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BSsentials - All the President’s Men
I’ve been thinking about this movie for the past couple of days for obvious reasons, and I actually sat down and re-watched it today. This movie is 40 years old. It was nominated for Best Picture in a year when Rocky won and two of the other nominees were AFI top 100 films in Network and Taxi Driver. All the President’s Men is a fine film in its own right, based on the book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward about their reporting on the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post. Coming out only a couple of years after the scandal that rocked our nation to its core and brought down a president must have been very jarring to be sure. This is a dramatic film that plays out like a detective story as Woodward (Robert Redford) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) piece together the clues of the original break in that slowly and steadily morphs into the biggest scandal of the 20th Century. Along with a cast that includes Jason Robards, Jack Warden, Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander, Meredith Baxter, Stephen Collins, and many, many more, this film has top-notch acting, exceptional direction by Alan Pakula, and a marvelous screenplay by William Goldman.
Why it’s essential.
It is that screenplay that I’d like to start out discussing. This is one of those movies that you really have to pay attention to. There are a lot of details in this story that you have to be able to keep up with in order to be able to follow the plot. Goldman also used some great plot techniques to up the tension. For instance, there’s a point where they’re working on an aspect of the story and they find out that the New York Times is working on the same thing and has much of the same information. So now it’s not just about getting to the bottom of the conspiracy, but they also raise the stakes by putting them in a race to the finish against a rival organization. Goldman also did a great job of putting obstacles in Woodward and Bernstein’s way. Whether it’s would-be witnesses and sources continuously slamming doors in their faces or witnesses denying their Grand Jury testimony after an article is written, these two protagonists constantly have rugs pulled out from underneath them, and they’re constantly having to overcome these obstacles in creative and clever ways.
This is also a very dialogue-heavy film. That’s usually a problem for me except for when the dialogue is this exceptionally written by the screenwriter and delivered by the actors. Goldman expertly gave each character an individual voice, and the performances of the actors are terrific without exception. If you’re going to have a lot of dialogue in the film, then you’d better also have a lot of good actors to deliver it, and All the President’s Men delivers on both fronts.
Speaking of the acting, I think most people would agree that both Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are among the finest actors of the twentieth century, and both of them have multiple iconic performances that have transcended cinema and become well known as parts of our popular culture. In All the President’s Men they share the screen very effectively. They work off of each other with their characters somewhat adversarial at first, and then their relationship and partnership drive the story with each character bringing separate strengths and weaknesses to the story. Perhaps these aren’t the most memorable or iconic roles for either actor, but they each gave very strong and believable performances with subtleties and nuances that made me feel like I was watching real life unfold and while at the same time understanding that I was watching top notch performances.
But not only do Redford and Hoffman give stellar performances, but so too do many of the supporting cast. Jason Robards as the paper’s editor Ben Bradlee serves as the protagonists’ archetypal mentor, as well as sometimes shapeshifting into an enemy. The inimitable Jack Warden plays Metro Editor Harry Rosenfeld, who fought to keep the young and inexperienced reporters on the story. Hal Holbrook was only in a couple of scenes as Deep Throat, but his performance was as riveting as it was haunting. There were many other recognizable character actors like Ned Beatty and the previously mentioned Jane Alexander, Meredith Baxter and Stephen Collins round out a cast that was solid and as strong as any supporting cast that you’ll ever see.
Another aspect about this film that I love is the way that it’s shot, as well as the way that it’s edited. There is a very sparse score, which is reminiscent of Network, which came out the same year, and didn’t have any score at all. In many ways this film is almost shot like a documentary, especially the scenes in the news room and the scenes where they’re interviewing people. However, during the scenes where Woodward is talking to Deep Throat in the parking garage, the style of shooting becomes very cinematic. The lighting is very dramatic, and we’re never able to see Deep Throat entirely, as much of his face and body are hidden in shadow as a way of telling us that this man is mysterious and perhaps not entirely trustworthy. It’s also worth noting that he never gives Woodward complete information, so the fact that we never completely see him adds to the mystery of who he is and the information that he’s giving.
Finally there is one more component that makes this film essential and that is its theme about the importance of freedom of the press, as well as the importance of an unbiased press that serves as a true watchdog to potential governmental malfeasance and tyranny. Not only were Woodward and Bernstein watchdogs, they were also bulldogs going after the truth with tenacity and an insatiable desire to find the truth. the more they dug, the more dirt they found, and without that tenacity the true scope of the Watergate scandal may never have been uncovered. The fact that they were free as journalists to uncover this kind of corruption is one of the thin threads that keeps our democracy viable, and All the President’s Men shows reminds us that we should never lose sight of the importance of a free press.
Overall this is a terrific movie. It is dramatic and tense and thoughtful. It’s also pretty relevant to the times we’re living in at the moment, and if you’ve never seen it or haven’t seen it for a long time, I highly recommend checking it out.
Today’s Movie Quote - The Wizard of Oz
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”
Screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allen Woolf
My Top Five Horror Movies of All Time
I know that Halloween was a few of days ago, but some of us actually have kids and families and actually spend Halloween doing Halloween things. As I was doing all of those Halloween things and as I’ve been stuffing myself with left over candy for the past couple of days, I started thinking about ghouls and ghosts and goblins and all things scary, and it got me to thinking about horror movies. Now, I am not a fan of the horror genre. In fact, it’s probably my least favorite genre. You can make the case that horror is similar in many ways to comedy or action, but instead of the narrative simply filling the gaps between laughs or explosions, it rather serves as a mechanism to get you to the next thrill or disembowelment. I suppose I just prefer the stimulation of a good laugh or a good action sequence over that of a good scare. Even with that said, there are some films in the genre that, if they didn’t make the story the most important component of the film, it was at least right up there. So I do have some very definite opinions on the matter, and while I am admittedly not an expert on the subject, I still thought it would be apropos to list off my favorite horror films.
5) Dracula (1931)
This may be more of a sentimental pick than anything. It’s actually not a very well developed story, especially when you compare it to the book. There are a lot of important story components that are left out that Francis Ford Coppola did include in his remake in the early 90’s. While it’s not nearly a perfect film, Bela Legosi’s performance as Count Dracula is an iconic performance, and many of his mannerisms from this film remain a part of our popular lexicon to this very day. The fact that this is probably the first great horror film to come out of the Hollywood studio system (Nosferatu was a German film), and would staple Universal Studios as the kingpins of the monster genre, makes this a film that is worthy to be on any list of this kind. It’s probably also the single most influential horror movie of all time, and I would dare say that almost every horror film that has come out since, is standing on this film’s mighty and broad shoulders.
4) Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Roman Polanski’s first American film remains one of his most iconic. And this is the director who brought us Chinatown and The Pianist. Certainly by today’s standards, this film doesn’t really hold up in terms of its “scary” factor, but it remains a very creepy film, and it’s a film that has a strong story and compelling characters. In fact, Polanski made it a point of emphasis to make sure that Rosemary’s Baby didn’t fall into the traps of horror motifs. There would be nothing jumping out at us. There would be no cheap tricks in order to get cheap thrills. This would be a thoughtful movie with a character that has a real problem, and real obstacles continue to get in her way throughout. Every person that can help her is either killed or betrays her. In the tradition of any great protagonist, Rosemary makes several attempts to solve her problems, but all of those attempts are thwarted in plausible ways. This film actually has a screenplay that’s worth studying for just those reasons. Finally, Rosemary’s Baby has one of the most disturbing and unsettling endings of any film that I’ve seen. In fact, the ending is where the real horror in this film lies.
3) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The first and only horror film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, I’ve actually written extensively about this film here. I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that it’s probably also one of the most influential films of all time. However, I would also say that its influence is primarily seen on television rather than in the cinema. As I mentioned in my previous blog post about this film, TV shows like NYPD Blue and CSI and Law and Order and any other number of modern day cop/detective television shows wouldn’t exist without The Silence of the Lambs. Their collective style and tone were pulled right from The Silence of the Lambs, and much of the film’s shock value has been muted over time by those shows showing material that’s just as graphic, if not more so than what we saw in the film in 1991. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the acting in The Silence of the Lambs. One thing that horror films are generally known for is their sub par acting. That is not the case in The Silence of the Lambs, as Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter) and Jody Foster (Clarice Starling) would both win Best Leading Role Oscars for their respective performances in this remarkable film.
2) The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist was actually the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture. It would lose to The Sting. In its day this was one of the most shocking films ever released. No one had ever seen anything like it to that point, and there were stories of people running out of the theaters, vomiting and in terror over what they were witnessing. More than 4 decades later, it has certainly lost some of its edge. In fact, I re-watched it with a group of people fairly recently, and we all came away feeling that it’s more of a cop/detective story now. Yes, there are some genuinely terrifying and suspenseful moments at various points throughout the film, but watching Lt. William Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb) trying to figure out what’s going on is the driving plot line of the story. It’s also an emotional journey as Father Karras (Jason Miller) confronts his own doubts in his faith, as he remains skeptical of Regan’s possession until Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) has made it very clear what’s happening. Ultimately Father Karras finds his redemption, but like in many great dramatic stories, it comes at a great cost. To me, that’s what The Exorcist is at its base level: a great dramatic story.
1) The Shining (1980)
This is the first horror movie that I actually forced myself to sit thought, and I’ve now seen it many times, and it still creeps me out. Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director of all time, and he was in the proverbial Zone when making this film. This is really a psychological thriller in that it’s never entirely clear if the supernatural things that are happening are really happening or just happening inside the heads of the characters. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is about as unlikable a protagonist as has ever graced the screen, and yet we’re compelled to watch and root for him not to go completely insane. What keeps us rooting for him is our affection for his son Danny and his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), because we know that the more Jack slips into madness, the more dangerous life becomes for Danny and Wendy. Like other films on this list this film has an intricately woven plot and there strong thematic elements, like how the modern world was creating a strain on the American family, and how fathers were losing their way as they struggle to balance work and family to the point where the mounting pressure to accommodate both becomes unbearable. The Shining is one of the scariest movies ever made because underneath the visions of a haunted hotel, there is the feeling that this is a parable for something that your own family could go through, and that makes this horror movie feel all too real.
Honorable Mentions:
Halloween (1978)
Friday the 13th (1980)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Poltergeist (1982)
What do you think? What films did I miss? Feel free to comment.
Today’s Movie Quote - Dracula
“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.”
Screenplay by Hamilton Deane & John A. Balderston
A Cool Script Analysis of The Shining
Check out this link for an in depth review of what makes this film so effective.
