Nixon (1995)

Oliver Stone presents Nixon in a positive, sympathetic light. Nixon is seen as the conditioned victim of his family circumstances and rigorous upbringing. Behind all his actions as a grown man, you are encouraged to see a hurt and bewildered small boy. In spite of this, he personifies dogged determination.Oliver Stone's judgement was seriously inspired when he cast Nixon. If I thought long and hard, I could probably not come up with a better choice than Anthony Hopkins, one of the greatest actors of this age. Richard Nixon and Anthony Hopkins share an approximate similarity of appearance, but where Hopkins scores is in his mastery of articulation and verbal timing. Not long into the movie Hopkins acquires the persona of Nixon, without specifically imitating him.Anthony Hopkins was so good, I watched the film several times. I believe Stone rejected a motley group of several other contenders for the role, before wisely settling on Hopkins as his ideal. He must have been exceptionally pleased with the result.Stone includes memories from Nixon's childhood up through and past the Watergate scandal. Clearly, numerous film actors wanted to be in this movie, for obvious reasons. It's an outstanding production, and anyone who watches it will be given an unusually fine history lesson. It stays in the mind. I strongly recommend it: give it a close watch ! It's a bit long, so I dock one star.

I know it's not very popular to criticize Oliver Stone, since he's created such revered masterpieces as Platoon and JFK, I have to say his judgement was seriously impaired when he cast Nixon. Anthony Hopkins? If I thought long and hard, I could probably come up with a worse choice, but right now I'm drawing a blank. Not only do Richard Nixon and Anthony Hopkins not share one molecule of a similar appearance, but everyone knows Anthony Hopkins can't do accents! If you're not going to look like Nixon, you've got to at least sound like him! Anthony Hopkins is a disaster. He was so terrible, I turned the film off. I couldn't listen to him utter "Bunny" one more time.To be fair, because I have no desire to be mean for no reason, Anthony Hopkins wasn't Oliver Stone's first choice. Reportedly, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, and John Malkovich were offered the part first. Stone also considered Gary Oldman, Robin Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gene Hackman before offering it to Anthony Hopkins. I'd like to think Stone wasn't really happy with Hopkins's performance, and I'd like to think it was his terrible imitation that made the movie a box-office flop, but there's no way to know for sure.I'm sure you don't need a warning, but card-carrying Republicans are going to want to avoid this movie. Oliver Stone is not conservative-friendly, and he doesn't even try to paint President Nixon in a positive light. In this three-hour-fifteen-minute biopic, he includes memories from Nixon's childhood up through and past the Watergate scandal. All the famous names that one would expect to be in a Watergate movie are included: Joan Allen as Pat Nixon, David Hyde Pierce as John Dean, Bob Hoskins as J. Edgar Hoover, Paul Sorvino as Henry Kissinger, J.T. Walsh as John Ehrlichman, James Woods as H.R. Haldeman, and Sam Waterston as Richard Helms.In the greatest of ironies, Dan Hedaya, the man who played the ultimate Nixon in Dick, has a small role in the film, as does Saul Rubinek, who played a fantastic Henry Kissinger. Apparently, everybody wanted to be in this movie, for reasons I can't fathom. It's an atrocity, and anyone who watches it as a history lesson on President Nixon will be very poorly educated. But, Ed Harris, Powers Boothe, Mary Steenburgen, E.G. Marshall, David Paymer, Annabeth Gish, Tony Goldwyn, Larry Hagman, Edward Herrmann, Madeline Kahn, Robert Beltran, John C. McGinley, Michael Chiklis, and Marley Shelton didn't think it was a mistake to act in the film. While it was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1996, I can't recommend watching it even to see how atrocious it was. Take my word for it, please.

Like other reviews, I have never been fond of Oliver Stone movies, but this is an exception. Anthony Hopkins is nothing short of amazing in the film. Hopkins plays the role of the late Richard Nixon. The film has a great perspective of the psychological issues Nixon went through from his days as a boy to his resignation as president.The movie shows many of these issues and how they manifested themselves to Nixon's fall from grace. First, we see the threatening nature of his father combined with the "saint"-like qualities of his mother and how they affected him. We see Nixon later feel haunted by the Kennedy family and the success John and Bobby had rising up the political ranks until their lives were tragically ended. We see Nixon's overwhelming desire for the presidency tests his marriage to Pat, brilliantly played by Joan Allen. In addition, we see a man who feels he is above the law during the late part of his first term. In summary, all of his demons haunt him and this is brilliantly displayed in the film.I also liked to see the drama inside the White House. The statesman Henry Kissinger, played by Paul Sorvino, was great and his accent was very similar to the real Kissinger. We see Bob Haldeman (James Woods) portrayed as anti-Semitic with his cruel comments about Kissinger's background. David Hype Pierce of Frasier fame plays John Dean, a man who vowed to not take the fall for the Watergate scandal. As the movie develops, we are intrigued with the drama and how the administration fell apart. Hopkins' outrage in the Oval Office after a conference telling of the withdrawal from Vietnam is great acting. We see Nixon feel appreciated by the people. He then blames Ted Kennedy for the press' questions about Watergate.Joan Allen's role has been criticized by some others but I thought it was top-notch. She plays Nixon's wife who stands up to her husband upon losing in the California governor race in 1962. She threatens him with divorce and he says to the press core "you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." After LBJ decides to not run, he changes his mind and runs in 1968. Pat at first is upset but then allows him to run. However, during his presidency, Pat calls out her husband as they don't vacation together and he changes as the quest for power and control seriously damages the marriage. She plays the loyal wife but does get her two cents in.The rest of the cast is top-notch to say the least. Bob Hoskins plays the manipulative J. Edgar Hoover who has a major grudge against the Kennedys. Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, the man who finally convinces Nixon that he is in severe trouble and peril with impeachment looming. E.G. Marshall plays the bitter John Mitchell. Mary Steenburgen plays Nixon's mother whose life and influence overshadow her son's life in several occasions through the film. Larry Hagman plays Jack Jones, a Texas man (reminds me of his role on Dallas) who once was an ally to Nixon but their alliance falls apart later in the film. A great line from Hagman "Mr. President, do you forget who got you where you are?" Nixon: "The American people did." Hagman:"Oh really? That can be changed."I have seen the movie three times and intrigued by it every time. I wished I had seen when it first came out. If you love history or intrigued by the crucial period of the late 60's and early 70's, you will love this movie! Highly rated!

Nixon was a great movie. Hands down. Oliver Stone really was able to paint a picture of a real man. A man with his demons, ambition, love, anger and power. It really was quite something to see such a masterpiece on a DVD. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys learning about American History and human beings, as the American president, Dick Nixon was an exceptional human being. I can see how he got tangled in everything. I can see how he got in over his head without even knowing it. It was like watching someone swim out to sea and not having enough energy to swim back (an idea from the movie "Gattaca" 1997).Nixon, as a person, was really quite an intriguing man. I loved the way Oliver Stone was able to capture human weaknesses, such as emotional flashbacks, hallucinations and the feeling of human pain. The combination of Oliver Stones' directing combined with Anthony Hopkins' extra-ordinary acting ability really brought up the best of describing who President Nixon was.I liked how this movie focused on the president instead of the Watergate Affair. It really gave an accurate account of the turns of power, the politics and the complicated systems the president of The United States of America has to abide by in order to retain his high position of power.