Watergate scandal - Book Report/Review Example

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN All the President's Men is one of the most riveting and well-received books of the 20th century, written in 1974, the bookwent on to win Pulitzer Prize for its original plot and gripping investigative journalism. The book was later made into a movie in 1976 and was equally successful because of some famous names and superb performances. Robert Redford along with Dustin Hoffman played the roles of Woodward and Bernstein, two Washington Post journalists, who brought President Richard Nixon down when he was found involved in Watergate scandal.

In 1974, Woodward and Bernstein published what would become the greatest scandal of all times. Richard Nixon and some other members of the cabinet were found involved in illegal fundraising and once the tip reached Washington Post, journalists followed it with religious fervor. Since the entire presidency was at stake, Woodward and Bernstein made sure nothing was published till supporting evidence could properly back it. They wrote series of articles in the 'The Post' that targeted the President and his men leading to impeachment of the President and his early resignation.

However in between the articles and the elections, no real difference was seen and the President was elected for a second term. However it was in 1972 that he came to power again and from that time till 1974, a lot more happened to bring the President down. As much as the book was loved and admired for its investigative journalism, it was not until the movie version came out in 1976 that the book reached the position it enjoys today. The movie was more gripping, entertaining and deftly created than the book, which is more about facts with little analysis.

The movie was developed painstakingly after each and every fact in the book had been checked and rechecked by the team. The movie has a different ending than the movie and that is what makes the movie just that bit more interesting. The movie ends on the note of President's second election victory. but as he is elected, the audiences know what exactly is happening the background and what will happen to the President. There is an unidentified man in the movie and the book who is referred to as the Deep Throat.

Today we know who he was, but when the book came out, no one knew his real identity but he helped the journalists with their work. He would not provide them with anything but confirm or reject what they had already found on their own. In the movie as well as the book, Deep Throat has an eerie presence. The real difference in the movie is made by the performances of Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman and though they were not nominated for Oscars, both went on to become super-stars with the stupendous success of this movie.

The movie was nominated for eight Oscars and won four of them while the book won the Pulitzer Prize. The movie is shot in Washington but not in the actual Washington Post newsroom. The newsroom was reconstructed at a huge cost in studios to make it easier for the actors to play their part. The movie is highly absorbing because it is fast paced and there is constant element of thriller and mystery. Unlike the book, the movie is slicker and as it happens with many books turned into movies, one of the two always seems inferior.

In this case it was the book that lost to the movie. Robert Redford and director Alan Paluka are given credit for turning an investigative journalism book into an interesting Oscar nominated film. The camera work is smooth and while most of the scenes are shot in the dark, it manages to capture the real essence of each and every scene with absolute finesse. The book on the other hand is a great source of factual information for anyone interested in figures and statistics. Another reason why this movie captured instant attention was because unlike the book, we actually knew and loved the characters in the film version.

While we had no idea who Woodward and Bernstein were, we knew Robert Redford and he was already a big name in the industry. Most people read the book only after the movie had become a mega-success.