All the President's Men is a political thriller. Unlike typical political thrillers this one is based on a true event- the burglary of Democratic National headquarters at the Watergate office complex. The film shows the long road that Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) traveled to get from a simple botched burglary to one of the greatest government conspiracy in U.S. history. Redford and Hoffman were at their peak and not doing crap back in 1976. Their performances are riveting, especially since most of the film they are on the phone. They keep the film alive while showing some of the ho-hum life of a newspaper reporter. The best portrayal is Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee, the editor of the Washington Post. Robards won the Oscar for this role and he gives it the old school life and charm and no bullshit attitude that you would expect out of this character (Robards has been commended for nailing Bradlee even though they never met). A stellar performance.
Most people associate the Watergate break-in as Nixon's folly and that two reporters toppled a Presidency because of it. This film gives the details of how long and wide the road was to Nixon quitting in 1974. There was more to this than a simple burglary. All the President's Men shows this while not boring the audience by dryly going through the facts. The characters have life breathed into them and that's what makes the film so great.
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