keeping the pace throughout the whole investigation, the acting is great and it feels real, which it is, but it doesn't over dramatize events. This is the only Watergate film I've seen, which is curious considering the topic, so maybe this is one of the few definite movies for a theme.
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Or: Research Before the Internet.
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"Is there any place you *don't* smoke?"
This is masterful film making. Explaining what makes this great would be to explain the whole movie.
Redford seems more charming/interesting when he is busy doing stuff instead of trying to be charming ie: The Sting. Hoffman is a great counterpoint for he and Redford's chemistry.
Usually I don't have the focus or ear for politics but this film is built more on spy/conspiracy tones in a political world.
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I love this movie, itu pasti. Redford dan Hoffman, super. Tapi saya juga memikirkan dua hal. Pertama, betapa gagahnya profesi jurnalis di masa lalu. Wartawan berpakaian rapi dengan jas dan dasi, tak kalah dengan profesi terhormat lainnya. Kedua, demi Tuhan, mesin tik! How did they type all of those reports without delete key and multiple undo functions?
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An investing story, stellar performances from Redford and Hoffman, and excellent cinematography.
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"JUNE 1, 1972"
The film opens with an extreme close-up of a typewriter giving the date Nixon returns home from China. Sixteen days later would be the break-in at the Democratic National Committee - Watergate complex in Washington. The typewriter works with great effect, like gunshots, and does so throughout the film. Safe to say I don't think a laptop or cellphone would have the same impact...I love these types of films, a procedural that moves at such rapid pace it feels like a Hitchcock thriller! A Separation comes to mind as well as The Social Network; half the fun is trying to keep up.
All The President's Men features some amazing performances and some great screenwriting. Bob Woodward…
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Esto es un clásico, y punto.
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How do you write a script that turns our long national nightmare—a story we all knew too well—into suspenseful drama? This is the first film I'd submit as Exhibit A in support of my argument that spoilers don't matter so long as you've written well-drawn characters into compelling scenes. Redford was never better than he is here, and Ned Beatty was never Beatty-ier. As in The Godfather, Gordy Willis' cinematography shows how with great power comes great shadows.