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An intelligent and uncompromising screenplay based on Washington DC's greatest political scandal, polished direction by Alan J. Pakula, and some solid gold performances combine to make All the President's Men an instant classic and one of the best films of 1976, whose release also ignited a huge increase in journalism majors in colleges all over the country.
This compelling drama is based on the best-selling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two former reporters for The Washington Post, who are reluctantly brought together to work on what they think is a minor story about five burglars breaking into a hotel room in DC, that as they continue to investigate, are horrified to learn goes all the way to the top, eventually resulting in the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.
The story is presented here in layers and all the layers are equally effective, thanks to first rate writing and directing. We have a story of two reporters who work on the same paper but barely know each other and are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, learning how to work with each other. We have the story of a newspaper stumbling onto a story that could completely destroy the Nixon presidency and wanting to make sure they have the story right. We have a story of political conspiracy where no one involved is exactly sure who they are working for, who they are covering for, and how high the conspiracy could possibly reach. We also have the story of a reporter trying to get to the bottom of a story with the help of a mysterious informant who won't identify himself and will only point the reporter in the right direction without telling him anything directly.
The reason this film caused an increase in the enrollment in journalism schools was because it was fascinating watching Woodward and Bernstein piece this story together. I love the early scenes of Woodward on the phone and the notes he takes while talking or Woodward and Bernstein's highly sensitive meeting with a tightly wound White House bookkeeper. This film made journalism seem glamorous, alluring, and a lot of fun, something no film had ever really done before.
Producer Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman command the screen as Woodward and Bernstein, sparking an unexpected chemistry I really didn't see coming from this pairing. Jason Robards won his first of two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and John McMartin score as other Post staff members as does the fabulous Jane Alexander, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the above mentioned bookkeeper, who is torn between helping these reporters get to these men and the danger she could be in by revealing too much.
A triumph for Redford, Hoffman, Pakula, and all involved. Cinematic storytelling at its zenith. 9/10
An intelligent and uncompromising screenplay based on Washington DC's greatest political scandal, polished direction by Alan J. Pakula, and some solid gold performances combine to make All the President's Men an instant classic and one of the best films of 1976, whose release also ignited a huge increase in journalism majors in colleges all over the country.
This compelling drama is based on the best-selling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, two former reporters for The Washington Post, who are reluctantly brought together to work on what they think is a minor story about five burglars breaking into a hotel room in DC, that as they continue to investigate, are horrified to learn goes all the way to the top, eventually resulting in the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.
The story is presented here in layers and all the layers are equally effective, thanks to first rate writing and directing. We have a story of two reporters who work on the same paper but barely know each other and are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, learning how to work with each other. We have the story of a newspaper stumbling onto a story that could completely destroy the Nixon presidency and wanting to make sure they have the story right. We have a story of political conspiracy where no one involved is exactly sure who they are working for, who they are covering for, and how high the conspiracy could possibly reach. We also have the story of a reporter trying to get to the bottom of a story with the help of a mysterious informant who won't identify himself and will only point the reporter in the right direction without telling him anything directly.
The reason this film caused an increase in the enrollment in journalism schools was because it was fascinating watching Woodward and Bernstein piece this story together. I love the early scenes of Woodward on the phone and the notes he takes while talking or Woodward and Bernstein's highly sensitive meeting with a tightly wound White House bookkeeper. This film made journalism seem glamorous, alluring, and a lot of fun, something no film had ever really done before.
Producer Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman command the screen as Woodward and Bernstein, sparking an unexpected chemistry I really didn't see coming from this pairing. Jason Robards won his first of two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and John McMartin score as other Post staff members as does the fabulous Jane Alexander, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance as the above mentioned bookkeeper, who is torn between helping these reporters get to these men and the danger she could be in by revealing too much.
A triumph for Redford, Hoffman, Pakula, and all involved. Cinematic storytelling at its zenith. 9/10