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Our Nixon

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Our Nixon
Theatrical release poster.
Directed byPenny Lane
Produced byBrian L. Frye
Penny Lane
StarringRichard Nixon
H.R. Haldeman
John Ehrlichman
Dwight Chapin
Henry Kissinger
Ron Ziegler
Larry Higby
CinematographyH.R. Haldeman,John Ehrlichman,Dwight Chapin
Edited byFrancisco Bello
Music byHrishikesh Hirway
Production
company
Dipper Films
Distributed byCNN FilmsandCinedigm
Release dates
  • March 9, 2013(2013-03-09)(SXSW Festival)
  • August 1, 2013(2013-08-01)(CNN Television)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Our Nixonis an all-archivaldocumentaryproviding a view of theNixon presidencythrough the use of Super-8 formathome moviesfilmed by top Nixon aides H.R. Haldeman, Dwight Chapin and John Ehrlichman, combined with other historical material such as interviews, oral histories and news clips. It was directed byPenny Lane.[1]

Background

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Throughout theRichard Nixonpresidency (1969–1974) three of his top White House aides—chief of staffH. R. Haldeman,domestic affairs adviserJohn Ehrlichman,and special assistantDwight Chapin—extensively documented their experiences withSuper 8home movie cameras, creating a visual record of over 500 reels. These films were seized by theFBIduring theWatergateinvestigation, then filed away for almost 40 years.Our Nixonis an all-archival documentary presenting these home movies together with other material, including excerpts from the secretly recordedNixon White House tapes,contemporary news reports, and later interviews with the three staffers.

Release

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Penny Lane and Francisco Bello at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2013 to promoteOur Nixon

Our Nixonappeared at the 42ndInternational Film Festival Rotterdam.[2]The film has subsequently screened at notable film festivals, including, among others, AFI DOCS in Washington, DC, theLos Angeles Film Festival,[3]the 39th AnnualSeattle International Film Festival,whereOur Nixonwon the 2013 Grand Jury award for Best Documentary Film,[4]the 51stAnn Arbor Film Festival,where it won the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival,[5]the 11th AnnualIndependent Film Festival of Boston,where it won the Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing,[6]the 19th AnnualNantucket Film Festival,where it won the Adrienne Shelly Award for Excellence in Filmmaking,[7]and the 9th AnnualTraverse City Film Festival,where it won the Founders Prize for Best Documentary.[8]

Our Nixonwas also chosen as the closing night film for theFilm Society of Lincoln CenterandMuseum of Modern ArtNew Directors/New Films FestivalinNew York City.[9][10]

Our Nixonmade its United States television premiere onCNNon August 1, 2013, and was released theatrically byCinedigmon August 30, 2013.[11][12]

Reception

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The film received positive reviews from critics. Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critics' consensus reads: "Our Nixonoffers a privileged personal perspective on a White House soon to be derailed by scandal, giving viewers an intimate look at the people behind the political legend. "[13]OnMetacritic,the film holds an aggregated score of 72 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Stanley KauffmannofThe New Republicwrote that "[Penny Lane] states that the film was produced entirely from previously extant material, which makes it especially interesting ", and concluded:" So we have here a capably done account of a presidential career that was wrecked by a crime that was unnecessary. "[15]John Hartl, writing forThe Seattle Times,gave the film a score of 3 stars out of 4, and said that "The result is maudlin beyond belief, especially Nixon’s farewell to the aides he’s in the process of firing, but other moments simply register as shockingly out of touch."[16]

Matt Zoller SeitzofRogerEbertgave the film a score of 3 stars out of 4, writing that the film "often plays like a mortifying companion to the Nixon-period sitcom"The Wonder Years"",and said that the film's best quality was "its willingness to paint its key players as people, not villains or types. Rather than excuse or soft-pedal their bad deeds, this approach makes them seem more comprehensible and real—like people we might know, but with power." He concluded that the film "charts changing times and generational attitudes simply by showing us particular moments."[17]

David Hinckley, writing for theNew York Daily News,was more critical in his review of the film, writing: "For a while, it looks like" Our Nixon "will give us a different perspective on one of the most documented men in modern history, the late President Richard M. Nixon. Right around the time it hits Watergate, though, it falls onto a familiar path, concluding he planted the seeds of his presidency's own doom. We sort of knew that."[18]Peter Howell of theToronto Starwrote: "Our Nixonshows that while the stooges were good at scheming (up until Watergate, at least) they sucked as filmmakers. "[19]

References

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  1. ^"'Our Nixon' Director Penny Lane on Kickstarter's Early Days and Doc Trends She Hates | Tribeca ".RetrievedAugust 28,2016.
  2. ^Harris, Brandon,In Rotterdam, a Strong Crop of American IndiesFilmmaker Magazine (Jan. 30, 2013).
  3. ^"Our Nixon".L. A. Film Fest.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  4. ^"Festival Award Winners".SIFF.Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  5. ^McKee, Jenn (March 25, 2013)."Ann Arbor Film Festival announces 2013 award winners".The Ann Arbor News.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  6. ^Mark, Bell (May 1, 2013)."2013 INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS".Film Threat.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  7. ^"Awards".Nantucket Film Festival.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  8. ^"Traverse City Film Festival 2013 Awards!".Traverse City Film Festival.August 4, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 19,2014.
  9. ^Discover: Penny Lane Connects the Dots Into a Tender “Our Nixon”Brian Brooks, Film Society of Lincoln Center Blog (Mar 27, 2013).
  10. ^Nixon documentary focuses on the other secret White House tapes: Home moviesHolly Bailly, Yahoo! News (Mar. 27, 2013).
  11. ^CNN Films and Cinedigm Acquire 'Our Nixon' For a Theatrical Release and TV BroadcastIndieWire (Jul. 2, 2013),CNN Films acquires SXSW docOur Nixonto air on the network in AugustLos Angeles Times(Apr. 24, 2013)
  12. ^Exclusive:Our NixonTrailerTIME Entertainment (Jul. 15, 2013).
  13. ^"Our Nixon (2013)".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedJuly 18,2021.
  14. ^"Our Nixon Reviews".Metacritic.RetrievedJuly 18,2021.
  15. ^Kauffmann, Stanley(August 2, 2013)."Real life, revisited".The New Republic.ISSN0028-6583.RetrievedJuly 17,2021.
  16. ^Hartl, John (September 26, 2013)."'Our Nixon': The Watergate years on candid camera ".The Seattle Times.RetrievedJuly 18,2021.
  17. ^Seitz, Matt Zoller(August 30, 2013)."Our Nixon movie review & film summary (2013) | Roger Ebert".RogerEbert.RetrievedJuly 17,2021.
  18. ^Hinckley, David (August 1, 2013)."'Our Nixon': TV review ".New York Daily News.RetrievedJuly 18,2021.
  19. ^Howell, Peter (August 29, 2013)."Tricky Dick's dull home movies: Our Nixon review".The Toronto Star.ISSN0319-0781.RetrievedFebruary 15,2022.
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