Nixon

UPC: 786936747997

Studio: Walt Disney Video

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations]

Summary: Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Supporting Actress – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Dramatic Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Director – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actress – National Society of Film Critics Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Actress – Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble Acting – Screen Actors Guild Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: All-new Beyond Nixon documentary by Sean Stone
Deleted scenes introduced by Oliver Stone
Charlie Rose Interviews Oliver Stone featurette
2 Audio Commentaries with Director Oliver Stone
Original theatrical trailer

Nixon

Format: DVD

Release Date: 08/19/2008

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 213 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Nixon - Features
1. Opening Credits [:00]
2. No Pistol [:00]
3. White House Involvement [:01]
4. Stolen Fair and Square [:00]
5. Pat and Dick: On Losing [:00]
6. A Little Man [:00]
7. Marriage on the Rocks [6:06]
8. Last Press Conference [2:48]
9. Much in Demand [7:20]
10. A Terrible Loss [4:53]
11. The Old Nixon Charm [5:54]
12. At the Races [3:16]
13. Harold's Death [6:43]
14. Bold Moves [9:07]
15. Nudging History [5:56]
16. Just Kids [5:16]
17. Meeting with Helms [6:28]
18. Nightcap [10:32]
19. The Beast [7:54]
20. Nixon and Hoover/ The Wedding [4:31]
21. No More Mr. Nice Guy [5:07]
22. Meet Mr. Liddy [1:21]
23. Playing for Keeps [10:42]
24. The Enemy of the Enemy [1:59]
25. Texas Strong-Arms [6:42]
26. Playing with Power [5:03]
27. Getting Personal [2:12]
28. An Hors D'Oeuvre [2:28]
29. Whitewash [:50]
30. No Discussion [7:08]
31. Drunken Words [5:11]
32. No Tears [9:54]
33. Smoking Gun [3:49]
34. A Prayer [8:50]
35. In the Dark [5:01]

Todd Kristel

Nixon is not a subtle movie, but at least Oliver Stone tries to depict the former president as a tragic character instead of a one-dimensional villain or victim. As the film switches haphazardly between different points in Richard Nixon's life, viewers see that his cold and demanding parents helped shape him into a stiff, socially awkward adult who resented the more charismatic people around him. Feeling unloved and misunderstood, he eventually became undone later in life by his own resentment and paranoia. Anthony Hopkins manages to convey these aspects of Nixon's personality while bringing some pathos to his role, but he's not totally convincing as the former president. He doesn't look like the real-life Richard Nixon and his speaking voice doesn't resemble Nixon's famous unmodulated baritone. Furthermore, he doesn't convey the "stronger" elements of Nixon's personality, such as the craftiness and ambitiousness that enabled him to become a successful politician. Even though this film is ostensibly a character study of Richard Nixon, he often seems like a passive cog in the political machinery. This may be compatible with Stone's belief that the "Beast" (the forces of big business and government that control our lives) is so powerful that even Nixon himself wasn't able to dominate it; however, Stone undermines the credibility of his viewpoint by laying it on too thick and adding too many questionable conspiracy theories (e.g., linking a cabal of Texas millionaires to the JFK assassination). The fact remains that the real-life Richard Nixon was a driven politician who rebounded from several career setbacks to achieve the highest office in the land; this film makes it too easy to forget that he could act decisively and effectively. Indeed, he seems less astute than his wife Pat, who is portrayed as more cagey and articulate than her public persona. Allen's performance is quite good if you accept her interpretation of the role; likewise, James Woods seems fine if you accept that his portrayal of H.R. Halderman seems less imposing than his real-life counterpart. Paul Sorvino does an impression of Henry Kissinger that's both impressive and somewhat creepy, while Bob Hoskins camps it up as J. Edgar Hoover (Stone seems to enjoy drawing attention to Hoover's sexual orientation). Although the actors might not be exact duplicates of the real-life characters they portray, the cast is solid enough to carry much of the film. Unfortunately, Stone's heavy-handed filmmaking style undermines the human elements of his movie. Neither intimate nor tightly paced, Nixon feels like a visual assault with jump cuts, superimposed images, jarring shifts between camera angles and film stocks, and changes between color and black-and-white; borrowing from real-life incidents (e.g., the Lincoln Memorial scene) as well as films such as Citizen Kane (e.g., the scene in which Richard Nixon argues with his wife at the dinner table), Stone tries unsuccessfully to compensate for a disjointed narrative structure with sheer filmmaking bravado. Consequently, the movie seems ham-fisted, which is admittedly not surprising quality for an Oliver Stone film. It is more disappointing in this particular instance, however, since it appears that Stone was attempting to present a more nuanced view of politics. ~ Todd Kristel, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Marilyn Rockafellow  Actor 
Jon Tenney  Actor 
Oliver Stone  Actor 
Lenny Vullo  Actor 
Donna Dixon  Actor 
George Plimpton  Actor 
Mary Steenburgen  Actor 
Fima Noveck  Actor 
Tony Lo Bianco  Actor 
John Cunningham  Actor 
Tony Goldwyn  Actor 
James Karen  Actor 
Marley Shelton  Actor 
Jack Wallace  Actor 
James Woods  Actor 
O'Neal Compton  Actor 
Larry Hagman  Actor 
Richard Fancy  Actor 
Dan Hedaya  Actor 
John C. McGinley  Actor 
Tony Plana  Actor 
Drew Snyder  Actor 
Bridgette Wilson  Actor 
Michael Kaufman  Actor 
Julie Araskog  Actor 
Michael Chiklis  Actor 
Annabeth Gish  Actor 
James Pickens, Jr.  Actor 
Bill Bolender  Actor 
John Diehl  Actor 
David Barry Gray  Actor 
John Bedford Lloyd  Actor 
Howard Platt  Actor 
Paul Sorvino  Actor 
Robert Beltran  Actor 
Harry Murphy  Actor 
Tom Bower  Actor 
Kevin Dunn  Actor 
Charles Haugk  Actor 
Robert Marshall  Actor 
Victor Rivers  Actor 
Sean Stone  Actor 
John Stockwell  Actor 
Chuck Preiffer  Actor 
Corey Carrier  Actor 
Fyvush Finkel  Actor 
Edward Herrmann  Actor 
David Paymer  Actor 
Saul Rubinek  Actor 
Ronald Von Klaussen  Actor 
Clayton Townsend  Actor 
Ric Young  Actor 
Brian Bedford  Actor 
Julie Condra  Actor 
Joanna Going  Actor 
Madeline Kahn  Actor 
David Hyde Pierce  Actor 
Boris Sichkin  Actor 
J.T. Walsh  Actor 
Bai Ling  Actor 
Wilson Cruz  Actor 
Oliver Stone  Director 
Oliver Stone  Producer 
Oliver Stone  Screenwriter 
Clayton Townsend  Producer 
Andrew G. Vajna  Executive Producer 
Andrew G. Vajna  Producer 
John Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Christopher Wilkinson  Screenwriter 
Stephen J. Rivele  Screenwriter 
Anthony Hopkins  Actor 
Joan Allen  Actor 
Powers Boothe  Actor 
Ed Harris  Actor 
Bob Hoskins  Actor 
E.G. Marshall  Actor 

Country: USA