American Cinematographer - June 2006 - 26

the President's Men, which detailed

in

seemingly minor criminal inci¬
dent led all the way to U.S. President
Richard M. Nixon, who resigned in
disgrace moments before he was to be
impeached. Just a few years after its
publication, Woodward and Bernsteins
best-selling book became the basis for
one of American cinema's most popular
and enduring docudramas.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula and
shot by Gordon Willis, ASC, All the Pres¬

the

how the

ident's Men

covers

the scandal that

to be known as

"Watergate"
beginning with the hotel break-in and
ending with Nixon's resignation two
years later. Working with tips from an
anonymous, apparently high-ranking
source he dubs "Deep Throat" (Hal
Holbrook), Woodward (Robert Redford)
works closely with Bernstein (Dustin
Hoffman) to piece together an increas¬
ingly strange puzzle of deception and
corruption. As the puzzle's frame
becomes clear, the White House began
to apply pressure to the Washington
Post, and both reporters begin to fear for
their jobs - and eventually their lives.
Pakula
and
producer/star
Redford wanted the picture to hew as
close to reality as possible, and the film¬
makers enjoyed full cooperation from
Woodward, Bernstein and Washington
Post editor Ben Bradlee. To give the film
visual power, Pakula called on Willis,
came

with whom he had collaborated

Klute (1971) and

on

The Parallax View

cations.

special edition DVD of All the Presi¬
dent's Men is a solid upgrade from the
bare-bones
featured

1997

phones, there is
plenty more to be shocked about in the
picture. It remains a strong testament to
the necessity for investigative reporting
in the face of an increasingly intimidat¬
ing government.
Kenneth Sweeney
-

a pleasing
quality.
The big news is the generous
array of supplements included in the
package. Disc one presents the feature,

its theatrical trailer, and several trailers

Network [ 1976)

for other thrillers Pakula directed, and

Special Edition
1.85:1 (16x9 Enhanced)

Redford

supplies an interesting and
insightful audio commentary about the
genesis of the project and the struggle
to get it made. He speaks of the produc¬
tion and of his association with the late
Pakula with

pride.

Disc two offers three

new

docu¬

mentary featurettes directed, produced
and written
more

by Gary Leva that total
Participants

than 70 minutes.

include Redford, Hoffman, Willis,
Woodward, Bernstein, Bradlee, screen¬
writer William Goldman, and journal¬
ists Linda Ellerbee and Walter Cronkite.

Men," and

haystack mentality," with the framing
designed to overwhelm the journalists

without the aid of

cellular

bass

The

"a needle-in-a-

uncover
or

clear of distortion and has

enshrouded

as

which

able to

the Internet

contrasts. The monaural soundtrack is

Woodward meets

often excellent visual references to

edition,

disappointing picture trans¬
fer. The image has been transferred at
a higher bit-rate with better compres¬
sion, giving the intentionally grainy look
of the film a more organic appearance.
Except for minor signs of source-mater¬
ial wear, the images have their
intended crispness and appropriate
a

The segments are

what Willis describes

younger viewers will be shocked
by how much Woodward and Bernstein

some

were

Warner Home Video's two-disc

(1974). The cinematographer's trade¬
mark approach of illuminating several
layers of shadows and using heavy
contrast to highlight dramatic tension
proved an excellent stylistic choice.
From the stark opening titles on a blind¬
ing-white page to the shadow-

parking garage where
"Deep Throat," the
picture has a divided sense of blacks
and whites; there's a precise, almost
clinical treatment of daylight, while
night interiors and exteriors are muted,
with a sense of grainy depth. There are

22 June 2006

particular sequences to underscore
enormity of their task and its impli¬

well-executed in
general, but the awkward musical
accompaniment they have been paired

with tends to undermine

some

of the

proceedings. The last two supplements
are a 10-minute publicity featurette
from 1976, "Pressure and the Press:

Making of All the President's
a fun, seven-minute clip

from the talk show Dinah! that features

Robards

discussing his portrayal of

Bradlee.
The recent revelation that W.

Mark Felt, former deputy director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, was
the real

"Deep Throat" is just one
worthy reason to dust off All The Pres¬
ident's Men for a new edition. Although

Dolby Digital 2.0
Warner Home Video, $26.98

"This was the story of Howard
Beale, the first known instance of a man
was killed because he had lousy
ratings." So begins the Oscar-winning
satire Network, which many believe to
be the most subversive and eerily
prescient film ever made by a major
Hollywood studio. Universally lauded
upon its release, Networks now avail¬
able in a two-disc 30th anniversary
DVD, which is highlighted by a
commentary track by director Sidney
Lumet and a series of production docu¬
mentaries
directed
by Laurent

who

Bouzereau.

Written

by Paddy Chayefsky,
spiral of
the fictional United Broadcasting
Service, foretelling today's tabloid tele¬
vision and the desperate quest for
ratings demanded by bottom-line-driven
corporate masters. The picture opens as
despondent UBS news anchor Howard
Beale (Peter Finch) concludes his rockNetworkdetaWs the downward

bottom-rated

broadcast

with

the

announcement that he is about to lose

his

job. He then declares that he will

commit suicide

on

the air after his final
American Cinematographer - June 2006

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2006
