Film Critique of All the President's Men
I. Summary
Opening in theaters around the United States in April of 1976, All the President's
Men paints quite an accurate account of American journalism yet at the same time is a suspenseful adventure that manages to entertain and inform its viewers. Vincent Canby, a reviewer for the New York Times called the movie, "an unequivocal smash-hitthe thinking man's Jaws." Because the film is written from the perspective of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the movie works as a blockbuster, and not just a documentary. The script was written in such a way that the historical information (dates, names, and events) is recorded, but does not confuse and interfere with the message the director is trying to portray. The film opens with actual footage of Nixon's helicopter landing and then him addressing Congress. In the next clip, it is the evening of June 17, 1972 and we see flashlights and hear radio conversations of the burglars at the Watergate, which leads into the next morning and Woodward's assignment of a minor break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters. A few minutes later, Woodward is surprised to find that top defense lawyers are ready to defend the burglars, yet the burglars have not been able to make any phone calls and the list of the accused includes top Republican fund raisers. Woodward begins to sense that this is going to be quite the story on this first day of uncovering the details of the occurrence. The story grows and Bernstein and Woodward discover that the trail is much greater than they ever thought. The accused happen to have the addresses and phone numbers of top CIA and White House authorities in their address books, yet everyone they speak with is unwilling to talk. Ben Bradlee, Editor-in-Chief of the Post is ready to go with the story, but Woodward and Bernstein can't get two corroborating sources. Throughout the film, they receive guidance and leads from "Deep Throat," a high level insider, who provides insight on
Opening in theaters around the United States in April of 1976, All the President's
Men paints quite an accurate account of American journalism yet at the same time is a suspenseful adventure that manages to entertain and inform its viewers. Vincent Canby, a reviewer for the New York Times called the movie, "an unequivocal smash-hitthe thinking man's Jaws." Because the film is written from the perspective of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the movie works as a blockbuster, and not just a documentary. The script was written in such a way that the historical information (dates, names, and events) is recorded, but does not confuse and interfere with the message the director is trying to portray. The film opens with actual footage of Nixon's helicopter landing and then him addressing Congress. In the next clip, it is the evening of June 17, 1972 and we see flashlights and hear radio conversations of the burglars at the Watergate, which leads into the next morning and Woodward's assignment of a minor break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters. A few minutes later, Woodward is surprised to find that top defense lawyers are ready to defend the burglars, yet the burglars have not been able to make any phone calls and the list of the accused includes top Republican fund raisers. Woodward begins to sense that this is going to be quite the story on this first day of uncovering the details of the occurrence. The story grows and Bernstein and Woodward discover that the trail is much greater than they ever thought. The accused happen to have the addresses and phone numbers of top CIA and White House authorities in their address books, yet everyone they speak with is unwilling to talk. Ben Bradlee, Editor-in-Chief of the Post is ready to go with the story, but Woodward and Bernstein can't get two corroborating sources. Throughout the film, they receive guidance and leads from "Deep Throat," a high level insider, who provides insight on
Bibliography: Canby, V. (1976). All the President 's Men. The New York Times. New York.