After the arrests made at the Democratic Headquarters, journalists for the Washington Post Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) are assigned to investigate and deliver the news to the masses. As the of them begin to investigate and ask questions, the two of them being to realize that the operation is bigger than what they imagined and it is perhaps going all the way up to the White House. The two of them are now under pressure to deliver the biggest story of their career and in the process change shape journalism and accidentally write a new page in American history.
All President’s Men made its debut when the scandal was still at the tip of everyone’s mouth, when the men behind the incident were still fresh in everyone’s mind. That is the reason why the film made a bigger impact during its original theatrical run, however, the film showed us the journey, the adventure, and the pressure that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein went through in order to give the readers the truth. The film in part is about the Watergate scandal, but the real story is centered on the two journalists and their journey to find the truth, the pressure, and tension that both of them lived under until the real truth came to light.
All the President’s Men was very effective in the way it portrayed Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s story. Robert Redford made sure not to make it your typical Hollywood fabrication and always took the script step by step along with the two journalist to deliver something true to the story. At a glance, a story about a newsroom and two journalist in a quest for the perfect story doesn’t strike you as entertaining, but the film always had something to keep the viewers intrigued. Again, the film’s impact has decreased since the event was uncovered 39 years ago (1974) and the film was released two years later (1976). With that being said each piece of the film works great, but it wouldn’t have worked without Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman’s performances which were top notch. The supporting cast was also very good like Jason Robards and Ned Beatty.
Without much else to say, All the President’s Men is a testament of true investigative journalism. It shows the perseverance and the full extent of American journalism at its peak. In an era where the journalistic integrity meant something.
Right out of the gate, I will mention that this transfer is identical to that of the Digibook released some time ago. The Blu-ray release offers a good MPEG4-AVC encode that it is framed at 1.85:1. Right from the start many will notice that the 30 some odd year old film looks as good as ever. Sure, the film does not resemble anything that is being produced in today’s movie industry, but it does hold up very well. The film features nice contrast and excellent color reproduction. The black levels are often reproduced correctly, but there are signs of crushing in several scenes. Detailing is surprisingly good in its own right. The film does feature a great deal of grain, which purist will most likely enjoy.
All the President’s Men arrives with a 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. This 2.0 track is quite enjoyable even when it’s not a multi-channel track. The dialogue here is the main attraction and as so, the dialogue is very clean and easy to distinguish. There are other aspects of this track that really excel like the near effects and sounds of the newsroom. The score of the film also stands out and is delivered perfectly. Overall, the fact that the track is not multi-channel, it does not mean it is not enjoyable, this is one track that purist will definitely enjoy.
Audio Commentary – Featuring Robert Redford.
Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making Of All the President’s Men (28:22)
Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire (17:54)
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat (16:21) – This featurette talks about the secret source for Woodward’s investigation known as Deep Throat or Mark Felt.
Pressure and the Press: The Making Of All the President’s Men (10:05)
5/27/1976 Dinah! With Jason Robards (07:10)
All the President’s Men Revisited (1:27:46) – This is a full documentary feature about Nixon and the story behind All the President’s Men. Narrated by Robert Redford.
Theatrical Trailer
All the President’s Men is still held in high regard for its story and the two individuals who single handedly helped write a page in American history. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman turned in excellent performances along with the supporting cast. The film is showing its age already and its impact is not what it used to be, but it still provides an important look into one of American history’s corrupt events. The Blu-ray has a very decent transfer considering the film’s age and the audio is very true to the original. The supplements are very similar, the majority of them tend to overlap and provide the same information that the previous one gave. If you haven’t added All the President’s Men to your collection, then you shouldn’t wait much longer.