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Nixon [Blu-ray] [1996] [US Import] [1995] | ![Nixon [Blu-ray] [1996] [US Import] [1995]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JX9CZsWxL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Oliver Stone
Actors: Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Category: DVD
Buy New: £20.74
New (8) from £20.74
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 38774
Format: Ac-3, Colour, Director's Cut, Dolby, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 192
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DISBR55753
UPC: 786936747935
EAN: 0786936747935
ASIN: B0019PL2JI
Theatrical Release Date: 1995
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW items direct from the USA. Please allow 5 to 10 business days for delivery
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 2nd only to Stone's JFK and sometimes it surpasses that! November 19, 2008
I'd almost given up on finding this, I remember Oliver Stone mentioning he was working on this but then heard little else, I should have known it wasn't a priority release and arrived only on R1 very low key. Though I tracked it down on Amazon recently for very reasonable price. Any chance to see more of this superb piece of the cinema is a chance I'm not gonna miss.
JFK remains probably my favourite film of all time and Nixon is it's companion piece. Watching it again I think the gap between the 2 films has got smaller, Nixon is easily Stone's 2nd best in my opinion.
Their is so many things to admire about this film, most of all is Hopkins without doubt alongside Stevens the Butler in the amazing Remains of the Day, this must be my favourite performance of Sir Anthony. This and his Stevens performance is an example of why he is such a good actor and not the showboating of his Oscar Winning performance in SOTL which in comparison isn't in the same league. Stone as already explained he wasn't bothered about AH's resemblance to Nixon and it doesn't make any difference. Hopkins delivers a complex and detailed portrayal, his mannerisms and ticks.
It's true to say that he goes for a portrayal which gives you a side of Nixon not seen in public but he also invests the man with humanity which some would probably be surprised knowing Stone's view's. It's a picture of a man who did great thing and could have been greater but the same things that made him determined and successful were also the elements which were his downfall, the terrible actions he commits while being the most powerful man in the world and the cover ups and treachery which go on in the White House. Which are eventually his undoing Most notably the Watergate scandal, which this film documents in detail while not showing the actual burglary. Already dealt with in another film. ( All the Presidents Men) We see a deep complex troubled man with many flaws and AH portrays this brilliantly, showing Nixon uncertain but also in ruthless mode, a scene which is inserted back in for the directors cut sees Nixon in meeting simply filling his cabinet with fear as well as contrasting with his lack of confidence and awkwardness in other scenes, he make it possible to empathize with a figure who has been demonised so much, a tall feat but he manages it.
Joan Allen is simply astonishing as Pat Nixon, bearing a resemblance to to the real thing but her performance is the clincher, heartbreaking at times and adds to Hopkins humanization of RN, they simply work like a dream together and the chemistry is amazing.
Nixon also in possession of a killer ensemble, JT Walsh & James Woods are brilliant as Nixon's right hand men Eirhlech & Hardeman. Ed Harris as Howard Hunt, David Hyde Pierce as John Dean, Paul Sorvino almost unrecognizable as Kissinger.
Also so colourful turns from Bob Hoskins as J Edgar Hoover, his moments with Hopkins can't fail to raise a smile and Hoskins is simply having a ball. JR himself Larry Hagman takes a bow as a shady oil tycoon who initially backs Nixon's 2nd run for office. The film is full of too many performances to go into too much detail but Nixon has one of the most starry impressive casts of the last 20 years and everyone is essential to working of this epic undertaking.
Mary Steenburgen as Hannah Nixon, is particularly impressive as RN's god fearing quaker Mother, who obviously was more than significant in Nixon's character buliding, Stone brilliantly and poignantly illustrates the parallels between RN's 2 brother's death's and them paving the way for him to go to Law school, the same way John & Bobby Kennedy's deaths make it possible for Nixon to become President. A fact which overshadows his life throughout. The guilt is etched quite impressively on Hopkins face.
Stone's attention to detail like with JFK is meticulous and his partnership with Robert Richardson cinematography are nothing short of genius. It's shame RR and Stone no longer work together, Richardson is most notably working with Scorcesse recently, see Casino & The Aviator for an example of his lighting, very reminiscent of the work he did with Stone and something that marks Richardson out as a particularly individual DP who stamps his mark over everything he works on. Their use of shot footage blending with actual real footage and the different film stocks incorporated was brilliantly used in JFK & NBK and Nixon is no exception. Stone's most recent work is lacking his touch.
John Williams score like with JFK is another example of JW's versatility, best know for coming up with toe tapping fan fares, his work with Stone shows a subtlety not expressed in his more famous work. He underpins the scenes with an ominous feel and is never intrusive, a perfect accompaniment to the sombre feel the film imbues.
Quite simply no one does the kind of thing better than Stone, I know he the kind of Director you either love or hate and his work as fallen off of late but when firing on all four cylinders he matches and probably betters anything Scorcesse's done in the last 20 years.
This being a Special Edition the extras on show are impressive as well, deleted scenes and Stones intro to each individual one but it's the commentaries which are the real gem here, as with all Stone Special Editions, I've waited to hear this commentary and he doesn't disappoint. Stone's commentaries for me are the best, he's passionate about his films but also very well researched and his fiercely intelligent. 3 hours + with this man flew by. Their is a another track that goes into the more historically side as opposed to the technical and film side which I'm yet to savour.
This is one of the most impressive political movies of all time, it's not a history lesson and is clear about it's dramatizations and hypothesis's. The further 27 minutes reinserted go further to enhance this already epic study of Richard Nixon and make for one hell of a movie.
 Nixon December 21, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
So far I've tended not to review films I haven't enjoyed. I find it hard to be inspired enough to write when I didn't engage or feel fulfilled at the end of a film (or even a music or book) experience. Sadly Nixon is one of the few films I've really not enjoyed and have given such a low star rating to. I know the period and subject relatively well, having studied it at college and reading around American politics since, and it is here where the film redeems itself; the research seems fairly well done. Unfortunately, considering the amazing cast assembled, I found many performances very dry and lack lustre. I just didn't engage or relate to any of them enough to care about the story. The direction was pretty good, as to be expected from Oliver Stone, but the constant flicking between time periods was a touch annoying and didn't do the story justice. I feel (and this may just be a personal preference) that a straight chronological telling would have served this film better. Having read other reviews here I am aware that this film may have a lot to offer, and if you're a student of American politics then I'd say it is well worth a viewing, but sadly for me this time, it didn't hit the right buttons.
Plods on..Bit LIke the Man himself May 3, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I loved JFK in spite of its faults and the three hours sped by.However the reverse is true of Nixon. Great cast of fine actors but I was incredibly bored in the last hour of the movie.That is not to say my interest did not wane in the first 2 hours!! Hopkins tried his best but it was only ever an imperfect impression of Tricky Dicky. Stone bit off more than he could chew here and the fact that parts were fictionalised rather spoiled the "truth" of the story. I dread what the new Alexander movie is going to be like. I think Stone is a very committed and interesting director with a great talent for using the medium but he needs to ditch the conspiracy theorising and stick to what is known in his "true" stories. Nixon was really more documentary than drama and should have been sold as such.
Hopkins at his best, but the script is sometimes a bit too fast pace February 28, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I believe Anthony Hopkins did a brilliant job, probably his best! If you want to get a good look behind the scene in Washington, this is a brilliant portrait of the complexity intrigue and hardship of US politics. While the film confirms Nixon as one of the most repelling US presidents in history, one cannot feel sympathetic to some of his most controversial actions, because you can now see why he did. The only critic on the film is its pace: it jumps that little bit to fast from one sub-plot to the next, which prevents the audience to fully appreciate some very compelling points Oliver Stone and his scriptwriter are making.
 hard work but persevere for at least modest reward January 31, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Isn't this one of the few (generally high quality) films (fictional or otherwise) dealing with american presidents to address a Republican administration's machinations?
Not entertaining really and with Stone's typically (and admittedly for his own part) historically quirky take on things presidential but delivered in an original style and leaving one with much to ponder and debate.
One of the most unpleasant aspects appeared to be Nixon's destruction of the lives of hundreds of thousands (at least...) of south east asians to cement his reputation as a hard man - in pursuit of what exactly?
Liked by no-one really; after death placed on a pedestal by many who should know better more in deference to his office rather than his character or actions. Deeply unpleasant right wing stool pigeon exercising/exorcising his personal demons on a tawdrily obeisant world against an angrily powerless opposition.
Hopkins acts his socks off in a truly heavyweight performance with very powerful supporting cast. Don't watch to enjoy, just learn a bit.
As ever with many DVDs, north american release has many extras compared to whatever scraps distributors think they can get away with throwing at us europeans. Get a multi region player
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