Essay on All the Presidents Men

Main actors: Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford,

Executive producer: Robert Redford

Director of Photography: Gordon Willis

Produced by: Walter Coblenz

Screenwriter: William Goldman

The film All the Presidents Men - Pakula (1975) centers on one of the greatest political scandals. It deals with the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of Richard Nixon as the president. The movie further involves a factual account of investigative journalism, with the main characters being Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of Washington who reported the break-in the Watergate, the Democratic headquarters (Woodward and Bernstein 1).

The opening shot of the movie involved furious volley of typewriter keys striking paper generated by layering the sounds of whip-lashes and gunshots over the particular vibrations of a typewriter. In essence, this sets up the beginning by accentuating the theme of the film of words as weapons. The investigation into the Watergate burglary leads Woodward and Bernstein to the Library of Congress. In this narrative, the celebrated shot starts with a high-angle close-up of the hands of the protagonists, only to climb to the ceiling of the most significant library in the world shakily, showing the concentric organization of the reading tables below, as well as the barely discernible occupants (Toscano and Kinkle 11).

Gordon Willis, the director of photography, was able to focus each scene on mirroring the mood of the act location and dialogue to facilitate the story in various ways. Willis was able to achieve this through his unparalleled cinematography whereby the movie turned out with visually stimulating pictures of exceptional merit. Also, the pioneering application of shadow by Willis instills a real paranoia in the audience. The reason is that it seems the voyeurs are being watched by the viewer together with the characters by eyes that are unknown and hidden in the darkness (Brownell). Evidently, in the film, the sound is also applied with great imaginative effect. For instance, based on the theme of motion pictures of words as weapons, the closing scene similarly has a teletypewriter printing headlines, which are accompanied by a cannon sound of fire in the background that seems to come from a 21-gun salute.

Additionally, the music in the movie is appropriate and sets the mood for various scenes. For instance, Woodward insisted on turning the classical music loud when he went to Bernstein's apartment and communicated with him by typing in the typewriter after receiving the warning that their apartments are bugged. The movie can quickly grab the attention of the audience because right from the opening scene it is captivating, fiercely-paced, and tightly structured. Additionally, the film is also intriguing and fantastic as a result of its realistic approach and theme that the director uses to tell a narrative of political conspiracy and corruption. The flow of the story is in logical progression whereby the ideas are presented time order. In this case, the views are arranged in the manner in which they transpired. The film uses the logical progression to show how the political conspiracy was unraveled by two journalists who made efforts that lead to the discovery of the political game, and eventually the resignation of the president.

Based on the storyline, the narrative progresses through the investigation led by Bernstein and Woodward who were Washington post journalists, and the inquiry was based on the Watergate scandal that ran parallel with the reelection campaign of President Nixon. However, as the investigation by the two characters unfolds, they get banged by various dramas on reporting. For instance, there is lack of hard evidence, denial and abstinence by the witnesses, the pettiness of the story, missing sources, and a threat to the survival of the Post itself (Woodward and Bernstein 40).

Conclusion

The audiences that the film is trying to attract are those in the press because it is a more authentic to the craft of journalism compared to the art of storytelling. In essence, the film is as accurate concerning the processes that the investigative reporters use. It is evident that in the course of their work, these journalists go through dogged footwork, false leads, lucky breaks, coincidence, and denials. Besides, one would like the movie for the reason that it stands as proof of the need for accountability and the manner in which it is the duty of the reporters in the society to question the authority. The journalists also have the role of seeking the truth, as well as finding and protecting trustworthy sources. One would also like All the Presidents Men because it is an inspirational and fascinating movie ever made based on journalism. Ideally, this is the case, primarily because it never plays fast and loose with its story, which is based on facts, yet it still functions as a dynamic and riveting thriller. Goldman, Pakula, and Redford create the emotional, suspense, tension, and drama resonance through their faithful depiction of the facts as highlighted by Bernstein and Woodward. The movie traces with care the manner the investigation of these cub journalists uncovered the crimes of an administration that was corrupt by breaking the infamous Watergate story, which, consequently, led to the resignation of President Nixon.

Works Cited

Brownell, Ian Anthony. All the President's Men Hollywood's Greatest Docudrama. The Film 5000 Project , film5000.com/my-100-favorite-films/all-the-president%27s-men/127.

Toscano, Alberto, and Jeff Kinkle. Cartographies of the Absolute. John Hunt Publishing, 2015.

Woodward, Bob, and Carl Bernstein. All the President's Men. Simon and Schuster, 2012.