Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-05-18
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It’s not always that a stage play translates particularly well to the medium of movies. But for anyone considering such a challenge in the future, Frost/Nixon is surely a fine template to follow. In the capable hands of director Ron Howard, the extraordinary story of how a then-fairly low profile television interviewer managed to bring the disgraced former President of the United States to account is, at best, absolutely riveting.

Much of the reason for this is the two leading performances, which are both absolutely exception. The awards attention for Frost/Nixon has been directed towards Frank Langella, and truly he’s an actor long overdue some recognition. Here, as ex-President Nixon, he’s flat-out brilliant: a complex, intriguing character portrayed with real measure and expertise. It’s unfair, though, that Michael Sheen has been overlooked by some. Fresh from portraying Tony Blair in The Queen, Sheen is once more brilliant here, injecting Frost with an erratic, on-the-edge fallibility that sets up the film’s final act extremely well.

Now you can argue, with some right, that Frost/Nixon flattens out some of the facts to its own liking, and certainly the portrayal of David Frost doesn’t seem to do the man too many favours. But when it gets to the interviews themselves, it’s electric, and proof that you don’t need a bunch of effects and flashy gimmicks to keep you on the edge of your seat. Ron Howard has done this to us before with a true story, in the shape of Apollo 13, and here again, even though we know the ending, the journey there is quite brilliant. You really can make compelling drama with just two people sat in a chair… --Simon Brew

Michael Sheen stars as journalist David Frost	Kevin Bacon stars as Richard Nixon's aide Jack Brennan	Michael Sheen and Rebecca Hall
Frank Langella works with director Ron Howard	A scene in which David Frost visits Richard Nixon’s home	The superb supporting cast including Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt and Matthew Macfadyen

DVD Description
Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings to the screen writer Peter Morgan's (The Queen, Last King of Scotland) electrifying battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make, in the untold story of the historic encounter that changed both: Frost/Nixon. Reprising their roles from Morgan's stageplay are Frank Langella, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Nixon, and Michael Sheen, who originally played the part of Frost onstage in London and New York.

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit down for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans.

Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss' ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted. Would Nixon evade questions of his role in one of the nation's greatest disgraces? Or would Forst confound critics and bravely demand accountability from the man who had built a career out of stonewalling? Over the course of their encounter, each man would reveal his own insecurities, ego and reserves of dignity--ultimately setting aside posturing in a stunning display of unvarnished truth.

Synopsis
The power of television and one man's drive to achieve what seems like, at times, an impossible dream, are the two central themes explored in Ron Howard's enthralling drama FROST/NIXON. The impossible dream belongs to David Frost (Michael Sheen), a moderately successful English talk show host who sets out to interview disgraced former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) following his resignation in 1974. Howard examines how Frost pulled off such an audacious achievement, and also looks at how both sides prepared for the series of interviews, which eventually transpired in 1977. The confrontation between the two is laced with tension, and the director makes it clear that both men had plenty to lose and a lot to gain, depending on who the public perceived to be in control.


Langella gives a supreme performance as Nixon, easily matching Anthony Hopkins's turn as the former president in Oliver Stone's NIXON (1995). Howard's film, which is based on the play of the same name by Peter Morgan, expertly pits the two men against one another by highlighting both their strengths and weaknesses. Frost was a consummate TV host but was out of his depth in political commentary; Nixon was highly adept at avoiding direct answers to Frost's questions, but couldn't mask his sullen facial expressions from the camera. Sheen and Langella are supported by a resolutely excellent cast, and the tension builds to almost unbearable levels as the two finally sit down and discuss Nixon's career. The key scene, in which Nixon's true feelings are exposed via a simple trick--a close-up shot of the former president's sad-eyed face, clearly indicating his deep unhappiness at all his failings--is adeptly handled by Howard, and serves to highlight how vital it is for politicians to perform under the unforgiving gaze of the media.

Customer Reviews

Langella and Sheen shine in this compelling drama
There will be no surprises in terms of the content here. Anyone could find out about the interviews which form the basis of this film, this is not a film of startling revelations about one of America's most controversial presidents, nor a film with a particularly intriguing story about how the famous Frost/Nixon interviews came to be yet it remains from start to finish utterly compelling.

That it does this is due to three things. First, slick direction and pacing from a director from whom one would expect a quality product. As a director, Howard has evolved into a reliable and solid director with excellent shot choices and camerawork. Secondly, brilliant performances from Michael Sheen and Frank Langella. Sheen once again "becomes" his character rather than simply impersonating him. Like he did with Tony Blair and Brian Clough, Sheen is still recognisably Sheen yet he is also so much like David Frost it's uncanny at times. As for Langella, quite simply a career defining performance, he is simply astounding as the ex-president. He manages to squeeze out an element of sympathy for Nixon who is corrupt, quick witted, shrewd and yet somewhat misguided. His belief that as President he was above the law is dreadful and quite rightly he fell from grace but Langella's performance suggests that it was as much the fault of those surrounding him as it was Nixon himself. It is hard to imagine that this was in fact actually the case and Nixon the Man has done little to inspire sympathy in real life but Langella's Nixon simply can't seem to see that what he did was wrong:- and that at the very least he acted according to his conscience and this is why the film succeeds for me. If it was simply a Nixon-bashing exercise, it would lose much of the tension. The two principles are supported by some excellent performances, most notably from Sam Rockwell and the ever-reliable Kevin Bacon.

The third feature which makes this film essential viewing is the exploration of the damage that Nixon and his successor Ford by his pardoning of Nixon did to the Office of the US President and the implication that one or two of the more recent incumbents of that Office have once again flown close to the flames of scandal and cover-up!

Who lives in a house like this?
Frost/Nixon could have been a bit on the 'worthy but dull' tip, but it's not: it's a gripping and magnetically watchable piece of cinema, and perhaps director Ron Howard's finest film to date. (Even better than The Grinch)

The casting is nigh-on perfect.

Michael Sheen - as David Frost - brilliant performance here. Frost is shown as an almost pathological optimist, all television teeth and hair, but with real intelligence and ambition behind the sheen, sorry for the pun there, it was a genuine accident.

Nixon - Frank Langella. Another eye poppingly good piece of acting from Langella - showing Nixon as a very smart operator indeed, with a knack for unsettling the interviewer. Most memorably when he asks Frost before the cameras roll what Frost had been up to the previous evening, "Were you fornicating?", he asks, while Frost can only answer by looking like his face is about to burst.

Supporting cast are all excellent too. Kevin Bacon as Nixon's ultra-loyal right-hand man is excellent, as is Matthew MacFadyen doing a slightly comical John Birt, and also Rebecca Hall as Frost's parabolic girlfriend.

Frost/Nixon is engrossing and detailed stuff that moves along at just the right pace to an electrifying showdown between Frost and the former president.

Well worth a look even if all you previously knew about the people involved was that David Frost presented Through The Keyhole, and that Nixon was a bit of an unsavoury character.

Solid 5 star stuff.

Through The Nixon Keyhole
This film clearly isn't everyone's cup of tea: no sex scenes, no gross-out belly laughs, no CGI action and no romance. But if you're looking for a very well written and performed period piece, you're gonna be happy as a pig in shite. Frank Langella is phenomenal as Nixon, giving one of the most subtle performances of the last decade in my opinion. His Nixon is devious, witty, pompous and strangely moving. Michael Sheen also impresses as Frost, but the towering Langella is all over him like a new suit. Kevin Bacon and Oliver Platt give good support, but Rebecca Hall is (as usual) a waste of space as the pointless love interest. If anyone has any idea why this dull, soulless actress gets so many roles, please enlighten me! Aside from that and a slightly flabby middle section, it's well worth seeing. However, I can't help thinking it would've been even more enjoyable with a Loyd Grossman cameo.