Nixon
- R
- Year:
- 1995
- 192 min
- 678 Views
A PROLOGUE APPEARS on a black screen:
"This film is an attempt to understand the truth of Richard
Nixon, thirty-seventh president of the United States. It
is based on numerous public sources and on an incomplete
historical record.
In consideration of length, events and characters have been
condensed, and some scenes among protagonists have been
conjectured."
On a portable screen we read the famous words from Matthew:
"What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?" This FADES into:
A BLACK AND WHITE 16-mm sales training FILM. At the
moment, the sales manager, BOB, is chatting with EARL, a
rookie salesman.
BOB:
Sure you've got a great product, Earl.
But you have to remember what you're
really selling.
(then)
Yourself.
INT. WATERGATE HOTEL - CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT
Seven men in shirts and ties are seated around a table in a
darkened room. They are smoking Cuban cigars, idly
watching the film.
TITLE:
"JUNE 17, 1972." Then: "THE WATERGATE HOTEL"A BUSBOY yawns as he clears away the remains of dinner. A
WAITER starts pouring Margaritas from a pitcher.
A balding man in his early fifties tosses a five onto the
table. He is HOWARD HUNT.
HUNT:
Just leave it.
The waiter puts down the pitcher, picks up the five, and
follows the busboy out of the room.
The moment the door closes behind them, GORDON LIDDY is on
his feet, locking the door. OTHER MEN are visible, putting
on jackets, securing technical equipment from briefcases
and bags. They are: FRANK STURGIS, BERNARD BARKER, EUGENIO
MARTINEZ, VIRGILIO GONZALES, and JAMES MCCORD.
LIDDY:
(checks his watch)
Zero-one-twenty-one. Mark.
Sturgis rolls his eyes, drains his Margarita. Liddy pulls
a wad of cash from his pocket, starts passing out hundred
dollar bills to his men.
LIDDY (CONT'D)
Just in case you need to buy a cop.
But don't spend it all in one place.
We're going to do McGovern's office
later tonight.
McCord shakes his head.
LIDDY (CONT'D)
Orders from the White House, partner.
Liddy bypasses Hunt, who is browsing a folded Spanish
language paper.
LIDDY (CONT'D)
Howard ... What the hell? What're you
doing?
HUNT:
Dogs ... Season starts tomorrow.
(off Liddy's look)
It keeps me calm. I don't like going
back into the same building four
times.
Liddy mutters something didactic in German.
HUNT (CONT'D)
Mein Kampf?
LIDDY:
(translates into English)
"A warrior with nerves of steel is yet
broken by a thread of silk."
Nietzsche.
HUNT:
Personally I'd prefer a greyhound with
a shot of speed.
LIDDY:
(to all)
Remember -- listen up! Fire team
discipline is there at all times.
Keep your radios on at all times
during the entire penetration. Check
yourselves. Phony ID's, no wallets,
no keys. We rendezvous where? The
Watergate, Room 214. When? At zero
three-hundred.
STURGIS:
Yawohl, mein fartenfuhrer.
LIDDY:
(narrowing, waving his gun)
Don't start with me, Frank, I'll make
you a new a**hole.
HUNT:
(rising past them)
Let's get the f*** out of here, shall
we, ladies?
LIDDY:
Anything goes wrong, head for your
homes, just sit tight -- you'll hear
from me or Howard.
HUNT:
(aside)
Personally, I'll be calling the
President of the United States.
A nervous chuckle as Hunt follows Liddy out the main door.
The rest exit through the door behind the screen.
The FILM is ending. Bob puts a hand on Earl's shoulder.
BOB:
And remember, Earl: Always look 'em in
the eye.
(to the camera)
Nothing sells like sincerity.
A BLACK SCREEN as the film rattles out, followed by a RADIO
REPORT over the darkened room, the sounds of doors closing.
RADIO REPORT (V.O.)
Five men wearing surgical gloves and
business suits, and carrying cameras
and electronic surveillance equipment,
headquarters of the Democratic
National Committee in Washington.
They were unarmed.
Nobody knows yet why they were there
or what they were looking for...
FADE IN TO:
EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE - NIGHT (1973)
TITLES RUN - A raw November night. We are looking through
the black iron bars of the fence towards the facade of the
Executive Mansion. A LIGHT is on in a second floor room.
We move towards it through the bars, across the lawn. Dead
leaves blow past. A SUBTITLE READS: "NOVEMBER 1973"
A black LIMOUSINE slides up to the White House West Wing.
An armed GUARD with a black DOBERMAN approaches.
The window opens slightly. The Guard peers in. Then, he
opens the door.
GUARD:
Good evening, General Haig.
GENERAL ALEXANDER HAIG gets out, walks up the steps. He
carries a manila envelope. As he enters the White House,
we hear an AUDIO MONTAGE of NEWS REPORTERS from the
previous year. The VOICES fade in and out, overlap.
REPORTERS (V.O.)
Judge John Sirica today sentenced the
Watergate burglars to terms ranging
from up to forty years ... The White
House continues to deny any
involvement ...
INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - VESTIBULE - NIGHT
HAIG enters, starts up the stairs. The mansion is dark,
silent. Like a tomb.
REPORTERS (V.O.)
Presidential counsel John Dean
testified before the Senate Watergate
Committee that the scandal reaches to
MOVING:
A low-angle shot of Haig's spit-shined shoes movingdown the long corridor of the second floor of the
Residence.
REPORTERS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Presidential aides Haldeman and
Ehrlichman were ordered to resign
today ... In a stunning announcement,
White House aid Alexander Butterfield
revealed the existence of a secret
taping system ...
CLOSE:
on the manila envelope in Haig's hand.REPORTERS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
The President has fired the Watergate
Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox,
provoking the gravest constitutional
crisis in American history ...
Haig stops at the door, quietly knocks. No answer.
REPORTERS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Judge Sirica has ordered the President
to turn over his tapes ...
Haig opens the door.
INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - LINCOLN SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
The room is small, austere, dominated by a portrait of
LINCOLN over the fireplace. HAIG stands in the doorway,
holding the envelope.
HAIG:
These are the tapes you requested, Mr.
President.
RICHARD NIXON is in shadow, silhouetted by the fire in the
hearth. The air-conditioning is going full blast.
Haig crosses the room, opens the envelope, takes out a reel
of tape.
Nixon sits in a small armchair in a corner. A Uher tape
recorder and a headset are on an end table at his elbow.
Next to it is a large tumbler of Scotch.
Haig hands the envelope containing the tapes to Nixon.
NIXON:
This is June twentieth?
HAIG:
It's marked. Also there's June twenty
third. And this year -- March twenty
first. Those are the ones ...
Nixon squints at the label in the firelight.
HAIG (CONT'D)
... the lawyers feel ... will be the
basis of the ... proceedings.
Nixon tries to thread the tape.
NIXON:
Nixon's never been any good with these
things.
He drops the tape on the floor.
NIXON (CONT'D)
Cocksucker!
Haig picks up the tape. Then he steps to the table,
reaches for the lamp.
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