Movie and TV Presidents: Nixon (1995)
Oliver Stone's 1995 movie Nixon presents one of the most unflattering fictional portrayals of a President. The movie starred Sir Anthony Hopkins in the title role. Other stars included Joan Allen as Pat Nixon, Paul Sorvino as Henry Kissinger, Powers Boothe as General Alexander Haig and Mary Steenburgen as Nixon's mother Hannah. No movie about Nixon would be complete without Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean, played respectively by James Woods, J. T. Walsh, E. G. Marshall and David Hyde Pierce. Ed Harris played E. Howard Hunt and Bob Hoskins was a diabolical J. Edgar Hoover.
Nixon's story is presented in a non-linear format, with scenes of Nixon listening to his secret recordings towards the end of his presidency as the Watergate crisis intensifies. It covers all aspects of Nixon's life, usually in the form of memories triggered by the recordings, including his childhood in Whittier, California, and his wooing of his future wife, Pat Ryan. The film suggests that Nixon and his wife abused alcohol and prescription medication. Nixon's health problems, including his bout of phlebitis and pneumonia during the Watergate crisis, are also shown in the film. In typical Oliver Stone conspiratorial fashion, the movie suggests that Nixon had some kind of responsibility in the John F. Kennedy assassination, and is long on innuendo and short on specifics. The film ends with Nixon's resignation and famous departure from the lawn of the White House in the helicopter, Army One. Real life footage of Nixon's state funeral in Yorba Linda, California, plays out over the end credits.
In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $2.2 million in 514 theaters. By December 19, 2006, the film had grossed a total of $13.6 million in the United States and Canada, well below its $44 million budget.
Two days before the film was released in theaters, the Richard Nixon Library and birthplace in Yorba Linda, California issued a statement on behalf of the Nixon family, calling parts of the film "reprehensible" and that it was designed to "defame and degrade President and Mrs. Nixon's memories in the mind of the American public". The statement also criticized Stone's depiction of Nixon's private life, that of his childhood, and his part in planning the assassination of Fidel Castro. Stone responded that his "purpose in making the film Nixon was neither malicious nor defamatory", and was an attempt to gain "a fuller understanding of the life and career of Richard Nixon — the good and the bad, the triumphs and the tragedies, and the legacy he left his nation and the world". Some critics took Stone to task for portraying Nixon as an alcoholic, though Stone says that was based on information from books by Stephen Ambrose, Fawn Brodie, and Tom Wicker.
Much of the critical commentary about the film centered on Hopkins portrayal of Nixon. For example, Janet Maslin from The New York Times praised Hopkins' performance and "his character's embattled outlook and stiff, hunched body language with amazing skill". But Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle, felt that "Hopkins' exaggerated portrayal of Nixon is the linchpin of a film that in its conception and presentation consistently veers into camp". Richard Corliss, in his review for Time, also had a problem with Hopkins' portrayal: "Hopkins, though, is a failure. He finds neither the timbre of Nixon's plummy baritone, with its wonderfully false attempts at intimacy, nor the stature of a career climber who, with raw hands, scaled the mountain and was still not high or big enough."
The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Joan Allen), Best Music, Original Dramatic Score and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Entertainment Weekly ranked Nixon #40 on their "50 Best Biopics Ever" list and one of the 25 "Powerful Political Thrillers".
Following is the original trailer from the movie:
Nixon's story is presented in a non-linear format, with scenes of Nixon listening to his secret recordings towards the end of his presidency as the Watergate crisis intensifies. It covers all aspects of Nixon's life, usually in the form of memories triggered by the recordings, including his childhood in Whittier, California, and his wooing of his future wife, Pat Ryan. The film suggests that Nixon and his wife abused alcohol and prescription medication. Nixon's health problems, including his bout of phlebitis and pneumonia during the Watergate crisis, are also shown in the film. In typical Oliver Stone conspiratorial fashion, the movie suggests that Nixon had some kind of responsibility in the John F. Kennedy assassination, and is long on innuendo and short on specifics. The film ends with Nixon's resignation and famous departure from the lawn of the White House in the helicopter, Army One. Real life footage of Nixon's state funeral in Yorba Linda, California, plays out over the end credits.
In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $2.2 million in 514 theaters. By December 19, 2006, the film had grossed a total of $13.6 million in the United States and Canada, well below its $44 million budget.
Two days before the film was released in theaters, the Richard Nixon Library and birthplace in Yorba Linda, California issued a statement on behalf of the Nixon family, calling parts of the film "reprehensible" and that it was designed to "defame and degrade President and Mrs. Nixon's memories in the mind of the American public". The statement also criticized Stone's depiction of Nixon's private life, that of his childhood, and his part in planning the assassination of Fidel Castro. Stone responded that his "purpose in making the film Nixon was neither malicious nor defamatory", and was an attempt to gain "a fuller understanding of the life and career of Richard Nixon — the good and the bad, the triumphs and the tragedies, and the legacy he left his nation and the world". Some critics took Stone to task for portraying Nixon as an alcoholic, though Stone says that was based on information from books by Stephen Ambrose, Fawn Brodie, and Tom Wicker.
Much of the critical commentary about the film centered on Hopkins portrayal of Nixon. For example, Janet Maslin from The New York Times praised Hopkins' performance and "his character's embattled outlook and stiff, hunched body language with amazing skill". But Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle, felt that "Hopkins' exaggerated portrayal of Nixon is the linchpin of a film that in its conception and presentation consistently veers into camp". Richard Corliss, in his review for Time, also had a problem with Hopkins' portrayal: "Hopkins, though, is a failure. He finds neither the timbre of Nixon's plummy baritone, with its wonderfully false attempts at intimacy, nor the stature of a career climber who, with raw hands, scaled the mountain and was still not high or big enough."
The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Joan Allen), Best Music, Original Dramatic Score and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Entertainment Weekly ranked Nixon #40 on their "50 Best Biopics Ever" list and one of the 25 "Powerful Political Thrillers".
Following is the original trailer from the movie: