Official Synopsis
When men break into the Watergate complex, and are quickly arrested, their interested parties try to push them through the court system as quickly and quietly as possible. Journalist Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) from the Washington Post is assigned to cover the trial only to find out that there is more than meets the eye. Woodward recruits fellow journalist Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) to help him unravel what could and would be one of the biggest scandals in American history.
Honestly speaking (and sadly), I didn’t know much about this investigation other than Nixon’s eventual impeachment. Having grown up in the Reagan administration for a good portion of my young life, it wasn’t something that was taught in our schools. Having seen this film for the first time (for this review), I can confidently say that it’s amazing there aren’t new laws in place to track down where money is filtered during campaigns. Lobbyist and special interest groups truly have no place in politics, and this sort of film proves just that. I will step down from my soapbox now.
Anyway, the film itself is a beautifully constructed masterpiece that has the right pacing to keep the audience engaged. It starts off slow and a little boring, as we see the disenchanted Bob Woodward having to cover another meaningless trial. As soon as he gets his first lead, everything about that mood quickly changes, and the audience is prepped for one helluva suspenseful thrill ride on the practice of journalistic know-how and integrity. The slow uncovering of the investigation is really what keeps you engaged with this film, as both journalist must find ways around roadblocks and keep their investigation alive. Seeing how much shit that both Woodward and Bernstein went through to get their story, that’s including shit from their managing editor, is what makes this movie a classic and wonderful marvel to behold. It’s journalism at its finest, something the world today desperately needs in this day and age of 24-hour ‘coverage’.
Redford and Hoffman did a beautiful job with their respectful roles as the two pesky journalist and brought a natural, believable feel to the film. It’s less of spectacle and more about hard work when they’re on the screen. They were perfect for this movie and I’m glad that director Alan Pakula saw that in the two stars. I’m not sure anyone else could have pulled the roles off quite like these guys.
If I had to criticize the film for anything it would be the ending, which is just a bit anti-climactic. It does personify what Woodward and Bernstein were trying to do, which was to just tell the story and let the audience decide the fate of the Nixon administration, but it still feels a bit ‘blah’. I’m positive that my journalism professor from back in the day would disagree with my assessment of the ending, but I am who I am.
All the President’s Men really does a great job in telling the story of how the corruptive underbelly of the Nixon administration was unraveled and exposed. Such a great film, especially for budding journalist out there.
As for he Blu-ray portion of this film, it’s fair-to-good. When some of the darker scenes in the movie appear (night shots, inside house shots where the light isn’t quite good), you get a lot of grain with HD transfer. When the light is dominant in the shots (daytime shots, shots of D.C.) then you have a pretty darn clean picture. There is some slight color banding in some shots, but nothing too bad. As you would expect from something in the 70s, the colors that come through clean and stand out the most are blues, yellows and browns (sometimes reds). Overall, this isn’t the best transfer that Warner Home Video has done, but it’s fair-to-good.
The real beef to this release is the special features. Here’s what you’re looking at:
– All the President’s Men Revisited (new)
– Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of All the President’s Men
– Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
– Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
– Commentary by Robert Redford
– Pressure and the Press: The Making of All the President’s Men
– Jason Robards interview Excerpt from Dinah!, hosted by Dinah Shore
– Trailer
The new ‘making of’ is a nice feature added. It gives a bit more insight and depth to the overall experience. The rest of the features are darn good, especially the commentary and the Lighting the Fire and ‘Pressure and the Press’ features. Overall, this is a solid release thanks to a good film and great features added.
Own it on Blu-ray Today