All the President's Men review

 Number 325 on the top 1000 films of all time is the biographical political-drama 'All the President's Men.'

In 1972 Washington DC, five burglars are caught breaking into the headquarters Democratic National Committee within the Watergate Office Building. Reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman,) from the Washington Post are assigned to investigate the case. But they soon unravelling a conspiracy theory that goes all the way to President Nixon himself.

The Watergate Scandal was no doubt one of the biggest political fiascos of the twentieth century. After all, it did bring down Richard Nixon. To this day, he is the only American president to resign.

It was also incredibly complicated. The film was equally complicated. I've watched it twice and I feel I need a massive cork board with red string to understand all the little intricacies and nuances. Not to mention the endless litany of names that are all connected to the conspiracy theory. From Sloane - the treasurer for the Committee to Re-elect, to Colson - Nixon's special counsel, to Hunt - one of Colson's employees, the list was veritably endless.

Despite this, 'All the President's Men,' is still quite watchable. Considering much of the film is Woodward and Bernstein either talking on the phone or furiously typing on typewriters you do question how much drama could this possibly generate. The answer is a lot. The tension always remained high.

In slow-burn dramas that are low on spectacle, it is vital that you have a strong cast. With Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford as the leads, that was certainly the case here. They were engaging as the two journalists thrown together to solve the case. Not believing Woodward to be experienced enough, he is paired with the time-tested Bernstein. The two journalists started as rivals, but ended as allies and friends.

I would also give a quick shout-out to Hal Holbrook who played Deepthroat - a mysterious man who became Woodward's key confidential source. We know nothing about this character except for his propensity to have conversations in shadowy car parks, but Holbrook still made him very interesting. I've only seen Holbrook in his older years, so it was nice to see him as a younger man.

All the President's Men is certainly a complicated and long film. Low on spectacle, it would be easy to dismiss it as dull. But there was enough tension bursting under the surface to make this slow-burner an interesting enough watch.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Review

 Number 173 on the top 1000 films of all time is George Roy-Hill's 1969 Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and Harry 'Sundance' Longabaugh (Robert Redford) based upon the real-life outlaws of the same name, are your two most likable bank and train robbers ever. However, upon robbing one train too many, a bounty is set on their heads. To escape the hunters, the pair flee to Bolivia but their troubles are far from over.

In undertaking this challenge, I have watched a fair few Westerns and I admit that I've never been a big fan. Cowboy films just aren't my thing. Butch Cassidy and Sundance was an exception. And perhaps this is because the film doesn't take itself too seriously. Rather than watching two hours of Clint Eastwood scowling, I was treated to the brilliant on-screen chemistry of Newman and Redford.

Having already seen The Sting, I know how well these two can work together with Newman leading the action and Redford bouncing off of him as his sidekick. And the pair's relationship is obvious right from the start. Cassidy's crew have mutinied against him with Harvey Logan (Ted Cassidy) taking control. Logan challenges Cassidy to a duel but Cassidy fights dirty and quickly wins. All the while, Sundance never doubts his partner.

The two of them are so damn charming that their victims enjoy being robbed by them. Despite how the train guard on the Union Pacific Overland Flyer is so honoured to be robbed by the pair, but has to remain loyal to his company. For his loyalty, he is rewarded with a face full of dynamite. Later on, E.H Harriman, the owner of the Union Pacific, sends a posse of expert trackers and bounty hunters after our heroes. They are cornered to a cliff where Cassidy convinces Sundance to jump into the river below despite Sundance admitting he can't swim.

Having plunged into the waters below, Sundance desperately clings onto Cassidy to try and stay afloat. Their ensuing conversation was funny to hear, but this brings me onto my first issue witht he film. And it's how the E.H Harriman storyline doesn't go anywhere. At first, it's very intense to see our heroes be hunted across rock and sand by a ruthless posse and an expert Indian tracker, but this rising action doesn't culminate in any big climax.

Cassidy and Sundance escape and that's that. I thought that we would be in for a big dramatic gunfight between our heroes and the posse, but it wasn't to be. This tension culminated in a fizzle rather than a bang. Rather, we get our climax with the two hiding in Bolivia. Having tried and failed to go straight, Sundance and Cassidy return to robbing banks, despite their complete lack of Spanish, which leads to the film's funniest scene.

But they soon attract the attention of the Bolivian police and army who pin down our heroes with no means of escape. Again, I expected Harriman to appear, but again I was disappointed. Another thing I didn't like was the use of montage as a pure exposition device to showcase the hero's journey from America to Bolivia. It felt very rushed and I think this could have been explored more.

Lastly, I just want to praise Karathine Ross as Cassidy's love interest - Etta Place. Ross really helped to provide the film some heart. She begrudingly agrees to go to Bolivia with the pair on the one condition that she doesn't watch them die.

And this emotional subplot helped to balance out the comedy, drama and action. All of these elements blended together to make a vastly enjoyable film with great performances from its lead actors.