Nixon (1995)

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Stephen J. Rivele (written by) &
Christopher Wilkinson (written by) ...

Release Date:

20 December 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

He had greatness within his grasp.

Plot:

A biographical story of former U.S. president Richard Milhous Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency which ended in shame.

Plot Keywords:

President | Political Drama | 1930s | Quaker | Rise And Fall

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Anthony Hopkins	...	Richard M. Nixon
Joan Allen	...	Pat Nixon
Powers Boothe	...	Alexander Haig
Ed Harris	...	E. Howard Hunt
Bob Hoskins	...	J. Edgar Hoover
E.G. Marshall	...	John Mitchell
David Paymer	...	Ron Ziegler
David Hyde Pierce	...	John Dean
Paul Sorvino	...	Henry Kissinger
Mary Steenburgen	...	Hannah Nixon
J.T. Walsh	...	John Ehrlichman
James Woods	...	H.R. Haldeman
Brian Bedford	...	Clyde Tolson
Kevin Dunn	...	Charles Colson
Fyvush Finkel	...	Murray Chotiner

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

192 min | USA:212 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | USA:R (certificate #34303) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:12 | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

El Dorado Regional Park - 7550 E. Spring Street, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Cinergi Pictures Entertainment

Trivia:

Lillian Disney, in a rare public criticism of her late husband Walt Disney's company (which released the film and in which she was a major stockholder), released a statement soon after the film opened expressing her extreme displeasure with it and that Walt Disney Company was involved in its release (although the film wasn't released by Disney but by Buena Vista Picturs, a Disney subsidiary). She believed the film was mean-spirited and biased; she also extended a personal apology on behalf of the Disney family to the Nixon family. Both families were close and often socialized together, so the Disneys knew the Nixons personally. Mrs. Disney thought that the film grossly exaggerated President Nixon's character faults and ignored what she believed to be many of his redeeming qualities.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Numerous scenes throughout the movie feature President Nixon seated or standing in front of a crackling log fire, particularly in the scene where he talks to the portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Although in each scene real logs can be heard crackling, hissing, and popping, as real wood will do, close-ups of the fire reveal it to be a "fake" natural gas fireplace, with artificial logs that are "burning" evenly and cleanly with a vertical flame, and no smoke or embers coming off them.

Quotes:

[to a White House portrait of Dwight Eisenhower]
Richard M. Nixon: I hope I haven't let you down.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Splendor (2003)

Soundtrack:

SHENANDOAH

Riveting.

Oliver Stone has a way of making films that grab you and hold you until the final frame. His films are usually controversial and that's what generates much debate and Nixon is no exception. Anthony Hopkins assumes the mantle of Richard M. Nixon and he does it with style. His Nixon is a complex man, full of ambition and dreams, but also filled with demons. Nixon lives in the shadow of JFK, and because of that, he feels he can never live up to the greatness that he aspires to. Joan Allen is equally convincing as Pat Nixon. She is a strong woman who loves her husband, but unlike Nixon, she grows tired of the political world. The film works best when we see the inner workings of the Nixon Whitehouse. We see the coverup of the Watergate break in. We see Nixon's historic visit to China and we see the final farewell of a flawed, but ambitious man. It's hard to cram an entire lifetime into a three hour film, but Stone manages to do it well. We get brief glimpses into Nixon's past and we see the events that eventually undid him. Some may say that Nixon is painted in an unfair light. I think Stone actually sympathizes with him. Here was a man who came into power in the middle of a war. He was feared by many and misunderstood by all. Nixon was able to rise above it all for a short period of time, and in that brief period, he did have the world.