All the President’s Men (1976)

All the President’s Men
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
Written by William Goldman from a book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
1976/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

John Mitchell: [on phone] All that crap you’re putting in the paper? It’s all been denied. You tell your publisher, tell Katie Graham she’s gonna get her tit caught in a big wringer if that’s published. Good Christ, that’s the most sickening thing I ever heard.

A true story that is as suspenseful as any thriller even when you know the ending.

The film begins when a security guard detects a break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Party at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.  He calls the police and five burglars are apprehended.  Papers on the burglars led to the arrests of Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy both of whom had connections to the White House and the Committee to Re-Elect the President.

Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) are rookie reporters for The Washington Post.  Woodward is assigned to cover the arraignment of the men and discovers that high-powered attorneys are interested in the case.  This arouses his suspicions and he follows up.  Eventually Bernstein is assigned to partner with Woodward on the story.

The two form a powerhouse team after some initial friction.  They are getting nowhere when Woodward contacts an official that comes to be known as “Deep Throat” (Hal Holbrook). He speaks to him only on the condition that he is not quoted even as an anonymous source.  His advice is to “follow the money”.  This the two reporters do.  It is a frustrating but fascinating journey through Washington bureaucracy.  Most people are unwilling to talk but unwittingly make the reporters even more suspicious.

Eventually, the story gets so big that Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards) is encouraged to put somebody more seasoned on the case.  He declines to do so.  In the end, a couple of honest insiders speak up and their info leads all the way to the top. The rest is history.  With Jane Alexander as a bookkeeper and Jack Warden and Martin Balsam as editiors.

I saw this in the theater when it came out.  It holds up beautifully all these years later.  It was so interesting to see all the location shots of Washington, D.C. where I was to work many years later.  The thoroughly engrossing screenplay is aided by a wonderful cast and meticulous production design.  Recommended.

All the President’s Men won Academy Awards in the categories of Best Supporting Actor (Robards); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; and Best Sound. It was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Supporting Actress (Alexander); Best Director; and Best Film Editing.