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All the President’s Men

"Mr. Markham, are you here in connection with the Watergate burglary?" "I'm not here."

And thus begins the twisted journey, movie fans, that Woodward and Bernstein have to take to track down the truth behind one of the biggest scandals our country has ever faced, which led to the President’s resignation. Join us—Pete Wright and Andy Nelson—as we talk about the third film in Alan J. Pakula’s unofficial paranoia trilogy.

Someone once said that Pakula in the 70s IS America, and considering what our country was going through, that could very well be true. Pakula went on to make many more films—including the powerful yet awkward “Sophie’s Choice”—before dying in a horribly tragic automobile accident in 1998, but none were as powerful as the three in this trilogy, in our estimation.

We talk about the origins and development of the script. We cover the gorgeous and dark cinematography by Gordon Willis and the fantastic Oscar-winning production design by George Jenkins. We should’ve mentioned the limited but brilliant score by David Shire but didn’t—it’s worth mentioning now. We highlight the other top films of the year—a stellar year for film by any account. And of course the cast—we chat about the brilliant performances from top to bottom. It’s amazing how they can put a film together about a real news story so prevalent in everyone’s minds that still provides so much tension and drama. It’s a testament to the storytellers and filmmakers, ladies and gentlemen. If you haven’t seen this film, you owe it to yourself to watch it now then listen in. It’s the power of journalism at its finest.

Assorted Notes & Links

A show about movies and how they connect.

When the movie ends, our conversation begins. We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
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