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The Rewatchables ·

All the President’s Men

year 1976decade 70sdirector Alan J. Pakulagenre Thrillergenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryan
All 14 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 24:59

Bradlee’s closing scenes and Woodward’s six-minute phone call

Bernstein trying to take over Woodward’s story is nominated for establishing their complementary talents and rivalry

Bill Simmons: Woodward’s six-minute, single-take calls to Dahlberg and McGregor are nominated; a mistaken name at the end was retained

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 1:11:30

Follow the money

Bill Simmons: The smoking question, Run that baby, Follow the money, notebook demand, danger warning, Haldeman rebuke, and First Amendment speech are nominated

The film

All the President’s Men (1976)

Directed by Alan J. Pakula · Thriller

138 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Dustin Hoffman Carl Bernstein
Robert Redford Bob Woodward
Jack Warden Harry M. Rosenfeld
Martin Balsam Howard Simons
Hal Holbrook Deep Throat
Jason Robards Ben Bradlee
Jane Alexander The Bookkeeper
Stephen Collins Hugh W. Sloan Jr.
Ned Beatty Martin Dardis
Meredith Baxter Deborah Murray Sloan
Penny Fuller Sally Aiken (based on Marilyn Berger)
Penny Peyser Sharon Lyons
Lindsay Crouse Kay Eddy
Robert Walden Donald Segretti
F. Murray Abraham Sergeant Paul Leeper
David Arkin Eugene Bachinski
Richard Herd James W. McCord
Henry Calvert Bernard Barker (Watergate Burglar)
Dominic Chianese Eugenio Martínez

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

52:59

Casting What-Ifs

Katharine Graham, Deep Throat, and Al Pacino alternatives

Katharine Graham, Deep Throat, and Al Pacino alternatives

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:59Read transcript
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59:13

Half-Assed Internet Research

Screenplay dispute, invented Florida scene, Robards background presence, overlapping lines, and Redford handedness

Screenplay dispute, invented Florida scene, Robards background presence, overlapping lines, and Redford handedness

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:13Read transcript
  • Goldman reported that Bernstein and Nora Ephron secretly drafted an alternate screenplay that elevated Bernstein and contained inaccuracies
  • The Florida office sequence is described as the only wholly invented scene retained from that draft — Bill Simmons
  • William Goldman skipped his Butch Cassidy Oscar ceremony for a Knicks game
  • Jason Robards reportedly stayed in Bradlee’s office on non-shooting days so his character remained visible in the newsroom background — Bill Simmons
  • Redford and Hoffman reportedly memorized each other’s dialogue to overlap naturally — Bill Simmons
  • Left-handed Redford performs close-up writing and dialing right-handed — Sean Fennessey
  • Redford and Hoffman split billing, with Redford leading marketing and Hoffman leading the film credits — Bill Simmons
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1:10:21

Picking Nits

The count-to-ten confirmation and invented Florida-office trick

The count-to-ten confirmation and invented Florida-office trick

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:21Read transcript
  • The count-to-ten phone confirmation is criticized as overcomplicated and overly cute for the film
  • The invented Florida-office deception is criticized as inconsistent with the reporters’ methods elsewhere — Chris Ryan
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1:12:30

Probably Unanswerable Questions

New York Times omission, Deep Throat identity, and modern political sabotage

New York Times omission, Deep Throat identity, and modern political sabotage

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:30Read transcript
  • The film is criticized for minimizing the New York Times’s competing Watergate reporting — Bill Simmons
  • Whether life would be more fun if Deep Throat remained unidentified receives agreement, though disclosure is defended as helping Mark Felt’s family
  • Revealing Felt is said to rebut suspicions that Woodward invented or combined Deep Throat — Bill Simmons
  • Whether Watergate tactics supplied a blueprint for later Russian election interference is debated — Sean Fennessey
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