Seventies cinema is something else. There’s a grit to it, as if everything to come out of that decade existed in a fog that kept the world blurry and just a little funky. Rising above the purple haze to deliver some goodness is All the President’s Men. The ever-suave Robert Redford (as Bob Woodward) and an over-caffeinated, perpetually spastic Dustin Hoffman (as Carl Bernstein) join journalistic forces to give “Deep Throat” a new meaning and blow the ceiling off the Watergate scandal. All the President’s Men is a brisk ride of turning sources, hitting deadlines, and political intrigue that becomes more remarkable when you realize it came out only four years after “Watergate” occurred, embodying “striking while the iron is hot”.

This is a detective story where the audience is already going to know who did it. Where All the President’s Men gets legs is showing the story of how Woodward and Bernstein uncovered the conspiracy and broke the story to the American public. Sometimes, the journey is more interesting than the bookends (that’s what Lord of the Rings is, right?). Despite the assured embellishment to the journalistic experience, the Washington Post newsroom feels like a pressure cooker as the world outside remains mostly ignorant of the bomb about to be dropped. Robert Redford is simply majestic, smearing confidence and “good guy” vibes throughout the movie. Dustin Hoffman, conversely, is like an annoying fly. At times, I imagined Redford swatting away Hoffman and the buzz of his constant motion. Hoffman has an inherent uneasiness about him in whatever role he’s playing, and his motor is revved up as the hyper and aggressive Bernstein. The dichotomy between Woodward and Bernstein’s mannerisms converges in a singular aim of uncovering the true story behind “Watergate”. Both actors own their roles and are bolstered by superb contributions from the rest of the cast including Jason Robards and Hal Holbrook.

All the President’s Men is a character-driven movie, and there is not much fluff around the cast. The cinematography feels pretty standard, and the soundtrack is between non-existent and minimal. Ambient noise combined with a sense or uneasy urgency fills the void. As a viewer, you are not left wanting for fancy visuals or immersive sound, because the story has you to the very end.

Once again in the AFI Top 100, we encounter a film documenting an important historical moment. Presumably then, All the President’s Men lands on the Top 100 at number seventy-seven because of the subject matter and the superb performances. I can see this movie being overlooked by current generations; it does not offer spectacle, and the sort of conspiracy that takes down a sitting president is white noise amid the constant deluge of domestic and foreign chaos. That does not, however, change the fact this is a good movie, an engaging watch, and a necessary tale to tell.