The Final Days (1989)

Director:

Richard Pearce

Writers:

Bob Woodward (book), Carl Bernstein (book),

Stars:

Lane Smith, Richard Kiley, David Ogden Stiers

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lane Smith	...	Richard Nixon
Richard Kiley	...	J. Fred Buzhardt
David Ogden Stiers	...	General Alexander M. Haig Jr
Ed Flanders	...	Leonard Garment
Theodore Bikel	...	Henry Kissinger
Graham Beckel	...	Ron Ziegler
James Sikking	...	Elliot Richardson
Richard Venture	...	James St. Clair
Alan Fudge	...	Gerald Ford
Gregg Henry	...	John Dean
Ramon Bieri	...	Judge John J. Sirica
Ann Hearn	...	Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Amanda Wyss	...	Tricia Nixon Cox
Diana Bellamy	...	Rose Mary Woods
Susan Brown	...	Pat Nixon

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

nixon | watergate | u.s. president | based on book

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Fall Nixon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Poochie Productions, Samuels Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: Top Copy (1995)

User Reviews

a vivid and faithful telling of the fall of Pres. Richard Nixon with remarkable performance by Lane Smith

This is an excellent drama based on the fall of Richard Nixon. Other than a bit of condensation of some of the events and characters this is a remarkably faithful retelling of the Watergate melt-down. All of the actors are well cast as characters from our recent history but Lane Smith as Nixon deserves special praise. Physically he is far more convincing than Anthony Hopkins in NIXON and, like the British actor, he really gets into his character's complicated psyche. Smith manages all the physical tics and vocal infections we recognize as Nixon but never veers into caricature. Without excusing Nixon's crimes or motivations he succeeds in creating a sympathetic portrait. There's even some welcome comic relief when the jittery president is victimized by a joy-riding Brezhnev at Camp David. This is an excellent historical drama without the Oliver Stone hokum.