I'm going to buck the trend of comments here and say I thought this movie was actually too short. It often feels disjointed and obviously heavily edited. Anyone not intimately familiar with news during the period will require several viewings to make sense of what is presented here.
I am confused by the direction of the picture because it leaves me wondering what it is aiming for. Is it simply trying to turn history into cinema and stir up some controversy, similar to what was done with "JFK?" Or is it trying to tell a great American tragedy--the tale of a man whose achievement of power caused his downfall due to his underlying psychological makeup being incompatible with handling such power?
If the latter was the true aim, much was left out. There was not enough explanation of how his childhood environment led to his paranoia and intense need to be loved by all. Much of the conflicts leading up to and during his presidency were also not included here. I would have preferred including another hour of material to explore Nixon's personality a bit more.
I suspect that, due to Nixon's private nature, much more was not known that could be included in the script, and the producers probably already felt over-extended on their poetic license in regards to rewriting history.
An example of some good material that was edited out is included following the VHS (and I assume, DVD) version, so be sure to stick around after the credits.
Typical Stone fare, similar in style to JFK, this is definitely worth watching, but left me feeling it could have been more.
I am confused by the direction of the picture because it leaves me wondering what it is aiming for. Is it simply trying to turn history into cinema and stir up some controversy, similar to what was done with "JFK?" Or is it trying to tell a great American tragedy--the tale of a man whose achievement of power caused his downfall due to his underlying psychological makeup being incompatible with handling such power?
If the latter was the true aim, much was left out. There was not enough explanation of how his childhood environment led to his paranoia and intense need to be loved by all. Much of the conflicts leading up to and during his presidency were also not included here. I would have preferred including another hour of material to explore Nixon's personality a bit more.
I suspect that, due to Nixon's private nature, much more was not known that could be included in the script, and the producers probably already felt over-extended on their poetic license in regards to rewriting history.
An example of some good material that was edited out is included following the VHS (and I assume, DVD) version, so be sure to stick around after the credits.
Typical Stone fare, similar in style to JFK, this is definitely worth watching, but left me feeling it could have been more.