All The President’s Men (1976)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula, the screenplay for All The President’s Men was adapted by William Goldman from the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. It relates their experiences investigating the Watergate Scandal for The Washington Post – a journalistic feat which has since become legendary.
In 1972, a security guard makes his rounds of the Watergate Complex, and finds a door taped open. Reporting this to the police, law enforcement arrives and five intruders are arrested inside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) is assigned to the story, and discovers that four of the men are Cuban-American, while the fifth is a former CIA agent. He also finds that they have connections to Charles Coulson – Special Counsel to President Nixon.
Suspecting that there is a bigger story to be found, The Washington Post assigns Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) to work with Woodward and, together, they begin to uncover evidence of illegal wiretaps, corruption of campaign finances, and cover-ups at the highest level of government. They call upon the infamous, anonymous source ‘Deep Throat’ for assistance, and eventually publish a story that contributes to the end of Richard Nixon’s Presidency.
Also starring Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, and Jane Alexander, All The President’s Men remains the gold standard for both historical explorations of political upheaval, and of political thrillers in general.
