Product Description

A historic meeting so gripping and poignant it has been adapted into an award-winning stage play and major motion picture.

This program, culled from the over 28 hours of interview footage between Sir David Frost and U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, was originally broadcast in May of 1977. Never before, nor since, has a U.S. President been so candid on camera. Even more intriguing is the fact that Nixon agreed to appear on camera with no pre-interview preparation or screening of questions. The most famous of this series of interviews is in the final segment that focused solely on Watergate.

This program also contains new footage with Sir David Frost shot in 2007 discussing the historical impact of the interview along with his reactions of their famous encounter. Frost also discusses his views on Peter Morgan's interpretation and screenplay adaptation of this historical event.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10477 in DVD
• Brand: WEA-DES MOINES VIDEO
• Released on: 2008-12-02
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.com
Although this DVD provides a real-life look at the landmark interviews conducted in 1977 between David Frost and Richard Nixon, it is not the entire session as originally broadcast. Rather, this is an edited, 88-minute condensation of the sections of the interviews that focused on the Watergate cover-up, Nixon's ultimate downfall. As such, it is a thoroughly gripping experience: Nixon begins the session as a wily combatant, but Frost (an experienced talk-show host, but hardly a political heavyweight) is such a dogged, indeed surprisingly forceful, questioner that he eventually corners the ex-President into facing some tough issues. The drama of this, which consists entirely of two men sitting in chairs, without any other documentary clutter, is actually much more gripping than Ron Howard's dramatized version of the event, Frost/Nixon, which labors to add melodrama to an already riveting situation. If you didn't live through the Watergate scandal, it might help to have a refresher on some of the basics before you watch (Frost briefly introduces the interviews with a spot of background), but in a way it's also not necessary, for the real punch here is watching a man of power be forced to publicly confront the fact that he abused that position. Nixon's bitter smile and his large capacity for self-pity are in full close-up view, creating a sense of pathos (even if you know the man did wrong). Those complications are richer than fiction, and give more insight into how Nixon could have brought about the circumstances that made him the only U.S. President to resign the office. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews

Like a duck in a barrel
This is not the Frost/Nixon Interviews it is the Frost/Nixon ''Watergate'' Interviews. If you want to see the entire interview with Nixon that took place over 12 days, spanning nearly 29 hours, for a four program package aired in 1977 then you have to look for the 1998 VHS release. It is not on DVD at this time of writing.

This is the Watergate segment of those interviews combined with some updates narrated by Frost prompted possibly because Deep Throat has been revealed as William Mark Felt, Sr. in 2005 but mainly because Frost is in his late 60s and it would be good to get his official reflection of it on tape. You get more inside information on some of the back-story leading up to the interview itself.

Frost had managed to arrange an interview with Nixon simply because he made the best bid for it even though many major networks did not want to back Frost because they saw it as journalism for money. Frost however got backers and in the end Nixon made $600,000 plus earnings for it. Frost apparently made a million. However it didn't go down as well as Nixon had hoped it would. In fact this interview is as big a backfire for him as Watergate was.

What Nixon had misjudged while making this deal was in underestimating Frost as an interviewer and thought that this PR would bolster public opinion in his favour. What he also didn't know was that Frost had experience interviewing corruption in politics before and had uncovered transcriptions proving Nixon had obstructed justice. For some reason Nixon had agreed to not seeing the questions beforehand.

In this interview Nixon has handed Frost a razor and stuck out his neck from the word go. Frost doesn't even have to work very hard and just reads Nixon's own words back to him. When this happens it becomes as plain as day that Nixon suddenly realizes he is over his eyeballs in it. He is about to be destroyed beyond mending and is choking for answers. He tries to say that he was involved in a cover-up, but that it is the political fallout he was covering up and not the crime of arranging a break in, bugging the opposition and trying to get everybody off the hook by using the CIA to quash the investigation. Frost just underlines that Nixon has just admitted to a cover-up and then reads out where Nixon is talking about hush money to pay off Hunt and Nixon replies that he was saying this in a way that meant Hunt could never be bought off. Nixon then claims that Hunt wanted clemency but he never granted it and so he shouldn't be charged with committing a crime. The problem is that Nixon is saying over and over again to pay Hunt a million dollars in the transcripts so Frost then asks why Nixon didn't go to the cops and Nixon at this stage is exsanguinated. He can't get out of it so he turns to his days with Truman and holding back the tears avoids the question. Frost doesn't even do much to point that out because he realizes that what is left before him is a stark naked ex-President swinging in the breeze and so tells Nixon why not just come clean and say what people want him to say. Nixon asks Frost what he should say. It's a defining moment because Frost wasn't ready for it and had to put his script aside to come up with the framework for an apology that involves admitting wrong-doing and putting the American people through hell. Nixon slowly admits that what he did was wrong, says he did a lot of good things for the people, won't say he committed a crime but then just when you think he wouldn't go any further eventually gives in and just says he has let everyone down including the American people in a teary finish. Nixon is now completely ruined, tries to keep smiling, tries to put forward some quick one-liners to salvage some dignity but is seeing stars. Frost seems to sympathize but ultimately he came in hoping to get a good interview with some more meat than most but leaves with a full head on a platter. It is the interview that every journalist can only dream of doing but Frost actually did it.

Frost Nixon Original
If you are interested in the facts from the horse's mouth, this is for you.
The original interviews went for over 28 hours, this DVD lasts only 2, but it does cover the most interesting aspects of Watergate and how Nixon was able to justify everything in his own mind.
I was not disappointed, but would have liked a longer cut of the original 28 hours.

What about the other 27 hours?
OK...it's my own fault for not reading the description but I really thought I would have the chance to see considerably more footage of the interview. don't get me wrong, this is exceptional work. As someone not old enough to view the PBS special in it's original form, I really wanted to see more than 88 minutes.