All the President's Men
Academy Award × 4·AFI #77·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed American films of the 1970s, praised nearly without reservation for turning the methodical, unglamorous grind of investigative reporting into gripping cinema — with Pakula's direction and Goldman's screenplay cited repeatedly as the engines of its tension. The rare dissent, then and now, finds the film admirable but somewhat airless, more dutiful reconstruction than dramatic revelation.
“It provides the most observant study of working journalists we're ever likely to see in a feature film. And it succeeds brilliantly in suggesting the mixture of exhilaration, paranoia, self-doubt, and courage that permeated The Washington Post as its two young reporters went after a presidency.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Director Alan J. Pakula duplicates the surprise and suspense of his Klute while avoiding the overstatement and pandering paranoia of his more recent political thriller, The Parallax View. Pakula's greatest achievement is the way he unobtrusively weaves outside events into narrative of the reporters' story.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“It glorifies the work of the reporter without making it glamorous.”
Joe Pollack·St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“For those in the audience expecting an emotional catharsis it may be slightly disappointing, but this low-key realism – as opposed to being a shrill polemic against Nixon – is why the movie works.”
Sally Smith·The Atlanta Constitution
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlan J. Pakula
StarringDustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook
ComposerDavid Shire
All the President's Men
Academy Award × 4·AFI #77·National Film Registry
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
What critics thought
One of the most acclaimed American films of the 1970s, praised nearly without reservation for turning the methodical, unglamorous grind of investigative reporting into gripping cinema — with Pakula's direction and Goldman's screenplay cited repeatedly as the engines of its tension. The rare dissent, then and now, finds the film admirable but somewhat airless, more dutiful reconstruction than dramatic revelation.
“It provides the most observant study of working journalists we're ever likely to see in a feature film. And it succeeds brilliantly in suggesting the mixture of exhilaration, paranoia, self-doubt, and courage that permeated The Washington Post as its two young reporters went after a presidency.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Director Alan J. Pakula duplicates the surprise and suspense of his Klute while avoiding the overstatement and pandering paranoia of his more recent political thriller, The Parallax View. Pakula's greatest achievement is the way he unobtrusively weaves outside events into narrative of the reporters' story.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“It glorifies the work of the reporter without making it glamorous.”
Joe Pollack·St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“For those in the audience expecting an emotional catharsis it may be slightly disappointing, but this low-key realism – as opposed to being a shrill polemic against Nixon – is why the movie works.”
Sally Smith·The Atlanta Constitution
Genres
Drama, History, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlan J. Pakula
StarringDustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook
ComposerDavid Shire
Rent/Purchase