2 min readJan 3, 2019
Nixon (1995) Oliver Stone
INT. THE WHITE HOUSE - WEST WING - DAY (1974)
A frenzy of paperwork as the PRESIDENT'S LAWYERS --
BUZHARDT and ST. CLAIR -- sit hunched around a table piled
with transcripts, helped by TWO YOUNG ASSISTANTS.
NIXON is aghast as he reads some of the highlighted
sections. HAIG and ZIEGLER attend.
REPORTER 1 (V.O.)
... In an attempt to head off
impeachment proceedings, the President
has agreed to release transcripts of
forty-six taped conversations ...
REPORTER 2 (V.O.)
... In a simple ceremony, Gerald Ford
was sworn in as Vice President. A
longtime, popular member of Congress,
Ford reinforces a sense of ...
REPORTER 3 (V.O.)
... citing White House wrong-doing,
the judge has dismissed all charges
against Daniel Ellsberg.
REPORTER 4 (V.O.)
... the grand jury has indicted former
Nixon aides Bob Haldeman, John
Ehrlichman and former Attorney General
John Mitchell ...
Nixon shakes the paper in the faces of Buzhardt and St.
Clair.
NIXON
You're lawyers. How can you let this
shit go by!
(points)
Look! This? Nixon can't say this.
BUZHARDT
You did say it, sir.
NIXON
Never. I never said that about Jews!
Buzhardt glances at St. Clair.
BUZHARDT
We could check the tape again, sir.
NIXON
You don't need to check the tape. I
know what I said.
He grabs the Magic Marker out of the lawyer's hand and
furiously blacks out an entire section.
NIXON (CONT'D)
And this?! Good Lord, have you lost
your mind? Nixon can't say this.
"Niggers"!
ZIEGLER
Well, we could delete it.
ST. CLAIR
We're doing the best we can, sir.
NIXON
Well, it's not good enough ...
ST. CLAIR
We can black it out.
ZIEGLER
Or we could write "expletive deleted."
NIXON
... and get rid of all these
"goddamns" and "Jesus Christs"!
ST. CLAIR
Sir, all these deletion marks in the
transcripts will make it look you
swear all the time.
Nixon grows cold, stares steadily at St. Clair.
NIXON
For Christ's sake, it soils my
mother's memory. Do you think I want
the whole goddamn world to see my
mother like this? Raising a dirty
mouth!
BUZHARDT
But sir, we'll have to start over from
the beginning. We don't have the
staff to ...
Nixon loses it, sweeps the pile of transcripts off the
table. They fly around the office.
NIXON
(screams)
Then start over! The world will see
only what I show them. From page one!
Watched this last night on Amazon, but had to order the blu-ray because of the deleted scene…
Which is in the directors cut but not in the published script, perhaps because it gets into some of the more conspiratorial aspects including from Nixon’s vice-presidency. IMHO the film gives me a portrait of Nixon as human that I had not known or considered. There is no clip online but the scene where Nixon asks Kissinger to pray with him is bizarre but tender.