ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K): The Good Ol' Days of Accountability

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K UHD)

1976 / 138 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😸

Remember when a single scandal could bring down a president? Ah, the good old days.

Imagine someone who wasn’t alive in the ‘70s, knowing nothing about Watergate, watching All the President's Men today. Considering the current political climate in the United States, would they be underwhelmed by the revelations discovered and reported by journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman)? Would they walk away saying, “That’s all it took? This is the crime that ended a presidency and shook the world? Hell, I read worse in yesterday’s newspaper…and the day before that…and… ” 

Not that All the President’s Men is an archaic artifact from a bygone era. It remains one of the best films of that decade, and in my humble opinion, should have won 1976’s Best Picture Oscar (sorry, Rocky fans). The last film in director Alan J. Pakula’s unofficial “paranoia trilogy,” it’s a masterclass in filmmaking, both narratively and technically. What’s truly impressive is how effortlessly it maintains tension and an urgent tone despite the ending being a forgone conclusion (unless, of course, you’ve never heard of Nixon or Watergate). 

"...and that president's man changes the toilet paper rolls..."

The film still tells a hell of a story, even if viewed as a piece of historical fiction. I’ve seen it at least a half dozen times over the years and still get pulled into Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation, as well as the revealing look at the inner workings of a big city newspaper. Besides the direction, knock-out performances, Gordon Willis’ cinematography and production design that makes you feel like you work at the Washington Post, a big reason this one remains worth revisiting is that it expects the viewer to meet it halfway. This ain’t a movie for those who like being spoonfed. For me, part of the fun has always been trying to keep up with these two reporters as they put the pieces together.

But alas, I felt just a bit of underlying sadness watching it this time around. All the President’s Men is as riveting as ever, but times definitely have changed. The Washington Post is a shadow of its former self, as is the news business itself. What was once political scandal has been normalized and accountability certainly doesn’t apply to everyone. This film made me nostalgic for the days when a simple hotel burglary could make a writer’s career and end a president’s.

All the President’s Men turns 50 this year, and though this new 4K UHD release is not touted as any kind of anniversary edition, it provides a good upgrade from the previous Blu-ray version. The overall picture quality is excellent, maintaining the original print’s film grain and colors, as well as Willis’ creative touches. The audio track appears to be the same as the Blu-ray (at least I couldn’t tell much difference). And in addition to several older supplements, a couple of new featurettes are included.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - All the President’s Men: The Film and its Influence and Woodward and Bernstein: A Journalism Masterclass are two new retrospective appreciations featuring interviews with a few journalists, who discuss the movie’s accuracy, as well as Woodward and Bernstein themselves; Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire, Telling the Truth About Lies and Out of the Shadows: The Man Who was Deep Throat, all from the original Blu-ray release, are longer and more substantial.

JASON ROBARDS ON DINAH! - The actor’s appearance on Dinah!, which was one of the more popular talk shows in the ‘70s.

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