Ed's talk: Dec 15, 2008

Monday, December 15, 2008

<i>Frost/Nixon</i>: A Dishonorable Distortion of History


I did see the original interviews and have no desire to see a fictionalized version of them, particularly with actors who bear no resemblance to Frost or Nixon and whose dramatic climax is based on a lie.



I did see the Oliver Stone-Anthony Hopkins "Nixon" and have no idea why Hopkins was cast. I also can't fathom why anyone would want to see a film on Dubya or even look at the real one willingly.



Though I do think Sean in "Milk" bears a strong resemblance to Harvey, there is a perfectly good documentary on the subject ("The Times of Harvey Milk"). In "All the President's Men", Nixon is wisely shown only in archival footage and Bob and Dustin are ok Hollywood versions of "Woodstein". (Hal Holbrook does a quite good Mark Felt!)



So, I think it depends on how much the subject is illuminated by a "dramatization" and whether the original events are well documented on their own.



I plan to stay home from "Frost/Nixon" in droves!
About Richard Nixon
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost