8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.6 |
Washington Post reporters uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that set the stage for President Nixon's eventual resignation.
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal HolbrookDrama | 100% |
History | 42% |
Biography | 39% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Japanese: Dolby Digital Mono
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Many national calamities are a relatively instantaneous affair. A horde of bombs fall on an island paradise in December, 1941. A series of terrifying shots ring out in Dallas in November, 1963. The shock is immediate, though the repercussions can last for literally generations. Unlike those two singular events of Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President Kennedy, however, Watergate unfolded not in a lightning flash of trauma and horror, but slowly and laboriously over the course of two years. The initial break-in at the hotel complex was on June 17, 1972 (some allege there was an earlier break-in which was not discovered). Nevertheless, Richard Nixon still easily managed a landslide reelection in November 1972 and then clung tenuously to power until August 1974 as the scandal unfolded and slowly grew on his Presidency like, in the inimitable words of White House Counsel John Dean, a cancer. It’s hard perhaps to realize there was a time when the press was seen as a heroic David to President Nixon’s Goliath, though as All the President’s Men makes abundantly clear, that vision wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Washington Post news reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) were thought by many (including their own colleagues and editors) to be absolute nuts to believe there was a major conspiracy surrounding what seemed like a “second rate burglary” at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington, D.C. Only though a sort of dogged perseverance did the two finally manage to get close to the truth, in the process bringing down a presidency with a crushing finality that proved nobody was above the law.
"Excuse me, ma'am, do you know anything about Deep Throat?"
Much like Network, the other Warner catalog title released at the same time on Blu-ray as All the President's Men, this film has the soft, grainy look so endemic of mid-1970's film in general. Unfortunately, this AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 lacks some of Network's relative sharpness and color accuracy. All the President's Men looks noticeably darker, with an odd, often orange-tinged tilt in the color (especially with regard to flesh tones) that may be bothersome to some viewers. Contrast is rather low, making the many dark shots (all of the Deep Throat footage, for example) victim of some pretty serious crushing. Grain is natural here, so DNR-phobes have nothing to worry about, but at the same time it gives the film an overly grimy and gritty look a lot of the time, especially in those selfsame darker passages. This is a decent enough upgrade from the SD-DVD, but those without any prior experience with this film may be shocked at just how soft and dark this BD looks.
All the President's Men's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix is surprisingly robust for film not re-purposed with a faux surround mix, and one now approaching its 35th anniversary. In fact, you may jump a little out of your seat at those opening strikes of the typewriter letters against the page. Fidelity here is excellent throughout, delivering clear and precise dialogue and a very nice representation of David Shire's beautifully understated score. The film obviously operates on a narrow soundfield, and some of the newsroom segments in particular may in fact have benefited from a surround mix, but overall, the film sound spry and active, with no damage, hiss or other annoyances to report.
All the President's Men offers some nice supplements:
You may have lived through Watergate yourself, or have learned about it in school, but All the President's Men makes it all come alive in a thrillingly visceral way. One of the best ever films about what the day to day grind of a newsroom is all about, even in an epochal story like Watergate, All the President's Men is probably Pakula's all around finest film, and it features a bevy of knockout performances. This Blu-ray's image quality leaves something to be desired, but otherwise this is an excellent release. Highly recommended.
1976
Two-Disc Special Edition | featuring All the President's Men Revisited
1976
2009
Collector's Edition | Theatrical on BD
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