Notes on a re-screening (#9, I believe) of All the President’s Men.
Rotary phones, paper slips at the Library of Congress, typewriters, walkies-talkies, real taxis with lights on the roof, phone booths and phone books, Rolodexes, legal pads, smoking in an elevator…these give such texture to a story untamed by 21st century whitewashing filters.
I enjoyed The Post, but it’s not All the President’s Men.
The journalism depicted in ATPM is sharper, harder earned, elbows are pointier, and the stakes are higher. That resonates with me these days.
Jane Alexander’s whistle-blower anguish is palpable. It also resonates with me in these days of Mr. Vindman’s “retirement” and Mr. Epstein’s “suicide”.
There is a path to hope expressed;
“The truth is these are not very bright guys and things got out of hand.” –Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat.
In these days of Mr. Jordan and Mr. Nunez, Mr. Stone and Mr. Giuliani, this is what hope sounds like.
June's Boy 