... I'm not sure about that since I was in high school when the Watergate scandal unfolded so the first time watching this I already knew who the players were and what had happened. The names - Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Colson - are tossed around without much explanation. I don't think that even Bill Bradlee is ever introduced as the executive editor of the Washington Post in this film, maybe because that would have seemed too cheesily Hollywood, or maybe because in 1976 everybody watching this film would know who he was. The story follows, in semi-documentary format, two junior reporters on the Washington Post who start out covering what appears to be a routine burglary at the Watergate Office Building which turns out to be a scandal that ultimately causes President Nixon to resign.
This is a really good look at journalistic integrity and just good journalism in general at a time when office technology consisted of Xerox machines. Just look around the news room - no computers! No phones! Well there was the dial up type, but you couldn't carry one down the street with you. You want to look something up, go to the library. But the up side of this lack of technology is that Woodward and Bernstein are used to talking to people in person, and this helps them build trust.
It's interesting how Woodward and Bernstein - who have a bit of a rough start - build a story. If somebody says they won't talk to you then you say sure and just hang around. And guess what - they eventually do talk to you. You get another name or names from them and then you go to the next person and so on. They bounce ideas off of one another as to what the next step should be.
The entire time the reporters face the credible question - WHY would the Republicans do this and expose themselves to criminal charges if discovered? George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, was beating himself. He didn't need any help. The answer was - This entire operation was about making sure that somebody completely beatable such as McGovern won the Democratic nomination in the first place. The entire effort to prevent Muskie - a credible threat - from getting the Democratic nomination began a year before the break-in at the Watergate.
This is definitely a well made film and worth your time, but if you are under 50 you might want to familiarize yourself with the central figures of the Watergate scandal before you watch.
This is a really good look at journalistic integrity and just good journalism in general at a time when office technology consisted of Xerox machines. Just look around the news room - no computers! No phones! Well there was the dial up type, but you couldn't carry one down the street with you. You want to look something up, go to the library. But the up side of this lack of technology is that Woodward and Bernstein are used to talking to people in person, and this helps them build trust.
It's interesting how Woodward and Bernstein - who have a bit of a rough start - build a story. If somebody says they won't talk to you then you say sure and just hang around. And guess what - they eventually do talk to you. You get another name or names from them and then you go to the next person and so on. They bounce ideas off of one another as to what the next step should be.
The entire time the reporters face the credible question - WHY would the Republicans do this and expose themselves to criminal charges if discovered? George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, was beating himself. He didn't need any help. The answer was - This entire operation was about making sure that somebody completely beatable such as McGovern won the Democratic nomination in the first place. The entire effort to prevent Muskie - a credible threat - from getting the Democratic nomination began a year before the break-in at the Watergate.
This is definitely a well made film and worth your time, but if you are under 50 you might want to familiarize yourself with the central figures of the Watergate scandal before you watch.