Frost/Nixon - opinions? (spoilers)

[NewJeffCT]

I saw the movie on the flight back from Italy the other day. I thought it was very good and the two leads - Frank Langella & Michael Sheen - were excellent in their roles. Langella really nailed it when he realized what he had revealed in that last interview - that worn/beaten look. And, Sheen did a good job with Frost as well.

Being on the plane, they bleeped out the foul language.

I know the movie is based on the actual interview, but how much is actual history and how much is historical fiction: Did Nixon really make a drunken phone call to David Frost the night before the final interview session? Did James Reston really find that previously unfound information on Nixon's meeting with Colson?

[Paladin]

1. I Thougtht It Was Outstanding

As it happens, I saw it on a flight back from France---and the foul language (what there is of it) was left in.

Langella is a force of nature. Highly recommended.......

[NewJeffCT]

3. Interesting

Wasn't Nixon known for his foul mouth?

And, our flight was on Delta, so maybe it was a Delta policy? Or, maybe because Italians are more culturally conservative than the French?

[Paladin]

4. The White House Tapes Revealed Nixon's Filthy Language

And if memory serves me, he was also known for the rambling, drunken phone calls in the night. Whatever, it's a first-rate flick......

[Symarip]

2. My favorite film from the Oscar season

Granted, I didn't get to see all the movies. I thought it was riveting. Langella killed it as Nixon. Apparently Mr. Frost had a huge hand in the production of the movie. How 'real' is it? I'm sure that's subjective.

Is it out on DVD yet? I need to look that up.

Glad you liked the movie.

[Redstone]

5. I watched the original - why would I want to see it in a movie?

Redstone

[NewJeffCT]

6. True, but the movie was about a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff

Frost and his struggles to get the interview aired, which was questionable up until the end.

Nice to see you posting again. How are you?

[Redstone]

7. Aha. Thanks for the info. And I'm actuallly not doing too bad lately, thanks for asking.

Redstone

[Blue_Tires]

8. loved it...hate that it got overlooked by oscar

but then again, in recent years i'm having more and trouble understanding their logic in selecting the winners....

[UTUSN]

9. Underwhelmed, here. I think the core problem is that TrickyD is PATHETIC, not TRAGIC

And, perhaps the movie makers were going for more subtlety than I can handle, but the examples you cite (the phone call, the discovery of the info) sound much more dramatic than they came across in the movie. Plus, that Michael SHEEN dude, he of "Tony BLAIR" in The Queen, seems to infuse his characters with his own wimpiness. I realize the object was to draw the chasm of a lone personality jousting with somebody who was once the nuclear button dude, but the real FROST ain't exactly wimpy, and this is reminded of when the Michael actor is supposed to be cutting a Swinger swath with a Hollywood girlfriend. Sorry.

Watching the portrayal of the (whassername, GMA wife of Mike NICHOLS) was oddly different. Her new incarnation of being the NICE one NOW made the movie character's silent, robot wingnut stick out (as opposed to "stand" out).