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directed by Alan J. Pakula
USA 1976

In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.

***

In the Watergate Building, lights go on and four burglars are caught in the act. That night triggered revelations that drive a U.S. President from office. Washington reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) grabbed the story and stayed with it through doubts, denials and discouragement. All the President's Men is their story. Directed by Alan J. Pakula and based on the Woodward/Bernstein book, the film won four 1976 Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actor/Jason Robards, Adaptation Screenplay/William Goldman, Art Direction and Sound). It also explores a working newspaper, where the mission is to get the story and get it right.

 

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 4th, 1976

Reviews                                                                                                       DVD Reviews

 

 Comparison: 

Warner - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC MIDDLE vs. Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT)

DVD Box Cover

The new Special Edition is also available in the Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset with - All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (all Two-Disc Special Editions).

              

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner (Special Edition)

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:18:05 2:18:05 2:18:21.793

Video

1.77:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.22 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.4 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

Disc Size: 34,598,694,344 bytes

Feature Size: 29,302,056,960 bytes

Average Bitrate: 23.44 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate : Warner 1st release

Bitrate: Warner (Special Edition)

Bitrate: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Audio English (Dolby Digital 1.0) English (Dolby Digital 1.0) DTS-HD Master Audio English 905 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 905 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio French 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio German 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Italian 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
* Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB
Subtitles English, French, Spanish, None English, French, Spanish, None English (SDH), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, None
Features Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.77:1

Edition Details:
• Text pages (Cast Crew etc.)

NOTE: The widescreen is on one side and a pan-and-scan edition is on the opposite side.

DVD Release Date: October 29th, 1997
Snapper case

Chapters 32

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Robert Redford
• Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of All the President's Men
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
• Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
• Vintage featurette Pressure and the Press: The Making of All the President's Men
• Vintage Jason Robards interview excerpt from Dinah!, hosted by Dinah Shore
• Alan J. Pakula thrillers trailer gallery
 

DVD Release Date: February 21st, 2006
 Double Slim Keep Case  

Chapters 32

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

 

Disc Size: 34,598,694,344 bytes

Feature Size: 29,302,056,960 bytes

Average Bitrate: 23.44 Mbps

Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video 1080P

 

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Robert Redford
• Telling the Truth About Lies: The Making of All the President's Men
Out of the Shadows: The Man Who Was Deep Throat
• Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire
• Vintage featurette Pressure and the Press: The Making of All the President's Men
• Vintage Jason Robards interview excerpt from Dinah!, hosted by Dinah Shore
• 38-page Digibook case
 

Blu-ray Release Date: February 15th, 2011
Digibook Blu-ray Case  

Chapters 32

 

 

 

Comments NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray February 2011: The new 1080P Blu-ray image quality improves over the Special Edition DVD. It tightens up, has less artifacts using the MPEG4 AVC (as opposed to Warner's usual VC-1) and there is some depth and residual grain to give the visuals some texture. Skin tones have warmed and colors seem more robust but I cannot vouch for their accuracy. This is certainly no demo disc but it gave me a good presentation - clean and consistent showing some of the attributes that we desire from hi-def.

NOTE: Sometimes the BD image appears cropped beside the 2-disc DVD. I'm pretty sure I got the same frame but will verify.

The DTS-Master is 2.0 channel stereo and pretty weak in the, less-than aggressive, soundtrack. There are moments where dialogue appears to have a crisper edge than on the DVDs - but it is not dominant. Subtitles improve in appearance and readability (see sample) and my Momitsu has identified it as being a region FREE disc playable on Blu-ray machines worldwide. This has plentiful subtitle and DUB options making it the world-wide release.

Extras duplicate the Special Edition 2-disc DVD with the Redford commentary and the good featurettes - all accessible on one disc - but also has the Digi-book case with an essay, bios and lots of color photographs.

Like another great 70's film - 3 Days of the Condor, this retains great entertainment value - solid performances and screenplay. All the President's Men never seems to lose its luster. I'm certain to revisit it multiple more times throughout my life and this Blu-ray is the definitive package to date - and, hence, best way to enjoy it in your home theater.

***

ON THE DVDs: The old release was fraught with digital noise giving an excessively grainy and textured appearance and when colors in a scene were bright they tended to bleed a bit. Although artefacts are plainly visible the big issue was the vertically stretched image which becomes most evident in side-by-side comparison. I suppose we should have some leniency on the old edition as it did come out in 1997 (yes, they were making DVDs way back then).

The new release shows much more information on the top and bottom but a shade less on the right edge. The new 2-disc edition is much brighter with more accurate colors although in this comparisons it may reflect a slight softness (anamorphic moulding) next to the old issue - keep in mind the digital artifacts in the old release reflect darkness boosting which can give a false impression of sharpness. Weight the positives against the negatives the new edition is far ahead in every category. The Redford commentary is very good and the extras are quite extensive and highly relevant. This is a fabulous and important film and we strongly recommend the new package.

We strongly endorse this new release and feel that the entire Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset is a very worthy purchase.    

 - Gary Tooze

 



DVD Menus

(Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  LEFT vs. Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - RIGHT)

 

 

Warner Special Edition - Disc 2

 

 

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

Screen Captures

 

1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


Subtitle Sample: Not exact frame

 

 


 

1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC  TOP

2) Warner (2-disc Special Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


More Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

Report Card:

 

Image:

Blu-ray

Sound:

Blu-ray
Extras: Special Edition / Blu-ray

 

DVD Box Cover

The new Special Edition is also available in the Controversial Classics, Vol. 2 - The Power of Media Boxset with - All the President's Men / Network / Dog Day Afternoon) (all Two-Disc Special Editions).

              

Distribution

Warner

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner (Special Edition)

Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC

Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray




 

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