All the President's Men
Movie, 1976, Named by critics, Set in Third in the trilogy
All the President's Men is #12 of 48 in release order and #18 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
All the President's Men recap
In June 1972 five men are arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate building. Bob Woodward, a young reporter at the Washington Post, is sent to cover the arraignment and finds one burglar has ties to the CIA. He is paired with Carl Bernstein, and the two chase the story through phone calls, doorstep visits and library records, tying a check in a burglar's bank account to the Committee to Re-elect the President. Woodward meets a secret source, nicknamed Deep Throat, in a parking garage, who tells him to follow the money. Executive editor Ben Bradlee demands better sourcing while letting them keep going. A bookkeeper and the campaign treasurer Hugh Sloan help them confirm a secret fund controlled by top Nixon aides. When they name Bob Haldeman and a source seems to back away, the White House attacks the paper. It closes Pakula's Paranoia Trilogy, this time with the conspiracy taken from the real record.
All the President's Men ending explained
The film ends with the reporters still typing as the story leads to Nixon's fall. Deep Throat warns Woodward that lives may be in danger and that the cover-up reaches the highest levels. Bradlee tells them to keep going. On January 20, 1973, a television shows Nixon taking the oath for his second term while Woodward and Bernstein type in the newsroom. A teletype then prints the headlines of the following months: convictions of Nixon aides and, finally, Nixon's resignation.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch All the President's Men
All the President's Men is streaming on YouTube (free) and TCM in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.9/10, Rotten Tomatoes 95%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Tenant, before The Thing.
- Chronological order: after The Parallax View, before Three Colours: Blue.
Cast
- Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein
- Robert Redford as Bob Woodward
- Jack Warden as Harry Rosenfeld
- Martin Balsam as Howard Simons
- Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat
- Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee
- Jane Alexander as Bookkeeper
- Meredith Baxter as Debbie Sloan
- Ned Beatty as Dardis
- Stephen Collins as Hugh Sloan
- Penny Fuller as Sally Aiken
- John McMartin as Foreign Editor
Directed by Alan J. Pakula.