Watergate affair and Mozart in cinema
Film Appreciation
with K S Sivakumaran
The Watergate scandal in America was one of the shocking events in
history in the last century. It involved the US President Richard Nixon.
He thawed the relationship between China and America ably assisted by
the then Secretary of State, Kissinger.
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Amadeus |
And that was a plus point. But he had negative aspects in his
political career. The true story of some aspects of Nixon's
administration was investigated by two journalists working for the
prestigious 'Washington Post'. They were Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein.
These two daring journalists wrote a book called 'All the President's
Men'. The book had all the ingredients to make a film. William Goldman
adapted the analytical reportage of the duo into a film script. A
notable director of the 1970s Alan J Pakula made into an engrossing
cinema in 1976 that collected many academy awards and critics applauded
the film as one of the well-made films.
In fact all departments in the production of the film earned many
awards. Although the story was well known to viewers of that period the
filmmaker made it a landmark in the history of American cinema. I
enjoyed the film thoroughly partly because of its contemporary nature
and partly because of the cinematic exploration.
Two great actors portrayed the roles of the two journalists: Robert
Redford and Dustin Hoffman. They were marvelous. Both had different
styles and mannerisms in film acting but they brought about a kind of
overall unifying element into the tension filled play.
Both were 'discoveries' of the time. I enjoy all the films that the
two had acted in their respective films. Incidentally Robert Redford the
patron of the Sundance Film festival in one of the coldest regions in
North America - Utah.
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All the President’s Men |
'All the President's Men' is a study of both politics and art. It may
be available in VHS format.
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Let me wrap up this week's column with a brief note on another film I
enjoyed primarily for the enchanting music of one of the greatest
composers of the world, Mozart. The film title was 'Amadeus'. Yes it was
the story or rather of the rivalry he had had with another composer of
less significance-Antonio Salieri. Readers would know that the full name
of Mozart was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pronounced Motzart).
This film was made somewhere in the 1980s. Milos Forman, another
famous director from Europe made this film. This film received many
awards and music was fantastic. I like Mozart, particularly the lighter
compositions like the Mozart 40, which tune was adapted into a song in a
Hindi film. Some mobile phones has this number as signatory ring tone.
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