All the Way (2016)

Lyndon Baines Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination and spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act.

Director:

Jay Roach

Writers:

Robert Schenkkan (screenplay), Robert Schenkkan (play)

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Melissa Leo

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Cranston	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Anthony Mackie	...	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melissa Leo	...	Lady Bird Johnson
Frank Langella	...	Senator Richard Russell
Bradley Whitford	...	Senator Hubert Humphrey
Stephen Root	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Todd Weeks	...	Walter Jenkins
Ray Wise	...	Senator Everett Dirksen
Ken Jenkins	...	Rep. 'Judge' Smith
Dohn Norwood	...	Ralph Abernathy
Mo McRae	...	Stokely Carmichael
Marque Richardson	...	Bob Moses
Aisha Hinds	...	Fannie Lou Hamer
Joe Morton	...	Roy Wilkins
Eric Pumphrey	...	David Dennis

Storyline

November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy has just been assassinated and Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is now President. One of his first acts as President is to reaffirm the US government's intention to pass the Civil Rights Act. This Act was drafted while JFK was in office and gives people of all races the same rights, including voting rights, access to education and access to public facilities. However, he faces strong opposition to the bill, especially from within his own party. He will have to use all his political will and cunning to get it through.

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Plot Keywords:

j. edgar hoover character | lyndon b. johnson character | jacqueline kennedy character | dallas texas | year 1963 | 

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Taglines:

Politics is war.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Root, who plays J. Edgar Hoover, was previously in J. Edgar (2011) with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, a Secret Service agent is seen guarding a door while holding an M16. While the Secret Service was issued M16s before Kennedy was assassinated and well before the military adopted them, the improved version of the flash hider shown on the rifle in the movie was not designed until years after first issuance of the M16 to the military in 1969.

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Quotes

Lyndon B. Johnson: I'm gonna need another set of those cufflinks.

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Connections

Referenced in All the Way: A Walk Through History (2016)

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Soundtracks

Lone Star Rag
Written by Bob Wills (as James Robert 'Bob' Wills)
Performed by The Lucky Stars

User Reviews

Engaging and compelling historical political drama

November, 1963. President John F Kennedy has just been assassinated and Vice President Lyndon Johnson (played by Bryan Cranston) is now President. One of his first acts as President is to reaffirm the US government's intention to pass the Civil Rights Act. This Act was drafted while JFK was in office and gives people of all races the same rights, including voting rights, access to education and access to public facilities. However, he faces strong opposition to the bill, especially from within his own party. He will have to use all his political will and cunning to get it through.

Incredibly engaging drama, showing the passage of a major and historic piece of legislation in US history. Quite an eye-opener: hard to believe that in 1963/4 there was such a huge North-South divide and that racism was so rampant. Also amazing to see that some of the strongest opposition to integration was from Democrats - the left-wing/right-wing lines were clearly quite blurred in those days.

Fascinating insight into the personality of LBJ. On the surface he seems like a man wanting to what is right for his fellow man. However, his motives are not always that altruistic, and his actions are often more driven by personal power than good intentions (which would be common to almost all politicians, I guess, so not such a huge surprise). Highly complex, we see what drives him, especially how his childhood experiences shape his motivations and thinking.

Quite balanced too. We see LBJ, warts and all: his temper, his treatment of staff and wife, his colourful language, what he'll do to win. He's hardly a saint.

Superb performance by Bryan Cranston in the lead role. He inhabits the character of LBJ.

A story that needed to be told.

Details

Official Sites:

HBO - Character Spot: LBJ HBO - Character Spot: MLK

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

All the Way

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Amblin Entertainment, Tale Told Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD