History Film / Nixon

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Nixon knows that people love Kennedy and hate him. What he truly doesn't gasp is ''why''

* BlackEyesOfEvil: Thanks to a trick of the light during filming or special effects, depending on who you believe, in a deleted scene where Nixon meets C.I.A Director Dick Helms, Helms' eyes at one point go completely black as Nixon is talking about evil -- specifically, the evil that the system that he and Helms represent has unleashed on the world. While Helms wasn't exactly a ''nice'' man, his estate perhaps not surprisingly objected to the implication that he was some kind of demon, and the scene was removed from the theatrical release (the director's cut restored it).

1995 biopic of the [[RichardNixon thirty-seventh President of the United States]], directed by OliverStone and starring AnthonyHopkins as RichardNixon. The film explores Nixon and his triumphs and his failings, culminating in his resignation of the office of the presidency in disgrace following the revelation of his abuse of office and executive privilege following the Watergate scandal.

** Also, [[SilenceOfTheLambs consider what Anthony Hopkins' most famous role is...]]

* AsTheGoodBookSays: The movie opens with Matthew 16:26 -- "For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

--> '''Kissinger''': "Can you imagine what he could have done if he had ever been loved?''"

*** Nixon's also claims the way was cleared for him by "four bodies", implied to be JFK, RFK and Nixon's two brothers who died of [[IncurableCoughOfDeath tuberculosis]] (if they had lived his family would never have had enough money to send Richard to law school and he never would have been a politician).

* WhoShotJFK: An undercurrent of the story. A central theme is Nixon's paranoia over "the whole Bay of Pigs thing" coming out again -- with "Bay of Pigs" heavily implied and speculated to be code about some knowledge or responsibility, real or imagined, Nixon believed he had about who ''actually'' killed Kennedy. In his tense meeting with the shadowy Texas businessmen and Cuban exiles in 1963 (the day ''before'' Kennedy arrived, let us noted), it's hinted that they have something to do with it.

*** Nixon's also claims the way was cleared for him by "three bodies", implied to be JFK, MLK and RFK.
*** Incorrect. Nixon says "four bodies" to his aid Bob Haldeman who thinks he misspoke and meant two (JFK and RFK). Nixon repeats "four", referring via flashback to his two dead brothers - if they had lived his family would never have had enough money to send Richard to law school and he never would have been a politician.

-->'''John Ehrlichman:''' ''[[FreudianExcuse You got people dying because he didn't make the varsity football team]]. You got the Constitution hanging by a thread because the old man'' [[ICouldaBeenAContender went to Whittier instead of Yale]].
--> '''Kissinger''': "Can you imagine what he could have done if he had ever been loved?''"

--> '''Manolo Sanchez:''' [shrugs] ''He was a politican.''

** Although Jack McCoy has had his low moments.

*** Incorrect. Nixon says "four bodies" to his aid Bob Haldeman who thinks he mispoke and meant two (JFK and RFK). Nixon repeats "four", referring via flashback to his two dead brothers - if they had lived his family would never have had enough money to send Richard to law school and he never would have been a politician.

It was the first movie Stone made following ''JFK'', and like the earlier film -- an angry, searing and rabble-rousing examination of the [[WhoShotJFK assassination of]] JohnFKennedy -- it drew a lot of controversy... but not necessarily for the reasons you'd expect. Unlike the earlier film, which was [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory heavily presented as fact]], this movie admits from the start it's based on 'an incomplete historical record' and is intended as less a hatchet job and more an attempt to understand who Nixon was and why he was compelled to act the way he did. As such, it earned critics from both sides; while supporters of Nixon (including his daughters) disowned it as inaccurate (in particular, it was argued that the depiction of Nixon and his wife's alcoholism and pill addiction was grossly exaggerated), some critics of Nixon argued that it wasn't harsh ''enough'' on the former president in that, while hardly downplaying his faults, it suggested that there was the potential (and even the realization) of greatness in the man.

--> '''Richard M. Nixon:''' ''[Firmly] No. No, I'm not powerless. Because, because I understand the system, I believe I can, uh, I can control it. Maybe not control it totally, but tame it enough to make it do some good.''

--> '''Young Student:''' ''Sounds like you're talking about a wild animal.''
* FreudianExcuse / ICouldaBeenAContender: Exaggerated by Nixon. He is the leader of the most powerful country in the world. Even so, that is little compared to his younghood's dreams. He is full of bitterness:

--> '''Richard M. Nixon:''' ''[[DumbassHasAPoint Yeah, maybe I am.]]''

'''Richard M. Nixon:''' ''Always remember: others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.''

* ThisLoserIsYou:
--> '''Richard Nixon:''' ''"[To a portrait of Kennedy] [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe When they look at you, they see what they want to be]]. [[TakeThatAudience When they look at me, they see what they are]]."''

--> '''Richard Nixon:''' ''"[To a portrait of Kennedy] [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe When they look at you, they see what they want to be]]. When they look at me, they see what they are."''