Nixon (1995)

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Stephen J. Rivele (written by) &
Christopher Wilkinson (written by) ...

Release Date:

20 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

He had greatness within his grasp.

Plot:

A biographical story of former U.S. president Richard Milhous Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency which ended in shame.

Plot Keywords:

Election | President | Paranoia | Richard Nixon | Quaker

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Richard M. Nixon
Joan Allen	...	Pat Nixon
Powers Boothe	...	Alexander Haig
Ed Harris	...	E. Howard Hunt
Bob Hoskins	...	J. Edgar Hoover
E.G. Marshall	...	John Mitchell
David Paymer	...	Ron Ziegler
David Hyde Pierce	...	John Dean
Paul Sorvino	...	Henry Kissinger
Mary Steenburgen	...	Hannah Nixon
J.T. Walsh	...	John Ehrlichman
James Woods	...	H.R. Haldeman
Brian Bedford	...	Clyde Tolson
Kevin Dunn	...	Charles Colson
Fyvush Finkel	...	Murray Chotiner

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

192 min | USA:212 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #34303) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Philippines:PG-13 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:12 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:12 (f) (bw) | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

El Dorado Regional Park - 7550 E. Spring Street, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment

Trivia:

When Oliver Stone saw The Remains of the Day (1993), he decided to cast Anthony Hopkins because he was able to exude the kind of inner conflict that he was looking for.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Numerous scenes throughout the movie feature President Nixon seated or standing in front of a crackling log fire, particularly in the scene where he talks to the portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Although in each scene real logs can be heard crackling, hissing, and popping, as real wood will do, close-ups of the fire reveal it to be a "fake" natural gas fireplace, with artificial logs that are "burning" evenly and cleanly with a vertical flame, and no smoke or embers coming off them.

Quotes:

[after the Kent State shootings]
Richard M. Nixon: I'd like to offer my condolences to those families. But Nixon can't.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

A MIL

Compelling Portrayal Of The Former U.S. President

In an overall solid cast, Anthony Hopkins shines in a powerful performance as Richard Nixon in this Oliver Stone film tracing the former president's life from his boyhood in California to his resignation as U.S. President in 1974.

Nixon is seen as a troubled figure, insecure and paranoid, with few friends. An unhappy childhood, in which he refers to himself as his mother's "faithful dog," in fact does dog him his whole life, as he seeks to please a demanding ultra-religious mother (Mary Steenburgen)who had already died by the time he took office as President, but whose memory and expectations lived on. Nixon is burdened with an unhappy marriage to Pat (Joan Allen) - unhappy largely because of his own obsession with political success - and haunted by the ghost of John Kennedy, who defeated him for the presidency in 1960 and who Nixon could never live up to. Kennedy was loved; Nixon was hated - he could never get over that. A scene near the end of the movie demonstrates his feelings toward JFK as he looks at Kennedy's White House portrait: "They look at you and see what they want to be; they look at me and see who they are."

Although the movie - as any review of Nixon's life will - revolves around Watergate, it provides a fascinating summary of his life, and of what added up to make him the troubled and lonely figure he really was. There's also typical Oliver Stone material as dark hints of conspiracy extending far beyond Watergate are inserted. Perhaps the most unsettling being a meeting Nixon has shortly before JFK's assassination with some supporters in Texas who are trying to convince him to run for the presidency again in 1964. Nixon protests that Kennedy can't be beaten in '64. A Cuban American present says ominously "What if Kennedy doesn't run in '64?"

A truly fascinating portrayal of a fascinating man, even in the end somewhat sympathetic to Nixon as the film ends with his 1994 funeral service, some comments at that service by President Clinton and a summary of his career by a narrator pointing out his accomplishments. A last note: kudos to Paul Sorvino, who hit Henry Kissinger bang on.

8/10