All the President's Men (1976)

"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

Carl Bernstein (book), Bob Woodward (book)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden

Won 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Carl Bernstein
Robert Redford	...	Bob Woodward
Jack Warden	...	Harry Rosenfeld
Martin Balsam	...	Howard Simons
Hal Holbrook	...	Deep Throat
Jason Robards	...	Ben Bradlee
Jane Alexander	...	Bookkeeper
Meredith Baxter	...	Debbie Sloan
Ned Beatty	...	Dardis
Stephen Collins	...	Hugh Sloan
Penny Fuller	...	Sally Aiken
John McMartin	...	Foreign Editor
Robert Walden	...	Donald Segretti
Frank Wills	...	Frank Wills
F. Murray Abraham	...	Arresting Officer #1

Storyline

In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.

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Plot Keywords:

investigative journalism | watergate | washington post | white house | newspaper | 

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Taglines:

At times it looked like it might cost them their jobs, their reputations, and maybe even their lives.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. WB Shop / Warner Archive

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 April 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

All the President's Men

Filming Locations:

2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$70,600,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Wildwood, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #77 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.

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Goofs

As Bernstein is waiting to see Dardis, a man enters and is told by the secretary to go in and that he's expecting him. But moments later after Bernstein tricks the secretary and barges into Dardis' office, the man is gone but was never seen leaving.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[first lines including archive footage]
Walter Cronkite: Now here comes the president's helicopter, Marine Helicopter Number One, landing on the plaza on the east side of the east front of the Capitol.

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Crazy Credits

The opening Warner Bros. Zooming \\' logo is in black and white.

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Alternate Versions

German theatrical version was cut by. ca 7,5 minutes (ie. a conversation between Rosenfeld and Simons, Woodward asking a woman about Hunt, Woodward and Bernstein being dismissed by Mrs. Hambling, Woodward on the way to a meeting with Deep Throat). DVD release is uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Conan: All the President's "Meh" (2013)

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Soundtracks

Hail to the Chief
(uncredited)
Written by James Sanderson

User Reviews

Ever Heard of Watergate?

"All the President's Men" (1976) follows the investigation led by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) on the Watergate scandal, running parallel with President Nixon's campaign for reelection. As the two lead characters see their investigation unfold, hardly, must I say, they get banged down by your usual, but not quite so, "newspaper" drama : missing sources, pettiness of the story, abstinence and denial by the witnesses, lack of hard evidence and, above all, threat to the survival of the Post itself.

This is a gripping time piece. Almost half of the story is spent at the newspaper's offices, overshadowed by the permanent key-tapping of ardent typewriters and the constant chatter of young secretaries, which add a great sense of urgency and authenticity to a typical 1970s Washington workplace, where Woodward and Bernstein, sitting face-to-face in an odd, diagonal line that becomes a subtle symbol for a head-butting professional relationship, learn to first tolerate each other (and each other's egos) before uniting to unveil the truth. The interactions between Hoffman and Redford throughout the movie are as delightful to watch as they are crucial to making William Goldman's Academy Award-winning script reach its climax. We, as spectators, pay attention to these two very powerful actors' every word with such care and eagerness without even seeing through their banter and mistakes, breathing sighs of relief when catching a loose second and setting the alarm as the next one arrives. In the meantime, we get glimpses of written notes swinging in every direction from Woodward, mainly, creating a true journalistic feel, and enthralling conversations over the phone from both characters, desperately attempting to connect with not only the people behind the scandal, but also with the obscure situation on which they vainly light their lamps on, to a point where the phone becomes a mere extension of the hand and the absence of voice on the other end of the wire provokes an expression of total indifference. The story hides behind this progressive and discreet line of events without ever declaring "right" or "wrong", and plays with the writers' heads, leading them to frustration, unaided by the pressure of their superiors, the Metro News' supervisor Harry Rosenfeld (Jack Warden) and the Post's Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards, in a sublime performance).

The remainder of the movie explores Woodward and Bernstein's (or "Woodstein", as Bradlee once cries out, interrupting the high-pitched noise of the office for more than two seconds) attempts to force the truth (or, at least, parcels of it) out of various mouths (White House bookkeepers, attorneys, lawmen, you name it) and shows with true excitement the abusive paraphrasing and deduction the two men make with a less-than-minimal amount of words or simple nods from the speakers (or non-speakers). In fact, the two are so convinced of the story's credibility that they unequivocally trade sentences for common sense, really. This is where the movie falters; its will and urgency to depict these moments rapidly makes them seem trivial and forgettable. For instance, an "informant" of Woodward's ("Deep Throat", as they call him) only agrees to meet with him in a dark, underground parking, but the movie never truly gives his character the proper gravitas and importance that his name really bears, historically speaking.

Nevertheless, "All the President's Men" is the prototype of a solid and honest depiction of a historical event or, in this case, a more or less extended period of time marked by historical events. Alan J. Pakula's camera is turning around America's capital with remarkable ease, giving us the feeling that we have already been there, with Woodward and Bernstein, and capturing the charm of residential homes, the cacophony of midnight streets and the peacefulness of everyday places, such as libraries and diners. As already mentioned, the dynamics of the characters and of their relationships elevate the movie way above average, but the thoroughness to get the story "just the right way" makes it even greater. At some points during the movie, we are projected with real-time speeches from Nixon and his entourage or with journalistic coverage from 1972 and 1973 on a small television set in the office, further down the road from Woodward's small cabinet. As we exchange glances from the coverage on TV to Woodward's continuous typing, we take a step back and contemplate the successful effort of converting the broadcasted story into a much more intimate one.