Review of All the President's Men (1976) by Barbara R — 03 Aug 2011

A brilliant film. A gem of a political thriller. You have to be a good writer to make present investigative journalism in such a compelling way. And you have be a great writer to present the worst scandal in American history in such a delicate and eye-opening way.

For those watching in 2011, to watch All the President's Men is to know the horror and disappointment Americans felt in the early 1970s. It's to see how shocked and betrayed America felt like in the eyes of journalist Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) as Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook) told him in that dark parking garage that the corruption went all the way to the top, forever shaking people's faith in the White House.

The acting was superb. Holbrook, even with his face in shadow captured the menacing words and feel of Deep Throat perfectly. Jason Robards played the senior editor of The Washington Post well and there was also Dustin Hoffman (Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate).

This film bookended by historic video reels of President Nixon and damning newspaper headlines captures the irony of Nixon's re-election in the face of his sins. Viewers will feel the weight of his hubris in blatantly deceiving the American people and thinking he could get away with it, despite Nixon never appearing in the film.

All the President's Men will continue to astound for decades more to come; no other film since has ever been able to tell this painful chapter in American history quite as well.