Backstory
Release of the History Channel special about the disgraced president who is the recent subject of a hit Broadway play and several new biographies.
Feature
If anyone has any interest in the American political process whatsoever (and they really should), this is a must. And for those who obsessively pore over any artifact about old Tricky Dick —not mentioning any names here — this will contain enough revelations spoken by the principal players to make it worthwhile. Conspicuously traditional and with the familiar made-for TV commercial break cliffhangers, it nevertheless compels through the sheer weight of the man’s corrosive personality and the enormous stakes for the country during his presidency, which turned on the Axis of Watergate, Vietnam and the Cold War. Those closest to the president — Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger, John Dean — still express amazement at the sheer awkwardness of the man, and the depth of his paranoia.
Extras
A very dry feature about the relationship between Nixon and President Eisenhower.
Verdict
America’s most Shakespearian president makes for fascinating viewing.
Release of the History Channel special about the disgraced president who is the recent subject of a hit Broadway play and several new biographies.
Feature
If anyone has any interest in the American political process whatsoever (and they really should), this is a must. And for those who obsessively pore over any artifact about old Tricky Dick —not mentioning any names here — this will contain enough revelations spoken by the principal players to make it worthwhile. Conspicuously traditional and with the familiar made-for TV commercial break cliffhangers, it nevertheless compels through the sheer weight of the man’s corrosive personality and the enormous stakes for the country during his presidency, which turned on the Axis of Watergate, Vietnam and the Cold War. Those closest to the president — Alexander Haig, Henry Kissinger, John Dean — still express amazement at the sheer awkwardness of the man, and the depth of his paranoia.
Extras
A very dry feature about the relationship between Nixon and President Eisenhower.
Verdict
America’s most Shakespearian president makes for fascinating viewing.
