Nixon (1995) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A biographical story of former U.S. president Richard Milhous Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency which ended in shame. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 22 titles created 19 Sep 2013 a list of 35 titles created 03 Feb 2014 a list of 32 images created 17 Nov 2015 a list of 22 titles created 05 Dec 2015 a list of 36 titles created 7 months ago Search for " Nixon " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 13 nominations.

See more awards » Photos A chronicle of the life and presidency of George W. Bush . Director: Oliver Stone A New Orleans DA discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story. Director: Oliver Stone The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for. Director: Oliver Stone An American photojournalist gets caught in a political struggle at El Salvador in 1980. Director: Oliver Stone The final movie in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy follows the true story of a Vietnamese village girl who survives a life of suffering and hardship during and after the Vietnam war. As a ... See full summary » Director: Oliver Stone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison , from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.

Director: Oliver Stone A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national. Director: Oliver Stone A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing. Director: Oliver Stone A man heading to Vegas to pay off his gambling debt before the Russian mafia kills him, is forced to stop in an Arizona town where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Director: Oliver Stone Two Port Authority police officers become trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center. Director: Oliver Stone A behind-the-scenes look at the life-and-death struggles of modern-day gladiators and those who lead them. Director: Oliver Stone About a 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that is traveling towards the northeastern coast of America. Much of the story involves a court-room drama about the free man who led the revolt. Director: Steven Spielberg Edit Storyline Director Oliver Stone's exploration of former president Richard Nixon's strict Quaker upbringing, his nascent political strivings in law school, and his strangely self-effacing courtship of his wife, Pat.

The contradictions in his character are revealed early, in the vicious campaign against Helen Gahagan Douglas and the oddly masochistic Checkers speech. His defeat at the hands of the hated and envied John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, followed by the loss of the 1962 California gubernatorial race, seem to signal the end of his career. Yet, although wholly lacking in charisma, Nixon remains a brilliant political operator, seizing the opportunity provided by the backlash against the antiwar movement to take the presidency in 1968. It is only when safely in office, running far ahead in the polls for the 1972 presidential election, that his growing paranoia comes to full flower, triggering the Watergate scandal. Written by alfiehitchie Triumphant in Victory, Bitter in Defeat. He Changed the World, But Lost a Nation. See more » Genres: Rated R for language | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 5 January 1996 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Gli intrighi del potere - Nixon See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know?

Trivia A major scene that was unable to be filmed was of Nixon and his family watching Patton (1970), Nixon's favorite movie, and one he watched repeatedly. The scene would've highlighted Patton's speech at the beginning of the film in which he says "Americans have never lost and will never lose a war, because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans" which would have had resonance with Nixon's line "I will not be the first President to lose a war." But George C. Scott did not relinquish his image rights for Patton, and the scene could not be filmed. See more » Goofs Flipped shot: when Nixon enters the Beverly Hilton ballroom, the campaign signs are backwards. See more » Quotes Written by Cedric King Palmer [Played during the training film at the beginning] (Oxford, OH) – See all my reviews I'm not normally a fan of Oliver Stone (in fact, I've NEVER liked an Oliver Stone picture before)but this one just blew me away. The reason I usually don't like him is that, though he is a great technical director and visual stylist, his scripts are heavy-handed and one-sided to the point of absurdity. But not here.

In fact, the script is perhaps the most impressive element in this whole movie, not only for how ambiguous and even-handed it is in dealing with Nixon as a character, but also for the brilliant way it moves around in time. It starts with Nixon, feeling embattled in the White House in 1973 as the Watergate hearings are upon him, and uses the device of him listening to his secret tapes to jump back and forth to previous eras, flawlessly moving between past and present to give an impressionistic, kaleidoscopic overview of the man's life, instead of following the staid and ho-hum linear approach most movie biographies take (most recent example: "Man on the Moon", the bio on Andy Kaufman which was a snoozer in spite of a great performance by Jim Carrey mainly because of the dry boring, "This happened. . .And then this happened" approach).

Another reason to see this film is the brilliant, absolutely overwhelming lead performance by Anthony Hopkins; his Nixon may not look or sound exactly like the 37th president (but come on, except maybe for Ed Sullivan, who does?) but he embodies his qualities - strengths as well as weaknesses - to such an enormous degree that he simply BECOMES Nixon, at least for the three hours the movie is on screen. I have to say, though, I was not nearly as impressed as every one else (critics and general audiences alike) seems to be about Joan Allen as Pat Nixon. It's nothing against her performance, she did fine, it's just that as written, the part is rather weak. In fact, I was much more bothered about the liberties the filmmakers took in fleshing out her character than in all the political events; it's like, whenever they wanted to have someone blast Nixon or act as his conscience, they'd trot out Ol' Pat, giving her some of the most embarrasingly "speechified" moments in all of the movies - almost none of their scenes together ringed true as husband as wife; it was more like Nixon sitting across from the Filmmakers' Conscience.

In fact, she's angry at him so often in the film you have to wonder, what exactly does she love about the man? The film never answers (or attempts to answer) this question. But this one minor quibble is not enough to make me downgrade this film. It is an absolutely stunning achievement by any stretch of the imagination, and it contains some interesting thematic and technical echoes of both Citizen Kane (cavernous high ceiling scenes, a "March of Time"-type newsreel on Nixon, a dinner scene between Dick and Pat at a long, impersonal table) as well as The Godfather (the burnished, half-dark half-light cinematography, several "chamber of power" scenes in tight, dark and claustrophobic rooms)that I found, in context, to be totally appropriate. It paints both Nixon and the times he (and the country) lived through on a grand and mythic scale that was truly awesome and, once again, entirely appropriate. Yes, it's a film that is at times big, loud and bombastic (because so, after all, was Nixon himself) but, just as often quiet, contemplative and told at an achingly *human* level.

The contrast between these two states is what gives the film a good deal of its overall power and, as I've said, I never would have believed that Stone would have been capable of doing the smaller, quieter scenes so well. This is a good film to have on tape or DVD, for two reasons. It's so long, and so dense with facts, characters and events, that you're not likely to want to watch it all the way straight through (the first time I saw it was in the theater and though I was held spellbound, I began wishing for an intermission at about the two-hour mark, not so much to stretch my legs but to give my brain a chance to process all I'd seen and heard so far). Also, and more importantly, the videotape includes after the credits two scenes cut out of the final film for time purposes. In both cases, I believe, a severe mistake was made - these are both, I believe, ESSENTIAL sequences; not just nice to have as an additional bargain, but scenes which Stone should have fought tooth and nail to keep in (even cutting out some others if he had to - my vote would have been to excise a few of those Pat Nixon scenes instead).

Once scene involves Nixon's visit to the CIA and another a discussion between Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover in the Oval Office. The first scene is a masterpiece of writing and acting (with Sam Waterston as CIA Director Richard Helms, otherwise in no other scene of the movie) and the other is, I think, key in understanding Nixon's motivation to begin taping his White House conversations in the first place (also - an issue which is touched on no other place in the movie). I feel that these two scenes should be edited back into their appropriate places in the movie; seeing them separated from the rest of the film is better than not seeing them at all, but they really belong as part of the entire story. 60 of 67 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Top 5 Richard Nixon Movies - ABC News ABC News By ALISA WIERSEMA ( @alisawiersema ) and ANJULI SASTRY Jan. 8, 2013 Universal Pictures With the centennial of former President Richard Nixon's birth upon us, we put together a list of the top five movies on the president.

The movies fall into two categories on the depiction of Nixon: one in which Nixon is made out to be a character foil, and another, which uses Nixon as a point of comic relief. Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com 2008 Universal Pictures 'Frost/Nixon' This 2008 film based on the 2006 Peter Morgan play of the same name, vilifies Nixon while examining his role in the Watergate scandal through a series of televised interviews following his resignation from the presidency a few years earlier. Though critics gave it positive reviews, "Frost/Nixon" received some expected flack for found historical inaccuracies of the depiction of Nixon and the 1977 interviews leading up to his resignation. Frank Langella tries his hand at method acting in his portrayal of Nixon and received acclaim for his performance toward the end of the movie, earning him an Academy Award for Best Actor, among other awards. The movie was said to have used dramatic license to portray the interview sessions, but the film was successful in that it attempted to humanize Nixon and not necessarily use him as a scapegoat for America's woes.

However, many authors and critics still maintain that the nature and progression of the some of the interviews were inaccurately portrayed to seem as if the president had performed poorly. 1976 Warner Bros./AP Photo 'All The President's Men' Based on a book of the same name, this classic film stars Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as the legendary Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward throughout their investigation of the 1972 Watergate scandal. The scandal resulted from a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. With the help of the infamous "Deep Throat" -- revealed as FBI Associate Director Mark Felt in 2005 -- the journalists traced the incident to the executive branch of the federal government and then to the president himself, leading to the resignation of Nixon. "All the President's Men" won four Academy awards, including best supporting actor, and earned a number of international award nominations. Typewriters may have been replaced by Twitter, but "All the President's Men" is widely regarded as a "must see" example of the constant battle between politics and journalism, making it a movie that is just as relevant to modern politics as it was 41 years ago.

1995 Sidney Baldwin/Hollywood Pictures via AP Photo 'Nixon' Anthony Hopkins tries his hand at a portrayal of Nixon in this biographical film directed by Oliver Stone. The film takes a somber tone at times, especially when displaying the paranoia and medical issues that apparently hampered Nixon in the months leading up to his resignation. Speaking to The Daily Beast in 1995, Stone said that what struck him about Hopkins' portrayal of Nixon was "the isolation of Tony. ... The loneliness. I felt that was the quality that always marked Nixon. He played repression perfectly in 'Remains of the Day,' and there was a lot of Nixon in that, too." This film is one of three which Stone made on the professional and personal lives of American presidents, the other two being John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush. 2004 New Line Cinema 'The Assassination of Richard Nixon' Sean Penn plays a downtrodden man as he plans the assassination of Nixon but actually ends up assassinating himself in the end. The events are loosely based on the incidents of the actual 1974 assassination attempt on Nixon by Samuel Byck.

Byck tried to hijack a domestic airline and ended up killing himself and shooting the plane's pilot and copilot. Penn's character blames his troubles on Nixon because he believes the president made a promise to end the Vietnam War, which he failed to deliver, and was reelected yet again on that same promise. Though Nixon is never portrayed by a real character, he is present in the background of the film, including in scenes that indirectly lead to main character to becoming disillusioned with his life, or as Robert Ebert calls it, the "journey of a man going mad." 1999 9 Actors Who Played U.S. Presidents | Fox News Magazine 9 Actors Who Played U.S. Presidents By FOX News Magazine | November 9, 2012 This week will see the nationwide release of "Lincoln," Steven Spielberg's historical drama about our 16th president. Reviews have been largely positive, but Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor who portrays Lincoln in the film, is unanimously receiving praise for his performance. Many other actors, too, have played the part of a United States president, a role that can lead to mixed (and sometimes controversial) results.

As it turns out, the president has some mighty big shoes to fill, even when it comes to his depiction on film. Here's a look at just some of the actors who have played an actual commander-in-chief on television or in film. AP/Reuters Frank Langella - Richard Nixon Langella, who is known for both his Broadway and film career, was awarded a Tony Award (Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play) for his portrayal of Richard Nixon in the stage version of "Frost/Nixon," and was also nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the 2008 film adaptation. AP/Reuters Paul Giamatti - John Adams Giamatti played President John Adams, the unusual and eccentric second president of the United States, in the 2008 HBO miniseries "John Adams." The program went on to become one of the most successful miniseries in television history, winning four Golden Globes and thirteen Emmy Awards.

AP/Reuters Robin Williams - Theodore Roosevelt Williams plays the ever-knowledgeable wax figure of President Theodore Roosevelt in the 2006 film "Night at the Museum" and its 2009 sequel "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." Williams’ character comes to life at night in New York City’s American Museum of Natural History to help night guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) bring order to the museum. Reuters/Reuters Anthony Hopkins - Richard Nixon Oliver Stone's 1995 film "Nixon" starred Anthony Hopkins as the titular president. For his performance, Hopkins was nominated for an Oscar at the 68th Academy Awards. AP/Reuters Josh Brolin - George W. Bush Brolin, known for his breakout role in the '80s cult classic "The Goonies," took on the role of President George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's 2008 biographical film “W.” AP/Reuters James Brolin - Ronald Reagan James Brolin, Josh's father, portrayed President Ronald Reagan in a televised miniseries called "The Reagans" back in 2003.

Originally set to air on CBS, the miniseries was pulled from the schedule after it came under criticism from conservative groups, and eventially ran on Showtime instead. AP/Reuters Bill Murray The 2012 film "Hyde Park on Hudson" stars Bill Murray as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Set shortly before World War II, the movie centers mostly on the president's love affair with Margaret Suckley, his distant cousin. AP/Reuters Greg Kinnear - John F. Kennedy Greg Kinnear played the part of President John F. Kennedy in 2011's "The Kennedys." Though quite controversial, the television miniseries earned four Emmys and several more nominations, including a nomination for Kinnear as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.

Best actors to play President Richard Nixon - SFGate Best actors to play President Richard Nixon By Peter Hartlaub , San Francisco Chronicle Published 4:00 am, Sunday, December 7, 2008 Photo: Universal Pictures Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon with Kirsten Dunst (center) and Michelle Williams in "Dick." Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon with Kirsten Dunst (center) and Michelle Williams in "Dick." Photo: Columbia Pictures 1999 Richard M. Nixon's head in the cartoon "Futurama." Richard M. Nixon's head in the cartoon "Futurama." Photo: Fox Image 4 of 8 Comedian Rich Little known far and wide for his impersonations, including this one of former President Richard Nixon, goes through his routine as he recieves the 1,765th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame July 27, 1983. less Comedian Rich Little known far and wide for his impersonations, including this one of former President Richard Nixon, goes through his routine as he recieves the 1,765th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame July ...

more Photo: Lennox McLendon, AP Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon in "Nixon." Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon in "Nixon." Photo: Buena Vista Pictures 1995 Image 6 of 8 Michael Sheen and Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon."(L to R) David Frost (MICHAEL SHEEN) interviews Richard Nixon (FRANK LANGELLA) in a drama that tells of the electrifying battle between a disgraced president with a legacy to save and a jet-setting television personality with a name to make--?Frost/Nixon?, from director Ron Howard. less Michael Sheen and Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon."(L to R) David Frost (MICHAEL SHEEN) interviews Richard Nixon (FRANK LANGELLA) in a drama that tells of the electrifying battle between a disgraced president ...

more Photo: Universal Pictures Image 7 of 8 Kevin Bacon and Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon."(L to R) Colonel Jack Brennan (KEVIN BACON) counsels Richard Nixon (FRANK LANGELLA) in a drama that tells of the electrifying battle between a disgraced president with a legacy to save and a jet-setting television personality with a name to make--?Frost/Nixon?, from director Ron Howard. less Kevin Bacon and Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon."(L to R) Colonel Jack Brennan (KEVIN BACON) counsels Richard Nixon (FRANK LANGELLA) in a drama that tells of the electrifying battle between a disgraced president ... more Photo: Universal Pictures Best actors to play President Richard Nixon 1 / 8 Is Frank Langella the best Richard Nixon ever? The actor's turn as the disgraced ex-president in Ron Howard 's compelling "Frost/Nixon" (opening Friday in the Bay Area) definitely belongs in the argument.

While Langella takes some getting used to - mostly because he more closely resembles another president, Ronald Reagan - his nuanced performance makes Nixon come alive as a gloomy but somewhat sympathetic figure, as his last competitive fires are extinguished during a historic series of post-resignation interviews with celebrity host David Frost . Anthony Hopkins is probably the most famous Nixon in recent years, earning an Oscar nomination as the president in Oliver Stone 's acclaimed "Nixon." But he was upstaged by Joan Allen , whose Pat Nixon was the movie's knockout performance. Character actor Philip Baker Hall is a lesser-known but strong choice for best Nixon performance of all time. His 90-minute monologue in Robert Altman 's "Secret Honor" (1984) crafted the ex-president as a complicated soul, at a time when most actors and comics were portraying Nixon as a caricature. As of this year, at least 47 actors have played Nixon in movies and on television - more than have played Gerald Ford , Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan combined.

Here are a few more awards for outstanding work in the field of acting like Nixon: Best animated Nixon The TV show: "Futurama" (1999 to present) Believe it or not, there's a lot of competition in this category, including Rich Little in "Bébé's Kids" and Harry Shearer in "The Simpsons." Veteran voice actor West gets the prize as the disembodied Richard Nixon head in a glass jar on "Futurama." The talented West has also voiced Stimpy in "Ren and Stimpy," Zim in "Invader Zim" and several of the Warner Bros. characters in "Space Jam." Best Nixon impersonation The actor: Rich Little The TV movies: "A Christmas Carol" (1978), "The Presidents" (2004) Chronicle readers sent dozens of e-mails supporting Nixon impersonator David Frye when he was left off a recent Datebook section list of best presidential and vice presidential impersonators of all time. Voice actor Joe Alaskey also does a great Nixon. But we're going with Little, who combines the exaggerated voice and physical mannerisms of Nixon to near-perfection.

Little is also the only impersonator mentioned who has performed his Nixon in front of the president, who gave him a lukewarm reception. Richard Nixon lifetime achievement award The actor: Richard M. Dixon The movies: "Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story," "Tail Gunner Joe," "Where the Buffalo Roam" Dixon, formerly known as James LaRoe , turned his strong resemblance to the president into a career, appearing as Nixon in at least nine movies from 1971 and 1984, plus numerous spots on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," "The Mike Douglas Show" and "The Merv Griffin Show," among other TV programs. Most hilarious Nixon The actor: Dan Hedaya The movie: "Dick" (1999) Hedaya showed us his potential as Nick on "Cheers" and as Alicia Silverstone 's father in "Clueless," but his turn as Nixon in this underrated reimagining of the Watergate scandal was pure comic gold. Hedaya eats marijuana-laced cookies, dotes over his loser dog and says funny stuff like, "I've got a way with young people ...

they trust me." Best portrayal of Richard Nixon by Ronald Reagan The actor: Ronald Reagan The movie: "Horror House on Highway Five" (2005) OK, it wasn't that Ronald Reagan. "Horror House on Highway Five" was way better than anything President Ronald Reagan appeared in during his television and film career. According to IMDb.com, this Ronald Reagan appeared in only one movie, which was about a vanload of kids who get picked off by a serial killer in a Nixon mask. Best use of Richard Nixon in an The actor: James LeGros The movie: "Point Break" (1991) Swayze has never been more perfect in a movie than "Point Break," and remember that this is the guy who made " Road House ," "Youngblood," "Dirty Dancing," "Red Dawn" and "Steel Dawn" in one five-year acting period. But he did make one mistake. As Bodhi, the leader of the ex-president bank robbers, he took the Reagan mask and let character actor (and Brad Pitt look-alike) James LeGros wear Nixon. LeGros made the most of the role, and we're still talking about him today.

FROST/NIXON (R) opens Friday at Bay Area theaters. To see a trailer for "Frost/Nixon," go to links.sfgate.com/ZFNA . Latest from the SFGATE homepage: Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page. Super Reviewer ½ I've had a problem with Oliver Stone for many years. While many find his style and choice of films to be bold, gripping and intelligent, for the most part I view his work as blunt, broad and hagiographic. Stone's political films don't so much raise questions as shout opinions at the audience, and he frequently twists the truth for the sake of furthering his own viewpoint (just watch The Doors if you don't believe me). For all the admiration he garners for his conviction and fighting spirit, the fact remains: he's not a filmmaker, he's a lecturer. The ironic thing about Nixon, therefore, is that it ultimately fails for exactly the opposite of all the normal reasons.

Whereas JFK bashes you on the head for three hours until you break down and believe a totally spurious conclusion, Nixon doesn't really know what it wants to say, with its knee-jerk final act capping off an uncertain and rather aimless two hours prior to this. There are interesting moments or engaging ideas within said time, but ultimately the film is an admirable failure. To his credit, Stone is upfront about the incomplete nature of existing accounts. The film begins with a statement about how relatively little has been made public from the Nixon administration, and how what follows is the closest possible replication of what happened based upon what is available. Even if Stone doesn't entirely follow through on this (for instance, in the plumbers scene), he deserves credit for announcing this upfront, rather than using it as an excuse to justify his conclusions. This was the mistake he made with JFK, embracing an already discredited theory and then trying to paint the film as being about the creation of myths, trying to start a dialogue that never materialised. Nixon raises a number of interesting ideas around the nature and history of American politics, all of which are explored in some detail over the running time.

One of the biggest themes is the relationship between the ordinary man and the establishment, something which is reflected in Nixon himself and in the students that protest against the policies of his government. Nixon is positioned as a man of humble birth, who had to work hard for everything he ever had and who, in his words, "never profited from public office". His plight is set against the fortunes of the Kennedy family, who are born with silver spoons in their mouths and seem to have success and popularity handed to them on a plate. As much as Nixon paints himself as the common man, it becomes very clear very early on just how entrenched he is in the establishment, and how little he either can change it or is willing to change it. The political system is portrayed as one of deep-rooted, historical corruption, with a series of vested interests pulling strings, money changing hands and all kinds of loaded glances being exchanged. Stone can't resist slipping into caricature every so often - for instance, shooting all the scenes with Larry Hagman in deliberate shadow. But for the most part he lets the characters paint the picture, and it's not a pretty one.

One of the key scenes in Nixon comes when the President takes a late-night walk to the Lincoln Memorial, and is surrounded by angry students who are protesting against the Vietnam War. It's a painful scene to watch since it makes us resent both parties: Nixon comes across as out-of-touch, slippery and aloof, while the students are all obnoxious, slogan-spouting layabouts. But then Stone pulls the rabbit out of the hat, using our discomfort to explore the entrenched relationship between the state and the military, which results in near-constant demands for war being supplied by the state. It's a brief but gripping analysis of the military-industrial complex, leaving us a little wiser and a lot more depressed. Nixon is anchored by the really good performance of Anthony Hopkins. It's an interesting performance because Hopkins manages to embody and inhabit Nixon, despite the fact that he doesn't really look like him. The voice may be a little different, but Hopkins nails Nixon's physicality, with the hunched shoulders, the forced toothy grin, the waving arms and the scowling mouth. He really captures the loneliness and insecurity of Nixon, with all his warmer scenes feeling like a thin disguise for the flawed, ruthless mind beneath the surface.

Hopkins is supported by a gallery of famous faces, of which a select few really stand out. Joan Allen really convinces as Nixon's wife Pat; she has to play the foil to Nixon's more gruesome moments, and gives the audience a way in through her occasional incredulity. James Woods is brilliant as H. R. Haldeman, being scarily driven in every scene and making us feel intimidated even when he's not saying anything. Bob Hoskins is enjoyable as J. Edgar Hoover; while he doesn't exactly nail the character, Hoover is more of a cipher in this film and Hoskins at the very least has fun with his lines. And Paul Sorvino, best known for his role in Goodfellas, is completely unrecognisable as the skin-crawling Henry Kissinger. Everything that I've said thus far would make it seem like Nixon was a success, and that I had gone from being a Stone sceptic to an Oliver apologist. Sadly, this is not the case. Nixon is a film of interesting ideas - make no mistake about that - but it's also a film of great moments rather than an incrementally gripping story.

In between those moments lies a meandering, shambling narrative that definitely overstays its welcome. Put simply, there is nothing about this film which justifies the three-hour running time. I've often made the argument with biographical films that the best approach is to focus on one event or series of events in a person's life, and use them as a microcosm in which we can hint at wider events or aspects of one's character. The King's Speech, for example, worked because it was focussed around one event from which the ideas and themes could naturally flow. Had Tom Hooper attempted to tell the story of George VI from early life right up to that speech, it would have been far more cumbersome and less dramatically focussed. While this film has a different focal point to Frost/Nixon, and is arguably more artistically ambitious, Ron Howard's work is ultimately superior because it has focus. It uses the Watergate interviews to tease out details about Nixon's character, as well as that of Frost and other figures in their respective professions. While Howard is giving you a little taste and allowing you to form your own conclusions, Stone prefers to browbeat us with information, trying to argue whatever point may be available by beating us and the plot into submission.

Even by Stone's standards, Nixon is ill-disciplined, not only in its length but in its lack of adherence to any kind of thesis. For the first two hours it stumbles from place to place, lurching between pantomime villain characterisation and a grown-up political drama. All the interesting ideas I mentioned before are raised in a specific scene or couple of scenes, but none of them are ever turned into a recurring theme or made a part of genuine foreshadowing. Then in the last hour, when Watergate begins to gather pace, the film turns into a knee-jerk hatchet job and ends far too abruptly. This over-reaching on Stone's part has the unfortunate consequence of trivialising all the more sinister aspects of Nixon's rule. The film constantly treats the next scandal of the administration as if it is the worst thing possible, but Stone presents the events so clinically that it feels like a list rather than a downward spiral. Only the Watergate section has emotional weight, because it plays out at a pace that allows us to see the different shifts of the characters. Besides that, it's just a blur of lies, jargon and corruption with no way in for the non-political viewer.

For all the information he gathered for it, Stone has ultimately delivered a very empty film. He opens a discussion about Nixon, but because there's no focal point or commitment to a given theme, we come away feeling like we know as little (or perhaps even less) about Nixon than we did going in. The film reflects its central character's habits, jumping from one subject or line of reasoning to the next out of convenience or desperation - and every time it makes such a jump, it comes across as a little less structurally sound. Even with all the backstory and the flashbacks to Nixon's childhood, it all feels perilously thin. Nixon is nothing more than an admirable failure, being as deeply flawed and elusive as its central character. It does boast several very good performances, and is the most successful of Stone's films about US presidents, being more interesting than JFK and less cartoonish than W.. But for all Stone's ambition in tackling the man, he ultimately comes away with empty hands and a very hollow result. Stone fans will lap it up, but the rest of us should opt for Frost/Nixon. Daniel Mumby Super Reviewer I will admit, Anthony Hopkins does not look like Nixon, but after the first couple scenes this aesthetic problem becomes void.

Not only does Hopkins nail the mannerisms of the historical figure, but gives a deep and compelling humanity to the character. Director Oliver Stone delivers a tad un-even but very epic and ambitious biopic that leaves no part of Nixon's life un-explored. Stone mostly succeeds in portraying the controversial historical figure with nice objectivity and showing the dirty underbelly of politics. Although the film runs at a whopping 3 hours, Stones tight editing and visceral (almost hallucinatory at times) direction keeps the pace in check. Hopkins performance, along with the film's great supporting cast, alone make the 3 hour runtime worth it. Christopher Heim Super Reviewer Hopkins is a monster. He does a truly larger than life performance, even if the megalomaniacal and mythomaniac Oliver Stone tries to pass his own paranoia to the Nixon character, Hopkins succeeds in retaining not only the madness but the candor and humanity only seen and heard from a Shakespeare monarch. Overlong and hallucinatory but dense and ultimately compelling approach to one of the most controversial figures who swam and almost drown in that stormy and treacherous shithole called politics.

Pierluigi Puccini The dictionary of Richard Nixon in pop culture, from ‘Animaniacs’ to zoo animals - The Washington Post The dictionary of Richard Nixon in pop culture, from ‘Animaniacs’ to zoo animals The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! By Jaime Fuller By Jaime Fuller August 6, 2014 Follow @j_fuller On July 24, 1969, President Richard M. Nixon, right, greets the Apollo 11 astronauts in the quarantine van on board the USS Hornet after splashdown and recovery. (AP) This week marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon's resignation. As you'd expect, the media has been thick with retrospectives and bookstore shelves are groaning with the weight of expertly timed new revelations from those who were there. If you were wondering what Watergate meant for American politics this week, there are dozens of people waiting to offer you their ideas.

However, Nixon has had quite a legacy in pop culture too. His presidency was recent enough that we remember the context surrounding his career, and he's disgraced enough that he has become one of the easiest and most accessible shorthand for "corrupt politician" in our ever-growing arsenal of references. And, his inelegant exit from the White House means that entertainers have perhaps felt even more entitled to make fun of him than other presidents -- teasing Andrew Johnson doesn't have quite the same effect. Although reverence for the presidency has drifted quite a bit since Nixon left town, as you can tell by all the presidents who have been skewered on "Saturday Night Live" since. Although Nixon has never topped lists of the best presidents in American presidency, he would surely top a poll that asked respondents to pick the most Shakespearean president every now and then. Which is why Nixon and pop culture will remain BFFs. Here's a dictionary of some of the ways Nixon has lived on in pop culture -- or has influenced it. It's abridged -- we'll leave the complete dictionary of Nixon until the 50th anniversary.

A " All the President's Men ": The book — later turned into the Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman movie — published by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward about how the Watergate scandal was uncovered. The New York Times called the movie, "the thinking man's 'Jaws.'" Source: The New York Times, April 18, 1971 " All in the Family ": Nixon did not like the sitcom, as a White House tape recorded on May 26, 1971 reveals. He argued that Archie Bunker's son-in-law was bisexual: “Archie is sitting here with his hippie son-in-law, married to the screwball daughter — in-law apparently goes both ways.” He kept talking on this subject for awhile. "The point that I make is that, goddamn it, I do not think that you glorify on public television homosexuality. You don't glorify it, John, anymore than you glorify, uh, whores. I don't want to see this country go that way. You know what happened to the Greeks. Homosexuality destroyed them.

Sure, Aristotle was a homo, we all know that, so was Socrates." " Animaniacs ": The cartoon's "President's Song" had this to say about Nixon: "Richard Nixon, he gets caught and Gerald Ford fell down a lot." B " The Big Lebowski ": In the Coen Brothers' cult hit, a photo of Richard Nixon bowling at the White House is on the wall of the Dude's house (see Bowling). " Black Dynamite ": In the film, a spoof on 1970s Blaxploitation movies, the eponymous character and Nixon engage in a kung fu duel. Nixon loses. " Blind Ambition ": An eight-hour miniseries on the Watergate scandal. Rip Torn plays Nixon, Christopher Guest plays Jeb Magruder. Written by the guy who wrote "Soylent Green." Bowling : Nixon was president when the White House got the one-lane bowling alley that's still in there. The lane now needs some serious work , which doesn't look like it will happen any time soon. C " Call of Duty: Black Ops ": Gamers can play Richard Nixon as he fights off zombies with JFK, Fidel Castro and Robert McNamara.

"Christmas Carol": Impressionist Rich Little did a "Christmas Carol" HBO special in 1978. All of the characters were done in famous voices — and were all played by Rich Little. Jacob Marley shared the same voice as Richard Nixon. D " Doctor Who ": When the 11th Doctor goes back in time to 1970s America for two episodes, he visits Nixon in the White House. The TARDIS visits the Oval Office too. "Deep Throat": Before being the name of the Watergate leaker, this was the title of a pornographic film — one of the first with a plot — starring Linda Lovelace. It is the favorite film of Jimmy McMillan , who ran for New York governor on the "Rent is Too Damn High" party ticket in 2010. "Dick": A teen movie in which Deep Throat is Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst. "Drunk History": On the Comedy Central show "Drunk History," Saul from "Breaking Bad" plays Richard Nixon.

E " Elvis Meets Nixon ": A film that retells the story of Nixon meeting Elvis and giving him a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs so the singer could fight the damaging effects of the Beatles. Ephron, Nora : The late writer -- most famous for penning "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" -- was once married to Carl Bernstein, one of the Washington Post reporters who uncovered the Watergate scandal. After the identity of Deep Throat was revealed, Ephron said she had known all along -- and wrote a Huffington Post column about it. F Flag pins : Finding a campaigning politician without a flag pin is far harder than finding Waldo these days, all thanks to Richard Nixon. As the Reliable Source wrote in 2012, The tradition only goes back about 40 years, when Richard Nixon started wearing a flag lapel pin regularly.

Nixon biographer Stephen Ambrose wrote that the president, besieged by anti-war protests, got the idea from his chief of staff, Bob Haldeman — who picked it up (we are not making this up) from Robert Redford’s 1972 film, “The Candidate.” The lapel pin started as a Republican gesture; after 9/11, politicians from both parties donned the pins as symbols of patriotism and solidarity. "Forrest Gump": Forrest Gump met Nixon during his ping-pong superstar phase in the 1994 Tom Hanks movie. " Frost/Nixon ": A 2006 play based on the interviews that British journalist David Frost had with President Nixon in 1977, long after his resignation. It later was turned into a film. "Futurama": Although the TV cartoon takes place in the future, Nixon's head has been preserved, and he runs for reelection. G Greenberg, David : This historian wrote "Nixon's Shadow: The History of an Image," which unpacks how the president's image has been rehabilitated -- or at least recast with less of the immediate emotions that left it grubby in the 1970s.

H Hopkins, Anthony: The British actor played Richard Nixon in "Nixon," the 1995 Oliver Stone film. Roger Ebert said of the film , "Thoughts of Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear come to mind; here, again, is a ruler destroyed by his fatal flaws." I "I am not a crook": During a press conference in November 1973, Nixon said, "I am not a crook," continuing to say he was unaware of the Watergate cover-up. The phrase became infamous a few monthly later, and people haven't stopped saying it since, as NPR demonstrated last year . J Nixon Movie Review & Film Summary (1995) | Roger Ebert Oliver Stone creates empathy for this most enigmatic of American leaders. One of the year's best films. Advertisement Oliver Stone's "Nixon" gives us a brooding, brilliant, tortured man, sinking into the gloom of a White House under siege, haunted by the ghosts of his past. Thoughts of Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear come to mind; here, again, is a ruler destroyed by his fatal flaws.

There's something almost majestic about the process: As Nixon goes down in this film, there is no gloating, but a watery sigh, as of a great ship sinking. The movie does not apologize for Nixon, and holds him accountable for the disgrace he brought to the presidency. But it is not without compassion for this devious and complex man, and I felt a certain empathy: There, but for the grace of God, go we. I rather expected Stone, the maker of " JFK " and " Natural Born Killers ," to adopt a scorched-earth policy toward Nixon, but instead he blames not only Nixon's own character flaws but also the Imperial Presidency itself, the system that, once set in motion, behaves with a mindlessness of its own. Advertisement In the title role, Anthony Hopkins looks and sounds only generally like the 37th president. This is not an impersonation; Hopkins gives us a deep, resonant performance that creates a man instead of imitating an image.

Stone uses the same approach, reining in his stylistic exuberance and yet giving himself the freedom to use flashbacks, newsreels, broadcast voices, montage and the device of clouds swiftly fleeing over the White House sky as events run ahead of the president's ability to control them. "Nixon" is flavored by the greatest biography in American film history, " Citizen Kane ." There are several quotes, such as the opening upward pan from outside the White House fence, the gothic music on a cloudy night, the "March of Time"-style newsreel, and the scene where the president and Mrs. Nixon sit separated by a long dinner table. The key device that Stone has borrowed is the notion of "Rosebud," the missing piece of information that might explain a man's life. In Stone's view, the infamous 18 1/2-minute gap on the White House tapes symbolizes a dark hole inside the president's soul, a secret that Nixon hints at but never reveals. What is implied is that somehow a secret CIA operation against Cuba, started with Nixon's knowledge during the last years of the Eisenhower administration, turned on itself and somehow led to the assassination of John F. Advertisement Kennedy.

The movie doesn't suggest that Nixon ordered or desired Kennedy's death, but that he half-understood the process by which the "Beast," as he called the secret government apparatus, led to the assassination. Learning that former CIA Cuba conspirator E. Howard Hunt was involved in the Watergate caper, he murmurs, "He's the darkness reaching out for the dark. Open up that scab, you uncover a lot of pus." And in an unguarded moment, he confides to an aide, "Whoever killed Kennedy came from this thing we created - this Beast." If the 18 1/2-minute gap conceals Rosebud, it is like the Rosebud in "Kane," explaining nothing, but pointing to a painful hole in the hero's psyche, created in childhood. "Nixon" shows the president's awkward, unhappy early years, as two brothers die, and his strict Quaker parents fill him with a sense of purpose and inadequacy. "When you quit struggling, they've beaten you," his father says. And his mother ( Mary Steenburgen ), speaking in the Quaker tradition of thees and thous, seems always to hold him to a higher standard than he can hope to reach.

Stone, who was burned by accusations that some of the history in "JFK" was fabricated, opens with the disclaimer that some scenes are based on hypothesis and speculation. Many of the scenes, in fact, come out of our memory book of Nixon's greatest hits: the Checkers speech, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore"; the summit with Mao; the bizarre midnight visit with anti-war protesters at the Lincoln Memorial, and the strange scene, reported in Woodward and Bernstein's The Final Days, in which a crushed president asks Henry Kissinger to join him on his knees in prayer. Advertisement One theme throughout the film is Nixon's envy of John F. Kennedy. He judges his entire life in terms of his nemesis. Nixon on JFK's 1960 campaign: "All my life he's been sticking it to me. Now he steals from me." Nixon, bitter at not being invited by Kennedy's family to JFK's funeral, reflecting half-enviously: "If I'd been president, they never would have killed me." Nixon, alone at the end, speaking to the portrait of JFK: "When they look at you, they see what they want to be.

When they look at me, they see what they are." Stone has surrounded his Nixon with a gallery of figures we remember from the Watergate years, played by actors of a uniformly high caliber. Bob Hoskins creates a feral, poisonous J. Edgar Hoover, eating melon from the mouth of a handsome pool boy and ogling the Marine guards at a White House reception. Paul Sorvino plays Kissinger, reserved, watchful, disbelieving as he gets down on his knees to pray. J. T. Walsh and James Woods are Ehrlichman and Haldeman, the inner guard, carefully monitoring the nuances between what is said and what is implied. Powers Boothe is the impeccable Alexander Haig, who firmly guides the president toward resignation. When Nixon ponders a cover-up of the tapes, it is Haig who raises the (imaginary?) possibility that backup copies might surface. Notice the precision of his wording: "I know for a fact that it's possible that there was another tape." The key supporting performance in the movie, however, is by Joan Allen as Pat Nixon. She emerges as strong-willed and clear-eyed, a truth-teller who sees through Nixon's masks and evasions.

She is sick of being a politician's wife. Their daughters, she says, know Nixon only from television. More than anyone else in the film, she supplies the conscience. "Nixon" would be a great film even if there had been no Richard Nixon. In its control of mood and personality, in the way the president musters moments of brilliance even as the circle closes, in the way it shows advisers huddled terrified in the corridors of power, it takes on the resonance of classic tragedy. Tragedy requires the fall of a hero, and one of the achievements of "Nixon" is to show that greatness was within his reach. Advertisement Aristotle advises that the listener to a tragic tale will "thrill with horror and melt with pity." Yes, and so we do, because Nixon was right about his life: The cards were stacked against him, even though he dealt most of them himself.

Popular Blog Posts Stone's Nixon Is a Blend Of Demonic And Tragic - NYTimes.com Stone's Nixon Is a Blend Of Demonic And Tragic By BERNARD WEINRAUB Published: May 30, 1995 HOLLYWOOD, May 29— As the movie cameras rolled and the director Oliver Stone watched intensely, Richard M. Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins, responded to the first news of the Watergate break-in. The setting was a staff meeting in the President's hideaway office in the Executive Office Building, next to the White House. "I don't have time for all this," he said impatiently, looking at his watch and turning to his aide, Bob Haldeman (James Woods). "Just handle it, Bob! Keep it out of the White House. What else? Kissinger's waiting; he's throwing a tantrum, threatening to quit again if I don't see him." Mr. Hopkins sighed. Moments later, Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Stone conferred quietly over the scene, which takes place in the first few minutes of "Nixon," a sweeping drama, now being filmed, about one of the more enigmatic and extraordinary politicians of the century.

The $42 million film is to be released by the Walt Disney Company later in the year or early in 1996. The fact that Mr. Stone, a Hollywood-style radical and the town's bad boy, is turning his focus on Nixon may lead some to assume that the film is a demonic portrait of the nation's 37th President. After all, Mr. Stone has relished his role as an anti-Vietnam War and anti-Government film maker in such works as "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July." His most celebrated and infamous film was "J.F.K.," in which he raised the possibility that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy resulted from a conspiracy at the highest Government levels. Surprisingly, "Nixon" seems another matter. A reading of the closely guarded script, and conversations with Mr. Stone and some of the actors, suggests that the film seeks to portray Nixon in a variety of ways: demonic but also tragic, obsessed with his past, vulnerable and charismatic, frightened and hard. "He's a classic tragic character, probably the most dominant politician in America in the last half-century after Roosevelt," said Mr.

Stone, walking around a movie set that includes strikingly accurate replicas of the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room and other White House sites. "The toughness that it took for him to rise to the top as an outsider and take the knocks were the very qualities that made him cynical and bitter and defeated him." He added: "Actually, Nixon has always reminded me of my father. My father was a big Nixon supporter and so was I. I went to Trinity in New York and I had fights because I was a Nixon supporter." The birth of the film was a difficult one. Mr. Stone broke up acrimoniously with his longtime producer, Arnon Milchan, an Israeli-born businessman, largely over the cost of the movie. And Warner Brothers, which has released Mr. Stone's recent movies, was plainly reluctant to take on the project after the public and critical reaction to the director's last two films. These were "Heaven and Earth," a seriously flawed drama about Vietnam that collapsed at the box office, and "Natural Born Killers," a movie that earned profits but was denounced by many critics for its over-the-top violence. Mr. Stone has assembled a high-profile cast for this film. Besides Mr.

Hopkins, who took the role after Tom Hanks turned it down, the film's cast includes Joan Allen as Pat Nixon ("She looks remarkably similar, the same beautiful, fragile bones," said Mr. Stone). Other lead actors are Powers Boothe (Gen. Alexander M. Haig Jr.); Ed Harris (Howard Hunt); Bob Hoskins (J. Edgar Hoover); E. G. Marshall (John Mitchell); David Paymer (Ron Ziegler); David Hyde Pierce (John Dean); Paul Sorvino (Henry A. Kissinger); J. T. Walsh (John Erlichman), and James Woods (H. R. Haldeman). Also in the cast are Edward Herrmann as Nelson Rockefeller, Madeline Kahn as Martha Mitchell, and Sam Waterston as Richard Helms. The screenplay was written by Mr. Stone, Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele. A number of former Nixon associates -- including Mr. Dean, General Haig, Mr. Ziegler, John Sears, Leonard Garment and Elliot Richardson -- have met with the film makers and actors.

Alexander Butterfield, a former Cabinet secretary and special assistant to Nixon who first revealed the existence of the secret tapes that the President had made of his conversations, is the film's technical adviser. Mr. Butterfield, an outgoing and blunt-spoken businessman from San Diego who is writing a book about Nixon, has been on the movie set every day and has been on call for Mr. Stone and the actors. "Oliver has had to take some creative license, to cut and paste, but he's been very fair," he said. One of Nixon's closest personal aides, he said he remained utterly puzzled about Nixon's personality. He has had numerous conversations with Mr. Hopkins, and helped the actor especially with the way Nixon -- who died in April 1994, at the age of 81 -- spoke, behaved and gestured. "I remember Haldeman once saying that Nixon was the strangest man he ever met, and I felt good when he said that because I agreed," said Mr. Butterfield. "For one thing, he gestured like no one else I ever knew. He was always a little off balance. No finesse. So unathletic, pitifully unathletic.

"Even after his last maudlin and, in my opinion, stupid speech to his staff -- why everyone was crying I never understood because it was so fragmented, so discombobulated -- he walked to the South Lawn and gave this almost enthusiastic wave. It was so incongruous, like he was going on another trip. That's what was so strange about him." The Nixon family has remained uninvolved with the film. But Julie Nixon Eisenhower, one of the President's two daughters, sent a note and a copy of her 1986 memoir, "Pat Nixon: The Untold Story," to Mr. Hopkins's mother, Muriel, who visited the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, Calif., with her son. Mr. Hopkins, who received an Academy Award as best actor for his performance in "The Silence of the Lambs" in 1991, said the Nixon role was the hardest of his 35-year career. Seated in his trailer during a lunch break, the actor said he was concentrating on the Nixon voice and accent. Even off camera, Mr. Hopkins tries to walk and talk and gesture like the former President. Yet the role seems to torment Mr.

Hopkins, who wears only a fake hair piece and false teeth to hint at a physical resemblance to Nixon. (Mr. Stone said, "I didn't want makeup to get in the way of his ability to allow people to look into him.") To Mr. Hopkins, the role is almost Shakespearean. "I never feel I can get the accent right," he said quietly. "I can do Nixon, the essence of Nixon, the tortured man, but the technical stuff is the hardest. I've got the mask, but it's the accent. Everyone knows what he sounded like. The voice. I've just got to grab onto it like a fireman's pole, hold onto it and let it carry me." "Oliver says, 'Be bold, be bold, do Nixon, just do it,' " said Mr. Hopkins, who has watched hours of newsreels and tapes of the former President. "I feel I'm just about keeping my head above water. I sense I know him. I sense he was run out of his job by his own demons. I understand the rejection he felt, the isolation.

And I feel compassion for this man." Photo: Joan Allen as Pat Nixon and Anthony Hopkins as the President in Oliver Stone's "Nixon." (Bart Bartholomew for The New York Times)

Question: Who played Richard Nixon in the 1995 film "Nixon"?
Answer: Anthony Hopkins