The final film in seminal director Alan J. Pakula’s Paranoia Trilogy (along with 1971’s Klute and 1974’s The Parallax View), All the President’s Men (1976), is arguably the greatest film ever made about journalism and the media’s responsibility of getting to the truth. It’s a masterwork that grows more relevant with each and every viewing.
Buy All the President’s Men 4K Ultra HDThe late, great Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are Washington Post reporters Bob Woodard and Carl Bernstein, who uncover the Watergate scandal, the botched 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters, which led to Nixon’s eventual resignation. With the help of a shadowy source, code-named “Deep Throat” (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein find the connection between the robbers and a White House staff. The bigger the details they find, the bigger the risk to their safety, but once they follow the trail, there’s no turning back.
Not just a thrilling portrait of an unforgettable event in American history, All the President’s Men is a spot-on unfolding of the nitty gritty of life in a newsroom where dedicated people put their blood, sweat, and tears into getting their stories right. Yes, there’s always the stench of death that follows them, but they strive to give the public the truth, and nothing but the truth. That’s really how deep the film goes.
It is also superb because of the fantastic performances by not just Redford and Hoffman but also from the supporting cast, including Holbrook; Jason Robards, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his riveting turn as Ben Bradlee; the great Jane Alexander (giving a beautifully nervy, Oscar-nominated performance as the Bookkeeper); Martin Balsam; Jack Warden, and Ned Beatty. It takes a cast like this to make a film feel fully fleshed out, and everyone succeeded. But, of course, Pakula (one of the finest filmmakers of all-time) brought it all together with his amazing direction and faithful adaptation of Woodward and Bernstein’s book of the same name.
Making its 4K UHD debut, I’m sure the film’s urgency will be even heightened in 2160p/HDR10. There are two new featurettes and several legacy extras from previous releases, but there are three missing ones: Pressure and the Press: The Making of All the President’s Men, commentary by Redford, and trailer. Despite those omissions, this new release of the all-time classic should still be a great addition to your collection. Just hold on to the prior releases if you happen to have them, at least for the special features. Read Jacob Matthew’s review.
Other notable releases:
Eclipse Series 8: Lubitsch Musicals (Criterion): A new Blu-ray upgrade of the 2008 release of this four-film set of sparkling and witty classic pre-Code musicals from legendary filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch. Includes The Love Parade, Monte Carlo, The Smiling Lieutenant, and One Hour with You.
Cloud (Criterion Premieres): Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest smash hit action thriller about a young man who resells his goods online, only to find himself at the center of a series of bizarre events that put his life at risk.
The Visitor 4K UHD (Arrow): A new limited edition of Giulio Paradisi’s bonkers 1979 cult horror thriller about an intergalactic warrior who joins a Christ-like figure in the battle against a demonic eight-year-old and her pet hawk while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance.
Rental Family (Disney/Searchlight): The amazing Brendan Fraser stars in this heartwarming film as a down-and-out actor living in Tokyo as a token American guy for a Japanese rental-family company, leading him on an unexpected journey of self-discovery through the roles he plays in other people’s lives.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4K UHD (Cineverse): Rohan Campbell takes the reins (and the axe) as the new Billy Chapman in this recent reimagining of the controversial 1984 cult horror classic, where he dons a Santa costume and goes on blook-soaked revenge spree against those responsible for the murders of his parents when he was a child.
