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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Richard M. Nixon (Philip Baker
Hall):
You see, Your Honor, I know that the whole story could never be
told during my lifetime, because the nation could not have stood
the whole story.
A fictionalized former President
Richard M. Nixon offers a solitary, stream-of-consciousness reflection
on his life and political career - and the "true" reasons
for the Watergate scandal and his resignation.
 A
director unwilling to compromise in any way, Robert Altman was
hardly able to get any pictures made throughout the 1980s, the
massive success of most of his 1970s work notwithstanding. Finding
himself out of favor with the studios, the maverick director instead
taught film classes in this period, while directing the occasional
theatrical adaptation once every few years. Most of these low-budget
pictures were confined to a single set, but none were as boldly
stripped-down as one-man play Secret Honor, in which then-unknown
actor Philip Baker Hall ranted and raved for 90 minutes as a psychotic,
increasingly incoherent Richard Nixon intent on spewing his gall
in what seems like a single sentence.
Any film dedicated to a single actor's performance as a notorious
former president can be little else than an actor's tour de force,
but Altman does a standout job of guiding the viewer's attention
through an unusually demanding piece. More a critical investigation
of Nixon than a parody, there is still little for the viewer to
identify with in this paranoid, incessantly profane little man
who curses those who caused his downfall while clearly despising
himself above all. Compared to Anthony Hopkins' performance in
Oliver Stone's better-known biographical film, Hall's performance
is less accessible and less sympathetic, but no less fascinating
and certainly no less skillful. |
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Available on DVD only from the
Criterion Collection in a region-free release.
Shot on 16mm stock as part
of a course Altman was then teaching as a film professor,
the fullscreen image is framed at its original fullscreen
aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. Due to the nature of the
film stock and the low-budget shooting conditions, film grain
is abundant throughout, as are various forms of background
artefacts. Fortunately, the print is otherwise in mint condition,
but the limitations of the source material make it no better
than a mediocre transfer.
The original mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital
1.0, and although fidelity is limited, the monologue is intelligible
nearly all of the time.
 With
a film that is both relatively obscure and that also raises
quite a few questions, it is gratifying to find that the
Criterion Collection has included a wealth of extras that
shed light on numerous aspects of the film and its background.
Easily the most engaging supplement is a newly recorded 21-minute interview with
sole actor Philip Baker Hall, who played this part on stage,
and was finally able to start a successful film career after
this first film appearance.
Equally informative is Robert Altman's audio commentary,
in which the director discusses how the project came together
in his familiar avuncular style. A second commentary track
features writer Donald Freed, who delves more deeply into
the play's thematic background. The final supplement consists
of over an hour of TV speeches by Richard Nixon at key moments
in his political career. Having seen Hall's courageous interpretation
of Nixon in the film, one does hunger for this kind of fascinating
real footage of the man himself.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
December 2, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Secret
Honor.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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