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The biographical movie Nixon (1995) was directed by Oliver Stone. It tells the story of the political and personal life of former U.S. President Richard Nixon, one of the most infamous Presidents in US history. The movie narrates the Watergate Scandal that led to Nixon’s downfall, his role in the Vietnam War and in American political life in the 1960s and early 1970s. The motion picture had an all-star cast and it included Anthony Hopkins, who played Nixon and Joan Allen who played his wife, Pat. Numerous other prominent actors had roles in the movie and these included Powers Boothe. James Woods, Paul Sorvino, Bob Hoskins and Larry Hagman. The film was poorly received by the public and was a box office flop and it lost the producers a great sum of money. However, the movie was critically well-received and it was nominated for several Oscars including one for Anthony Hopkins and Joan Allen. The movie begins just as the Watergate Scandal was about to emerge. It opens when some of the infamous ‘plumbers’ were arrested at the Watergate Hotel in 1972. Then the film progresses to 1973 and the breaking of the scandal. Much of the film is centered around the reminiscences of Nixon, during a conversation. The film is narrated in flashbacks. Stone’s movies have always been controversial and Nixon was especially controversial. Even after his death, Richard Nixon remained a very divisive figure. Conservatives still admired the man and his achievements, while liberals despised him. The Nixon Family were horrified by the portrayal of President Nixon and his wife, ‘they called the motion picture as ‘reprehensible’. This article discusses how accurate was Stone’s portrayal of Nixon the man and the President and his family. Did Stone distort the truth in his effort to make a statement about American politics and history or is the movie a genuine and reliable representation of what occurred during the most controversial Presidency in modern American History?
[[File: Nixonmovieposter.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The poster for the movie ‘Nixon’]]