I loved this movie when I saw it in theaters in 1995, and I was thrilled to order the Blu-Ray "Election Year" version (with tons of commentaries and documentaries) for just ten dollars from Amazon.
Having re-watched the three hour director's cut over three nights, I was more impressed than ever. Yes, NIXON takes the man many hated as a one dimensional villain and turns him into a poignant, tragic hero. But the greatness of the film goes beyond Anthony Hopkins' performance.
What I loved best about NIXON was the supporting cast, many of whom seemed much more comfortable in their historical roles than Welsh Hopkins as the All-American Nixon. I loved Joan Allen's fragile sexuality, her poignant loneliness, the subtle class and sophistication she brought to First Lady Pat Nixon. James Woods was born to play H.R. Haldeman. A superb character actor, Woods exudes not only sleazy corruption but brutal menace and a genuinely shrewd understanding of politics as jungle combat. Ed Harris as E. Howard Hunt portrays a very different sort of lowlife -- a Joseph Conrad style mercenary and man of action who has broken the rules for Nixon time and again and feels a genuine rage at being betrayed by his boss. Even Paul Sorvino, best known for playing Italian mob types in Mafia classics like GOODFELLAS, is surprisingly effective as the cultured, genial, yet unmistakably brutal and unscrupulous Henry Kissinger.
The thing that makes this movie such a fascinating failure is the immense scope of what Oliver Stone wants to accomplish. It's not just a story of the Watergate break-in and the infamous cover-up. It's not just a study of American power during the Cold War. And it's not just a character study about a ruthless, powerful, but deeply insecure man who rose to power and was destroyed by his own character flaws. NIXON tries to be all those stories, all at the same time. Some elements work better than others. Brutally effective political drama, and spine-tingling suspense and intrigue, are frequently interrupted by unintentionally funny "character" moments.
Oliver Stone never did have much of a sense of humor, and while that doesn't hurt the political scenes it's deadly in the personal moments. The horrible dying brother scenes go on too long, (the boy Nixon watches his big brother spit up blood with a Darth Vader like lack of compassion) and college boy Nixon remembers being knocked on his ass on the football field a few times too many. There are also some disastrous casting choices, i.e. sweet Mary Steenburgen as Nixon's ice-cold witch of a mother, Hannah Nixon. The movie never seems to decide whether Nixon's mother was every bit the saint he pretends, or whether she was just one more person who let him down. Oliver Stone seems to think that the mere presence of the mother is some sort of startling insight. Like watching the young Nixon getting knocked down on the football field. The flashback scenes are by far the weakest thing about Nixon.
NIXON is not a perfect masterpiece like THE MALTESE FALCON or even JFK. Whole scenes are disastrous, and whole performances fall flat. You never will figure out just what happened during the Bay of Pigs, what Nixon really knew about that day in Dallas, or even what was on those tapes! But if you have the patience to sit through it you will be richly rewarded by an amazing panorama of talent.
Having re-watched the three hour director's cut over three nights, I was more impressed than ever. Yes, NIXON takes the man many hated as a one dimensional villain and turns him into a poignant, tragic hero. But the greatness of the film goes beyond Anthony Hopkins' performance.
What I loved best about NIXON was the supporting cast, many of whom seemed much more comfortable in their historical roles than Welsh Hopkins as the All-American Nixon. I loved Joan Allen's fragile sexuality, her poignant loneliness, the subtle class and sophistication she brought to First Lady Pat Nixon. James Woods was born to play H.R. Haldeman. A superb character actor, Woods exudes not only sleazy corruption but brutal menace and a genuinely shrewd understanding of politics as jungle combat. Ed Harris as E. Howard Hunt portrays a very different sort of lowlife -- a Joseph Conrad style mercenary and man of action who has broken the rules for Nixon time and again and feels a genuine rage at being betrayed by his boss. Even Paul Sorvino, best known for playing Italian mob types in Mafia classics like GOODFELLAS, is surprisingly effective as the cultured, genial, yet unmistakably brutal and unscrupulous Henry Kissinger.
The thing that makes this movie such a fascinating failure is the immense scope of what Oliver Stone wants to accomplish. It's not just a story of the Watergate break-in and the infamous cover-up. It's not just a study of American power during the Cold War. And it's not just a character study about a ruthless, powerful, but deeply insecure man who rose to power and was destroyed by his own character flaws. NIXON tries to be all those stories, all at the same time. Some elements work better than others. Brutally effective political drama, and spine-tingling suspense and intrigue, are frequently interrupted by unintentionally funny "character" moments.
Oliver Stone never did have much of a sense of humor, and while that doesn't hurt the political scenes it's deadly in the personal moments. The horrible dying brother scenes go on too long, (the boy Nixon watches his big brother spit up blood with a Darth Vader like lack of compassion) and college boy Nixon remembers being knocked on his ass on the football field a few times too many. There are also some disastrous casting choices, i.e. sweet Mary Steenburgen as Nixon's ice-cold witch of a mother, Hannah Nixon. The movie never seems to decide whether Nixon's mother was every bit the saint he pretends, or whether she was just one more person who let him down. Oliver Stone seems to think that the mere presence of the mother is some sort of startling insight. Like watching the young Nixon getting knocked down on the football field. The flashback scenes are by far the weakest thing about Nixon.
NIXON is not a perfect masterpiece like THE MALTESE FALCON or even JFK. Whole scenes are disastrous, and whole performances fall flat. You never will figure out just what happened during the Bay of Pigs, what Nixon really knew about that day in Dallas, or even what was on those tapes! But if you have the patience to sit through it you will be richly rewarded by an amazing panorama of talent.