Movie Review: All the President's Men (1976)

In time for 'Frost/Nixon' is a review of the classic movie about the Watergate scandal. This movie is directed by Alan Pakula and stars Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein & Robert Redford as Bob Woodward, the two young reporters working for Washington Post trying to unearth the mystery of the events at the Watergate complex in DC. This is a fantastic movie which although very long (2 hrs 18 mins) is rivetting if you like political journalism and mystery. It does not go too much into the meaning and significance of the Watergate scandals but is more from the perspective of 'Woodstein' as they go about trying to make sense of it all. The movie is based on the book of the same name written obviously by 'Woodstein'. This movie along with Oliver Stone's Nixon provides a very thoughtful insight into a significant event in history.

The acting in the movie is superlative as is the wonderful cinematography by Gordon Willis. It has the trademark paranoia shots, as in the movie 'Parallax View' (which was far fetched but entertaining all the same). Pakula has directed some really fantastic movies such as Klute, Sophie's Choice, Pelican Brief but I think this is probably his best movie.