DVDs: Dustin Hoffman

Considering the current state of political affairs, these film events appear very tame. If you see what the current administration is being scrutinized for, this event of Watergate is small potatoes. However, that is one for the individual American to decide. At the very least, this film portrays an innocence in America long ago that seems to be repeating itself. The biggest change is the comparison of the medias' power then and now. No longer can a newspaper have an anonymous source. There is much at stake here and "All The Presidents Men" proves to be an important milestone in political history as well as film history. "Deep Throat" has been outed and it seems of little significance.

"A third-rate burglary attempt"      5 von 5 Punkten
- that was how presidential Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler referred to the attempted June 17, 1972 break-in at the Washington, D.C. Watergate building in his initial comments on the event. Not worthy of further notice, although "certain elements" might try to "stretch this beyond what it is." Ziegler would come to eat his words several times over when, as a result of the Pulitzer Prize-winning reports by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, one senior government official after the other lost his post to the prospect of exchanging suit and tie for prison garbs, until at last even President Nixon himself was compelled to resign from the office which, as he'd declared only shortly before, he had "no intention whatever of ever walking away from."

Based on Woodward and Bernstein's bestselling book and released only two years after Nixon's resignation, "All the President's Men" chronicles the two reporters' investigation of the infamous money trail leading from the burglars' court arraignment and notations in two of their notebooks to White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman and to a conspiracy which, as the reporters would discover, went far beyond a simple attempt to plant bugs at the national Democratic headquarters, and was chiefly engineered through the Republican Committee to Re-Elect the President (appropriately acronymed "CReeP"). While the events are somewhat streamlined and not all of the individuals actually involved in the conspiracy are mentioned - wisely so, as even the information that *is* given takes either several viewings of the film or a close reference to the underlying book to be fully digested - the movie faithfully depicts the events as they are described in the two reporters' account.

Woodward and Bernstein were an unlikely match; both regarding their personalities and their respective backgrounds: Woodward an Illinois native, Yale graduate and former naval officer with upper-crust ties, only nine months with the Post when the Watergate story broke; Bernstein a D.C. native and college dropout with liberal leanings, who had worked his way up in the business from age sixteen onwards. Yet, over time they not only came to be friends but actually worked together so closely that their colleagues took to addressing them collectively as "Woodstein." Equally unlikely was their staffing on the Watergate story, as neither of them was a senior journalist with the Washington Post, nor were they on steady assignment with its national desk. Yet, largely due to patronage by the paper's Metro Editor, as well as eventually Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, they were able to pursue their investigation to its very end.

Starring as Bernstein and Woodward are Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford (who had purchased the film rights to the story shortly after the book's publication and is also one of the movie's co-producers). Both actors performed a tremendous amount of research for their roles, which enabled them not only to perfectly portray the two lead characters - and this although Redford in particular has virtually no physical resemblance to Woodward - but also to convey their tenacity in pursuing a story that even their own colleagues at first didn't want to believe, and in whose development they were hampered at every corner. Similarly, Jason Robards, who won a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar and several other awards for his role as Ben Bradlee, convincingly nails the famous newsman's mix of New England pedigree and tough talk; and Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Hal Holbrook are equally compelling as Metro Editor Harry Rosenfeld, Managing Editor Howard Simons and Woodward's still-unidentified source "Deep Throat." Outstanding in a cast featuring dozens of actors are further Jane Alexander as bookkeeper and reluctant source Judy Hoback, Ned Beatty as Florida prosecutor Martin Dardis, Stephen Collins as former Haldeman aide and CReeP treasurer Hugh Sloan, Robert Walden as California attorney and "ratf*cking" organizer Donald Segretti and Penny Fuller as Woodward's and Bernstein's colleague Sally Aiken, who uses her personal contacts to provide crucial CReeP insider information. (Plus, watch out for F. Murray Abraham's brief appearance as one of the arresting officers at the Watergate.)

What makes "All the President's Men" so compelling are, of course, first and foremost the true facts of the underlying story; the sheer enormity of a conspiracy constituting nothing less than a full-fledged attack on the electoral process and on the very foundations of the American democracy, and involving the entire U.S. intelligence community and almost all of the Republican establishment, up to and including former President Nixon. Appropriately, the movie is styled in the way of a documentary, resisting all temptations to hype the events and relying entirely on its stellar cast and on the authenticity provided by its D.C. location shots, by the recreation of the Washington Post's newsroom (with numerous props supplied by the paper itself), and by actual TV footage from the era. And although David Shire is credited for his soundtrack contribution, the film's most memorable sounds are not those of his almost non-audible score but the hammering of the reporters' typewriters, of the news ticker announcing the story's final developments, and of the gunshot- and whiplash-enforced pounding of the opening caption. Not surprisingly, the movie also won the Academy Award for Best Sound, in addition to Robards's and those for Best Writing (William Goldman, with input from Carl Bernstein and his former wife Nora Ephron) and Best Art Direction. Why it didn't also win the "Best Movie" award, I will never understand. (Rocky who?!)

"Nothing's riding on this except the First Amendment of the Constitution, the freedom of the press and maybe the future of the country," Ben Bradlee tells Woodward and Bernstein after their investigation has almost faltered over a misunderstanding with two sources regarding Haldeman's involvement, and he adds: "Not that any of that matters. But if you guys f*ck up again, I'm going to get mad ..." They didn't give him reason to. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history - hopefully never to be repeated, anywhere in the world.

Klassiker der Journalisten-Filme      5 von 5 Punkten
Robert Redford und Dustin Hoffman überzeugen und beeindrucken in diesem absolut faszinierenden Film über die Aufdeckung der Watergate-Affäre. Regisseur Alan J. Pakula liefert ein Musterbeispiel dafür, dass der Satz "weniger ist mehr" auch für einen US-Kinofilm gelten kann. Ruhige, lange Kamerasequenzen, bei denen oft erst auf den zweiten Blick klar wird, dass sich dahinter Ungeheures verbirgt. Keine Versuche, den Zuschauer mit Musik und Special Effects-Bombardements zu betäuben und zu manipulieren. Seltsamerweise zieht der Film den Zuschauer gerade dadurch immer mehr in seinen Bann. Der Handlung zu folgen ist nicht leicht, aber gerade das macht den Film zu einem der wenigen, bei denen man auch beim fünften Anschauen immer noch neues entdeckt. Die Präsenz von Jason Robarts als Chefredakteur ist atemberaubend.

Eines noch: Die Unbestechlichen (Original: All the President's Men) hat nichts mit den Gangsterfilmen über die 20er Jahre zu tun.

GENIALE - Verfilmung der Watergate - Story      5 von 5 Punkten
Seit ich vor Jahren zum ersten Mal diesen Film gesehen habe, bin ich von ihm faziniert. Ich finde das in diesem Film die Spannung und die Arbeit, die Angst und die Ungläubigkeit der Vorgesetzen gut zur geltung kommt. Jeder den die Watergate-Geschichte interessiert sollte diesen Film gesehen haben.

Starbesetzung vs. Gangstergenre      4 von 5 Punkten
Also wer die Untouchables (originaltitel) noch nie gesehen hat der sollte das sobald wie möglich nahholen. amerika in den 20ern, ein thema mit dem sich unzählige filme befassen. doch keiner stellte es bisher so gut und realistisch dar wie dieser film. ausserdem mit absoluter starbesetzung gehört dieser streifen einfach in jede sammlung!!! KAUFEN heisst die Lösung!

Now, Charlie isn't the greatest communicator himself; at least as far as listening goes; he is used to talking people down, and if that alone doesn't do the trick, he starts to yell. This, however, just doesn't work with Raymond, who lives in a world of his own and, unable to express emotion in any other way, falls into a nervous tic when feeling threatened. So for the first time in his life Charlie has to learn to accept another human being for what he is, and work *with* his bewildering methods of communication rather than against them. And subtly, very subtly, Charlie begins to change, until at last he no longer wants to relinquish custody of Raymond even after having been offered a substantial amount of money: because now money is no longer an issue at all; now it's all about genuine love for a newly-found brother and very special person.

"Rain Man" is ostensibly told from Charlie's perspective; through his, the "normal" guy's eyes we perceive Raymond's habits, tics and strange behavioral code. And even if Charlie is easy enough to snub for his superficiality and materialism, his frustration at his inability to communicate with his brother feels genuine and is something we can empathize with(albeit perhaps inadmittedly). Tom Cruise plays Charlie with a finely-tuned mix of audacity and reluctant emotion; turning a role that seems to start out as just another Cruise cliche into a character who hesitantly comes to realize his own complexities and shortcomings and learns to appreciate sensitivity, compassion and love - yet, without ever taking the role that treacherous step too far into sentimentality.

Still, important as Charlie's character is for this movie's narrative, this is from first to last Raymond's story; and by the same token Dustin Hoffman's, because the two individuals are in fact inseparable: As Hoffman once explained in an interview, he rejects the notion that acting is merely about playing a role, or that the term "my character" could ever appropriately describe his approach to a role; emphasizing that in every part he plays, he truly has to *become* the individual in question to fully be able to understand and portray him. As such, his achievement with Raymond Babbitt is breathtaking indeed; for in a role which not only imposes severe limitations on his ability to communicate traditionally but also gives him virtually no opportunity to express emotion, he conveys Raymond's frailties, unexpected strengths and, significantly, his profound humanity in a manner that lets you forget you're even looking at a piece of acting, thus accomplishing that rare feat only attained by the greatest of actors - and even among Dustin Hoffman's spectacular performances, this one stands out in particular. (He did, of course, win both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for this movie; but somehow even the industry's highest awards don't begin to express the significance of his achievement.)

Raymond Babbitt's character was based on several real-life autistic persons; and at a time when little was known about the condition even in the medical community, contributed substantially to a greater understanding of those afflicted with it. Not all autistic people are so-called "savants" like Raymond, i.e. possess genial mathematic or other abilities within the shell separating them from the outside world (and conversely, not with all of them that shell is as thick as in Raymond's case; although intricate routines do tend to play a rather important role) - so don't go rushing off with them to Vegas for an exercise in "counting cards," at least not before you've verified that they can memorize entire phone books (at least up to the letter "G"), count the toothpicks in a pile on the floor with one glimpse of an eye and determine the square root of a four- or five-digit number within a matter of seconds without so much as looking at an electronic calculator. Chances are you'd do them tremendous harm, not to mention make a complete fool of yourself.

Dustin Hoffman reportedly fought hard for this movie's production even after several directors (including, inter alia, Stephen Spielberg) had bowed out; and in one of those rare un-Hollywood-like moments even managed to maintain the movie's sense of authenticity up to the very end by prevailing on the writers to drop the projected ending, which would have had Raymond staying with Charlie. - In addition to Hoffman's awards, "Rain Man" received the coveted Oscars for Best Movie, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director (Barry Levinson, who also played the psychiatrist called upon to evaluate whether Raymond is fit to stay with Charlie), plus a number of other American and international awards. For once, the industry collectively got it right. But even if this movie hadn't received a single award, it would still remain one of recent film history's greatest and truly unforgettable moments - definitely, it would.

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ein unbedingter samstag abend genuss, nur werden ihn leider wenige menschen richtig verstehen.

Sehr unterhaltsam      4 von 5 Punkten
Diese Komödie von Stephen Frears wurde von der Kritik damals nicht gut aufgenommen. Ich denke, das liegt daran, daß zuviel Augenmerk auf eine möglicherweise beabsichtigte Botschaft oder Moral verwandt wurde. Aus dieser Warte betrachtet, muß man den Film tatsächlich als gescheitert betrachten: Die Medienkritik ist viel zu milde, der Appell an das Heldentum "normaler" Menschen zu pathetisch. Was dabei allerdings übersehen wurde, ist die Tatsache, daß "Ein ganz normaler Held" fesselnde Unterhaltung und ungeheuer witzige Szenen bietet. Neben dem intelligenten Drehbuch liegt das vor allem an Dustin Hoffman, der zwar wie so oft einen Loser spielt, aber selten so komisch war. Solide wie üblich Joan Cusack, Andy Garcia und Geena Davis. Leichte, aber empfehlenswerte Kost vom besten britischen Regisseur der letzten 15 Jahre (8/10). Die DVD bietet ein einwandfreies Widescreen-Bild, ordentlichen Dolby-Surround-Ton (u.a. deutsch und englisch) und neben Texttafeln zu den Darstellern ein ca. achtminütiges Featurette zu den Dreharbeiten.

Auf jeden Fall zeigt uns dieser Film wieder recht deutlich, dass das amerikanische Rechtssystem eine andere Welt ist. Millionen Dollar Entschädigungen gehen nicht nur an die Hinterbliebenen kranker Raucher sondern hier an die Witwe eines durch leichfertigen Waffengebrauchs getöteten Immobilienmaklers. Die Anwälte sind in diesen Prozessen die großen Stars im Vordergrund, unterstützt von den Jury Beratern im Hintergrund. Und sind die Geschworenen der Jury wirklich die unbestechlichen, zufällig ausgewählten, demokratisch legitimierten „Durchschnittsbürger"? Um diese Frage geht es im Wesentlichen in diesem Film.

Ein Geschäftsmann und all seine Mitarbeiter wurden bei einem Amoklauf erschossen. Die Witwe engagiert den kompetenten Anwalt Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) um die Herstellerfirma der Schusswaffen zu verklagen. Die Bosse der einflussreichen Waffenmafia engagieren neben einem gewitzten Verteidiger den Jury- Berater Fitch (Gene Hackman), eine zwielichtige Person, mit allen Wassern gewaschen, Top-organisiert. Dieser Film sehr anschaulich das Phänomen der amerikanischen Jury-Berater. Das sind Strategen beider Seiten, der Anklage wie der Verteidigung. Man heuert sie für viel Geld an, sie sollen sich mit ihren profunden Kenntnissen auf den Gebieten Soziologie, Psychologie und Menschenkenntnis in die Gedankengänge der 12 Geschworenen „einklicken". Sie werden engagiert, um die „passende" Jury aus der Auswahlliste der angereisten Schöffen herauszufiltern. An der Auswahl der Geschworenen beteiligen sich Klägerin und Beklagte, das ist normale Prozeßroutine. Danach erwartet man eine geschickte Prozess-Strategie, die schließlich zu dem gewünschten Urteil führt. Dabei schrecken sie auch nicht davor zurück bei ihren Mitteln bis an die Verletzung der Privatsphäre zu gehen. Die Gefahr liegt auch bei den Anwälten die sie engagieren, denn legale Beratung soll schließlich die Integrität des Rechtstaates sicherstellen und die Beeinflussung der Jury möglichst verweiden. Das Motto von Rankin Fitch:" Gerichtsurteile sind zu wichtig, um sie Geschworenen zu überlassen".

Es sieht bald so aus, als liefe die Jury trotz aller Bemühungen der Anwälte, der Prozeßberater und des Richters aus dem Ruder. Einzelne Mitglieder der Jury fühlen sich - außerhalb des Gerichtssaals- beobachtet, verfolgt und gedemütigt. Der Richter sieht sich genötigt die Geschworenen von der Außenwelt abzuschotten; er sperrt sie in einem entfernten Motel ein.

Doch Anklage und Verteidigung müssen trotzdem bald erkennen, dass der „Geschworene Nummer 9" Nick Easter (John Cusack) sich in die Jury eingeschmuggelt hat und seine eigenen Interessen verfolgt, das Urteil in jede Richtung lenken kann und gemeinsam mit der mysteriösen Marlee (Rachel Weisz)ein doppeltes Spiel treibt. Was geschieht mit der Jury? Wir sie von außen gelenkt und manipuliert? Zu wessen Gunsten?

Ein spannender Gerichtsthriller, mit großartigem Schlagabtausch zwischen Dustin Hoffman und Gene Hackman - eine Klasse für sich-, und einem überraschenden Ausgang. Die Antwort auf die offenen Fragen erhält der Zuschauer erst mit dem Urteil.

"American Buffalo" ist eine Low-Budget-Produktion, ein Kammerspiel mit drei Personen, das fast nur im Innern von Don's Trödelladen spielt. Dustin Hoffman ist klasse als Teach: ein sich selbst überschätzender, einsamer Loser, der gar nichts mehr auf die Reihe bekommt und Don und Bobby um ihre Art Freundschaft und ihren Rest von Moral beneidet.