Review: All the Presidents Men 4K UHD
All the Presidents Men (1976)
Shady political goings-on are once again front and present in the news worldwide and easy enough to follow thanks to the internet and the plethora of social media outlets.
However, that wasn’t the case back in the early 1970s when people depended more on newspapers and their reporters.
All the Presidents Men focuses on 2 Washington Post reporters; Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, as they investigate the ‘Watergate scandal’ leading up to the 1972 Presidential election.
Bob (Robert Redford) is the “new guy” at the desk having been there just 9 months, while Carl (Dustin Hoffman) has been there years and is settled and confident in his position.
Despite initial friction between the 2 reporters, their combined knowledge and skillsets bring them together to relentlessly pursue snippets of information given to Bob by “DeepThroat” (Hal Holbrook); a high level source in the FBI who is tired of the corruption within the system and helps Bob and Carl to find the truth via a variety of cryptic hints, leading to them talking with people who work in the government system…all of them initially very scared to say anything.
All the Presidents Men is a slow burning narrative, devoid of action scenes, its focus is driven by dialogue and an increasing atmosphere of tension. Thankfully the movie has both Redford and Hoffman as its leads, 2 actors who demand attention whenever they are on the screen and immerse themselves into their characters.
At over 2 hours long, it can overstay its welcome on some scenes, but the aforementioned Redford and Hoffman keep things interesting.
For a movie so dialogue heavy, its soundtrack keeps all the conversations crisp and clear, accompanied by a picture that shows the beige colour scheme of the 1970s in all its hues, while keeping a layer of film grain that gives it a classic cinematic look that is rarely seen in present day movies.
This first time release on 4K UHD Blu-ray is a must buy for any fans of the movie and is accompanied by new and previously released special features.
Escape today’s political shenanigans and immerse yourself in a time when they weren’t so easily outed to the public, but still (thankfully) had people who were determined to uncover the truth.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- All the President’s Men: The Film and its Influence (NEW)
- Woodward and Bernstein: A Journalism Masterclass (NEW)
- Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
- Telling the Truth About Lies
- Out of the Shadows: The Man who was Deep Throat
- Jason Robards on “Dinah!”
All the Presidents Men is available to purchase on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc online and in-store at major retailers, and available for purchase Digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Rakuten, and more.
Review by Dave from a disc kindly supplied by Warner Brothers via Fetch Publicity.
