Review of All the President's Men (1976) by Ian S — 10 Mar 2010
It's hard to make a movie in which all the action takes place at the beginning and the rest is 2 hours of people talking. It's helps when you know what the outcome is, but getting there is what makes this movie work.
Woodward and Bernstein were two young reporters working the metro desk at a Washington paper, i.e. they were rookies covering the crime beat, when the story of the century dropped in their lap. I must be biased because I can understand what they went through.
Having people slam the doors in your face, not returning your phone calls, saying one thing and recanting it when it came out in print, tracking down leads that go nowhere, having people reschedule appointments instead of talking.
It was a hassle for Woodward and Bernstein as they wouldn't let a story die. What we realize here is that the story snowballed from a burglary to a case or political corruption. As they continued to follow up, they realized that the Nixon Administration was doing some ugly things.
The best performance is by Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee, the main editor, whose neck is on the line as well. Whether or not, people agree with what Woodward and Bernstein did, they must remember the press didn't prosecute the Nixon Administration, the federal government did.
This review of All the President's Men (1976) was written by Ian S on 10 Mar 2010.
All the President's Men has generally received very positive reviews.
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