On May 28, 1972, five men broke into the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., and bungled things so badly that they were arrested before they could even take anything. American politics has never been the same since. What seemed like a routine break-in was actually the tip of a mammoth political iceberg, which ran from the intelligence operatives to members of the White House staff and finally to President Nixon himself, a man whose mission to find dirt on his opponents led to his ultimate and extremely public downfall. This four-hour-plus Discovery Channel retrospective (produced in 1994) is, bar none, the most comprehensive, intelligent, and exhaustive documentary you could ever find on the subject. Going far beyond a basic rehashing of the events, Watergate takes the viewer painstakingly through the entire scandal, from break-in to resignation. Narrated by NPR bigwig Daniel Schorr, the documentary utilizes video footage, newspaper coverage, those infamous White House tapes, and most impressively, interviews with all the living participants in the Watergate scandal (with the exception of Henry Kissinger), some reading from their own notes. It's amazing to hear the details of America's biggest political debacle straight from the horses' mouths--Haldeman, Erlichman, Liddy, John Dean, even Nixon himself via his 1977 interview with David Frost. If anything gets short shrift, it's the award-winning muckraking adventures of two reporters named Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (for that, check out the first-rate adaptation of All the President's Men). Still, this is a clear-eyed portrait of Watergate from the inside, as never seen before, and covers this fascinating chapter of American history better than anything before it, and most likely anything to come. --Mark Englehart
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Outstanding Comment: Like most of the other reviewers, I found this to be an outstanding documentary. The set is divided into 5 parts: Break-In, Cover-Up, Scapegoat, Massacre, and Impeachment. I found the entire set compelling. You actually get to see the German Shepherds (Haldeman & Erlichman), along with the likes of Charles Colson, Jeb Stuart MaGruder, and Fred LaRue admit to what was going on in the White House. Haldeman was particularly forthright just months before he died.
I would also recommend the companion book to this set by Fred Emery. The book goes into even more depth than the video, which is again very interesting during the interview segments with some of Nixon's men. A lot has been written about Watergate, and some of it begs the question of authenticity. It is hard to argue, however; when Haldeman's beloved wife tells Emery that her husband deserved to go to jail. Customer Rating: Summary: No, Englehart is right. Comment: There were two break-ins. The first was on May 28. They got caught on June 17. Customer Rating: Summary: Englehart has it wrong! Comment: The break in took place on June 17, 1972, not May 28. Customer Rating: Summary: Agreed! One of the finest documentaries I've ever seen. Comment: I have the tapes but am itching for a DVD release. This production, without question, is one of the finest pieces of documentary filmmaking. Not a dull rehash of familiar events but a film that is as relevant and compelling as anything that the best Hollywood yabos could ever cook up. Get the DVD out!!!! Customer Rating: Summary: One of the best documentaries ever made Comment: This is a demonstration of how a documentary should be made. It moves through the series of events that became known as Watergate that led to the fall of President Nixon with hardly a wasted moment or word. I was a young adult when the events took place and followed them with great interest. Watching this tape brought back many memories, but the most striking were the clips of the news commentators of that era reporting the news. You can hear the incredulous tone in their voices as they describe events such as the Saturday night massacre. The tape was made while H. R. Haldeman was still alive and he speaks extensively, as do all the other principles, with the exception of Nixon himself. All footage of Nixon is either news film or excerpts of when he was interviewed by David Frost. It seems fitting that of all the primary characters, only Nixon and G. Gordon Liddy show little or no remorse. Neither seems to have learned anything from their disgrace. To me, the most incredible aspect of Watergate was the utterly pointless reasons for it. Everyone knew that Nixon would be re-elected in a landslide no matter what Democrat opposed him. Nothing that they could have possibly learned from their bugs would have given the Nixon campaign any additional benefit that they did not already have. As the tape begins and the initial events are replayed, you cannot help but ask what they were really thinking. In my opinion, it really shows the depth of Nixon's paranoia, as well as what can happen when the aides to a person in power fail to restrain his wildest whims. The most frightening thing about the Nixon presidency is not the man himself, but the incredibly low quality of his subordinates. When the burglars are being interviewed and they describe what they did, you cannot help but fear for the country if this is the quality of people who are hired by the chief executive. The head of the break-in team was Howard Hunt, who was a CIA point man in organizing the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. He comes across as so pathetic that you wonder how he could ever have inspired men to go into combat. Even more amazing is that the bugging of the Democratic headquarters was not anywhere near the wildest scheme that they concocted. Despite all he tried to do and get away with, Richard Nixon was ultimately taken down by the strength of the American political, social and judicial systems. Had it been almost any other country, he would have been a dictator rather than a disgrace. When watching the tape, I was both disgusted at the events and yet proud of how the system worked exactly as it was designed. Madison, Washington, Jefferson, Adams and all those who framed the constitution were no doubt smiling when Nixon boarded the presidential helicopter for the last time. It has now been almost thirty years since the events known as Watergate took place. An entire generation has grown up with no personal knowledge of these events that strained the constitution. No one can be considered educated in American history without knowing about Watergate and this tape will solve that problem. No one should ever get a high school diploma in the United States without first seeing this tape.
