Start the week with a film: The value and romance of journalism in ‘All The President’s Men’

Robert Redford, who died on September 16, was one of the most iconic movie stars. He was also a highly secure leading man, shining in solo roles while also generously sharing the screen with his male co-stars – evident from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and Spy Game.

In All The President’s Men, Redford has top billing and equal screen time with Dustin Hoffman. The movie is proof of Redford’s conviction for being part of something bigger and more important than him.

The film is part of Alan J Pakula’s paranoia trilogy. Alongside Klute (1971) and The Parallax View (1974), All The President’s Men (1976) imagines the American government as the biggest violator of the rules it has laid down for its citizenry, an opaque and sinister force that commits crimes from behind the scenes. All The President’s Men has a character who literally operates in the shadows and changes the course of events.

William Goldman’s screenplay is adapted from the book of the same name by The Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The film revolves around the infamous Watergate scandal in 1974. The newspaper’s investigation showed that US President Richard Nixon, who was pursuing a second term, was involved in spying on the rival Democratic Party.

All The President’s Men reveals the importance of dogged reporting in holding rulers accountable for their actions. Available...

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