1
00:00:46,129 --> 00:00:47,588
NIXON ON TAPE:
They'd better not
push me on him,

2
00:00:47,672 --> 00:00:49,089
or I'll just kick
them in the teeth on it.

3
00:00:49,174 --> 00:00:51,467
NIXON AIDE:
Well, I think, if they...

4
00:00:54,763 --> 00:00:56,680
NIXON: . . .InternaI Revenue
people that are kicking

5
00:00:56,765 --> 00:00:59,349
Billy Graham around
is Rosenberg.

6
00:00:59,434 --> 00:01:01,226
He is to be out.

7
00:01:01,311 --> 00:01:03,395
I don't give a goddamn
what the story is.

8
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:05,022
He went on teIevision.

9
00:01:07,067 --> 00:01:08,817
I have not.
I've already
ordered Connally,

10
00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:10,569
we're going
after the Chandlers,

11
00:01:10,653 --> 00:01:12,738
every one individually,
collectively,

12
00:01:12,822 --> 00:01:14,782
their income taxes
are starting this week.

13
00:01:14,866 --> 00:01:17,576
Every one of those
sons of bitches.

14
00:01:19,954 --> 00:01:22,748
NlXON: Well, this is
something that we can
really hang Teddy or...

15
00:01:22,832 --> 00:01:23,791
MAN: Yeah.

16
00:01:23,875 --> 00:01:25,167
N IXON: ...or the
Kennedy clan with.

17
00:01:25,251 --> 00:01:27,503
I'm gonna want to put that
in Colson's hands.

18
00:01:27,587 --> 00:01:29,755
And we're gonna
want to run with it.

19
00:01:32,092 --> 00:01:33,926
NEWS REPORTER 1 :
A controversial
day in politics.

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00:01:34,010 --> 00:01:36,386
A man arrested trying
to bug the offices

21
00:01:36,471 --> 00:01:39,098
of the Democratic
National Committee
in Washington

22
00:01:39,182 --> 00:01:40,474
turns out to be an employee

23
00:01:40,558 --> 00:01:43,644
of President Richard Nixon's
re-election
campaign committee.

24
00:01:43,728 --> 00:01:47,106
He is one of five
persons surprised
and arrested yesterday

25
00:01:47,190 --> 00:01:49,608
inside the headquarters
of the Democratic
National Committee

26
00:01:49,692 --> 00:01:50,901
in Washington.

27
00:01:50,985 --> 00:01:52,444
And guess what else he is.

28
00:01:52,529 --> 00:01:54,488
A consultant of
President Richard Nixon's

29
00:01:54,572 --> 00:01:56,490
re-election
campaign committee.

30
00:01:56,574 --> 00:01:58,575
NEWS REPORTER 2:
The trial started today
at the federal courthouse

31
00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:00,285
for the five burglars
caught breaking into

32
00:02:00,370 --> 00:02:03,122
the Democratic National
Party headquarters.

33
00:02:03,206 --> 00:02:04,289
CAMERAMAN : Stand by
for camera.

34
00:02:04,374 --> 00:02:06,917
MUDD: John Dean,
the ex-White House Counsel,
testified today

35
00:02:07,001 --> 00:02:10,045
that President Nixon
knew about
the Watergate cover-up.

36
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:12,339
DEAN: At one point in
the conversation,

37
00:02:12,423 --> 00:02:13,841
I recall the President
telling me

38
00:02:13,925 --> 00:02:17,344
to keep a good list
of the press people
giving us trouble

39
00:02:17,428 --> 00:02:20,722
because we will make
life difficult for them
after the election.

40
00:02:20,807 --> 00:02:23,559
NEWS REPORTER 3:
Dean read through
a 245-page statement

41
00:02:23,643 --> 00:02:26,186
characterizing a president
who was easily outraged

42
00:02:26,271 --> 00:02:29,022
over war protesters
and political adversaries,

43
00:02:29,107 --> 00:02:30,941
and outlining
a range of offenses,

44
00:02:31,025 --> 00:02:32,776
including wiretapping
of newsmen,

45
00:02:32,861 --> 00:02:34,987
a Charles Colson
plan to firebomb

46
00:02:35,071 --> 00:02:37,114
and burglarize
the Brookings Institution,

47
00:02:37,198 --> 00:02:40,159
and spying on
Senator Kennedy
and other Democrats.

48
00:02:40,243 --> 00:02:43,662
LAWYER: The misuse
of power is the very
essence of tyranny.

49
00:02:43,746 --> 00:02:45,789
And consider, if you will,

50
00:02:45,874 --> 00:02:49,835
the frightening
implications of that
for a free society.

51
00:02:50,170 --> 00:02:54,006
NEWS REPORTER 4: The President
today accepted the resignation
of three of his closest aides.

52
00:02:54,090 --> 00:02:56,675
Out is H. R. Haldeman,
Chief of Staff.

53
00:02:56,759 --> 00:02:59,261
Also quitting under fire
is John Ehrlichman.

54
00:02:59,345 --> 00:03:01,597
Ehrlichman was
a key political advisor.

55
00:03:01,681 --> 00:03:02,890
NEWS REPORTER 5: Good morning.
The Supreme Court

56
00:03:02,974 --> 00:03:04,600
has just ruled on
the tapes controversy,

57
00:03:04,684 --> 00:03:07,019
and here is Carl Stern,
who has that ruling.

58
00:03:07,103 --> 00:03:09,396
It is a unanimous
decision, Doug, eight to zero.

59
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:11,773
Justice Rehnquist
took no part in the decision

60
00:03:11,858 --> 00:03:15,694
ordering the President
of the United States
to turn over the tapes.

61
00:03:15,778 --> 00:03:17,905
(CROWD CHEERlNG)

62
00:03:17,989 --> 00:03:20,157
It's an eight-to-zero
unanimous opinion.

63
00:03:20,241 --> 00:03:21,950
A White House aide
told NBC News today

64
00:03:22,035 --> 00:03:23,702
that impeachment
of the President

65
00:03:23,786 --> 00:03:27,623
by the full
House of Representatives
now is a virtual certainty.

66
00:03:29,459 --> 00:03:31,376
These are,
with no serious doubt,

67
00:03:31,461 --> 00:03:34,922
the last hours
of the 37th presidency
of the United States.

68
00:03:39,177 --> 00:03:41,386
This is indeed
an historic day,

69
00:03:41,471 --> 00:03:45,057
the only time
a president has ever
resigned from office

70
00:03:45,141 --> 00:03:47,809
in our nearly 200
years of history.

71
00:03:47,894 --> 00:03:50,771
You see the White House
there, and in the White House,

72
00:03:50,855 --> 00:03:52,189
in just a few moments now,

73
00:03:52,273 --> 00:03:55,359
President Nixon
will be appearing
before the people,

74
00:03:55,443 --> 00:03:59,321
perhaps for the last
time as President
of the United States.

75
00:04:00,698 --> 00:04:02,908
WH lTE HOUSE DlRECTOR:
1 5 seconds, Mr. President.

76
00:04:08,790 --> 00:04:12,501
Okay, that's five,
four, three. . .

77
00:04:16,339 --> 00:04:19,424
Good evening.
This is the 37th time

78
00:04:19,509 --> 00:04:22,261
l have spoken to you
from this office

79
00:04:22,345 --> 00:04:24,888
where so many decisions
have been made

80
00:04:24,973 --> 00:04:27,474
that have shaped
the history of our nation.

81
00:04:27,558 --> 00:04:29,559
l remember exactly
where l was.

82
00:04:30,979 --> 00:04:34,314
My father called.
The phone rang, my father
called and he said,

83
00:04:34,399 --> 00:04:37,651
"Turn on the TV right now.
Richard Nixon's going down."

84
00:04:37,735 --> 00:04:41,446
l was at home with friends,
and we were watching
television at home.

85
00:04:41,531 --> 00:04:44,324
We stayed up and,
like everyone else,
l'd been glued to

86
00:04:44,409 --> 00:04:46,910
the Select and Judiciary
Committee hearings
night after night.

87
00:04:46,995 --> 00:04:49,121
And then finally,
it had come to this.

88
00:04:49,205 --> 00:04:54,960
Therefore, l shall resign
the presidency effective
at noon tomorrow.

89
00:04:55,044 --> 00:04:58,046
But instead of
the satisfaction
l imagined l'd feel,

90
00:04:58,131 --> 00:05:00,382
l just got angrier
and angrier,

91
00:05:00,466 --> 00:05:03,218
because there was
no admission of guilt.

92
00:05:03,303 --> 00:05:04,720
There was no apology.

93
00:05:04,804 --> 00:05:06,179
Little did l know

94
00:05:06,264 --> 00:05:08,390
that l would one day
be part of the team

95
00:05:08,474 --> 00:05:10,851
that would try and
elicit that apology.

96
00:05:10,935 --> 00:05:13,979
N lXON : To leave office
before my term is completed

97
00:05:14,063 --> 00:05:17,024
is abhorrent to every
instinct in my body.

98
00:05:17,108 --> 00:05:19,609
l have never been a quitter.

99
00:05:19,694 --> 00:05:21,320
And that that team
would be led

100
00:05:21,404 --> 00:05:25,115
by the most unlikely
of white knights,

101
00:05:25,199 --> 00:05:27,117
a man with no
political convictions
whatsoever,

102
00:05:27,201 --> 00:05:31,413
a man who, as far as l know,
had never even voted
once in his life.

103
00:05:32,248 --> 00:05:36,376
But he was a man who had
one big advantage
over the rest of us.

104
00:05:37,628 --> 00:05:39,921
He understood television.

105
00:05:40,465 --> 00:05:42,632
(FROST OVER AUSTRALlA
THEME MUSlC PLAYlNG)

106
00:05:46,471 --> 00:05:51,516
ANNOUNCER: And now,
the host of
Frost Over Australia,

107
00:05:51,601 --> 00:05:54,269
Mr. David Frost!

108
00:05:54,437 --> 00:05:55,437
(CH UCKLES)

109
00:05:55,521 --> 00:05:58,106
Thank you, thank you.

110
00:05:59,942 --> 00:06:01,526
Hello. Good evening.

111
00:06:01,611 --> 00:06:04,696
And with the eyes of the world
focused on the White House,

112
00:06:04,781 --> 00:06:07,407
here in Australia,
burglars have broken into

113
00:06:07,492 --> 00:06:09,826
a meat factory in Brisbane

114
00:06:09,911 --> 00:06:12,704
and stolen a ton
of pork sausages.

115
00:06:12,789 --> 00:06:13,872
(AU DlENCE LAUGH lNG)

116
00:06:13,956 --> 00:06:18,627
The Queensland police are
looking for men
in a long, thin getaway car.

117
00:06:21,672 --> 00:06:23,382
Now, my first guest tonight. . .

118
00:06:23,466 --> 00:06:24,591
Well, we in the Nixon camp

119
00:06:24,675 --> 00:06:26,134
really didn't know that much
about David Frost,

120
00:06:26,219 --> 00:06:29,221
other than he was
a British talk show host

121
00:06:29,305 --> 00:06:31,056
with something of
a playboy reputation.

122
00:06:31,140 --> 00:06:34,851
He'd had a talk show
here in the US that
had won some awards

123
00:06:34,936 --> 00:06:40,023
but hadn't syndicated well
and had been dropped
by the network.

124
00:06:40,108 --> 00:06:41,566
He ended up taking
it down to Australia,

125
00:06:41,651 --> 00:06:45,404
which is, l believe,
where he was when
the President resigned.

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00:06:45,655 --> 00:06:48,156
FROST: Next week's guest
will be Evonne Goolagong.

127
00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:50,158
We'll see you then.
God bless.

128
00:06:52,954 --> 00:06:54,621
Great show, David.
Thanks, Noah.

129
00:06:54,705 --> 00:06:55,914
NOAH : Come and look at this.

130
00:06:55,998 --> 00:06:57,082
Nixon leaving
the White House.

131
00:06:57,166 --> 00:06:59,918
NEWS REPORTER: A dark day
for Richard Nixon,
who has drawn crowds

132
00:07:00,002 --> 00:07:01,336
to the vast Ellipse south
of the White House before.

133
00:07:01,421 --> 00:07:02,921
What, this is live?
Yeah.

134
00:07:03,005 --> 00:07:05,674
NEWS REPORTER:
But those were triumphs.
This is not.

135
00:07:05,758 --> 00:07:08,260
What time is it
in Washington?

136
00:07:08,344 --> 00:07:09,761
9:00 a. m.

137
00:07:09,846 --> 00:07:10,929
Why didn't he wait?

138
00:07:11,013 --> 00:07:12,472
lt's 6:00 in the morning
on the West Coast.

139
00:07:12,557 --> 00:07:14,683
Half his audience
is still asleep.

140
00:07:16,185 --> 00:07:19,020
All right,
you blokes, let's get
the set broken down.

141
00:07:19,105 --> 00:07:23,150
NEWS REPORTER: ...are
witnesses to the saddest day
in the life of Richard Nixon,

142
00:07:23,234 --> 00:07:27,154
his last moments
as President
of the United States,

143
00:07:27,238 --> 00:07:30,866
a moment unlike
any other in the history
of this country.

144
00:07:47,884 --> 00:07:49,718
Richard Nixon, who goes now

145
00:07:49,802 --> 00:07:52,053
from the power
of the presidency

146
00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:54,347
to a form of exile
in California.

147
00:07:54,432 --> 00:07:57,225
Find out the numbers
for this, will you?
Worldwide.

148
00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:12,616
BRENNAN: I remember his face.

149
00:08:14,118 --> 00:08:16,453
Staring out the window.

150
00:08:16,537 --> 00:08:21,208
Down below him,
a liberal America
cheered, gloated.

151
00:08:22,919 --> 00:08:25,420
Hippies, draft dodgers,
dilettantes,

152
00:08:25,505 --> 00:08:28,882
the same people
who'd spit on me when
l got back from Vietnam.

153
00:08:30,051 --> 00:08:34,095
They'd gotten rid
of Richard Nixon,
their bogeyman.

154
00:08:46,776 --> 00:08:49,778
So what's so important
that it couldn't wait,
that it had to be today?

155
00:08:49,862 --> 00:08:54,282
l've had an idea, John,
rather a bold idea
for an interview.

156
00:08:54,367 --> 00:08:55,825
Fish and chips, please.

157
00:08:55,910 --> 00:08:57,285
And in a moment. . .

158
00:08:57,370 --> 00:08:58,703
Well, it's too late now.
lt's done.

159
00:08:58,788 --> 00:09:00,121
l've called his people. . .

160
00:09:00,206 --> 00:09:01,373
You?

161
00:09:01,457 --> 00:09:03,792
Beans, peas and lamb, please.

162
00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:05,335
And made an offer.

163
00:09:05,419 --> 00:09:09,881
Now, if the subject
were to say yes,

164
00:09:11,801 --> 00:09:17,264
well, he's rather
a big fish that swims
in not-untricky waters.

165
00:09:17,765 --> 00:09:21,518
So it goes without saying
that l'd want a dear friend

166
00:09:21,602 --> 00:09:24,437
and the finest producer
l know by my side.

167
00:09:29,569 --> 00:09:30,777
So who is it?

168
00:09:32,154 --> 00:09:33,989
Richard Nixon.

169
00:09:34,073 --> 00:09:36,700
(LAUGHS) Richard Nixon?

170
00:09:36,784 --> 00:09:39,160
Well, come on,
don't look like that.

171
00:09:39,245 --> 00:09:40,912
Well, how would you
expect me to look?

172
00:09:40,997 --> 00:09:44,249
l spent yesterday
evening watching you
interview the Bee Gees.

173
00:09:44,333 --> 00:09:46,167
Weren't they terrific?

174
00:09:46,252 --> 00:09:50,255
Come on, John,
we've done political
interviews before.

175
00:09:51,507 --> 00:09:54,009
So, okay, so what
kind of interview?

176
00:09:54,093 --> 00:09:59,306
A full, extensive
look-back over his life,
his presidency.

177
00:09:59,390 --> 00:10:00,932
And?

178
00:10:01,017 --> 00:10:02,434
And what?
Come on, David.

179
00:10:02,518 --> 00:10:03,977
Surely the only thing
that would interest anyone

180
00:10:04,061 --> 00:10:06,396
about Richard Nixon
would be a confession.

181
00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:08,231
A full,
no-holds-barred
confession.

182
00:10:08,316 --> 00:10:10,525
Well, we'll get that, too.

183
00:10:10,610 --> 00:10:11,610
From Richard Nixon?

184
00:10:11,694 --> 00:10:12,986
Come on, John.

185
00:10:13,070 --> 00:10:15,363
Just think of the
numbers it would get.

186
00:10:16,115 --> 00:10:17,782
Do you know how
many people watched

187
00:10:17,867 --> 00:10:19,451
his farewell speech
in the White House?

188
00:10:19,535 --> 00:10:21,578
Four hundred million.

189
00:10:22,955 --> 00:10:24,956
But in the end,
David heard nothing.

190
00:10:25,041 --> 00:10:26,666
And soon after
arriving in California,

191
00:10:26,751 --> 00:10:30,378
Nixon was rushed
to hospital with an acute
attack of phlebitis.

192
00:10:43,809 --> 00:10:46,227
I think it was
around this time
that Gerald Ford,

193
00:10:46,312 --> 00:10:47,312
who was the new President,

194
00:10:47,396 --> 00:10:49,481
and who was desperate
to move the agenda
on from Watergate,

195
00:10:49,565 --> 00:10:52,651
gave Nixon a full,
free and absolute pardon.

196
00:10:52,735 --> 00:10:55,445
Now therefore, I,
Gerald R. Ford,

197
00:10:55,529 --> 00:10:58,156
President of
the United States,

198
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:02,160
have granted,
and by these presents
do grant,

199
00:11:02,244 --> 00:11:04,788
a full,
free and absolute pardon

200
00:11:04,872 --> 00:11:10,043
unto Richard Nixon
for all offenses
against the United States.

201
00:11:10,127 --> 00:11:12,504
lt meant that the man
who had committed
the greatest felony

202
00:11:12,588 --> 00:11:15,256
in American political history
would never stand trial.

203
00:11:15,341 --> 00:11:17,759
lt was like he slipped
out the back door.

204
00:11:18,969 --> 00:11:20,720
A public opinion
poll indicates

205
00:11:20,805 --> 00:11:24,182
a two-to-one disapproval
of the pardoning
of Richard Nixon.

206
00:11:24,266 --> 00:11:27,435
CHANCELLOR: One telegram
from Virginia said,
"Roosevelt had his New Deal,

207
00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,106
"Truman had his Fair Deal,
now Ford has
his crooked deal."

208
00:11:31,190 --> 00:11:33,191
There was no deal, period.

209
00:11:33,275 --> 00:11:35,610
I don't think the truth
will ever come out.

210
00:11:35,695 --> 00:11:37,362
The American people
need to know the truth,

211
00:11:37,446 --> 00:11:40,657
and I don't think
it will ever now
be fully known.

212
00:12:03,806 --> 00:12:06,599
GAN NON : So how do we
want to address
the college protests?

213
00:12:06,684 --> 00:12:07,892
Well, do we want
to lift some quotes

214
00:12:07,977 --> 00:12:11,020
from the "stand up
and be counted" speech
in 1 970?

215
00:12:11,147 --> 00:12:12,772
Sir?
GAN NON : You know, maybe
we're just better off

216
00:12:12,857 --> 00:12:14,399
using the whole
Lincoln Memorial memo.

217
00:12:14,483 --> 00:12:15,900
SAWYER: Just include
the whole thing.

218
00:12:15,985 --> 00:12:18,445
Mr. President,
Swifty Lazar is here.

219
00:12:18,529 --> 00:12:20,780
Okay. No, no, stick around.

220
00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:23,074
You're gonna get
a kick out of this.

221
00:12:23,159 --> 00:12:26,369
This is my literary agent
from Hollywood.

222
00:12:26,454 --> 00:12:28,663
Hygiene obsessive.

223
00:12:31,542 --> 00:12:34,085
Mr. President,
good to see you.

224
00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:35,795
Nice to see you.

225
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,465
These are folks
helping me with my book.

226
00:12:38,549 --> 00:12:41,426
Diane Sawyer,
Frank Gannon,
lrving Lazar.

227
00:12:41,510 --> 00:12:43,094
Nice to meet you.
Miss Sawyer.

228
00:12:43,179 --> 00:12:44,888
Pleasure.
Mr. Gannon.

229
00:12:48,809 --> 00:12:50,810
Okay, that's it.
l'll see you after lunch.

230
00:12:50,895 --> 00:12:52,896
SWlFTY: So how
you feeling, sir?

231
00:12:53,314 --> 00:12:57,859
l'm better, thank you.
Though not yet
well enough to golf,

232
00:12:58,694 --> 00:13:01,571
thank God.
l despise that game.

233
00:13:02,573 --> 00:13:05,116
lmagine, six weeks
out of office

234
00:13:05,201 --> 00:13:07,702
as President
of the United States,

235
00:13:07,787 --> 00:13:10,622
and they'd have me putting
in my hospital room.

236
00:13:10,706 --> 00:13:12,707
Never retire, Mr. Lazar.

237
00:13:13,167 --> 00:13:18,087
To me, the unhappiest
people of the world
are retired.

238
00:13:18,172 --> 00:13:19,964
No purpose.

239
00:13:20,049 --> 00:13:22,801
What makes life mean
something is purpose.

240
00:13:22,885 --> 00:13:25,762
A goal. A battle. A struggle.

241
00:13:25,846 --> 00:13:28,056
Well, even if
you don't win it.

242
00:13:28,557 --> 00:13:31,059
When my doctor
declared me unfit

243
00:13:31,143 --> 00:13:32,977
to give testimony
in the Watergate trial,

244
00:13:33,062 --> 00:13:35,271
everybody thought
l'd be relieved.

245
00:13:35,356 --> 00:13:36,940
Well, they were wrong.

246
00:13:37,024 --> 00:13:38,525
That was the lowest l got.

247
00:13:38,609 --> 00:13:43,029
Well, if it's a challenge
you want, here's one
you might enjoy.

248
00:13:43,113 --> 00:13:47,033
How to spend $2 million,
2.3 to be precise.

249
00:13:47,117 --> 00:13:48,910
lt's what l got
for your memoirs.

250
00:13:48,994 --> 00:13:50,453
Well, thank you.

251
00:13:50,538 --> 00:13:51,788
Eh. . .

252
00:13:51,872 --> 00:13:53,623
lt might be a little short
of what l wanted,

253
00:13:53,707 --> 00:13:57,252
but let me assure you,
it's a whole lot more
than they wanted.

254
00:13:57,336 --> 00:13:59,337
That book is important to me.

255
00:13:59,421 --> 00:14:03,132
lt's probably the only
chance l'm gonna get
to put the record straight

256
00:14:03,217 --> 00:14:06,594
and remind people
the Nixon years
weren't all bad.

257
00:14:08,055 --> 00:14:11,933
You know, if you're trying
to put the record straight,

258
00:14:12,017 --> 00:14:13,476
l'd at least talk to him.

259
00:14:13,561 --> 00:14:14,686
N lXON : Who?

260
00:14:15,104 --> 00:14:18,439
David Frost.
English talk show guy.

261
00:14:19,191 --> 00:14:22,068
Why would l want to
talk to David Frost?

262
00:14:22,152 --> 00:14:24,946
Well, a while back,
he wrote asking
for an interview.

263
00:14:25,030 --> 00:14:26,364
No.

264
00:14:26,448 --> 00:14:27,740
Well, we didn't
get back to him.

265
00:14:27,825 --> 00:14:30,159
Frankly, we didn't
find him appropriate.

266
00:14:30,244 --> 00:14:32,996
Well, l thought
that we were
doing one with CBS.

267
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:35,039
We are. l just figured
doing it with Frost

268
00:14:35,124 --> 00:14:37,208
would be a whole lot
easier than doing it
with Mike Wallace.

269
00:14:37,293 --> 00:14:41,629
lt would, but it would
have a lot less,
you know, credibility.

270
00:14:41,714 --> 00:14:45,258
True, true. Could
probably get more money.

271
00:14:48,053 --> 00:14:49,804
Really?
Look.

272
00:14:49,889 --> 00:14:53,266
We'll always have
350 on the table
from CBS.

273
00:14:53,350 --> 00:14:57,103
But if l could get
Frost to pay more
and secure better terms,

274
00:14:57,605 --> 00:14:59,689
it might be a shame to pass.

275
00:15:00,274 --> 00:15:03,484
lt'd be interesting to know
where he is right now.

276
00:15:03,903 --> 00:15:06,487
We tied him to
railway tracks,
and he escaped.

277
00:15:07,031 --> 00:15:09,824
We buried him alive,
and he walked free.

278
00:15:09,909 --> 00:15:14,287
Today we're lowering
escape artist Derek Harrison
into the water

279
00:15:14,371 --> 00:15:18,708
to see if he can
miraculously
cheat death once more.

280
00:15:18,792 --> 00:15:21,210
Good evening,
and welcome to
Great Escapes.

281
00:15:21,295 --> 00:15:23,212
My name is David Frost.

282
00:15:25,257 --> 00:15:26,841
DlRECTOR:
Okay, that is a cut.

283
00:15:26,926 --> 00:15:28,009
Thank you.

284
00:15:28,093 --> 00:15:31,387
ln any deal, you need to
know your opponent's
breaking point.

285
00:15:32,806 --> 00:15:34,474
To assess that,
you might call them

286
00:15:34,558 --> 00:15:36,809
late at night
or at the weekend.

287
00:15:37,436 --> 00:15:40,271
lf they take the call,
you know they're desperate.

288
00:15:40,356 --> 00:15:43,775
And from that moment on,
you know you have
the upper hand.

289
00:15:44,318 --> 00:15:46,194
(PHON E RlNGlNG)

290
00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:55,995
Hello?

291
00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:57,789
Mr. Frost? Irving Lazar.

292
00:15:59,166 --> 00:16:00,625
Who?

293
00:16:00,709 --> 00:16:03,878
Swifty Lazar.
l represent
President Nixon.

294
00:16:03,963 --> 00:16:05,254
What time is it?

295
00:16:05,339 --> 00:16:06,297
Bad time?

296
00:16:06,382 --> 00:16:09,175
(STUTTERlNG) No! Not at all.

297
00:16:12,221 --> 00:16:16,057
l'm calling with regard
to your request
for an interview

298
00:16:16,141 --> 00:16:19,143
and to say,
having considered it,

299
00:16:19,228 --> 00:16:23,189
my client is not
necessarily opposed
to the idea.

300
00:16:23,273 --> 00:16:26,985
Really?
Well, that's
terrific news!

301
00:16:27,069 --> 00:16:28,820
For God's sake.

302
00:16:28,904 --> 00:16:30,947
SWlFTY: l got $500,000.

303
00:16:31,031 --> 00:16:32,407
ls that good?

304
00:16:32,491 --> 00:16:37,120
Mr. President,
it's a half a million dollars
for a news interview.

305
00:16:37,204 --> 00:16:38,454
lt's unprecedented.

306
00:16:38,539 --> 00:16:40,707
Yeah? Well, what's the catch?

307
00:16:40,791 --> 00:16:43,960
With Frost? None.
It'll be a big wet kiss.

308
00:16:44,545 --> 00:16:47,171
This guy'll be so grateful
to be getting it at all,

309
00:16:47,256 --> 00:16:48,923
he'll pitch
puffballs all night

310
00:16:49,008 --> 00:16:51,843
and pay a half
a million dollars
for the privilege.

311
00:16:55,222 --> 00:16:57,598
Well, you think
you could get 550?

312
00:16:58,892 --> 00:17:00,226
l got 6.

313
00:17:01,937 --> 00:17:03,771
BlRT: David, how could
you have done that?
What?

314
00:17:03,856 --> 00:17:05,773
$600,000. That's a fortune.

315
00:17:05,858 --> 00:17:06,858
200 on signature?

316
00:17:06,942 --> 00:17:08,359
Don't worry about the money.

317
00:17:08,444 --> 00:17:10,820
My God.
Most Americans think
he belongs in jail.

318
00:17:10,904 --> 00:17:12,572
You're making him
a rich man.

319
00:17:12,656 --> 00:17:14,574
Plus, by outbidding them,
you've already made enemies

320
00:17:14,658 --> 00:17:16,159
of the networks.
They're just jealous.

321
00:17:16,243 --> 00:17:18,745
They're already sounding off
about checkbook journalism.

322
00:17:18,829 --> 00:17:20,246
And if the networks
are against you,

323
00:17:20,330 --> 00:17:21,706
syndication's always
going to be a struggle.

324
00:17:21,790 --> 00:17:23,374
No syndication,
no advance sales.

325
00:17:23,459 --> 00:17:24,959
No advance sales,
no commercials.

326
00:17:25,044 --> 00:17:26,461
No commercials, no revenue.

327
00:17:26,545 --> 00:17:30,214
And here's the bigger
question, why do it?
You don't need it.

328
00:17:30,299 --> 00:17:31,382
Your career's
in great shape.

329
00:17:31,467 --> 00:17:33,634
This will just spread you
across three continents,

330
00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:35,303
jeopardize the other shows.

331
00:17:35,387 --> 00:17:36,763
lsn't it true that
Channel Nine in Australia

332
00:17:36,847 --> 00:17:38,556
want you to do
another season
of your talk show for them?

333
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:39,682
Yes.
And London, too?

334
00:17:39,767 --> 00:17:41,893
Yes, but that would be
London and Australia.

335
00:17:41,977 --> 00:17:43,728
This would be. . .
What?

336
00:17:44,313 --> 00:17:45,813
You wouldn't
understand, John.

337
00:17:45,898 --> 00:17:48,733
You were never
part of the show
in New York,

338
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,152
but it's indescribable.

339
00:17:51,236 --> 00:17:56,324
Success in America
is unlike success
anywhere else.

340
00:17:57,743 --> 00:17:59,786
And the emptiness
when it's gone.

341
00:18:01,163 --> 00:18:06,626
And the sickening
thought that it may
never come back.

342
00:18:07,544 --> 00:18:09,921
You know, there's
a restaurant in New York
called Sardi's.

343
00:18:10,005 --> 00:18:11,756
Ordinary mortals
can't get a table.

344
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,508
John, the place
was my canteen !

345
00:18:13,592 --> 00:18:14,675
You know, l'd be happier

346
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:15,968
if l heard
some kind of vision

347
00:18:16,053 --> 00:18:17,220
that you had
for this interview.

348
00:18:17,304 --> 00:18:18,429
MAN : Excuse me, Mr. Frost.

349
00:18:18,514 --> 00:18:19,639
l'd heard you were
going to be here.

350
00:18:19,723 --> 00:18:21,641
Would you mind?
Of course.

351
00:18:21,725 --> 00:18:23,226
But l don't.
l just hear
a man doing it

352
00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:24,560
because it would
create headlines

353
00:18:24,645 --> 00:18:26,729
or give him a place
at the top table.

354
00:18:26,814 --> 00:18:28,147
And that is what
makes me nervous.

355
00:18:28,232 --> 00:18:30,942
And you do nervous
so beautifully, John.

356
00:18:31,026 --> 00:18:34,362
"Hello, good evening
and welcome."

357
00:18:34,822 --> 00:18:36,364
(FROST LAUGHS)

358
00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:39,450
l don't actually say that.

359
00:18:39,535 --> 00:18:41,119
Hello, Mr. Frost.

360
00:18:47,709 --> 00:18:48,918
Champagne?

361
00:18:49,002 --> 00:18:50,711
CAROLlN E: No, thank you.

362
00:18:51,713 --> 00:18:53,756
FLlGHT ATTEN DANT:
Another glass, sir?

363
00:19:11,275 --> 00:19:13,442
You don't like champagne?

364
00:19:14,903 --> 00:19:16,487
Not on airplanes.

365
00:19:16,572 --> 00:19:18,865
Yes, it dehydrates
one terribly.

366
00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:22,326
The trick is to have
a glass of water
on the go, too.

367
00:19:22,411 --> 00:19:24,954
Like the Viennese
serve coffee.

368
00:19:25,038 --> 00:19:27,290
Well, l've never
been to Vienna.

369
00:19:27,374 --> 00:19:29,834
Oh. Well, you'd like it.

370
00:19:29,918 --> 00:19:32,920
lt's like Paris
without the French.

371
00:19:35,924 --> 00:19:37,508
What's your name?

372
00:19:37,593 --> 00:19:38,759
Caroline.

373
00:19:38,844 --> 00:19:39,844
David.

374
00:19:39,928 --> 00:19:42,638
Yes, l know. David Frost.

375
00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,434
"Hello and good evening
and welcome."

376
00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:54,859
You know, l heard
an interview with you
recently on the radio.

377
00:19:54,943 --> 00:19:57,278
You were giving it
from the back
of your Rolls-Royce.

378
00:19:57,362 --> 00:19:58,487
Bentley.

379
00:19:58,572 --> 00:19:59,614
On the phone.

380
00:19:59,698 --> 00:20:00,948
They said that
you were a person

381
00:20:01,033 --> 00:20:04,035
who defined
the age we live in.

382
00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:05,745
Really?
Mmm.

383
00:20:06,288 --> 00:20:07,872
You and Vidal Sassoon.

384
00:20:09,583 --> 00:20:12,543
But what made you
exceptional, they said,

385
00:20:12,628 --> 00:20:16,547
was that you were a person
who had achieved great fame

386
00:20:16,632 --> 00:20:19,967
without possessing
any discernible quality.

387
00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:21,260
How kind.
Mmm-hmm.

388
00:20:21,345 --> 00:20:24,639
And that you fly
around a great deal.

389
00:20:24,723 --> 00:20:27,016
Well, that's true.

390
00:20:27,935 --> 00:20:28,893
Why?

391
00:20:28,977 --> 00:20:30,478
l like to keep busy.

392
00:20:31,146 --> 00:20:32,521
Why?

393
00:20:32,606 --> 00:20:35,149
l find it
more interesting
than keeping still.

394
00:20:36,235 --> 00:20:38,152
You know,
you have very sad eyes.

395
00:20:38,862 --> 00:20:40,655
Do l?
Mmm.

396
00:20:40,739 --> 00:20:42,740
Has anyone told
you that before?

397
00:20:43,283 --> 00:20:44,533
No.

398
00:20:44,618 --> 00:20:46,285
Are you a sad person?

399
00:20:50,165 --> 00:20:52,708
Let's talk about
you a little bit.

400
00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:55,253
Of course, you feel more
comfortable asking questions.

401
00:20:55,337 --> 00:20:57,296
How right you are!

402
00:20:57,631 --> 00:20:59,340
This is your
captain speaking.

403
00:20:59,424 --> 00:21:00,424
You may have
noticed we've begun

404
00:21:00,509 --> 00:21:02,635
our final descent
into Los Angeles.

405
00:21:03,512 --> 00:21:06,597
If you could please
return to your seats
and fasten your seat belts,

406
00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:08,724
we'll be landing
very shortly. Thank you.

407
00:21:08,809 --> 00:21:11,102
CAROLlN E: So how about you?
Where are you going?

408
00:21:11,186 --> 00:21:13,521
To meet Richard Nixon.

409
00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:14,855
Really?

410
00:21:16,525 --> 00:21:19,318
You know, they say he has
the most enormous head,

411
00:21:19,778 --> 00:21:21,320
but the sexiest voice.

412
00:21:21,405 --> 00:21:22,780
Where is he now?

413
00:21:23,031 --> 00:21:26,575
ln some dark underground cave
licking his wounds?

414
00:21:27,452 --> 00:21:30,204
Actually, no.
ln his rather smart
beachside villa

415
00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:31,330
in California.

416
00:21:31,415 --> 00:21:34,125
Really? Richard Nixon
in a beachside villa?

417
00:21:34,209 --> 00:21:35,793
How incongruous.

418
00:21:35,877 --> 00:21:37,878
You can come if you'd like.

419
00:21:38,380 --> 00:21:40,047
To meet Nixon?

420
00:21:40,757 --> 00:21:42,466
Why not?

421
00:21:43,844 --> 00:21:45,136
Are you sure?

422
00:21:48,181 --> 00:21:49,849
You know, l would love that.

423
00:21:49,933 --> 00:21:52,101
PlLOT: Cabin crew,
please prepare for arrival.

424
00:21:52,185 --> 00:21:55,021
Well, l'll get
my office to call you
first thing in the morning

425
00:21:55,105 --> 00:21:57,648
and send a car with a phone.

426
00:21:57,733 --> 00:21:58,733
Oh.

427
00:22:01,194 --> 00:22:04,238
He did, too. Money no object.

428
00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:08,326
Everything glittered
and was golden.

429
00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:09,827
Well, on the outside.

430
00:22:09,911 --> 00:22:12,747
Of course, what l didn't know
was that in the meantime,

431
00:22:12,831 --> 00:22:14,999
he'd gone to all
the major networks

432
00:22:15,083 --> 00:22:17,543
to try and get
interest in the interviews.

433
00:22:18,086 --> 00:22:20,921
l'm sorry, David,
but we have a policy

434
00:22:21,006 --> 00:22:23,424
of not paying
for a news interview.

435
00:22:23,508 --> 00:22:26,677
Look, we love your work
as an entertainer.

436
00:22:26,762 --> 00:22:27,845
That Guinness show?

437
00:22:27,929 --> 00:22:29,430
Love it. You're a funny guy.

438
00:22:29,514 --> 00:22:31,682
But an interview like this?

439
00:22:31,767 --> 00:22:34,685
You're asking us to pay
a British talk show host

440
00:22:34,770 --> 00:22:36,979
to interview
an American president

441
00:22:37,064 --> 00:22:40,691
with absolutely no
editorial controls
whatsoever in return?

442
00:22:40,776 --> 00:22:42,735
Well, you can't say
it's not a fresh approach.

443
00:22:42,819 --> 00:22:44,570
l know you're very busy.

444
00:22:44,696 --> 00:22:46,614
l'm not gonna
keep you from it.

445
00:22:47,282 --> 00:22:48,866
Thank you for coming in.

446
00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:51,035
l'm gonna have to
get back to you.

447
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,954
Okay, thank you so
much for your time.

448
00:22:54,039 --> 00:22:55,081
David, good luck.

449
00:22:55,165 --> 00:22:57,541
He never let on
to anyone at the time,

450
00:22:57,626 --> 00:22:58,793
not even me.
You know,
that would have meant. . .

451
00:22:59,711 --> 00:23:00,711
Thanks.

452
00:23:00,796 --> 00:23:04,340
...admitting failure,
and David doesn't do failure.

453
00:23:35,455 --> 00:23:37,373
FROST: There you are.

454
00:23:37,457 --> 00:23:39,959
See, you don't have
to do a thing yourself.

455
00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:45,297
(lN DlSTlNCT)

456
00:23:59,271 --> 00:24:00,354
Well.

457
00:24:01,022 --> 00:24:02,148
You found it okay.

458
00:24:02,232 --> 00:24:03,357
Yes, thank you.

459
00:24:03,442 --> 00:24:04,608
Pleasure to meet you,
Mr. Frost.

460
00:24:04,693 --> 00:24:05,776
And you, sir.

461
00:24:05,861 --> 00:24:07,361
May l present
Caroline Cushing?

462
00:24:07,446 --> 00:24:08,487
Miss Cushing.

463
00:24:08,572 --> 00:24:10,656
Hello.
Your house is
very beautiful.

464
00:24:10,740 --> 00:24:11,907
Really. Very romantic.

465
00:24:11,992 --> 00:24:13,075
Well, thank you.

466
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:14,952
And my producer, John Birt.

467
00:24:15,036 --> 00:24:16,579
Nice to meet you.
How do you do?

468
00:24:16,663 --> 00:24:20,082
This is Mr. Lazar,
and this is Jack Brennan.

469
00:24:20,167 --> 00:24:22,460
Now, Miss Cushing,
would you like
to take a tour,

470
00:24:22,544 --> 00:24:24,837
you know,
maybe stretch your legs
after your long journey?

471
00:24:24,921 --> 00:24:27,590
Yes, please.
l'd love that. Thank you.

472
00:24:28,633 --> 00:24:30,676
Come on in.
This is my office.

473
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,889
Now, this is where Brezhnev
and l had our summit.

474
00:24:34,973 --> 00:24:39,351
Yeah. Brezhnev was there,
and Gromyko there,
Dobrynin there.

475
00:24:40,020 --> 00:24:43,522
We talked for
nine hours straight.

476
00:24:44,733 --> 00:24:48,194
After the meeting,
as a souvenir of the visit,

477
00:24:48,278 --> 00:24:52,531
l remember that we had
a Lincoln specially made.

478
00:24:52,616 --> 00:24:55,826
Dark blue,
cherry wood, leather.

479
00:24:55,911 --> 00:24:58,537
Well, we got inside
for the photographers,

480
00:24:58,622 --> 00:25:02,875
when the next thing you know,
he steps on the gas.

481
00:25:02,959 --> 00:25:07,671
Now, the first rule
of political life is

482
00:25:07,756 --> 00:25:12,176
you never let a president
get behind the wheel
of a car, ever.

483
00:25:12,260 --> 00:25:14,261
l mean, we're not
used to doing anything

484
00:25:14,346 --> 00:25:16,305
for ourselves,
let alone drive.

485
00:25:16,389 --> 00:25:19,558
And the Chairman, Jesus,
the way he put his foot down,

486
00:25:19,643 --> 00:25:22,394
my guess is
the last thing he drove was

487
00:25:22,479 --> 00:25:25,523
a tractor on some
Ukrainian potato farm.

488
00:25:27,442 --> 00:25:28,984
He crashed into curbs.

489
00:25:29,069 --> 00:25:30,528
He went over speed bumps.

490
00:25:30,612 --> 00:25:33,531
He went twice
around my whole estate.

491
00:25:33,615 --> 00:25:38,369
Finally, we ended up
at some remote point
on the coast,

492
00:25:38,453 --> 00:25:41,372
out there
overlooking the sea.

493
00:25:41,456 --> 00:25:45,668
He turns off the gas,
and he talks for two hours

494
00:25:45,752 --> 00:25:49,213
about his favorite subject,
steel mills.

495
00:25:49,297 --> 00:25:52,049
He said, "Mr. President,
most politicians

496
00:25:52,133 --> 00:25:54,802
"have tragedy
in their early lives."

497
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,890
Well, l told him that
l lost two brothers
to tuberculosis.

498
00:25:59,975 --> 00:26:04,979
And he watched his father
die from the cancer
he caught in the steelworks.

499
00:26:05,897 --> 00:26:10,276
He was a sad man
and a noble adversary.

500
00:26:10,944 --> 00:26:13,320
l wouldn't want to
be a Russian leader.

501
00:26:13,822 --> 00:26:16,156
They never know when
they're being taped.

502
00:26:21,788 --> 00:26:23,581
Okay, l guess that's
it then, huh?

503
00:26:23,665 --> 00:26:25,457
Until March.
l look forward to it.

504
00:26:25,542 --> 00:26:27,418
Well, thank you,
Mr. President. So do l.

505
00:26:27,502 --> 00:26:29,086
You know,
it's a funny thing that

506
00:26:29,170 --> 00:26:32,881
l've never been
challenged to a duel before.

507
00:26:32,966 --> 00:26:34,216
l guess that's what this is.

508
00:26:34,301 --> 00:26:36,218
FROST: Yeah, well, not really.

509
00:26:37,304 --> 00:26:38,887
Of course it is.

510
00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:42,683
And l like that.

511
00:26:44,019 --> 00:26:47,938
No holds barred, eh?
No holds barred.

512
00:26:51,818 --> 00:26:55,988
Mr. Frost, there's still
the small matter of the. . .

513
00:26:57,490 --> 00:26:58,741
Of course.

514
00:27:00,201 --> 00:27:02,661
l do beg your pardon.

515
00:27:12,964 --> 00:27:18,218
Right. $200,000.

516
00:27:18,595 --> 00:27:21,472
l do hope that isn't coming
out of your own pocket.

517
00:27:21,556 --> 00:27:24,642
Well, believe me,
sir, l wish my pockets
were that deep.

518
00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:27,311
Made out in the name of?

519
00:27:27,395 --> 00:27:28,520
lrving Paul Lazar.

520
00:27:28,605 --> 00:27:30,439
Richard M. Nixon.

521
00:27:39,449 --> 00:27:40,574
Here you go.

522
00:27:41,910 --> 00:27:43,744
MANOLO: Okay, smile.

523
00:27:45,121 --> 00:27:48,374
There. Now you can
put that in your
apartment in New York,

524
00:27:48,458 --> 00:27:52,002
and all your liberal friends
can use it as a dartboard.

525
00:27:52,087 --> 00:27:55,798
Well, actually,
l'm living in Monte Carlo
at the moment.

526
00:27:55,882 --> 00:27:57,257
Really?

527
00:27:57,342 --> 00:27:59,176
Yes. Goodbye, Mr. President.

528
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,639
Hey. Take my advice.

529
00:28:03,723 --> 00:28:05,265
You should marry that woman.

530
00:28:05,350 --> 00:28:08,560
Yes. Lovely, isn't she?

531
00:28:08,645 --> 00:28:11,605
More important than that,
she comes from Monaco.

532
00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:13,732
They pay no taxes there.

533
00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:16,944
Bye-bye.
Goodbye.

534
00:28:25,453 --> 00:28:27,079
l bet you it did.

535
00:28:27,163 --> 00:28:28,205
What?

536
00:28:28,289 --> 00:28:29,665
Come out of his own pocket.

537
00:28:29,749 --> 00:28:31,875
You know, he couldn't
look me in the eye.

538
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,544
Well, l hear
the networks
aren't biting.

539
00:28:33,628 --> 00:28:35,713
Without the networks,
the ad agencies
don't want to know.

540
00:28:35,797 --> 00:28:37,047
So if you ask me,
there's a good chance

541
00:28:37,132 --> 00:28:38,257
this whole thing
may never happen.

542
00:28:38,341 --> 00:28:43,554
Really?
So that meeting we just had
might have cost him $200,000?

543
00:28:43,638 --> 00:28:44,722
Correct.

544
00:28:45,598 --> 00:28:49,059
Had l known that,
l would have offered
him a cup of tea.

545
00:28:49,519 --> 00:28:51,895
Say, did you
notice his shoes?

546
00:28:51,980 --> 00:28:53,021
No.

547
00:28:53,106 --> 00:28:56,608
ltalian. No laces.
What do you think?

548
00:28:57,402 --> 00:28:59,778
My people tried to get me
to wear a pair like that.

549
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:02,448
l think a man's shoes
should have laces, sir.

550
00:29:02,657 --> 00:29:03,657
You do?

551
00:29:03,742 --> 00:29:07,327
Yeah. Personally,
l find those ltalian
shoes very effeminate.

552
00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:10,456
Yes, quite right.

553
00:29:13,334 --> 00:29:15,419
NBC EXECUTlVE: l\m sorry,
David, but it\s a no.

554
00:29:15,503 --> 00:29:17,254
Try to look at it
from our point of view.

555
00:29:17,338 --> 00:29:20,257
Why would an American network
hire a total outsider,

556
00:29:20,341 --> 00:29:23,594
and someone who's already
had his own show canceled,
incidentally?

557
00:29:23,678 --> 00:29:25,179
l see. Well, l'm sorry
you feel this way.

558
00:29:25,263 --> 00:29:28,140
Obviously,
l think you're making
a terrible mistake.

559
00:29:30,727 --> 00:29:32,102
N BC.

560
00:29:33,521 --> 00:29:37,608
Well, that's
the networks out,
all of them.

561
00:29:39,194 --> 00:29:41,278
Well, that's the
end of that, then.

562
00:29:46,451 --> 00:29:48,243
l'm sorry, David.

563
00:29:48,912 --> 00:29:50,704
Not so fast.

564
00:29:52,123 --> 00:29:54,625
Where's your
adventurer's spirit?

565
00:29:54,709 --> 00:29:56,668
The idea is
we pay for the program

566
00:29:56,753 --> 00:30:01,799
and syndicate it
ourselves, completely
bypassing the networks.

567
00:30:01,883 --> 00:30:04,468
Just imagine it,
we'd be our own
network for the night.

568
00:30:04,552 --> 00:30:06,428
Hey, Bob.
FROST: How does that grab you?

569
00:30:06,513 --> 00:30:08,347
Hey, come on in.
David's on the phone.

570
00:30:08,431 --> 00:30:10,265
FROST: No, never been
done before.

571
00:30:10,350 --> 00:30:11,934
Historic stuff.

572
00:30:15,313 --> 00:30:18,398
Just think about it, okay?
And call me back.

573
00:30:19,067 --> 00:30:20,526
Yeah?
Yeah.

574
00:30:20,610 --> 00:30:23,654
David, l'd like you
to meet Jim Reston
and Bob Zelnick,

575
00:30:23,738 --> 00:30:24,905
our two prospective
corner men.

576
00:30:24,989 --> 00:30:26,073
Delighted to meet you.

577
00:30:26,157 --> 00:30:27,950
Come on in.
Make yourselves at home.

578
00:30:28,034 --> 00:30:29,326
Bob's been
Washington correspondent

579
00:30:29,410 --> 00:30:30,702
for Public Radio
for the past 1 0 years.

580
00:30:30,787 --> 00:30:32,996
Moving to ABC
in the new year.

581
00:30:33,081 --> 00:30:34,373
The general feeling, David,

582
00:30:34,457 --> 00:30:38,252
is that l have been
wasting my matinee idol
looks on radio.

583
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:40,879
Jim here teaches
at the University
of North Carolina

584
00:30:40,964 --> 00:30:44,800
and is writing a book
about the criminal
dishonesty, corruption,

585
00:30:45,510 --> 00:30:47,928
paranoia and abuses of
power of Richard Nixon.

586
00:30:48,012 --> 00:30:49,471
Second on the subject.

587
00:30:49,556 --> 00:30:50,597
Fourth.

588
00:30:50,682 --> 00:30:52,724
Well, delighted to
have you both aboard.

589
00:30:52,809 --> 00:30:55,227
Actually, before l sign on,
l would like to hear

590
00:30:55,311 --> 00:30:58,188
what you were
hoping to achieve
with this interview.

591
00:30:58,773 --> 00:31:00,774
What l want to achieve?

592
00:31:00,859 --> 00:31:02,109
Yeah.

593
00:31:02,610 --> 00:31:06,280
Jim, well,
l've secured 1 2 taping days.

594
00:31:06,364 --> 00:31:08,282
That's close to 30 hours

595
00:31:08,366 --> 00:31:10,534
with the most compelling
and controversial politician

596
00:31:10,618 --> 00:31:12,369
of our times.

597
00:31:12,453 --> 00:31:13,954
lsn't that enough?

598
00:31:15,832 --> 00:31:17,165
Well, not for me.

599
00:31:18,501 --> 00:31:21,837
Look, l'd be giving up
a year of my life.
l'm leaving my family

600
00:31:21,921 --> 00:31:24,548
to work on
a subject matter
that means more

601
00:31:24,632 --> 00:31:26,341
than you can
probably imagine,

602
00:31:26,426 --> 00:31:27,509
and the idea
of doing all that

603
00:31:27,594 --> 00:31:31,013
without achieving what
l want to, personally,

604
00:31:31,097 --> 00:31:32,806
would be unthinkable to me.

605
00:31:32,932 --> 00:31:34,141
(lNTERRU PTlNG)
FROST: No, all right.

606
00:31:34,893 --> 00:31:37,603
Well, what is it that
you want to achieve?

607
00:31:43,234 --> 00:31:46,194
l'd like to
give Richard Nixon
the trial he never had.

608
00:31:46,279 --> 00:31:49,531
Of course,
we'll be asking
difficult questions.

609
00:31:49,616 --> 00:31:51,283
Difficult questions.

610
00:31:52,201 --> 00:31:54,411
The man lost 21 ,000 Americans

611
00:31:54,495 --> 00:31:56,914
and a million lndo-Chinese
during his administration.

612
00:31:56,998 --> 00:31:59,750
He only escaped jail
because of Ford's pardon.

613
00:31:59,834 --> 00:32:03,128
Yes, but equally,
going after him
in some knee-jerk way,

614
00:32:03,212 --> 00:32:06,757
you know, assuming
he's a terrible guy,

615
00:32:06,841 --> 00:32:10,510
wouldn't that only create
more sympathy for him
than anything else?

616
00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:12,054
(SlGHS) You know. . .

617
00:32:14,265 --> 00:32:16,058
Right now,
l submit it's impossible

618
00:32:16,142 --> 00:32:19,603
to feel anything
close to sympathy
for Richard Nixon.

619
00:32:19,687 --> 00:32:21,813
He devalued the presidency,

620
00:32:21,898 --> 00:32:25,525
and he left the country
that elected him in trauma.

621
00:32:26,653 --> 00:32:30,322
The American people
need a conviction,
pure and simple.

622
00:32:30,406 --> 00:32:33,116
The integrity of
our political system,

623
00:32:33,201 --> 00:32:38,997
of democracy as an idea,
entirely depends on it.

624
00:32:39,082 --> 00:32:41,375
And if in years to come,
people look back

625
00:32:41,459 --> 00:32:42,834
and say it was
in this interview

626
00:32:42,919 --> 00:32:44,503
that Richard Nixon
exonerated himself,

627
00:32:44,587 --> 00:32:46,797
that would be
the worst crime of all.

628
00:32:56,516 --> 00:32:59,559
Did you know that
Mike Wallace is doing
a piece on this?

629
00:33:01,521 --> 00:33:04,189
And that in the bars around
Capitol Hill and Georgetown

630
00:33:04,273 --> 00:33:06,024
this entire project is a joke?

631
00:33:06,109 --> 00:33:08,777
ZELN lCK: Come on.
Jim, come on.

632
00:33:08,861 --> 00:33:11,196
Thanks for that, Jim.

633
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,574
Could you give us
a couple of minutes?

634
00:33:21,791 --> 00:33:23,291
You're unbelievable.
l'm sorry, Bob.

635
00:33:23,376 --> 00:33:25,585
You know, Jim,
l went way out
on a limb for you.

636
00:33:25,670 --> 00:33:27,254
l mean, some of us
actually want this job.

637
00:33:27,338 --> 00:33:28,839
l want it, too,
if it's done right.

638
00:33:28,923 --> 00:33:30,674
Well, how do you know
they're not
gonna do it right?

639
00:33:30,758 --> 00:33:32,009
Little Lord Fauntleroy
in there?

640
00:33:32,093 --> 00:33:33,260
Sympathy for Richard Nixon?

641
00:33:33,344 --> 00:33:34,970
What the. . .
He's full of shit, man !

642
00:33:35,054 --> 00:33:36,596
How do you know that?

643
00:33:38,766 --> 00:33:41,768
ls Mike Wallace
doing a piece on this?

644
00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:44,021
Apparently.

645
00:33:44,105 --> 00:33:45,772
Why didn't you tell me?

646
00:33:46,482 --> 00:33:47,899
lt isn't relevant.

647
00:33:48,985 --> 00:33:52,738
What's the angle?
"British talk show host,

648
00:33:53,489 --> 00:33:57,242
"good with actresses,
not so good with
stonewalling presidents."

649
00:33:57,535 --> 00:33:59,327
That's the general idea, yeah.

650
00:33:59,412 --> 00:34:00,620
Right.

651
00:34:01,831 --> 00:34:04,583
lt's hard not to feel
a little insulted by that.

652
00:34:06,294 --> 00:34:08,712
Well, Bob's obviously a pro.

653
00:34:08,796 --> 00:34:10,005
What are we gonna
do about Reston?

654
00:34:10,089 --> 00:34:11,631
Well, the man's an idiot.
He's overemotional.

655
00:34:11,716 --> 00:34:12,966
Send him home.

656
00:34:14,385 --> 00:34:16,344
Well, l think
he should stay.
Why?

657
00:34:16,429 --> 00:34:19,723
l liked his passion.

658
00:34:19,807 --> 00:34:21,808
He will drive us
all bloody mad.

659
00:34:22,310 --> 00:34:25,062
Well, maybe, but sometimes
being out of your comfort zone

660
00:34:25,146 --> 00:34:27,814
is a good thing, l'm told.

661
00:34:28,816 --> 00:34:30,108
He stays.

662
00:34:40,703 --> 00:34:44,831
I took my seat
next to Mrs. Mao
at the banquet table.

663
00:34:45,458 --> 00:34:50,170
Now, one of the challenges
of life as a president

664
00:34:50,838 --> 00:34:57,803
is the endless round
of cocktail parties,
social engagements, banquets.

665
00:34:58,513 --> 00:35:00,514
And people who
know me would tell you

666
00:35:00,598 --> 00:35:04,851
that small talk is not one of
my strong suits, either. No.

667
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:08,605
Particularly not in Mandarin.

668
00:35:11,609 --> 00:35:16,613
So Mrs. Mao and l,
we just, well, you know,
stared at one another.

669
00:35:17,740 --> 00:35:22,035
And then across the table,
Mrs. Nixon and
Chairman Mao himself, well,

670
00:35:22,870 --> 00:35:25,247
they stared
at one another, too.

671
00:35:25,331 --> 00:35:28,166
And then further down,
Dr. Kissinger

672
00:35:28,251 --> 00:35:31,086
and their
foreign minister, well,

673
00:35:31,587 --> 00:35:34,631
you're getting
the picture now.

674
00:35:39,303 --> 00:35:41,263
l can't stand it, Jack!

675
00:35:42,557 --> 00:35:47,727
Reducing the presidency
to a series
of banal anecdotes.

676
00:35:47,895 --> 00:35:50,730
l feel like
a circus animal
doing tricks.

677
00:35:50,940 --> 00:35:52,691
And l thought
l made it clear!

678
00:35:52,775 --> 00:35:57,320
l didn't want to take
any questions
on Watergate, damn it!

679
00:35:58,739 --> 00:36:01,116
Soon as it came
to question time,

680
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:05,829
all those sons of bitches
ever want to hear about
is Watergate!

681
00:36:05,913 --> 00:36:10,375
lt's as if all
my other achievements
have ceased to exist.

682
00:36:10,459 --> 00:36:11,710
Well, sir, you're
gonna get a chance

683
00:36:11,794 --> 00:36:13,086
to talk about them
sooner than you think.

684
00:36:13,171 --> 00:36:14,838
Yeah? How?

685
00:36:14,922 --> 00:36:17,299
Frost got there.
He got the money.

686
00:36:18,593 --> 00:36:20,010
What?

687
00:36:20,094 --> 00:36:21,511
l understand
most of it's borrowed,

688
00:36:21,596 --> 00:36:23,346
that his friends
have bailed him out.

689
00:36:23,431 --> 00:36:25,640
But the point is,
we start taping
at the end of March.

690
00:36:25,725 --> 00:36:28,435
Really? Now, that's terrific.

691
00:36:28,519 --> 00:36:30,270
How much time is
devoted to Watergate?

692
00:36:30,354 --> 00:36:33,190
25%. Just one of
four 90-minute shows.

693
00:36:33,274 --> 00:36:35,275
What are the other
three divided into?

694
00:36:35,359 --> 00:36:37,360
Domestic Affairs,
Foreign Policy,

695
00:36:37,445 --> 00:36:38,528
and Nixon the Man.

696
00:36:38,613 --> 00:36:39,571
"Nixon the Man"?

697
00:36:39,655 --> 00:36:41,823
As opposed to what?
Nixon the horse?

698
00:36:41,908 --> 00:36:45,076
Well, l imagine
it's some kind of
biographical piece.

699
00:36:46,495 --> 00:36:50,999
l can see it now.
The father that neglected me,
the brothers that died.

700
00:36:51,083 --> 00:36:53,126
Spare me.

701
00:36:53,211 --> 00:36:58,256
Still, now, the fact
it's come together, now,
that's a good thing, no?

702
00:36:58,341 --> 00:37:01,551
Mr. President, it's fantastic.

703
00:37:01,636 --> 00:37:03,929
Frost is just not in
your intellectual class, sir.

704
00:37:04,013 --> 00:37:07,474
You're gonna be
able to dictate terms,
rebuild your reputation.

705
00:37:07,558 --> 00:37:12,479
lf this went well,
if enough people saw it,
revised their opinion,

706
00:37:12,563 --> 00:37:15,815
you could move back East
way, way earlier
than we expected.

707
00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:17,776
You think?
l'm certain.

708
00:37:19,278 --> 00:37:25,367
lt would be so good
to go back to where
the action is.

709
00:37:25,451 --> 00:37:26,743
You know?

710
00:37:26,827 --> 00:37:30,330
The hunger in my belly
is still there, Jack.

711
00:37:33,251 --> 00:37:36,336
l guess it all boils down
to Watergate, huh?

712
00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:39,089
Well, that's nothing
to worry about, sir.

713
00:37:39,173 --> 00:37:41,883
lt's not as if
there's gonna be
any revelations.

714
00:37:41,968 --> 00:37:44,678
That stuff's been combed over
a million times.

715
00:37:44,762 --> 00:37:47,055
No one has pinned
anything on you.

716
00:37:47,139 --> 00:37:49,599
Yeah, still,
it's been a while

717
00:37:49,684 --> 00:37:51,184
since l spoke about it
on the record.

718
00:37:51,269 --> 00:37:53,019
l'm gonna start
doing my homework.

719
00:37:53,104 --> 00:37:55,855
Hey, you know what would
be an interesting
thing to find out?

720
00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:57,023
What his strategy is.

721
00:37:57,108 --> 00:37:58,149
Now, where's he staying?

722
00:37:58,234 --> 00:37:59,776
l believe The Beverly Hilton.

723
00:37:59,860 --> 00:38:01,361
The Beverly Hilton, you say.

724
00:38:01,445 --> 00:38:03,863
Well, l got
the numbers someplace

725
00:38:03,948 --> 00:38:06,324
of some fellows
that we could send in.

726
00:38:06,409 --> 00:38:09,035
Cubans with ClA training.

727
00:38:17,503 --> 00:38:19,421
Jesus, Jack, it was a joke.

728
00:38:20,923 --> 00:38:22,340
Yes, sir.

729
00:38:26,178 --> 00:38:28,179
RESTON: A week later,
we said goodbye
to our families,

730
00:38:28,264 --> 00:38:31,349
we hopped on a plane,
and we moved into
The Beverly Hilton.

731
00:38:31,434 --> 00:38:33,435
And that\s where we
started to dig into
our research

732
00:38:33,519 --> 00:38:36,062
and prepare
for the interviews.

733
00:38:37,023 --> 00:38:38,189
Yeah, as it happens, we took

734
00:38:38,274 --> 00:38:40,442
the whole question
of security very seriously.

735
00:38:42,820 --> 00:38:46,239
BIRT: And from day one,
we kept all our files
in a locked safe.

736
00:38:49,952 --> 00:38:53,163
Who was the guy
that Mike interviewed?
Was that Haldeman?

737
00:38:53,289 --> 00:38:54,873
BlRT: Haldeman.
RESTON : Haldeman.
And Ehrlichman, too.

738
00:38:54,957 --> 00:38:57,459
l always get
the Germans mixed up.

739
00:38:57,543 --> 00:39:00,128
l'm a little
confused by that.

740
00:39:00,212 --> 00:39:02,964
What is Haldeman's
official. . .
Hello, darling.

741
00:39:03,591 --> 00:39:06,718
As for the work over
the months, we divided it
into three sections.

742
00:39:06,802 --> 00:39:10,347
Birt took Vietnam,
Bob took Foreign
and Domestic Policy,

743
00:39:10,431 --> 00:39:13,600
and l got Watergate
and the abuses of power.

744
00:39:13,768 --> 00:39:16,561
And David,
we never really
saw much of David.

745
00:39:16,645 --> 00:39:18,146
RESTON : All right, so what
about the Huston Plan?

746
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:20,023
You can see the seeds
of dirty tricks.

747
00:39:20,107 --> 00:39:23,526
Essentially,
it's an attempt to
legalize dirty tricks.

748
00:39:23,611 --> 00:39:25,695
That's why you gotta
get David to put it
in the question.

749
00:39:25,780 --> 00:39:26,863
Wiretapping students.

750
00:39:26,947 --> 00:39:28,365
N lXON ON TAPE: But they\ve
traced the money to him.

751
00:39:28,449 --> 00:39:29,991
RESTON : Opening people's mail.

752
00:39:30,076 --> 00:39:31,076
What about wiretapping?

753
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:32,160
How many people
has he wiretapped?

754
00:39:32,244 --> 00:39:34,496
This guy wiretapped
1 7 people.

755
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:35,622
BlRT: Seventeen?

756
00:39:35,706 --> 00:39:36,706
lncluding his own brother.

757
00:39:36,791 --> 00:39:38,708
But you know what?
We can't ask him
about his brother,

758
00:39:38,793 --> 00:39:41,544
'cause frankly,
if Donald Nixon
was my brother,

759
00:39:41,629 --> 00:39:43,755
l'd wiretap him, too.

760
00:39:44,965 --> 00:39:48,134
RESTON : But wait, okay,
so we have
breaking and entering.

761
00:39:48,386 --> 00:39:51,846
We have wiretapping,
conspiracy to
foster prostitution.

762
00:39:51,931 --> 00:39:53,181
And that's Liddy, right?

763
00:39:53,265 --> 00:39:55,517
Delivery courtesy
of Nate 'n Al's

764
00:39:55,643 --> 00:39:57,310
finest deli selection.

765
00:39:57,395 --> 00:39:59,896
We're going to need napkins.
We'd better have some napkins.

766
00:39:59,980 --> 00:40:01,856
How do we frame a question
about Cambodia,

767
00:40:01,941 --> 00:40:02,941
about the illicit
bombing of Cambodia?

768
00:40:03,025 --> 00:40:04,025
l think you should say,

769
00:40:04,110 --> 00:40:05,735
"How far do you take
executive privilege

770
00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:07,445
"before it becomes
an undemocratic event?"

771
00:40:07,530 --> 00:40:09,781
l think you frame
the question to him
as a Quaker.

772
00:40:09,865 --> 00:40:13,576
"How do you feel as
a Quaker about annihilating
an entire people?"

773
00:40:17,081 --> 00:40:19,666
FROST: Come on.
Are they really
interested in buying time?

774
00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:21,334
Are they going to
give us the money?

775
00:40:21,419 --> 00:40:22,919
How serious are they?

776
00:40:23,003 --> 00:40:26,506
You have to set up that
he has an anti-democratic
personality.

777
00:40:26,590 --> 00:40:28,258
There's a reason they
call him Tricky Dick.

778
00:40:28,342 --> 00:40:31,845
Because l had written about
and watched Nixon for years,

779
00:40:31,929 --> 00:40:34,055
l got to play him
in our rehearsals.

780
00:40:34,140 --> 00:40:36,182
You know,
the fellas would
throw me a question,

781
00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:39,144
and I would try and anticipate
what his response might be.

782
00:40:39,228 --> 00:40:41,271
BlRT: Okay,
the White House
taping system.

783
00:40:41,355 --> 00:40:44,649
Ours is not
the first administration
to use taping systems.

784
00:40:44,733 --> 00:40:46,568
Lyndon Johnson's
White House used them.
So did Kennedy's.

785
00:40:46,652 --> 00:40:49,279
Huston Plan.
Wiretapping and alleged
abuses of power.

786
00:40:49,363 --> 00:40:53,199
Let me tell you,
other administrations
were up to far worse.

787
00:40:53,451 --> 00:40:56,619
And just for fun,
your close
friend Jack Kennedy.

788
00:40:57,288 --> 00:40:59,873
That man, he screwed
anything that moved,

789
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:02,625
fixed elections
and took us into Vietnam.

790
00:41:02,710 --> 00:41:05,003
And the American people,
they loved him for it!

791
00:41:05,087 --> 00:41:08,006
Whereas l,
Richard Milhous Nixon,

792
00:41:08,090 --> 00:41:12,010
worked around the clock
in their service,
and they hated me!

793
00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:16,431
Look. Look. Now l'm sweating.

794
00:41:16,515 --> 00:41:18,933
Damn it! Damn it!

795
00:41:19,018 --> 00:41:22,103
And Kennedy's
so goddamn handsome
and blue-eyed !

796
00:41:22,188 --> 00:41:23,646
And women all over him !

797
00:41:23,731 --> 00:41:26,024
He screwed anything
that moved, and everything.

798
00:41:26,108 --> 00:41:27,358
Had a go at Checkers once.

799
00:41:27,443 --> 00:41:29,861
The poor little bitch
was never the same!

800
00:41:31,697 --> 00:41:35,617
Gentlemen, finally a friend
in the American press.

801
00:41:35,701 --> 00:41:38,328
CAROLlN E: Jack Anderson
in The Washington Post,

802
00:41:38,412 --> 00:41:40,788
"When Richard Nixon faces
the television cameras

803
00:41:40,873 --> 00:41:43,625
"for his first interview
since he abandoned
the White House,

804
00:41:43,709 --> 00:41:47,086
"he'll be cross-examined
as if he were on
the witness stand.

805
00:41:47,171 --> 00:41:50,381
"Frost has hired
three crack investigators

806
00:41:50,466 --> 00:41:52,133
"to help him
with the research.

807
00:41:52,218 --> 00:41:55,428
"Clearly
the famous TV interviewer
will pull no punches."

808
00:41:55,513 --> 00:41:56,930
"Crack investigators"?

809
00:41:57,014 --> 00:41:58,056
Can l be Crack One?

810
00:41:58,140 --> 00:41:59,599
Can l be Deep Crack?

811
00:42:01,769 --> 00:42:03,645
David, can l talk
to you for a sec?

812
00:42:03,729 --> 00:42:05,104
After researching
my last book,

813
00:42:05,189 --> 00:42:06,523
l was pretty
certain Colson. . .

814
00:42:06,607 --> 00:42:08,858
You know, Charles Colson?
His darkest henchman?

815
00:42:08,984 --> 00:42:10,276
Colson, right.
Colson had a
meeting with Nixon

816
00:42:10,361 --> 00:42:11,361
(PHON E RlNGlNG)

817
00:42:11,445 --> 00:42:12,570
sometime before June 23,

818
00:42:12,655 --> 00:42:14,072
but l never knew
the exact date,

819
00:42:14,156 --> 00:42:15,865
so l couldn't
find the transcript.

820
00:42:15,950 --> 00:42:18,117
But if you gave me
a week back in the
Federal Courthouse library. . .

821
00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:21,871
A week? Goodness, Jim,
we can't lose you
for that long.

822
00:42:21,956 --> 00:42:23,331
l think this is
really good stuff, Dave.

823
00:42:23,415 --> 00:42:25,375
Would there be something
l could help you with?

824
00:42:25,459 --> 00:42:27,877
You know, if we're
gonna nail Nixon
in these interviews,

825
00:42:27,962 --> 00:42:29,379
we're gonna
have to ambush him.

826
00:42:29,463 --> 00:42:30,797
We're gonna have to
take him by surprise.

827
00:42:30,881 --> 00:42:33,049
Don't worry, Jim.
We'll get him anyway.

828
00:42:33,133 --> 00:42:35,718
Hang on a second.
David, Jack Brennan.

829
00:42:35,803 --> 00:42:37,262
He sounds a little emotional.

830
00:42:37,346 --> 00:42:38,805
l'll take it in here.

831
00:42:38,889 --> 00:42:40,807
He'll be right
with you. Yeah.

832
00:42:44,019 --> 00:42:45,603
Jack.
Watergate.

833
00:42:45,688 --> 00:42:46,771
Yes, Jack.

834
00:42:46,855 --> 00:42:50,441
Our lawyers want us to agree
on a definition of the word.

835
00:42:50,526 --> 00:42:52,402
Well, l believe
it's a large hotel

836
00:42:52,486 --> 00:42:54,571
and office complex
in Washington, Jack.

837
00:42:54,655 --> 00:42:55,738
You know what
I'm talking about.

838
00:42:55,823 --> 00:42:57,282
For the interviews.

839
00:42:57,491 --> 00:42:59,409
We want to propose
that Watergate

840
00:42:59,493 --> 00:43:01,995
be an umbrella term
for everything negative.

841
00:43:02,830 --> 00:43:03,830
(STAMMERS)

842
00:43:03,914 --> 00:43:05,290
Hold on a minute.

843
00:43:09,253 --> 00:43:11,963
So all the other
domestic charges

844
00:43:12,047 --> 00:43:13,423
against him,
the Brookings lnstitute,

845
00:43:13,507 --> 00:43:15,592
the Plumbers Union,
the Enemies List,

846
00:43:15,676 --> 00:43:18,177
you're saying all that
goes into Watergate?

847
00:43:18,929 --> 00:43:20,513
Correct.

848
00:43:20,598 --> 00:43:23,099
That is absurd
and a clear breach

849
00:43:23,183 --> 00:43:25,184
of the terms
of our agreement.

850
00:43:25,269 --> 00:43:28,313
Okay. How would
you define Watergate?

851
00:43:28,397 --> 00:43:29,606
Well, that it covers
just that.

852
00:43:29,690 --> 00:43:31,441
The Watergate
break-in of June 1 7th

853
00:43:31,525 --> 00:43:33,818
and the subsequent
cover-up and investigation.

854
00:43:33,902 --> 00:43:35,612
Fine. ln which case,
the deal is off.

855
00:43:35,696 --> 00:43:39,198
Fine. ln which case,
you can expect a lawsuit

856
00:43:39,325 --> 00:43:41,451
for something
in excess of $20 million

857
00:43:41,535 --> 00:43:43,578
in damages and
loss of earnings.

858
00:43:43,662 --> 00:43:46,497
The terms of the contract
clearly stipulate

859
00:43:46,582 --> 00:43:50,209
that Watergate take up
no more than 25% of the time.

860
00:43:50,294 --> 00:43:53,171
Yes, but nowhere does it say
that for the rest of the 75%

861
00:43:53,255 --> 00:43:55,757
he gets to drone on
and sound presidential.

862
00:43:57,384 --> 00:44:01,596
"Drone on"? Jesus Christ.
Where's your respect?

863
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,474
You remember
who you're
talking about here.

864
00:44:04,558 --> 00:44:08,269
You know as well as l do
that 60% of what he did
in office was right,

865
00:44:08,354 --> 00:44:12,190
and 30% may have been wrong,
but he thought it was right
at the time.

866
00:44:12,274 --> 00:44:14,192
Yes, but that
still leaves 1 0%

867
00:44:14,276 --> 00:44:16,694
where he was doing
the wrong thing and knew it.

868
00:44:17,946 --> 00:44:21,532
You goddamn media people.
You are so smug.

869
00:44:22,242 --> 00:44:25,787
Well, l can guarantee you
if you screw us on the 60%,

870
00:44:25,871 --> 00:44:29,415
l will ruin you if it takes
the rest of my life.

871
00:44:31,752 --> 00:44:32,752
Prick.

872
00:44:52,231 --> 00:44:53,940
Look at you. Gorgeous.

873
00:44:56,360 --> 00:44:57,610
Good night, sweet princes.

874
00:44:57,695 --> 00:44:59,320
Cheerio.
Bye.

875
00:44:59,405 --> 00:45:01,614
See you in the morning.

876
00:45:01,699 --> 00:45:02,949
(DOOR CLOSES)

877
00:45:04,159 --> 00:45:06,244
Why the monkey suit?

878
00:45:06,328 --> 00:45:08,287
David has a film premiere
he needs to attend.

879
00:45:08,372 --> 00:45:10,873
What? The night
before we start taping?

880
00:45:10,958 --> 00:45:12,625
What's the movie?

881
00:45:14,169 --> 00:45:16,587
It's The Slipper and the Rose.

882
00:45:17,923 --> 00:45:19,132
The Cinderella movie?

883
00:45:19,216 --> 00:45:21,426
Yeah. David's
the executive producer.

884
00:45:21,885 --> 00:45:24,053
You don't think it might be
an idea for our interviewer

885
00:45:24,138 --> 00:45:26,389
to be rested and focused
on the job in hand?

886
00:45:26,473 --> 00:45:28,099
BlRT: Don't worry.

887
00:45:28,183 --> 00:45:30,601
David is a performer
of the highest caliber.

888
00:45:30,686 --> 00:45:33,146
He's been in these
pressure situations
many times before.

889
00:45:33,230 --> 00:45:36,441
Come the hour,
he'll be fine. Okay?

890
00:45:41,822 --> 00:45:43,740
What did he say?
Did he say "performer"?

891
00:45:43,824 --> 00:45:45,616
Yeah.
That's the word he used?

892
00:45:45,701 --> 00:45:46,909
Yeah, he said "performer."

893
00:45:46,994 --> 00:45:48,119
Not "journalist"
or "interviewer"?

894
00:45:48,203 --> 00:45:51,289
No. He said "performer."

895
00:45:51,373 --> 00:45:55,501
Out of curiosity,
where are you at this
moment? Psychically?

896
00:45:57,588 --> 00:46:02,300
l am imagining the dust,
the darkness,

897
00:46:02,384 --> 00:46:05,928
the agony and the
unimaginable loneliness

898
00:46:06,013 --> 00:46:09,098
of the wilderness
l am about to
be dispatched to

899
00:46:09,183 --> 00:46:11,934
by my Washington
political colleagues.

900
00:46:15,522 --> 00:46:17,148
(CH EERlNG)

901
00:46:23,030 --> 00:46:25,907
So any opportunity you get,
go right to foreign policy,
go right to Mao,

902
00:46:25,991 --> 00:46:27,200
go right to Khrushchev.

903
00:46:27,284 --> 00:46:28,451
Just go right!

904
00:46:28,535 --> 00:46:30,286
KHACH lGlAN :
You could do all day
on foreign policy, sir.

905
00:46:30,370 --> 00:46:31,954
PRlCE: l disagree
that the Mao banquet
story is stale.

906
00:46:32,039 --> 00:46:33,539
Excuse me, sir.
Something l think
you should see.

907
00:46:33,624 --> 00:46:34,665
GAN NON : People love
that story.

908
00:46:34,750 --> 00:46:35,792
SAWYER: Why don't we
save it for the book?

909
00:46:35,876 --> 00:46:37,877
KHACH lGlAN :
Yeah, right, come on.

910
00:46:40,047 --> 00:46:41,631
REPORTER 1 : David.
REPORTER 2: Mr. Frost.

911
00:46:41,715 --> 00:46:43,758
REPORTER 1 : David,
some people in the media
have suggested

912
00:46:43,842 --> 00:46:45,593
that you're not
the right man for the job,

913
00:46:45,677 --> 00:46:47,386
that you'll be
too soft on the President.

914
00:46:47,471 --> 00:46:49,305
What will you do
if he stonewalls you?

915
00:46:49,389 --> 00:46:51,098
FROST: Well, l shall
say so again and again.

916
00:46:51,183 --> 00:46:53,643
But I should say right now
that I'm not expecting

917
00:46:53,727 --> 00:46:56,604
his approach
to be to stonewall.

918
00:46:56,688 --> 00:47:00,316
I'm hoping that
it\ll be that of
a cascade of candor.

919
00:47:00,400 --> 00:47:02,068
REPORTER 1 :
\\A cascade of candor\\?

920
00:47:02,152 --> 00:47:03,778
From Richard Nixon?

921
00:47:03,862 --> 00:47:05,863
You think that\s
what you'll get?

922
00:47:05,948 --> 00:47:09,200
No, I just
thought it was a phrase
that might appeal to you.

923
00:47:09,284 --> 00:47:10,827
REPORTER 1 : So what
about the money?

924
00:47:10,911 --> 00:47:12,620
That's a strange fellow.

925
00:47:12,704 --> 00:47:14,664
Started life as a comic,
you know.

926
00:47:14,748 --> 00:47:15,873
N lXON : ls that so?
Mmm-hmm.

927
00:47:15,958 --> 00:47:17,834
Almost married
Diahann Carroll.

928
00:47:17,918 --> 00:47:18,876
Who?

929
00:47:18,961 --> 00:47:20,711
GAN NON : The singer.

930
00:47:22,172 --> 00:47:23,756
lsn't she black?

931
00:47:25,217 --> 00:47:26,551
Yes, sir.

932
00:47:27,594 --> 00:47:30,137
Right here
in the Frost file,
which we put together

933
00:47:30,222 --> 00:47:32,849
as part of
our general preparations.

934
00:47:32,933 --> 00:47:36,519
Okay. Let's get back to work.

935
00:47:36,603 --> 00:47:38,855
FROST: That's fact,
this is fiction.

936
00:47:38,939 --> 00:47:40,690
So now it\s about
The Slipper and the Rose.

937
00:47:40,774 --> 00:47:42,108
It\s a cracker of a movie.

938
00:47:42,192 --> 00:47:44,068
I hope you'll all
come and see it, and. . .

939
00:47:48,448 --> 00:47:49,907
(ELEVATOR BELL DlNGS)

940
00:47:51,535 --> 00:47:53,286
l shouldn't have
ordered that coffee.

941
00:47:53,370 --> 00:47:55,079
Just don't drink any more.

942
00:47:57,958 --> 00:47:59,667
(lNAU DlBLE)

943
00:48:00,919 --> 00:48:02,628
Good luck.
Thank you.

944
00:48:04,882 --> 00:48:06,883
l'll be thinking of you.

945
00:48:11,763 --> 00:48:13,306
Dick. Wait.

946
00:48:28,822 --> 00:48:31,574
FROST: For the record,
l'm gonna be starting
with John's idea.

947
00:48:31,658 --> 00:48:33,409
"Why didn't you
burn the tapes?"

948
00:48:33,493 --> 00:48:34,744
No.
Fuck.

949
00:48:34,828 --> 00:48:37,538
Please, God, no! You can't.

950
00:48:37,623 --> 00:48:40,249
David, you can't do that.
lt would be a disaster.

951
00:48:40,334 --> 00:48:43,419
lt would get us
into Watergate way ahead
of the agreed time.

952
00:48:43,503 --> 00:48:46,172
What is the point of
having contractually set

953
00:48:46,256 --> 00:48:48,424
specific times to deal
with certain subjects

954
00:48:48,508 --> 00:48:50,134
if you're just
going to ignore it
right off the bat?

955
00:48:50,218 --> 00:48:51,427
'Cause it's war, isn't it?
Gloves off.

956
00:48:51,511 --> 00:48:52,720
l like it. lt's ballsy.

957
00:48:52,804 --> 00:48:54,013
Strategically,
it'll give us the upper hand.

958
00:48:54,097 --> 00:48:56,140
lt's insanely risky.

959
00:48:56,224 --> 00:48:57,642
He could walk
right off the set,

960
00:48:57,726 --> 00:48:59,101
and there's nothing
we could do about it.

961
00:48:59,186 --> 00:49:00,937
Worse, he could sue you !

962
00:49:01,021 --> 00:49:03,689
We were sadly
unable to do the taping
at Casa Pacifica

963
00:49:03,774 --> 00:49:06,067
because of the Coast Guard
radio interference,

964
00:49:06,151 --> 00:49:09,153
so we ended up
at the rather more
modest Smith house,

965
00:49:09,237 --> 00:49:11,739
which was owned
by a local Republican
businessman.

966
00:49:11,823 --> 00:49:12,823
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

967
00:49:12,908 --> 00:49:14,450
PHOTOGRAPH ER: Right here!

968
00:49:14,534 --> 00:49:15,743
Mr. Frost, look over here.

969
00:49:15,827 --> 00:49:17,036
Over here, sir!

970
00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:18,287
Here we go.
OFFlCER: Back up
behind the curb.

971
00:49:18,372 --> 00:49:19,497
REPORTER 1 :
A few questions, please.

972
00:49:19,581 --> 00:49:20,665
PHOTOGRAPH ER:
Right here, Mr. Frost.

973
00:49:20,749 --> 00:49:23,042
REPORTER 2: David !
David ! David !

974
00:49:23,543 --> 00:49:25,586
(ALL CLAMORlNG)

975
00:49:28,423 --> 00:49:29,882
FROST: Well, hello there.

976
00:49:31,343 --> 00:49:32,718
(SlREN BLARlNG)

977
00:49:34,054 --> 00:49:35,429
Excuse me, fellas.

978
00:49:51,238 --> 00:49:53,781
MAN : Nixon, there's
blood on your hands!

979
00:49:54,157 --> 00:49:55,324
WOMAN : Liar!

980
00:50:04,751 --> 00:50:06,794
MAN : Here comes the President!

981
00:50:06,878 --> 00:50:08,170
REPORTER 1 : Mr. President!

982
00:50:08,255 --> 00:50:10,006
REPORTER 2: Mr. President!

983
00:50:11,049 --> 00:50:13,134
REPORTER 3: How are you
feeling, Mr. President?

984
00:50:13,260 --> 00:50:14,927
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

985
00:50:15,262 --> 00:50:17,680
The Smith family requested
that the furniture
be put back in place.

986
00:50:17,764 --> 00:50:19,390
They talked to you
about that, too?

987
00:50:19,474 --> 00:50:21,267
They're bugging everybody.

988
00:50:26,273 --> 00:50:28,024
RESTON : You know,
l've written
four books about him,

989
00:50:28,108 --> 00:50:30,776
but this is the first
time l've actually seen
him in the flesh.

990
00:50:30,861 --> 00:50:33,946
He's taller than l imagined,
and tanned.

991
00:50:34,072 --> 00:50:36,323
The least he could
do is look ravaged.

992
00:50:38,869 --> 00:50:40,036
You gonna shake his hand?

993
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:41,287
Am l gonna shake. . .

994
00:50:41,371 --> 00:50:42,663
Are you kidding me?

995
00:50:42,748 --> 00:50:44,373
After everything
that prick's done
to this country?

996
00:50:44,458 --> 00:50:45,750
l'm not gonna shake his hand.

997
00:50:45,834 --> 00:50:47,376
Gentlemen.

998
00:50:47,711 --> 00:50:51,756
May l present Bob Zelnick,
my executive editor?

999
00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:53,174
How do you do?

1000
00:50:53,258 --> 00:50:54,550
Pleasure, Mr. President.

1001
00:50:54,634 --> 00:50:57,428
FROST: And Jim Reston,
one of my researchers.

1002
00:50:57,512 --> 00:50:59,764
Pleasure to meet you,
Mr. Reston.

1003
00:51:03,101 --> 00:51:04,560
Mr. President.

1004
00:51:04,644 --> 00:51:07,313
Excuse me, sir?
Got a room for
you right here.

1005
00:51:11,777 --> 00:51:15,029
Wow. That was
devastating, withering.

1006
00:51:15,113 --> 00:51:16,572
l mean, l don't think he's
ever gonna get over that.

1007
00:51:16,656 --> 00:51:17,865
Yeah, fuck off.

1008
00:51:17,949 --> 00:51:19,366
(CH UCKLES)

1009
00:51:19,451 --> 00:51:22,244
l got you guys
set up back here.

1010
00:51:22,329 --> 00:51:26,248
Now this is your green room.

1011
00:51:26,333 --> 00:51:28,793
And the President will be
on the large monitor.

1012
00:51:28,877 --> 00:51:30,586
Craft services is that way.

1013
00:51:39,387 --> 00:51:40,805
Keep it about
that temperature, okay?

1014
00:51:40,889 --> 00:51:41,889
Mr. President?

1015
00:51:41,973 --> 00:51:42,973
Yeah.

1016
00:51:43,058 --> 00:51:44,433
Before we start,
l just want to say

1017
00:51:44,518 --> 00:51:47,603
how delighted we all are
by Mrs. Nixon's recovery.

1018
00:51:47,687 --> 00:51:49,563
Well, thank you.
lt's true.

1019
00:51:49,648 --> 00:51:51,607
She's much better now.

1020
00:51:51,691 --> 00:51:56,237
She's just getting
round to the business
of replying to all the cards.

1021
00:51:57,030 --> 00:51:59,532
And from our
point of view, well,

1022
00:51:59,616 --> 00:52:02,284
l'd just like to say
how pleased we are

1023
00:52:02,369 --> 00:52:03,786
that you got
this all together.

1024
00:52:03,870 --> 00:52:04,912
Thank you.

1025
00:52:04,996 --> 00:52:08,124
As l understand it,
it's been quite a struggle.

1026
00:52:08,208 --> 00:52:09,250
Well. . .

1027
00:52:09,334 --> 00:52:11,502
How much has it cost?

1028
00:52:11,586 --> 00:52:14,922
You mind me asking?
Hey, come on.

1029
00:52:15,006 --> 00:52:17,591
Come on,
it's just between us.

1030
00:52:17,676 --> 00:52:20,553
Very well. Two million.

1031
00:52:20,637 --> 00:52:24,223
Two million? Jeez.
l didn't realize
we were making Ben-Hur.

1032
00:52:24,307 --> 00:52:25,558
(LAUGHS U NCOMFORTABLY)

1033
00:52:26,893 --> 00:52:29,562
But tell me something.

1034
00:52:29,646 --> 00:52:31,939
You raised it all now?

1035
00:52:33,150 --> 00:52:34,233
(H ESlTATES)

1036
00:52:34,317 --> 00:52:37,069
Not quite.
But we're getting there.

1037
00:52:37,154 --> 00:52:39,655
Everyone's been kind
and deferred fees.

1038
00:52:40,073 --> 00:52:42,741
Well, not quite everyone.

1039
00:52:44,077 --> 00:52:45,578
David, l'm gonna go in
with you on camera.

1040
00:52:45,662 --> 00:52:47,329
Excuse me.

1041
00:52:47,414 --> 00:52:49,582
l want to put
a handkerchief here,
if l may.

1042
00:52:49,666 --> 00:52:51,500
ls that out of shot?

1043
00:52:51,585 --> 00:52:53,335
That's fine, Mr. President.

1044
00:52:53,420 --> 00:52:55,671
Contractually,
l think that we made

1045
00:52:55,755 --> 00:52:59,008
an agreement that
after each question

1046
00:52:59,092 --> 00:53:01,677
l might dab my upper lip
before answering it.

1047
00:53:01,761 --> 00:53:04,680
Which you won't show,
you know,
when you cut it together.

1048
00:53:04,764 --> 00:53:08,267
You're probably aware
of my history
with perspiration.

1049
00:53:08,351 --> 00:53:11,604
lf you're
referring to your TV debate
with Jack Kennedy in 1 960.

1050
00:53:11,688 --> 00:53:16,442
They say that
moisture on my upper lip
cost me the presidency.

1051
00:53:16,526 --> 00:53:20,654
People who heard
it on the radio,
well, they thought l'd won.

1052
00:53:20,739 --> 00:53:23,199
But television
and the close-up,

1053
00:53:23,283 --> 00:53:25,743
they create their
own sets of meanings.

1054
00:53:25,827 --> 00:53:29,038
So now they insist
l bring a handkerchief

1055
00:53:29,122 --> 00:53:31,207
and that l have
my eyebrows trimmed.

1056
00:53:31,291 --> 00:53:33,042
Sixty seconds, everyone.

1057
00:53:34,127 --> 00:53:36,212
You trim yours?
No.

1058
00:53:36,296 --> 00:53:38,047
No, of course not.

1059
00:53:38,131 --> 00:53:40,549
Yeah, you're light-skinned.
Yeah.

1060
00:53:40,634 --> 00:53:44,470
You got blue eyes. You've got
no troubles with perspiration,
l imagine.

1061
00:53:44,554 --> 00:53:46,513
No, not that l'm aware.

1062
00:53:46,598 --> 00:53:49,016
You were obviously
born to be on the tube.

1063
00:53:50,894 --> 00:53:53,312
DAVlS: Stand by
to roll tape in 30 seconds.

1064
00:53:53,897 --> 00:53:55,481
Settling.

1065
00:54:00,904 --> 00:54:02,821
Those shoes.

1066
00:54:04,366 --> 00:54:06,283
They're ltalian, aren't they?

1067
00:54:06,493 --> 00:54:08,202
My shoes? l believe so.

1068
00:54:08,912 --> 00:54:10,955
Yeah, that's interesting.

1069
00:54:11,873 --> 00:54:13,374
(SN lFFLES)

1070
00:54:15,168 --> 00:54:17,378
You don't find
them too effeminate?

1071
00:54:20,090 --> 00:54:21,548
No.

1072
00:54:21,633 --> 00:54:23,425
Well, l guess
somebody in your field

1073
00:54:23,510 --> 00:54:25,344
can get away
with them, you know.

1074
00:54:25,428 --> 00:54:27,012
Manolo, just check
my collar, will you?

1075
00:54:27,097 --> 00:54:28,764
DlRECTOR: David,
starting with camera two,

1076
00:54:28,848 --> 00:54:35,229
in four, three, two.
Cue David. And. . .

1077
00:54:37,482 --> 00:54:42,069
Mr. President. Now,
we're going to be
covering a lot of subjects

1078
00:54:42,153 --> 00:54:45,531
in a great deal of detail
over the course
of these interviews,

1079
00:54:45,615 --> 00:54:49,493
but l'd like to
begin completely
out of context

1080
00:54:49,577 --> 00:54:51,203
by asking you
one question,

1081
00:54:51,288 --> 00:54:54,206
more than any other,
almost every American

1082
00:54:54,291 --> 00:54:57,459
and people all over
the world want me to ask.

1083
00:54:59,546 --> 00:55:01,422
Why didn't you
burn the tapes?

1084
00:55:04,634 --> 00:55:06,468
Son of a bitch !

1085
00:55:09,264 --> 00:55:15,227
Well, Mr. Frost,
l'm surprised
by your question

1086
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:20,399
since we have an agreement,
a contractual agreement,
l believe,

1087
00:55:20,483 --> 00:55:24,737
that we would cover Watergate
in our last taping session.

1088
00:55:34,039 --> 00:55:38,500
But if your viewers
really do have
a major concern,

1089
00:55:38,585 --> 00:55:43,630
then perhaps l should
briefly respond to it now.

1090
00:55:43,715 --> 00:55:46,842
What probably very
few people realize

1091
00:55:46,926 --> 00:55:49,136
is that the taping system
in the White House

1092
00:55:49,220 --> 00:55:52,473
was set up
by my predecessor,
President Johnson,

1093
00:55:52,557 --> 00:55:56,685
partly to avoid
the necessity of having
a secretary in every meeting,

1094
00:55:56,770 --> 00:55:59,271
and partly
to ensure there was

1095
00:55:59,356 --> 00:56:01,857
a record kept of
every verbal agreement,

1096
00:56:01,941 --> 00:56:04,902
no matter how
off the cuff or casual.

1097
00:56:05,570 --> 00:56:08,155
Now, initially, on coming
into the White House,

1098
00:56:08,239 --> 00:56:11,033
l insisted on
dismantling the system.

1099
00:56:11,117 --> 00:56:14,411
l hadn't liked
the idea at all,
but the former President,

1100
00:56:14,496 --> 00:56:16,747
President Johnson,
had repeatedly said

1101
00:56:16,831 --> 00:56:20,084
how crazy it would be
to remove the system,

1102
00:56:20,168 --> 00:56:21,752
which he felt
was the best way. . .

1103
00:56:21,836 --> 00:56:24,088
BRENNAN: Well, in boxing,
you know, there's always
that first moment,

1104
00:56:24,172 --> 00:56:26,298
and you see it in
the challenger's face.

1105
00:56:26,383 --> 00:56:28,509
lt's that moment
that he feels

1106
00:56:28,593 --> 00:56:30,928
the impact from
the champ's first jab.

1107
00:56:31,262 --> 00:56:35,015
lt's kind of
a sickening moment,
when he realizes that

1108
00:56:35,100 --> 00:56:38,394
all those months
of pep talks and the hype,

1109
00:56:38,478 --> 00:56:41,605
the psyching yourself up,
had been delusional all along.

1110
00:56:41,689 --> 00:56:43,649
You could see it
in Frost's face.

1111
00:56:43,733 --> 00:56:45,901
lf he didn't know
the caliber of the man

1112
00:56:45,985 --> 00:56:48,112
that he was up against
before the interview started,

1113
00:56:48,196 --> 00:56:50,697
he certainly knew
it halfway through
the President's first answer.

1114
00:56:50,782 --> 00:56:53,617
N lXON : You see,
since the best advice is

1115
00:56:53,701 --> 00:56:57,287
almost always
of the confidential variety,

1116
00:56:57,372 --> 00:56:59,540
now the tapes have
been made public,

1117
00:56:59,624 --> 00:57:02,084
people are unlikely
ever to feel comfortable

1118
00:57:02,168 --> 00:57:04,753
speaking in confidence
at the White House.

1119
00:57:04,838 --> 00:57:08,632
They're less likely
to offer that advice.
So in the end,

1120
00:57:08,716 --> 00:57:10,926
it's the whole
political system and,

1121
00:57:11,010 --> 00:57:13,929
by implication, it's
the country that suffers.

1122
00:57:14,013 --> 00:57:16,056
So much for
our "ballsy" opening.

1123
00:57:18,935 --> 00:57:22,020
So when did you
actually decide. . .

1124
00:57:22,105 --> 00:57:25,023
At what moment did you know
you were going to resign?

1125
00:57:25,108 --> 00:57:27,067
That's good. That's good.

1126
00:57:28,278 --> 00:57:32,364
l remember exactly.
lt was July 23.

1127
00:57:32,449 --> 00:57:35,284
After it was clear
the Southern Democrats

1128
00:57:35,368 --> 00:57:36,827
that were still against
impeachment had

1129
00:57:36,911 --> 00:57:39,997
had the screws put on them
by the Speaker of the House.

1130
00:57:40,790 --> 00:57:47,421
That night l said to
Al Haig, "Well, that's it.
There goes the presidency."

1131
00:57:47,839 --> 00:57:49,423
And, of course,
you know, being Al,

1132
00:57:49,507 --> 00:57:51,049
he tried to
talk me out of it.

1133
00:57:51,134 --> 00:57:53,886
And Vice President Ford,
I mean, let's not forget

1134
00:57:53,970 --> 00:57:57,556
he had the most
to gain personally
from my stepping down,

1135
00:57:57,640 --> 00:57:59,475
he was still
absolutely convinced that

1136
00:57:59,559 --> 00:58:01,310
we were gonna win
the impeachment vote,

1137
00:58:01,394 --> 00:58:03,145
and comfortably.
John, we have to do something.

1138
00:58:03,229 --> 00:58:04,229
We have to move this along.

1139
00:58:04,314 --> 00:58:05,981
This is desperate, John.
Do something.

1140
00:58:06,065 --> 00:58:08,484
Twenty-three minutes
on one question?

1141
00:58:08,568 --> 00:58:09,610
Okay, let's take a break.

1142
00:58:09,694 --> 00:58:11,028
Let's change the tapes.
Come on, man.

1143
00:58:11,112 --> 00:58:12,321
Stop tape.

1144
00:58:13,907 --> 00:58:15,157
DlRECTOR:
l'm sorry, gentlemen.

1145
00:58:15,241 --> 00:58:16,867
We have to take a break.
Tape change.

1146
00:58:16,951 --> 00:58:19,745
Oh. Okay, how's that?
You getting what you need?

1147
00:58:19,829 --> 00:58:21,079
lt's fantastic.

1148
00:58:21,164 --> 00:58:22,748
Good. Good. Thank you.

1149
00:58:24,334 --> 00:58:25,501
Excuse me. One moment, sir.

1150
00:58:25,585 --> 00:58:27,669
N lXON : Yeah, sure.
Take your time.

1151
00:58:28,046 --> 00:58:30,005
What are you doing, David?
You've got to
stop him rambling.

1152
00:58:30,089 --> 00:58:32,257
lt's all right.
These are just
introductory exchanges.

1153
00:58:32,342 --> 00:58:33,800
But this session
only lasts two hours.

1154
00:58:33,885 --> 00:58:36,553
Nearly half of it's gone,
and we're wasting
valuable material, okay?

1155
00:58:36,638 --> 00:58:38,889
The moment that he made
the decision to resign,

1156
00:58:38,973 --> 00:58:40,265
we should be scoring
points with that stuff.

1157
00:58:40,350 --> 00:58:41,517
Want me to switch to Vietnam?

1158
00:58:41,601 --> 00:58:43,060
No. No.
We've got to
get something

1159
00:58:43,144 --> 00:58:44,853
out of that
resignation night.
All right?

1160
00:58:44,938 --> 00:58:48,524
That was Nixon at
his lowest point,
a total wreck. On his knees?

1161
00:58:48,608 --> 00:58:51,068
Praying with Kissinger?
Come on, you can nail
him with that stuff.

1162
00:58:51,152 --> 00:58:52,528
Listen, was that okay?

1163
00:58:52,612 --> 00:58:53,862
Perfect, sir.

1164
00:58:53,947 --> 00:58:56,615
lt didn't sound too
arrogant or self-serving?

1165
00:58:56,699 --> 00:59:00,202
Not at all.
You sounded controlled,
even-handed, statesmanlike.

1166
00:59:00,286 --> 00:59:01,453
Good.

1167
00:59:01,538 --> 00:59:02,704
Now continue
exactly the same way.

1168
00:59:02,789 --> 00:59:04,665
Long answers.
Control the space.

1169
00:59:04,749 --> 00:59:05,707
Don't let him in.

1170
00:59:05,792 --> 00:59:07,084
Okay, got you.

1171
00:59:10,296 --> 00:59:12,339
DAVlS: Set. And roll.

1172
00:59:17,178 --> 00:59:22,266
We're coming
back on camera three
in four, three, two and. . .

1173
00:59:24,686 --> 00:59:28,730
Reading the account
of those extraordinary
final days,

1174
00:59:28,815 --> 00:59:31,275
it seems your most
emotional moment came

1175
00:59:31,359 --> 00:59:34,695
in that
heart-to-heart you had
with Henry Kissinger.

1176
00:59:34,779 --> 00:59:38,407
Was that perhaps
the most emotional moment
of your career?

1177
00:59:38,866 --> 00:59:40,492
RESTON : Good, good.
N IXON: Yes.

1178
00:59:41,202 --> 00:59:46,498
l would say it was
about as emotional
a moment as l've ever had.

1179
00:59:48,668 --> 00:59:50,794
Except, well,
you know,
it's hard to say

1180
00:59:50,878 --> 00:59:52,963
what is the most
emotional moment,

1181
00:59:53,047 --> 00:59:55,674
because each is different.

1182
00:59:56,092 --> 00:59:59,177
I remember the day
Eisenhower died.

1183
00:59:59,262 --> 01:00:00,554
For God's sake.

1184
01:00:00,638 --> 01:00:04,891
And the day I walked
my eldest daughter
Tricia down the aisle.

1185
01:00:04,976 --> 01:00:07,644
And the day during
the impeachment hearings

1186
01:00:07,729 --> 01:00:11,356
when Julie,
that's my youngest,
she came into my office,

1187
01:00:11,441 --> 01:00:15,944
she threw her arms around me,
she kissed me.
She cried, you know?

1188
01:00:16,029 --> 01:00:18,905
And she so seldom cries.

1189
01:00:19,115 --> 01:00:21,450
She said, \\Daddy, you\re
the finest man I know.\\

1190
01:00:21,534 --> 01:00:23,535
"Daddy, you're
the finest man l know"?

1191
01:00:23,995 --> 01:00:27,497
"And whatever you do,
l will support you.

1192
01:00:28,541 --> 01:00:32,878
"You just gotta
go through the fire,
you know, a little longer."

1193
01:00:35,256 --> 01:00:37,007
This is beautiful.

1194
01:00:37,091 --> 01:00:40,260
So Kissinger and l were
in the Lincoln Sitting Room,

1195
01:00:40,345 --> 01:00:43,305
and together we began
to reminisce

1196
01:00:43,389 --> 01:00:47,225
about some of
the great decisions that
we'd participated in.

1197
01:00:47,310 --> 01:00:50,479
There was China,
the Soviet Union,

1198
01:00:50,563 --> 01:00:53,106
the peace settlement
in Vietnam.

1199
01:00:53,191 --> 01:00:57,194
Now, let me
tell you something that
I never told anybody.

1200
01:00:57,278 --> 01:01:01,740
Whenever l have had
a really tough
decision to make. . .

1201
01:01:02,075 --> 01:01:04,826
Now, we were in
the Lincoln Sitting Room
at that time.

1202
01:01:04,911 --> 01:01:08,580
l have come into this room
for the purpose of praying.

1203
01:01:09,624 --> 01:01:13,502
"Now, Henry,
l'm a Quaker.
You're a Jew.

1204
01:01:13,586 --> 01:01:15,504
"Neither of us is
particularly orthodox,

1205
01:01:15,588 --> 01:01:18,632
"but l'd like to think
that each of us
in our own way

1206
01:01:18,716 --> 01:01:21,677
"has a deep
religious sensitivity.

1207
01:01:21,761 --> 01:01:26,848
"So if you don't mind,
could we just have a moment
of silent prayer?"

1208
01:01:26,933 --> 01:01:31,186
So we knelt down.
Now, this was in front
of that table where

1209
01:01:31,270 --> 01:01:35,399
Lincoln signed
the Emancipation
Proclamation.

1210
01:01:35,483 --> 01:01:38,944
And then after a few moments,
we both got up again,
and Henry says. . .

1211
01:01:39,028 --> 01:01:40,612
ls there. . . l'm sorry.

1212
01:01:40,738 --> 01:01:41,863
ls there a problem?

1213
01:01:41,948 --> 01:01:42,989
That's time.

1214
01:01:43,574 --> 01:01:45,701
We're over two hours.

1215
01:01:45,785 --> 01:01:47,869
Really? So soon?

1216
01:01:48,579 --> 01:01:51,540
Well, Mr. President,
l gather our time is up.

1217
01:01:51,749 --> 01:01:53,542
Gee, now, that's a pity.

1218
01:01:53,626 --> 01:01:56,128
You know,
l was beginning
to enjoy that.

1219
01:02:00,091 --> 01:02:02,426
That was terrific,
both of you.

1220
01:02:02,510 --> 01:02:03,885
We're getting some
great material.

1221
01:02:03,970 --> 01:02:05,303
You know,
it's so funny, too,

1222
01:02:05,388 --> 01:02:08,807
because l was expecting
questions on Vietnam.

1223
01:02:08,891 --> 01:02:11,393
And we prepared for that,
hadn't we, Jack?

1224
01:02:11,477 --> 01:02:12,853
Yes, so did l.

1225
01:02:12,937 --> 01:02:16,064
l guess we
just got caught up,
you know, reminiscing.

1226
01:02:16,149 --> 01:02:17,149
lndeed.

1227
01:02:17,233 --> 01:02:19,484
So, day after tomorrow,
1 0:00, right?

1228
01:02:19,569 --> 01:02:20,652
Yes, indeed.

1229
01:02:20,737 --> 01:02:22,446
l look forward to it.
Bye-bye.

1230
01:02:29,912 --> 01:02:31,997
There's no need
to say anything.

1231
01:02:38,546 --> 01:02:40,672
REPORTER 1 : Mr. President!
REPORTER 2: Mr. President!

1232
01:02:40,923 --> 01:02:42,883
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

1233
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:45,010
REPORTER 3: Mr. President!

1234
01:02:45,094 --> 01:02:46,428
REPORTER 4:
Mr. President, please!

1235
01:02:47,430 --> 01:02:48,638
(WH lSPERlNG)
What are you
gonna tell him?

1236
01:02:48,723 --> 01:02:50,432
l'm gonna tell him
he's gotta get involved.

1237
01:02:50,516 --> 01:02:52,309
He's gotta be able
to shut him up.
Shh.

1238
01:02:52,393 --> 01:02:55,437
David, we have some
fundamental problems in
our approach that l think. . .

1239
01:02:55,521 --> 01:02:56,897
Don't worry, Bob.
l'm on it.

1240
01:02:56,981 --> 01:02:57,981
We can use some of
the Kissinger stuff.

1241
01:02:58,065 --> 01:02:59,775
Yeah, but we need
to discuss it sooner
rather than later. . .

1242
01:02:59,859 --> 01:03:01,234
Look,
l'm disappointed, too.

1243
01:03:01,319 --> 01:03:04,029
But l wonder,
could we possibly spare
the post-mortem for now?

1244
01:03:04,113 --> 01:03:06,156
l don't mean to minimize it.
lt's just l've got to
get back to LA

1245
01:03:06,240 --> 01:03:07,616
to meet some people
from Weed Eater.

1246
01:03:07,700 --> 01:03:09,534
Thanks, everyone!
Great work!

1247
01:03:09,619 --> 01:03:11,787
Marv, Lloyd, great day.
Bye, David.

1248
01:03:11,871 --> 01:03:14,748
l'll see you soon.
God bless!

1249
01:03:17,794 --> 01:03:20,212
What the hell
is Weed Eater?

1250
01:03:20,505 --> 01:03:22,714
lt's a horticultural
mechanism.

1251
01:03:22,799 --> 01:03:23,799
One of our sponsors.

1252
01:03:23,883 --> 01:03:25,258
What happened to Xerox?

1253
01:03:25,343 --> 01:03:27,594
What about
General Motors
or lBM?

1254
01:03:27,678 --> 01:03:30,722
l gather that not all of
the blue-chip accounts
came through.

1255
01:03:30,807 --> 01:03:32,974
We do have Alpo.

1256
01:03:33,059 --> 01:03:34,476
Dog food?

1257
01:03:34,560 --> 01:03:36,895
(STUTTERlNG) Wait, John.
We're already taping.

1258
01:03:37,396 --> 01:03:39,105
So we're close, right?
We're very close?

1259
01:03:39,190 --> 01:03:40,607
That's probably a question
you should ask David.

1260
01:03:40,691 --> 01:03:42,567
Are we close, John?

1261
01:03:45,446 --> 01:03:47,572
l believe we're at 30%.

1262
01:03:48,324 --> 01:03:49,825
To go? Or 30% sold?

1263
01:03:49,909 --> 01:03:52,577
Again, that's probably
a question you should. . .

1264
01:03:53,663 --> 01:03:55,247
Sold, 30%% sold.

1265
01:03:55,957 --> 01:03:57,499
Jesus. . .

1266
01:03:57,625 --> 01:03:59,167
l thought
we were practically
fully financed.

1267
01:03:59,252 --> 01:04:02,379
We were. But the financing
was always conditional
on advertising sales,

1268
01:04:02,463 --> 01:04:04,172
and no one predicted
that they'd fall apart
like this.

1269
01:04:04,257 --> 01:04:06,132
Well, why have
they fallen apart?
Based on what?

1270
01:04:06,217 --> 01:04:09,010
Credibility of the project.
What else are advertising
sales based on?

1271
01:04:09,095 --> 01:04:11,221
Listen,
l understand your concern.

1272
01:04:11,305 --> 01:04:14,516
But could l ask you
to go a little easier on David
over the next couple of days,

1273
01:04:14,600 --> 01:04:17,018
bearing in mind
the extraordinary pressure
that he's under?

1274
01:04:17,103 --> 01:04:20,605
'Cause at the moment,
he's effectively paying
for all this himself.

1275
01:04:20,690 --> 01:04:24,359
So he's in it
for a lot more than
just his reputation.

1276
01:04:24,694 --> 01:04:25,986
And we're not?

1277
01:04:33,077 --> 01:04:36,663
FROST: You seemed
very confident last time.

1278
01:04:36,747 --> 01:04:39,666
I don\t understand.
Why this sudden
change of heart?

1279
01:04:39,750 --> 01:04:42,294
All right,
this is just madness.
lt's Richard Nixon.

1280
01:04:42,378 --> 01:04:46,590
These interviews
will do mid-30s
audience share, minimum.

1281
01:04:46,674 --> 01:04:53,305
Jimmy! Yes.
Yes, back again, like
the proverbial bad penny.

1282
01:04:53,389 --> 01:04:54,931
Look, l hate to do
this to a friend,

1283
01:04:55,016 --> 01:04:58,226
and l know you're already in
for more than l asked for,

1284
01:04:58,311 --> 01:05:01,771
but l need you to dig
a little deeper.

1285
01:05:03,316 --> 01:05:05,483
l'm right up against it now.

1286
01:05:09,030 --> 01:05:12,240
So, l had
a chance to review
yesterday's tapes.

1287
01:05:12,325 --> 01:05:13,533
And?

1288
01:05:13,618 --> 01:05:17,621
Honestly?
Far too soft, David.

1289
01:05:17,705 --> 01:05:19,789
Go on. Beat me, John.
Beat me with a stick.

1290
01:05:19,874 --> 01:05:22,876
Look. No, l'm serious.

1291
01:05:22,960 --> 01:05:25,337
You have got to make it
more uncomfortable for him.

1292
01:05:25,421 --> 01:05:28,131
You can start by
sitting forward.
You've gotta attack more.

1293
01:05:28,215 --> 01:05:29,799
lf he starts
tailing off, bang,

1294
01:05:29,884 --> 01:05:31,259
jump in with
another question.

1295
01:05:31,344 --> 01:05:33,386
Don't trade
generalizations.

1296
01:05:33,471 --> 01:05:34,471
Be specific.

1297
01:05:34,555 --> 01:05:37,641
And above all, don't let
him give these self-serving,
23-minute homilies.

1298
01:05:37,725 --> 01:05:38,767
Right.
And keep your distance

1299
01:05:38,851 --> 01:05:40,101
before the tape
starts running.

1300
01:05:40,186 --> 01:05:41,436
He was toying
with you yesterday.

1301
01:05:41,520 --> 01:05:43,772
All that shit about Ben-Hur
and struggling to raise
the money.

1302
01:05:43,856 --> 01:05:47,943
Those are mind games.
Don't engage.

1303
01:05:48,027 --> 01:05:51,488
Never forget,
you are in there
with a major operator.

1304
01:05:52,698 --> 01:05:54,115
Got it.

1305
01:05:59,330 --> 01:06:00,705
(N lXON CLEARS TH ROAT)

1306
01:06:01,374 --> 01:06:02,415
Ah.

1307
01:06:03,250 --> 01:06:05,210
The Grand lnquisitor!

1308
01:06:06,379 --> 01:06:08,797
No, just your friendly
neighborhood confidant.

1309
01:06:09,882 --> 01:06:11,049
(GLASS SMASH lNG)

1310
01:06:13,678 --> 01:06:15,762
lt's okay.
We just blew a bulb.

1311
01:06:16,555 --> 01:06:19,015
N lXON : This is why l got
all these Secret Service
guys around.

1312
01:06:19,100 --> 01:06:20,475
There's nothing
to worry about.

1313
01:06:20,559 --> 01:06:23,895
As a president,
you get used to
this kind of stuff.

1314
01:06:24,063 --> 01:06:27,565
DAVlS: Ed, we gotta
get in here and change
out this 750, ASAP.

1315
01:06:33,030 --> 01:06:34,698
(WH lSPERlNG)
Focus, sir.
Yeah.

1316
01:06:37,243 --> 01:06:40,912
Okay, we are back.
Okay, take it
on my count.

1317
01:06:41,747 --> 01:06:44,666
Okay, stand by
to roll tape.
30 seconds.

1318
01:06:44,959 --> 01:06:46,167
DAVlS: Settling.

1319
01:06:46,252 --> 01:06:47,919
You have a pleasant
evening last night?

1320
01:06:48,004 --> 01:06:49,587
Yes, thank you.

1321
01:06:57,763 --> 01:07:00,056
Did you do
any fornicating?

1322
01:07:00,307 --> 01:07:03,351
David, we're starting
with camera two in four,

1323
01:07:03,436 --> 01:07:04,394
(CLEARS TH ROAT)

1324
01:07:04,478 --> 01:07:06,688
three, two and. . .

1325
01:07:11,277 --> 01:07:14,529
Mr. President,
you came to office
promising peace,

1326
01:07:14,613 --> 01:07:16,573
but no sooner
did you get into
the White House

1327
01:07:16,657 --> 01:07:21,077
than US involvement
in Vietnam deepened
and the war was prolonged

1328
01:07:21,162 --> 01:07:22,746
with calamitous
consequences.

1329
01:07:22,830 --> 01:07:26,291
Did you feel that you'd
betrayed the people
that had elected you?

1330
01:07:26,375 --> 01:07:30,128
Well, Vietnam
was not my war.

1331
01:07:30,212 --> 01:07:31,880
lt was my inheritance.

1332
01:07:31,964 --> 01:07:33,798
And it looked to me...
Jump in.

1333
01:07:33,883 --> 01:07:36,885
. . .as if the reason
for our being there

1334
01:07:36,969 --> 01:07:41,681
had perhaps not been
adequately understood
by the American people.

1335
01:07:42,099 --> 01:07:44,100
lt seemed to me
they hadn't realized

1336
01:07:44,185 --> 01:07:49,397
how important
a test this was
of American credibility.

1337
01:07:50,107 --> 01:07:52,108
The whole world
was watching to see

1338
01:07:52,193 --> 01:07:55,236
if we have the character
to see it through.

1339
01:07:55,321 --> 01:07:58,073
Now, look,
l could have bugged out.
l could have.

1340
01:07:58,157 --> 01:08:00,784
l could have blamed it
on my predecessors.

1341
01:08:00,868 --> 01:08:03,369
l could have
pulled the troops
out of Vietnam early,

1342
01:08:03,454 --> 01:08:05,747
and very possibly,
l would have won

1343
01:08:05,831 --> 01:08:09,084
some Scandinavian peace prize
into the bargain.

1344
01:08:09,168 --> 01:08:10,794
But l believed
in the cause.

1345
01:08:10,878 --> 01:08:16,216
And sometimes, you know,
what you believe in,
it's the harder path.

1346
01:08:16,300 --> 01:08:21,096
You might even say that
l was the last casualty
of the Vietnam War.

1347
01:08:21,180 --> 01:08:23,973
Yeah, tell that
to the paraplegics.

1348
01:08:24,058 --> 01:08:25,391
Come on, David,
Cambodia.

1349
01:08:25,476 --> 01:08:28,603
And Cambodia?
An invasion which everybody
advised you against.

1350
01:08:28,687 --> 01:08:31,731
All the ClA
and Pentagon intelligence
suggested it would fail.

1351
01:08:31,816 --> 01:08:32,899
So why did you do it?

1352
01:08:32,983 --> 01:08:34,025
Well, first of all,

1353
01:08:34,110 --> 01:08:40,532
as a result of
our incursion into Cambodia,
we picked up 22,000 rifles,

1354
01:08:40,616 --> 01:08:45,120
1 5 million rounds
of ammunition,
1 50,000 rockets, mortars.

1355
01:08:45,204 --> 01:08:47,413
That's all belonging
to the North Vietnamese,

1356
01:08:47,498 --> 01:08:50,500
which would only otherwise
have been directed

1357
01:08:50,584 --> 01:08:52,710
right onto
American soldiers.

1358
01:08:52,795 --> 01:08:56,047
But one of
the principal justifications
you gave for the incursion

1359
01:08:56,132 --> 01:08:57,799
was the supposed
existence of

1360
01:08:57,883 --> 01:09:02,762
the "headquarters of
the entire Communist military
operation in South Vietnam,"

1361
01:09:02,847 --> 01:09:06,599
a sort of "bamboo Pentagon"
which proved
not to exist at all.

1362
01:09:06,684 --> 01:09:08,309
No, no. Wait a minute
there. No, l was. . .
And by sending. . .

1363
01:09:08,394 --> 01:09:11,646
And by sending B-52s
to carpet bomb a country,

1364
01:09:11,730 --> 01:09:14,274
wiping out
whole civilian areas,

1365
01:09:14,358 --> 01:09:17,360
you end up radicalizing
a once moderate people,

1366
01:09:17,444 --> 01:09:20,071
uniting them in
anti-American sentiment

1367
01:09:20,197 --> 01:09:22,782
and creating a monster
in the Khmer Rouge

1368
01:09:22,867 --> 01:09:24,159
that would lead
to civil war...

1369
01:09:24,243 --> 01:09:25,910
All right!
...and genocide.

1370
01:09:26,078 --> 01:09:27,495
Yes, good, good, good.
There it is.

1371
01:09:27,580 --> 01:09:28,746
Okay, run VT.

1372
01:09:28,831 --> 01:09:29,831
Roll tape.

1373
01:10:26,472 --> 01:10:27,680
Well, sir,
l'm sure you'd agree,

1374
01:10:27,765 --> 01:10:29,807
some pretty
stirring images there.

1375
01:10:29,892 --> 01:10:35,647
Look, it was never US policy
to kill civilians.
That's the enemy's way.

1376
01:10:35,731 --> 01:10:36,731
Well, l'm not suggesting. . .

1377
01:10:36,815 --> 01:10:37,857
And if you're
asking the question

1378
01:10:37,942 --> 01:10:42,028
do l regret the casualties
on both sides in the war,
yeah, sure, of course l do.

1379
01:10:42,112 --> 01:10:44,155
Let me tell you something.
lt can just wear you down.

1380
01:10:44,240 --> 01:10:46,157
Well, all right, sir,
when you are faced
with someone who. . .

1381
01:10:46,242 --> 01:10:48,284
But whenever
l have had my doubts,

1382
01:10:48,369 --> 01:10:50,495
l remembered
the construction worker
in Philadelphia,

1383
01:10:50,579 --> 01:10:51,788
because he came up to me

1384
01:10:51,872 --> 01:10:55,416
and he said, "Sir,
l got only one criticism
of that Cambodia thing.

1385
01:10:55,501 --> 01:10:57,252
"lf you'd gone in earlier,

1386
01:10:57,336 --> 01:10:59,087
"you might have
captured the gun

1387
01:10:59,171 --> 01:11:01,172
"that killed my boy
three months ago."

1388
01:11:01,257 --> 01:11:04,259
So you're asking me,
do l regret
going into Cambodia?

1389
01:11:04,343 --> 01:11:06,594
No! l don't.
You know what?

1390
01:11:06,679 --> 01:11:09,722
l wish l'd gone in
sooner and harder.

1391
01:11:09,807 --> 01:11:10,848
SAWYER: Got him.
Safe!

1392
01:11:17,356 --> 01:11:22,193
lt was horrifying.
lt was horrifying.
And he was so confident.

1393
01:11:22,361 --> 01:11:24,445
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

1394
01:11:25,197 --> 01:11:27,657
REPORTER:
What are you gonna say
about Watergate?

1395
01:11:27,992 --> 01:11:31,286
Sorry, boys,
just all talked out,
you know?

1396
01:11:38,043 --> 01:11:39,419
Better?

1397
01:11:43,048 --> 01:11:45,133
lt was.
Unquestionably better.

1398
01:11:50,556 --> 01:11:51,806
What's next?

1399
01:11:52,433 --> 01:11:53,683
Foreign policy.

1400
01:11:56,228 --> 01:12:01,274
Great. Russia, China,
the big power stuff.

1401
01:12:01,358 --> 01:12:03,651
Yeah, so?

1402
01:12:03,736 --> 01:12:05,486
So if he beats him up
like that on Vietnam,

1403
01:12:05,571 --> 01:12:08,448
imagine what he's gonna do
with his real achievements.

1404
01:12:08,532 --> 01:12:09,824
(RESTON LAUGHS)

1405
01:12:11,076 --> 01:12:13,411
lt ain't gonna be pretty.

1406
01:12:13,495 --> 01:12:16,205
The answer was
grow by six inches.

1407
01:12:16,290 --> 01:12:19,167
lt was agony to watch.

1408
01:12:19,251 --> 01:12:22,837
Now, that's when
Khrushchev called me,
begging me to intervene.

1409
01:12:22,921 --> 01:12:24,964
You see, he and Mao
didn't get along,

1410
01:12:25,049 --> 01:12:27,342
and Khrushchev
knew that the Chairman

1411
01:12:27,426 --> 01:12:29,427
would talk to me,
no one else.

1412
01:12:29,511 --> 01:12:34,265
You see, l was the only one
that Mao would trust
personally, man-to-man.

1413
01:12:34,350 --> 01:12:36,851
When David tried to
lay a finger on him,

1414
01:12:36,935 --> 01:12:39,312
Nixon made mincemeat
out of him.

1415
01:12:40,272 --> 01:12:41,981
ZELN lCK:
What "revolution," David?

1416
01:12:42,066 --> 01:12:43,858
You just let
Richard Nixon claim

1417
01:12:43,942 --> 01:12:46,152
the country was in
a state of revolution?

1418
01:12:46,236 --> 01:12:49,489
What, with protestors
"bombing" and "assaulting"
police officers?

1419
01:12:49,573 --> 01:12:50,782
That's not how
l remember it.

1420
01:12:50,866 --> 01:12:53,785
What l remember
is people protesting
peacefully and legitimately

1421
01:12:53,869 --> 01:12:55,036
against the Vietnam War!

1422
01:12:55,120 --> 01:12:56,662
That's what l remember.
Music off, please. Off.

1423
01:12:56,747 --> 01:12:59,415
By the end, wiretapping
students and breaking
into journalists' homes

1424
01:12:59,500 --> 01:13:01,709
was beginning to sound
like a rational response.

1425
01:13:01,794 --> 01:13:03,169
Well, l'm sorry
you feel this way,

1426
01:13:03,253 --> 01:13:05,338
but l simply cannot
share your view.

1427
01:13:05,422 --> 01:13:06,506
About what exactly?

1428
01:13:06,590 --> 01:13:07,924
About any of it, frankly!

1429
01:13:08,008 --> 01:13:10,635
l thought today was
a huge improvement.

1430
01:13:10,719 --> 01:13:11,719
Are you nuts?

1431
01:13:11,804 --> 01:13:13,805
Let me tell you how
bad things were today.

1432
01:13:13,889 --> 01:13:16,891
After the taping finished,
l overheard two members
of the crew say

1433
01:13:16,975 --> 01:13:19,352
they never voted for him
when they had the chance,

1434
01:13:19,436 --> 01:13:22,814
but if he ran
for office again today,
he'd get their support.

1435
01:13:22,898 --> 01:13:25,608
You're making him
look presidential,
for Christ's sake!

1436
01:13:25,692 --> 01:13:28,236
And forget about
the trivia, David.

1437
01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:31,155
Who cares whether Nixon
took the White House bed
to Europe

1438
01:13:31,240 --> 01:13:33,074
when he traveled?
l do!

1439
01:13:33,158 --> 01:13:34,784
Well, it's irrelevant!

1440
01:13:34,868 --> 01:13:38,579
And it's just
the sort of banal anecdote
that would distract a talk. . .

1441
01:13:39,915 --> 01:13:41,165
A what?

1442
01:13:44,128 --> 01:13:46,003
Go on. No, say it.

1443
01:13:46,088 --> 01:13:48,589
What, you were gonna
say "talk show host"?

1444
01:13:49,925 --> 01:13:52,343
Yeah. Yeah, l was.

1445
01:14:00,185 --> 01:14:04,480
All right, look,
it's useless me trying
to answer your points.

1446
01:14:04,690 --> 01:14:08,609
Frankly, l don't share
any of your sense of
pessimism or alarm.

1447
01:14:10,404 --> 01:14:13,448
And this ridiculous
self-flagellation,

1448
01:14:13,532 --> 01:14:16,033
in my view,
is just depressing.

1449
01:14:17,119 --> 01:14:18,202
No!

1450
01:14:20,080 --> 01:14:24,542
And threatening to derail
the whole enterprise.

1451
01:14:26,211 --> 01:14:31,340
Look. lf there is
anyone here who thinks
we're gonna fail,

1452
01:14:32,301 --> 01:14:34,343
they better leave now,

1453
01:14:35,387 --> 01:14:37,638
or it'll infect
everyone else.

1454
01:14:44,688 --> 01:14:46,022
No one?

1455
01:14:49,443 --> 01:14:50,860
Right.

1456
01:14:52,237 --> 01:14:53,362
Good.

1457
01:14:55,824 --> 01:14:59,619
Now, l suggest instead of
festering around the hotel
for the next five days,

1458
01:14:59,703 --> 01:15:02,663
we all go
our separate ways
over Easter.

1459
01:15:04,374 --> 01:15:06,834
But before we go,
Caroline and l
would like you

1460
01:15:06,919 --> 01:15:09,337
to join us for a little
celebratory dinner

1461
01:15:09,421 --> 01:15:12,465
at Patrick Terrail's
new place.

1462
01:15:12,549 --> 01:15:15,301
Celebrate?
Celebrate what, David?

1463
01:15:15,385 --> 01:15:17,136
The fact that we're
all gonna be working
at Burger King?

1464
01:15:17,221 --> 01:15:20,431
What are we celebrating?
lt's my birthday, Bob!

1465
01:15:25,103 --> 01:15:30,441
l'd like to
celebrate my birthday
with a few friends.

1466
01:15:36,949 --> 01:15:38,908
(PlANO PLAYlNG U PBEAT TU N E)

1467
01:15:42,371 --> 01:15:43,621
Look, is that
Neil Diamond?

1468
01:15:43,705 --> 01:15:45,581
(SlNGlNG) Frost and Nixon,
Frost and Nixon

1469
01:15:45,666 --> 01:15:46,999
And is that Sammy Cahn?

1470
01:15:47,084 --> 01:15:48,209
Go together like
Prancer and Vixen

1471
01:15:48,293 --> 01:15:49,627
David,
did you hear that?

1472
01:15:49,711 --> 01:15:51,420
Soaring through the airwaves

1473
01:15:51,505 --> 01:15:53,798
Jesus, that's Hugh Hefner.

1474
01:15:53,882 --> 01:15:54,882
Oh, my God.

1475
01:15:54,967 --> 01:15:56,217
Hoping for several
hefty paydays

1476
01:15:56,301 --> 01:15:57,718
Yeah, l think it is.
With Michael York.

1477
01:15:57,803 --> 01:15:59,053
That's gotta be Bunnies.

1478
01:15:59,137 --> 01:16:00,763
Those are Bunnies?
Those are real Bunnies?

1479
01:16:00,847 --> 01:16:02,223
Frost and Nixon,
Frost and Nixon

1480
01:16:02,307 --> 01:16:03,432
Go together
like Mason and Dixon

1481
01:16:03,517 --> 01:16:07,019
David, just putting it
all together it's the most
extraordinary accomplishment.

1482
01:16:07,104 --> 01:16:08,646
Frost lines up with Dicky...

1483
01:16:08,730 --> 01:16:09,939
No one else
could have done that.

1484
01:16:10,023 --> 01:16:12,733
And these interviews
are always gonna be around
for future generations

1485
01:16:12,818 --> 01:16:15,111
of academics and
political historians.

1486
01:16:15,195 --> 01:16:16,195
That bad?

1487
01:16:16,280 --> 01:16:17,989
He saved it

1488
01:16:18,073 --> 01:16:21,200
He wrote a book
Now here\s the hook

1489
01:16:21,285 --> 01:16:22,785
David !

1490
01:16:22,869 --> 01:16:23,911
Patrick.

1491
01:16:23,996 --> 01:16:26,956
He\s not a crook
He's paid by David

1492
01:16:27,499 --> 01:16:29,041
(GU ESTS APPLAU DlNG)

1493
01:16:31,587 --> 01:16:33,713
(PLAYlNG CLASSlCAL MUSlC)

1494
01:17:09,207 --> 01:17:13,628
My, what
a festive atmosphere.
Please, don't get up.

1495
01:17:13,712 --> 01:17:17,298
l take it from this
that the interviews
have gone well?

1496
01:17:17,382 --> 01:17:19,050
Better than that, ma'am.
lt's a shutout.

1497
01:17:19,134 --> 01:17:21,302
The President's sitting
on an 1 1 -0 lead.

1498
01:17:21,386 --> 01:17:23,429
Really? Well.
Yeah.

1499
01:17:23,513 --> 01:17:25,723
Well, that is
most gratifying.

1500
01:17:30,062 --> 01:17:33,230
l'm so glad it's all
gone according to plan.

1501
01:17:48,497 --> 01:17:49,789
(SlGHS) l see.

1502
01:17:51,458 --> 01:17:53,501
ls there nothing
we can do?

1503
01:17:55,128 --> 01:17:56,295
Really?

1504
01:17:58,507 --> 01:18:01,634
(SlGH lNG) Right. Well, thanks
for letting me know.

1505
01:18:08,725 --> 01:18:11,686
lt's true.
They've dropped
the Australian show.

1506
01:18:11,770 --> 01:18:14,063
Oh, no, David.

1507
01:18:14,147 --> 01:18:17,942
They felt that l needed
to reevaluate my priorities.

1508
01:18:20,278 --> 01:18:23,364
Now my producer's worried
that the London show
will follow.

1509
01:18:26,618 --> 01:18:27,952
l'm in this
for everything l've got,

1510
01:18:28,036 --> 01:18:31,747
and there's still
no guarantee it'll ever
see the light of day.

1511
01:18:33,834 --> 01:18:38,379
What have l done?
What was l thinking?
Why didn't anyone stop me?

1512
01:18:38,463 --> 01:18:40,089
They should have
physically stopped me!

1513
01:18:40,173 --> 01:18:41,799
No, no, no. Shh.

1514
01:18:49,307 --> 01:18:53,185
Look, we don't have
to go out tonight.
Why don't we stay in?

1515
01:18:55,272 --> 01:18:56,355
Hmm?

1516
01:19:00,652 --> 01:19:04,071
l'll go down to Trader Vic's
and bring something back.

1517
01:19:05,782 --> 01:19:07,366
Steak or fish?

1518
01:19:08,869 --> 01:19:10,202
David?

1519
01:19:14,458 --> 01:19:17,042
Don't worry. l'll call
from the restaurant.

1520
01:19:22,215 --> 01:19:23,215
(DOOR CLOSES)

1521
01:19:48,700 --> 01:19:51,285
(TELEPHON E RlNGlNG)

1522
01:20:02,130 --> 01:20:06,175
l'll have a cheeseburger.

1523
01:20:06,593 --> 01:20:10,846
N lXON: Mmm. That sounds good.
I used to love cheeseburgers,

1524
01:20:11,890 --> 01:20:14,058
but Dr. Lundgren
made me give them up.

1525
01:20:14,142 --> 01:20:17,686
He switched me
to cottage cheese
and pineapple instead.

1526
01:20:18,730 --> 01:20:21,065
He calls them
my Hawaiian burgers,

1527
01:20:21,650 --> 01:20:23,526
but they don't taste
like burgers at all.

1528
01:20:23,610 --> 01:20:25,778
They taste like Styrofoam.

1529
01:20:29,574 --> 01:20:31,450
l hope l'm not disturbing.

1530
01:20:32,285 --> 01:20:33,661
No.

1531
01:20:33,745 --> 01:20:35,371
It's a Friday night.

1532
01:20:35,455 --> 01:20:40,000
You've probably
got somebody there
whom you're entertaining.

1533
01:20:41,419 --> 01:20:42,670
No.

1534
01:20:42,796 --> 01:20:44,505
Well, then
what are you doing?

1535
01:20:45,257 --> 01:20:47,216
A handsome
young fellow,

1536
01:20:47,759 --> 01:20:52,805
an eligible young bachelor
alone on a Friday night.

1537
01:20:54,474 --> 01:20:59,937
lf you must know,
l'm preparing
for our final session.

1538
01:21:00,814 --> 01:21:02,982
The all-important
final session.

1539
01:21:03,066 --> 01:21:05,192
Yes.
Watergate.

1540
01:21:06,236 --> 01:21:09,405
\Cause l guess
the way you handle
Watergate's gonna determine

1541
01:21:09,489 --> 01:21:12,783
whether these interviews
are a success or a failure.

1542
01:21:15,078 --> 01:21:16,912
Should l be nervous?

1543
01:21:18,707 --> 01:21:22,793
Well, l'm gonna
give it my best shot.

1544
01:21:23,169 --> 01:21:28,173
Quite right.
No holds barred.
No holds barred.

1545
01:21:29,050 --> 01:21:30,968
You know, it's strange.

1546
01:21:31,803 --> 01:21:35,306
Now, we have sat in chairs
opposite one another,

1547
01:21:35,390 --> 01:21:38,642
talking for hours,
it seems, days on end,

1548
01:21:38,727 --> 01:21:41,937
and yet l've hardly
gotten to know you.

1549
01:21:42,981 --> 01:21:46,066
One of my people,
as part of the preparation

1550
01:21:46,151 --> 01:21:48,819
for this interview,
she did a profile on you.

1551
01:21:49,362 --> 01:21:53,407
And l'm sorry to say
that l just got around
to reading it tonight.

1552
01:21:56,328 --> 01:21:59,121
There's some
interesting stuff
in there.

1553
01:21:59,205 --> 01:22:02,291
Your Methodist background,
the modest circumstances,

1554
01:22:02,375 --> 01:22:08,714
and then you're off
to a grand university
full of richer, posher types.

1555
01:22:08,798 --> 01:22:11,300
What was it? Oxford?

1556
01:22:12,636 --> 01:22:14,136
Cambridge.

1557
01:22:15,096 --> 01:22:19,266
Did the snobs there
look down on you, too?

1558
01:22:19,517 --> 01:22:20,559
(CH UCKLES)

1559
01:22:20,644 --> 01:22:25,189
Of course they did.
That's our tragedy,
isn't it, Mr. Frost?

1560
01:22:26,024 --> 01:22:31,278
No matter how high we get,
they still look down at us.

1561
01:22:32,364 --> 01:22:34,323
l really don't know
what you're talking about.

1562
01:22:34,407 --> 01:22:36,075
Yes, you do.

1563
01:22:36,618 --> 01:22:40,496
Now, come on.
No matter how many awards

1564
01:22:40,580 --> 01:22:43,791
or column inches
are written about you

1565
01:22:43,875 --> 01:22:48,462
or how high
the elected office is for me,
it's still not enough.

1566
01:22:49,339 --> 01:22:51,590
We still feel
like the little man,

1567
01:22:51,675 --> 01:22:56,428
the loser they told us
we were a hundred times.

1568
01:22:57,097 --> 01:23:01,809
The smart-asses at college,
the high-ups, the well-born,

1569
01:23:02,686 --> 01:23:07,147
the people whose
respect we really wanted,
really craved.

1570
01:23:07,565 --> 01:23:13,696
And isn't that
why we work so hard now,
why we fight for every inch,

1571
01:23:13,780 --> 01:23:17,449
scrambling our way up
in undignified fashion?

1572
01:23:17,534 --> 01:23:22,621
lf we're honest for a minute,
if we reflect privately
just for a moment,

1573
01:23:22,706 --> 01:23:29,670
if we allow ourselves
a glimpse into that shadowy
place we call our soul,

1574
01:23:29,838 --> 01:23:34,591
isn't that why
we're here now?
The two of us?

1575
01:23:34,843 --> 01:23:38,429
Looking for a way
back into the sun,

1576
01:23:38,930 --> 01:23:43,267
into the limelight,
back onto the winner's podium.

1577
01:23:43,351 --> 01:23:46,895
Because we could feel
it slipping away.

1578
01:23:46,980 --> 01:23:49,940
We were headed,
both of us, for the dirt!

1579
01:23:50,025 --> 01:23:54,486
A place the snobs
always told us
that we'd end up.

1580
01:23:54,571 --> 01:23:55,696
Face in the dust.

1581
01:23:55,780 --> 01:23:59,867
Humiliated all the more
for having tried
so pitifully hard.

1582
01:23:59,951 --> 01:24:02,369
Well, to hell with that!

1583
01:24:02,454 --> 01:24:04,663
We're not gonna
let that happen,
either of us.

1584
01:24:04,748 --> 01:24:06,415
We're gonna
show those bums.

1585
01:24:06,499 --> 01:24:10,044
We're gonna make them choke
on our continued success,

1586
01:24:10,128 --> 01:24:15,758
our continued headlines,
our continued awards
and power and glory!

1587
01:24:15,842 --> 01:24:19,887
We are gonna make
those motherfuckers choke!

1588
01:24:31,149 --> 01:24:32,483
Am l right?

1589
01:24:33,860 --> 01:24:37,654
You are.
Except only one of us can win.

1590
01:24:38,823 --> 01:24:39,823
Yes.

1591
01:24:42,702 --> 01:24:48,040
And l shall be
your fiercest adversary.

1592
01:24:48,625 --> 01:24:52,711
l shall come at you
with everything l got,

1593
01:24:53,671 --> 01:25:00,260
because the limelight
can only shine on one of us.

1594
01:25:01,846 --> 01:25:06,183
And for the other,
it'll be the wilderness,

1595
01:25:08,019 --> 01:25:13,232
with nothing and no one
for company

1596
01:25:14,943 --> 01:25:18,529
but those voices
ringing in our head.

1597
01:25:33,294 --> 01:25:38,257
You can probably tell
l've had a drink.

1598
01:25:40,135 --> 01:25:42,511
It's not too many.
Just one or two.

1599
01:25:43,930 --> 01:25:47,099
But you believe me,

1600
01:25:49,435 --> 01:25:56,233
when the time comes,
l'm gonna be focused
and ready for battle.

1601
01:26:00,572 --> 01:26:02,447
Good night, Mr. Frost.

1602
01:26:04,450 --> 01:26:05,784
Good night,

1603
01:26:07,662 --> 01:26:09,329
Mr. President.

1604
01:26:26,431 --> 01:26:29,474
So with or without cheese?
l brought burgers.

1605
01:26:30,435 --> 01:26:31,518
David?

1606
01:26:31,603 --> 01:26:32,769
l've got to work.

1607
01:26:35,899 --> 01:26:38,692
NlXON ON TAPE: Well,
who was the asshole that did?

1608
01:26:39,652 --> 01:26:41,445
Jesus, is that Liddy?

1609
01:26:42,447 --> 01:26:43,864
He must be a little nuts.

1610
01:26:43,948 --> 01:26:45,199
HALDEMAN: Yeah, he is.

1611
01:26:45,283 --> 01:26:47,868
N lXON: l mean, he just isn\t
well screwed on, is he?

1612
01:26:47,952 --> 01:26:49,870
Isn't that the problem?

1613
01:26:49,954 --> 01:26:52,456
Yeah, screw the Cabinet
and the rest of those.

1614
01:26:52,540 --> 01:26:56,043
But no more sucking around.
From now on, they come to me.

1615
01:26:56,127 --> 01:26:58,170
There is one thing
that I want done,

1616
01:26:58,254 --> 01:27:00,255
and I don\t want
any argument about it.

1617
01:27:01,132 --> 01:27:04,218
I want you to direct
the most trusted
person you have

1618
01:27:04,302 --> 01:27:05,969
in the lmmigration Service

1619
01:27:06,054 --> 01:27:10,140
that they are to look over
all the activities
at the Los Angeles Times.

1620
01:27:10,225 --> 01:27:13,894
All, underlined.
And they are to send
their teams in to see

1621
01:27:13,978 --> 01:27:16,897
whether they are violating
the wetback thing.

1622
01:27:16,981 --> 01:27:18,649
Is that clear?
MlTCHELL: Yes, sir.

1623
01:27:19,484 --> 01:27:21,026
(TAPE REWlN DlNG)

1624
01:27:21,903 --> 01:27:24,613
N lXON: You open that scab,
there\s a hell of
a lot of things that

1625
01:27:24,697 --> 01:27:27,074
we just feel that
it would be very detrimental

1626
01:27:27,158 --> 01:27:29,409
to have this thing
go any further.

1627
01:27:29,494 --> 01:27:32,037
(TELEPHON E RlNGlNG)

1628
01:27:36,417 --> 01:27:37,417
Hello?

1629
01:27:37,502 --> 01:27:39,002
Jim, it\s David.

1630
01:27:40,129 --> 01:27:42,256
Hey. What time is it?

1631
01:27:42,340 --> 01:27:45,342
How much longer
are you gonna be
in D.C. for?

1632
01:27:45,426 --> 01:27:46,802
Tuesday. Till Tuesday.

1633
01:27:46,886 --> 01:27:48,971
Great. Well,
you remember
you mentioned

1634
01:27:49,055 --> 01:27:51,515
going to the Federal
Courthouse library?

1635
01:27:51,683 --> 01:27:53,976
(BABY CRYlNG)
Honey, can you
check on him, please?

1636
01:27:54,060 --> 01:27:55,852
Yes, for the Colson stuff?

1637
01:27:55,937 --> 01:27:59,147
Well, l've been doing
a little light reading
this end,

1638
01:28:00,275 --> 01:28:02,943
and you remember
that hunch you had
about the meeting

1639
01:28:03,027 --> 01:28:04,569
between Nixon and Colson?

1640
01:28:04,654 --> 01:28:06,363
Uh-huh. What are you thinking?

1641
01:28:23,548 --> 01:28:25,215
(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR)

1642
01:28:27,719 --> 01:28:29,386
(KNOCKlNG CONTlN U ES)

1643
01:28:35,351 --> 01:28:36,810
Hey.
Hey.

1644
01:28:36,894 --> 01:28:37,978
Good morning.

1645
01:28:38,062 --> 01:28:39,062
And?

1646
01:28:46,904 --> 01:28:50,073
(TRl UMPHANT lNSTRUMENTAL
MUSlC PLAYlNG)

1647
01:28:50,908 --> 01:28:52,951
Excuse me, sir.

1648
01:29:09,427 --> 01:29:11,720
lt's 8:30.
Bob, have you
seen David?

1649
01:29:11,846 --> 01:29:14,139
No. No Frost, no Reston.

1650
01:29:14,599 --> 01:29:16,308
(ELEVATOR BELL DlNGS)

1651
01:29:24,317 --> 01:29:27,069
Morning.
Good morning.
Come on, let's go.

1652
01:29:31,074 --> 01:29:32,783
What's that about?

1653
01:29:40,792 --> 01:29:42,459
BlRT: First time he's late.

1654
01:29:55,098 --> 01:29:56,932
REPORTER: Mr. President!

1655
01:29:57,016 --> 01:29:58,558
(CROWD CLAMORlNG)

1656
01:30:13,699 --> 01:30:14,908
Morning.

1657
01:30:30,091 --> 01:30:31,550
(DOOR OPENS)

1658
01:30:32,677 --> 01:30:34,511
(lN DlSTlNCT)

1659
01:30:53,489 --> 01:30:54,823
Mr. President.

1660
01:30:55,366 --> 01:30:56,700
Mr. Frost.

1661
01:31:11,549 --> 01:31:13,800
DAVlS: Thirty seconds
to tape roll !

1662
01:31:16,387 --> 01:31:20,765
Thirty seconds.
Settling. Settle.

1663
01:31:30,401 --> 01:31:36,448
Well, if today's session is
anything like our phone call,
it should be explosive.

1664
01:31:37,658 --> 01:31:39,618
What phone call?

1665
01:31:40,119 --> 01:31:42,120
The phone call
to my hotel room.

1666
01:31:45,291 --> 01:31:50,712
DAVlS: David,
starting on camera three
in four, three, two and. . .

1667
01:31:57,345 --> 01:32:00,597
Now, looking back
on your final year
in office,

1668
01:32:00,848 --> 01:32:03,058
do you feel you ever
obstructed justice

1669
01:32:03,142 --> 01:32:06,478
or were part of
a conspiracy to cover up
or obstruct justice?

1670
01:32:06,562 --> 01:32:07,646
No.

1671
01:32:08,606 --> 01:32:13,443
And l'm interested
that you used the term
"obstruction of justice."

1672
01:32:13,528 --> 01:32:15,612
Now, you perhaps have not
read the statute

1673
01:32:15,780 --> 01:32:17,864
with regard to
the obstruction
of justice.

1674
01:32:17,949 --> 01:32:20,492
As it happens, l have.

1675
01:32:20,576 --> 01:32:27,207
You have, you say?
Well, then, you'll know it
doesn't just require an act.

1676
01:32:27,291 --> 01:32:30,877
lt requires a specific
corrupt motive.

1677
01:32:30,962 --> 01:32:34,256
And in this case,
l didn't have
a corrupt motive.

1678
01:32:34,340 --> 01:32:37,884
What l was doing
was in the interests
of political containment.

1679
01:32:37,969 --> 01:32:40,136
Be that as it may,
the direct consequences

1680
01:32:40,221 --> 01:32:41,805
of your actions
would have been

1681
01:32:41,889 --> 01:32:43,557
that two of
the convicted burglars

1682
01:32:43,641 --> 01:32:45,517
would have escaped
criminal prosecution.

1683
01:32:45,601 --> 01:32:48,895
Now, how can that
not be a cover-up or
obstruction of justice?

1684
01:32:48,980 --> 01:32:50,730
Well, l think
the record shows,
Mr. Frost,

1685
01:32:50,815 --> 01:32:54,025
that far from
obstructing justice,

1686
01:32:54,110 --> 01:32:56,611
l was actively
facilitating it.

1687
01:32:56,696 --> 01:33:01,074
When Pat Gray of the FBl
telephoned me,
this was July 6,

1688
01:33:01,158 --> 01:33:04,578
l said,
"Pat, you go right ahead
with your investigation."

1689
01:33:04,662 --> 01:33:06,913
That's hardly
what you'd call
obstructing justice.

1690
01:33:06,998 --> 01:33:10,083
Well, that may be,
but for two weeks
prior to July 6,

1691
01:33:10,167 --> 01:33:11,668
we now know that
you were desperately

1692
01:33:11,752 --> 01:33:13,169
trying to contain or block
the investigation.

1693
01:33:13,254 --> 01:33:14,921
No, no. Hang on
a minute there.
l wasn't. . .

1694
01:33:15,006 --> 01:33:16,798
No, no.
Obstruction of justice
is obstruction of justice,

1695
01:33:16,882 --> 01:33:18,758
whether it's for
a minute or five minutes,

1696
01:33:18,843 --> 01:33:20,885
and it's no defense
to say that your plan failed.

1697
01:33:20,970 --> 01:33:23,722
l mean, if l try to
rob a bank and fail,
that's no defense.

1698
01:33:23,806 --> 01:33:25,265
l still tried
to rob the bank.

1699
01:33:25,349 --> 01:33:27,976
Will you just wait
one minute there,
Mr. Frost?

1700
01:33:28,060 --> 01:33:30,478
There is no evidence
of any kind that l was. . .

1701
01:33:30,563 --> 01:33:31,980
Well, the reason
there is no evidence

1702
01:33:32,064 --> 01:33:33,732
is because
1 8 and a half minutes

1703
01:33:33,816 --> 01:33:37,027
of the conversation
with Bob Haldeman
from this June period

1704
01:33:37,111 --> 01:33:38,778
have mysteriously
been erased.

1705
01:33:38,863 --> 01:33:41,740
That was
an unfortunate
oversight.

1706
01:33:41,824 --> 01:33:43,283
And Bob Haldeman
is a rigorous

1707
01:33:43,367 --> 01:33:45,869
and a conscientious
note taker.

1708
01:33:45,953 --> 01:33:47,787
His notes are there
for all to see.

1709
01:33:47,872 --> 01:33:50,624
Well, we found
something rather better
than his notes,

1710
01:33:50,708 --> 01:33:54,252
a conversation
with Charles Colson,

1711
01:33:55,212 --> 01:33:58,131
which l don't think
has ever been published.

1712
01:33:59,884 --> 01:34:01,676
Okay, here we go.

1713
01:34:01,761 --> 01:34:03,678
lt hasn't been
published, you say?

1714
01:34:03,763 --> 01:34:06,890
No, but one
of my researchers
found it in Washington

1715
01:34:07,516 --> 01:34:10,602
where it's available
to anyone who consults
the records.

1716
01:34:10,686 --> 01:34:15,315
Well, l just wondered,
you know, if we'd seen it.

1717
01:34:15,399 --> 01:34:16,858
More than seen it,
Mr. President.

1718
01:34:16,942 --> 01:34:18,610
You spoke the actual words.

1719
01:34:18,694 --> 01:34:22,947
Now, you've always claimed
you first learned of
the break-in on June 23.

1720
01:34:23,032 --> 01:34:24,074
Yeah.

1721
01:34:24,158 --> 01:34:27,786
But this transcript of a tape
made three days earlier

1722
01:34:27,870 --> 01:34:30,330
clearly shows that
to be a falsehood.

1723
01:34:30,915 --> 01:34:36,419
Now, in it you say
to Colson, "This whole
investigation rests

1724
01:34:37,505 --> 01:34:43,009
"unless one of the seven
begins to talk.

1725
01:34:45,805 --> 01:34:47,514
"That's the problem."

1726
01:34:47,598 --> 01:34:51,101
Well, what do we
mean when we say

1727
01:34:51,185 --> 01:34:53,311
"one of the seven
beginning to talk"?

1728
01:34:53,396 --> 01:34:56,690
Then moving on to
a conversation you had
with John Dean

1729
01:34:56,774 --> 01:34:58,233
on March 21 ,
the following year.

1730
01:34:58,317 --> 01:35:01,277
ln one transcript alone,
there in black and white,

1731
01:35:01,362 --> 01:35:03,029
l picked out,
and these are your words,

1732
01:35:03,114 --> 01:35:06,825
one,
"You could get $1 million,
and you could get it in cash.

1733
01:35:06,909 --> 01:35:08,326
"l know where it
could be gotten."

1734
01:35:08,411 --> 01:35:11,746
Two, "Your major guy
to keep under control
is Hunt."

1735
01:35:12,331 --> 01:35:15,208
Three,
"Don't we have to handle
the Hunt situation?"

1736
01:35:15,292 --> 01:35:17,043
Four, "Get the million bucks.

1737
01:35:17,128 --> 01:35:19,587
"lt would seem to me
that would be worthwhile."

1738
01:35:19,672 --> 01:35:22,465
Five, "Don't you agree
that you'd better get
the Hunt thing going?"

1739
01:35:22,550 --> 01:35:24,384
Six, "First you've got
the Hunt problem.

1740
01:35:24,468 --> 01:35:27,095
"That ought to be handled."
Seven, "The money
can be provided.

1741
01:35:27,179 --> 01:35:29,639
"Ehrlichman could provide
the way to deliver it."

1742
01:35:29,724 --> 01:35:31,391
Eight,
"We've no choice with Hunt

1743
01:35:31,475 --> 01:35:34,352
"but the $1 20,000 or
whatever it is, right?"

1744
01:35:34,437 --> 01:35:37,814
Nine, "Christ,
turn over any cash
we've got."

1745
01:35:37,898 --> 01:35:39,357
And l could go on.
Now, it seems to me

1746
01:35:39,442 --> 01:35:41,067
that someone
running a cover-up

1747
01:35:41,152 --> 01:35:43,194
couldn't have expressed it
more clearly than that,
could they?

1748
01:35:43,279 --> 01:35:44,821
Look, let me
just stop you now
right there,

1749
01:35:44,905 --> 01:35:47,031
because you're doing
something here

1750
01:35:47,116 --> 01:35:49,409
which l am not doing,
and l will not do

1751
01:35:49,493 --> 01:35:51,745
throughout these
entire broadcasts.

1752
01:35:51,829 --> 01:35:53,913
You're quoting me
out of context,

1753
01:35:53,998 --> 01:35:56,207
out of order.
And l might add,

1754
01:35:56,292 --> 01:35:58,585
l have participated
in all these interviews

1755
01:35:58,669 --> 01:36:00,462
without a single note
in front of me.

1756
01:36:00,546 --> 01:36:02,046
Well, it is your life,
Mr. President.

1757
01:36:02,131 --> 01:36:03,256
Now, you've always maintained

1758
01:36:03,340 --> 01:36:06,217
that you knew nothing
about any of this
until March 21 .

1759
01:36:06,302 --> 01:36:09,846
But in February,
your personal lawyer
came to Washington

1760
01:36:09,930 --> 01:36:12,974
to start the raising
of $21 9,000

1761
01:36:13,058 --> 01:36:15,059
of hush money to be
paid to the burglars.

1762
01:36:15,144 --> 01:36:18,062
Now, do you seriously
expect us to believe

1763
01:36:18,147 --> 01:36:19,731
that you had
no knowledge of that?

1764
01:36:19,815 --> 01:36:23,109
None. l believed
the money was for
humanitarian purposes.

1765
01:36:23,194 --> 01:36:25,779
To help
disadvantaged people
with their defenses.

1766
01:36:25,863 --> 01:36:29,616
Well, it was being delivered
on the tops of phone booths
with aliases,

1767
01:36:29,700 --> 01:36:31,951
and at airports
by people with gloves on.

1768
01:36:32,036 --> 01:36:34,120
That's not normally
the way lawyers' fees
are delivered, is it?

1769
01:36:34,205 --> 01:36:36,748
Look,
l have made statements
to this effect before.

1770
01:36:36,832 --> 01:36:39,000
All that was Haldeman
and Ehrlichman's business.

1771
01:36:39,084 --> 01:36:41,211
l knew nothing.
Okay, fine. Fine!

1772
01:36:41,295 --> 01:36:42,587
You made a conclusion there.

1773
01:36:42,671 --> 01:36:44,255
l stated my view,
now let's move on.

1774
01:36:44,340 --> 01:36:45,423
Let's get on to
the rest of it.

1775
01:36:45,508 --> 01:36:46,508
No, hold on.
No, hold on.

1776
01:36:46,592 --> 01:36:47,592
No, l don't
want to talk. . .

1777
01:36:47,676 --> 01:36:49,385
lf Haldeman and Ehrlichman
were the ones
really responsible,

1778
01:36:49,470 --> 01:36:52,263
when you subsequently
found out about it,

1779
01:36:52,348 --> 01:36:54,390
why didn't you
call the police
and have them arrested?

1780
01:36:54,475 --> 01:36:56,476
lsn't that just
a cover-up of another kind?

1781
01:36:56,560 --> 01:36:58,228
Yeah, maybe l should
have done that.
Maybe l should have.

1782
01:36:58,312 --> 01:37:00,063
Just called the feds
into my office

1783
01:37:00,147 --> 01:37:02,273
and said, "Hey,
there's the two men.

1784
01:37:02,358 --> 01:37:03,817
"Haul them
down to the dock,

1785
01:37:03,901 --> 01:37:05,985
"fingerprint them
and then throw them
in the can."

1786
01:37:06,070 --> 01:37:07,153
l'm not made that way.

1787
01:37:07,238 --> 01:37:10,240
These men,
Haldeman, Ehrlichman,
l knew their families.

1788
01:37:10,324 --> 01:37:12,158
l knew them since
they were just kids.

1789
01:37:12,243 --> 01:37:13,535
Yeah, but you know,
politically,

1790
01:37:13,619 --> 01:37:16,496
the pressure on me
to let them go,
that became overwhelming !

1791
01:37:16,580 --> 01:37:19,415
So l did it.
l cut off one arm,

1792
01:37:19,500 --> 01:37:22,210
then l cut off the other,
and l'm not a good butcher!

1793
01:37:22,294 --> 01:37:25,171
And l have always maintained
what they were doing,

1794
01:37:25,256 --> 01:37:27,507
what we were all doing,
was not criminal.

1795
01:37:27,591 --> 01:37:29,133
Look,
when you're in office,

1796
01:37:29,218 --> 01:37:32,470
you gotta do
a lot of things sometimes
that are not always,

1797
01:37:32,555 --> 01:37:36,099
in the strictest sense
of the law, legal,
but you do them

1798
01:37:36,183 --> 01:37:38,393
because they're in
the greater interests
of the nation !

1799
01:37:38,477 --> 01:37:40,186
Right. Wait, just so
l understand correctly,

1800
01:37:40,271 --> 01:37:42,981
are you really saying
that in certain situations,

1801
01:37:43,065 --> 01:37:46,025
the President can decide
whether it's in the best
interests of the nation

1802
01:37:46,110 --> 01:37:48,194
and then do something illegal?

1803
01:37:48,279 --> 01:37:53,157
l'm saying that when
the President does it,
that means it's not illegal.

1804
01:37:55,536 --> 01:37:56,995
l'm sorry?

1805
01:37:57,079 --> 01:37:58,955
That's what l believe.

1806
01:37:59,915 --> 01:38:01,332
Oh, my God.

1807
01:38:06,297 --> 01:38:11,175
But l realize
no one else
shares that view.

1808
01:38:13,262 --> 01:38:18,266
So, in that case,
will you accept, then,

1809
01:38:18,475 --> 01:38:20,977
to clear the air
once and for all,

1810
01:38:21,478 --> 01:38:23,646
that you were part
of a cover-up

1811
01:38:23,731 --> 01:38:27,150
and that you did
break the law?

1812
01:38:36,535 --> 01:38:38,828
Oh, my God, we got him.
N IXON: I...

1813
01:38:39,246 --> 01:38:40,455
Shit!

1814
01:38:41,081 --> 01:38:42,081
(DOOR OPENS)

1815
01:38:42,166 --> 01:38:43,583
Okay, let's take
a break there.

1816
01:38:43,667 --> 01:38:45,084
What the fuck
is going on?

1817
01:38:45,544 --> 01:38:46,753
Cut it. Cut it.

1818
01:38:46,837 --> 01:38:47,837
Excuse me?
Shut it down.

1819
01:38:47,963 --> 01:38:48,963
Shut it down now.

1820
01:38:49,048 --> 01:38:51,883
DAVlS: That's not my call.
You're gonna have to
talk to the director.

1821
01:38:52,009 --> 01:38:53,509
He's in that
truck out there.
BREN NAN : Get him in here.

1822
01:38:53,594 --> 01:38:55,345
DAVlS: Listen, we have
an issue in here.

1823
01:38:55,429 --> 01:38:57,180
Jack, what are you doing?
A break?

1824
01:38:57,264 --> 01:38:58,348
Change the tapes.

1825
01:38:58,432 --> 01:38:59,933
David, can l talk to you
for a minute, please?

1826
01:39:00,017 --> 01:39:01,517
What the hell is
going on, Jack?

1827
01:39:01,685 --> 01:39:03,144
He was about to blow
and you know it.

1828
01:39:03,228 --> 01:39:05,313
Fellas, this is
a critical moment
in his life.

1829
01:39:05,397 --> 01:39:06,439
You realize we could
sue you for this?

1830
01:39:06,523 --> 01:39:08,942
You have
deliberately sabotaged
the interview, Jack.

1831
01:39:09,026 --> 01:39:10,026
BREN NAN :
Look, we're all
in this together.

1832
01:39:10,110 --> 01:39:11,110
l'm sure we can
find a solution.

1833
01:39:11,195 --> 01:39:14,113
ZELN lCK: A solution?
What the hell are you talking
about? lt's an interview!

1834
01:39:14,198 --> 01:39:15,490
KHACH lGlAN :
Bob, may l remind you. . .

1835
01:39:15,574 --> 01:39:17,200
BlRT: This is
a breach of contract.
We could sue.

1836
01:39:17,284 --> 01:39:18,910
(ALL ARGU lNG)

1837
01:39:20,579 --> 01:39:22,705
For heaven's sake, Jim.
Why don't you
give him a week off?

1838
01:39:22,790 --> 01:39:23,790
Give him a year off!

1839
01:39:23,874 --> 01:39:25,124
Give him a fucking massage!

1840
01:39:25,209 --> 01:39:27,335
GAN NON : Watch
your language,
for crying out loud.

1841
01:39:27,419 --> 01:39:29,337
(ALL ARGU lNG)

1842
01:39:32,257 --> 01:39:33,424
(KNOCKlNG ON DOOR)

1843
01:39:42,559 --> 01:39:46,562
What'd you do?
Throw in the towel,
Jack?

1844
01:39:47,940 --> 01:39:49,941
Did you take pity on me?

1845
01:39:52,403 --> 01:39:54,153
Sir, l just felt that

1846
01:39:55,656 --> 01:39:59,993
if you were going
to make some kind of
emotional disclosure,

1847
01:40:00,077 --> 01:40:03,287
that we should
just take a moment

1848
01:40:03,372 --> 01:40:06,124
to think it through,
sketch it out.

1849
01:40:07,084 --> 01:40:09,961
l just want to
impress upon you

1850
01:40:10,045 --> 01:40:12,672
how crucially important
this moment is

1851
01:40:13,507 --> 01:40:17,760
and how many potentially
devastating consequences

1852
01:40:17,845 --> 01:40:20,179
unplanned emotional
disclosures could have.

1853
01:40:20,264 --> 01:40:21,514
l know.

1854
01:40:22,641 --> 01:40:26,269
But to go on and carry on
denying it all. . .

1855
01:40:47,833 --> 01:40:49,834
l appreciate the gesture.

1856
01:40:55,716 --> 01:40:57,759
We ought to call it a snafu.

1857
01:41:01,055 --> 01:41:02,638
(WH lSPERlNG)

1858
01:41:07,644 --> 01:41:09,228
Jack, are we on?

1859
01:41:12,149 --> 01:41:13,733
We're on.
Okay, he's had plenty
of time to cook up

1860
01:41:13,817 --> 01:41:16,069
some sort of
slippery new bullshit,
so stay on your toes.

1861
01:41:16,153 --> 01:41:19,739
Listen, it's gonna be fine.
Pick up where you left off.

1862
01:41:58,821 --> 01:42:01,114
Thirty seconds, everyone.

1863
01:42:12,751 --> 01:42:15,002
DAVlS: Ten seconds.

1864
01:42:20,217 --> 01:42:25,930
David? Four, three,
two, and. . .

1865
01:42:27,182 --> 01:42:28,808
Mr. President,
we were talking about

1866
01:42:28,892 --> 01:42:31,561
the period
March 21 to April 30,

1867
01:42:31,645 --> 01:42:35,815
and the mistakes
you made, and so on,
and l was wondering

1868
01:42:38,110 --> 01:42:41,571
would you go
further than "mistakes"?

1869
01:42:41,655 --> 01:42:45,408
The word that
seems not enough
for people to understand.

1870
01:42:47,703 --> 01:42:50,621
Well, what word
would you express?

1871
01:42:56,879 --> 01:42:58,546
(EXCLAlMS lN DlSBELlEF)

1872
01:42:58,630 --> 01:43:00,214
My goodness.

1873
01:43:05,053 --> 01:43:06,304
All right.

1874
01:43:07,514 --> 01:43:10,433
Since you've asked me,
l think there
are three things

1875
01:43:10,517 --> 01:43:13,603
that people would
like to hear you say.

1876
01:43:13,687 --> 01:43:18,107
One, that there was
probably more than mistakes.

1877
01:43:18,192 --> 01:43:21,110
There was wrongdoing.

1878
01:43:21,195 --> 01:43:24,030
And, yes, it might
have been a crime, too.

1879
01:43:25,324 --> 01:43:30,620
Secondly, that "l did
abuse the power
l had as President."

1880
01:43:32,372 --> 01:43:35,249
And thirdly,
"l put the American people

1881
01:43:35,334 --> 01:43:38,169
"through two years
of needless agony,

1882
01:43:39,129 --> 01:43:42,757
"and l apologize for that."
And l know
how difficult it is

1883
01:43:43,175 --> 01:43:46,469
for anyone, especially you,

1884
01:43:47,846 --> 01:43:51,724
but l think the people
need to hear it.

1885
01:43:51,808 --> 01:43:54,644
And l think that
unless you say it,

1886
01:43:55,812 --> 01:43:59,273
you're going to be haunted
for the rest of your life.

1887
01:44:03,070 --> 01:44:09,075
Well, it's true.
l made mistakes,
horrendous ones,

1888
01:44:10,827 --> 01:44:14,121
ones that were not
worthy of a president,

1889
01:44:16,124 --> 01:44:19,001
ones that did not
meet the standards
of excellence

1890
01:44:19,086 --> 01:44:22,880
that l always dreamed of
as a young boy.

1891
01:44:22,965 --> 01:44:28,636
But, if you remember,
it was a difficult time.

1892
01:44:29,680 --> 01:44:33,683
l was caught up
in a five-front war

1893
01:44:34,184 --> 01:44:37,853
against a partisan media,
a partisan House of Congress,

1894
01:44:37,938 --> 01:44:40,648
a partisan Ervin Committee.

1895
01:44:42,150 --> 01:44:45,903
But, yes, l will admit
there were times

1896
01:44:45,988 --> 01:44:49,115
l did not fully meet
that responsibility

1897
01:44:49,199 --> 01:44:53,995
and l was involved
in a cover-up,
as you call it.

1898
01:44:54,663 --> 01:44:58,666
And for all those mistakes
l have a very deep regret.

1899
01:45:02,421 --> 01:45:06,173
No one can know
what it's like to resign
the presidency.

1900
01:45:08,176 --> 01:45:09,260
Now,

1901
01:45:11,054 --> 01:45:15,766
if you want me to get down
on the floor and grovel. . .

1902
01:45:16,893 --> 01:45:19,395
No! Never!

1903
01:45:21,064 --> 01:45:23,441
l still insist they were
mistakes of the heart.

1904
01:45:23,525 --> 01:45:25,067
They were not
mistakes of the head.

1905
01:45:25,152 --> 01:45:28,863
But they were my mistakes.
l don't blame anybody.

1906
01:45:29,990 --> 01:45:32,074
l brought myself down.

1907
01:45:34,161 --> 01:45:38,831
l gave them a sword,
and they stuck it in,

1908
01:45:38,915 --> 01:45:42,543
and they twisted it
with relish.

1909
01:45:43,545 --> 01:45:47,798
And l guess if l'd
been in their place,
l'd have done the same thing.

1910
01:45:48,091 --> 01:45:50,509
And the American people?

1911
01:46:09,488 --> 01:46:11,238
l let them down.

1912
01:46:13,867 --> 01:46:16,118
l let down my friends.

1913
01:46:18,955 --> 01:46:23,667
l let down the country.

1914
01:46:27,547 --> 01:46:29,215
And worst of all,

1915
01:46:32,719 --> 01:46:35,513
l let down
our system of government.

1916
01:46:37,140 --> 01:46:39,558
And the dreams of
all those young people

1917
01:46:39,643 --> 01:46:41,560
that ought to get
into government,

1918
01:46:41,645 --> 01:46:45,898
but now they think,
"lt's all too corrupt,"
and the rest.

1919
01:46:47,317 --> 01:46:48,401
Yeah.

1920
01:46:51,655 --> 01:46:53,155
(SlGHS)

1921
01:46:54,408 --> 01:46:56,992
l let the American
people down,

1922
01:47:01,373 --> 01:47:04,542
and l'm gonna have to
carry that burden with me

1923
01:47:06,169 --> 01:47:08,170
for the rest of my life.

1924
01:47:19,891 --> 01:47:22,309
My political life is over.

1925
01:47:50,213 --> 01:47:54,425
You know, the first
and greatest sin
or deception of television

1926
01:47:54,509 --> 01:47:57,970
is that it simplifies,
it diminishes,

1927
01:47:58,263 --> 01:48:02,725
great, complex ideas,
tranches of time.

1928
01:48:03,560 --> 01:48:07,730
Whole careers become reduced
to a single snapshot.

1929
01:48:08,732 --> 01:48:10,900
At first, l couldn't
understand why

1930
01:48:10,984 --> 01:48:13,319
Bob Zelnick was
quite as euphoric

1931
01:48:13,403 --> 01:48:15,613
as he was after
the interviews,

1932
01:48:18,450 --> 01:48:22,203
or why John Birt felt
moved to strip naked

1933
01:48:22,287 --> 01:48:25,164
and rush into
the ocean to celebrate.

1934
01:48:25,248 --> 01:48:29,919
But that was before
l really understood

1935
01:48:30,003 --> 01:48:32,796
the reductive power
of the close-up.

1936
01:48:32,881 --> 01:48:36,717
Because David had
succeeded on that final day

1937
01:48:36,801 --> 01:48:38,594
in getting,
for a fleeting moment,

1938
01:48:38,678 --> 01:48:40,179
what no investigative
journalist,

1939
01:48:40,263 --> 01:48:43,974
no state prosecutor,
no judiciary committee

1940
01:48:44,059 --> 01:48:47,228
or political enemy
had managed to get.

1941
01:48:47,437 --> 01:48:49,813
Richard Nixon\s face,

1942
01:48:49,898 --> 01:48:55,569
swollen and ravaged
by loneliness,
self-loathing and defeat.

1943
01:48:56,988 --> 01:49:00,699
The rest of the project
and its failings would
not only be forgotten,

1944
01:49:00,784 --> 01:49:03,035
they would totally
cease to exist.

1945
01:49:04,829 --> 01:49:06,288
(CAMERAS CLlCKlNG)

1946
01:49:06,665 --> 01:49:08,374
(REPORTERS CLAMORlNG)

1947
01:49:10,752 --> 01:49:13,295
REPORTER: Who came out
on top, Mr. President?

1948
01:49:33,066 --> 01:49:35,401
ls this what you
call a dachshund?

1949
01:49:35,485 --> 01:49:36,652
Mmm-hmm.

1950
01:49:45,120 --> 01:49:46,453
Very sweet.

1951
01:49:57,549 --> 01:49:58,966
(ENGlN E STARTlNG)

1952
01:50:17,444 --> 01:50:20,446
The Nixon/Frost interviews
were wildly successful.

1953
01:50:20,530 --> 01:50:23,115
l think they attracted
the largest audience
for a news program

1954
01:50:23,199 --> 01:50:24,867
in the history of
American television.

1955
01:50:24,951 --> 01:50:28,078
David was on
the cover of Time magazine
and Newsweek magazine.

1956
01:50:28,163 --> 01:50:29,413
And even the political
press corps,

1957
01:50:29,497 --> 01:50:30,664
the hard-bitten
political press corps,

1958
01:50:30,749 --> 01:50:33,709
called David up with
messages of contrition
and congratulation.

1959
01:50:33,793 --> 01:50:36,003
David, l want to
say congratulations.

1960
01:50:36,087 --> 01:50:37,921
The interviews?

1961
01:50:38,006 --> 01:50:41,425
No, l didn't watch them.
l couldn't.

1962
01:50:42,218 --> 01:50:43,719
(DlSCO MUSlC PLAYlNG)

1963
01:50:43,803 --> 01:50:44,803
Hey.

1964
01:50:46,681 --> 01:50:47,848
Hello.

1965
01:50:55,565 --> 01:50:58,817
l believe David saw
the former President
just one more time.

1966
01:50:58,902 --> 01:51:00,694
Before he left California
for London again,

1967
01:51:00,779 --> 01:51:03,405
he drove down
to San Clemente
to say goodbye.

1968
01:51:15,585 --> 01:51:18,796
Hey, Mr. Frost.
lt's nice to see you.

1969
01:51:19,756 --> 01:51:21,298
Miss Cushing.
Hello.

1970
01:51:22,467 --> 01:51:24,593
Please excuse
my golf outfit.

1971
01:51:24,678 --> 01:51:27,638
lt's the official
uniform of the retired.

1972
01:51:29,099 --> 01:51:30,557
Are you on your way home?

1973
01:51:30,642 --> 01:51:31,850
Yes.

1974
01:51:31,935 --> 01:51:37,022
lnto a bright new dawn
of fresh enterprises
and challenges, eh?

1975
01:51:37,107 --> 01:51:38,315
Well, let's hope so.

1976
01:51:38,400 --> 01:51:39,566
Good for you.

1977
01:51:39,651 --> 01:51:42,569
l didn't catch
the interviews
as they went out,

1978
01:51:42,654 --> 01:51:46,281
but they tell me
that they were
a great success.

1979
01:51:46,366 --> 01:51:50,077
l gather the journalists
that were so positive

1980
01:51:50,161 --> 01:51:53,163
about you weren't
so kind to me.

1981
01:51:53,248 --> 01:51:56,250
Yes, l was sorry to see that.

1982
01:51:56,918 --> 01:51:59,169
There's no
condolences necessary.

1983
01:51:59,254 --> 01:52:01,797
l've grown to
expect nothing else
from those sons of whores.

1984
01:52:01,881 --> 01:52:03,590
Yeah.

1985
01:52:03,675 --> 01:52:06,844
Jeez, please forgive me,
Miss Cushing.

1986
01:52:07,262 --> 01:52:10,389
You know,
l would've said
"sons of bitches,"

1987
01:52:10,473 --> 01:52:13,100
but Manolo here
is a lover of dogs,

1988
01:52:13,184 --> 01:52:15,477
and he hates me
to defame animals.

1989
01:52:15,979 --> 01:52:17,563
Can l get something
for somebody?

1990
01:52:17,647 --> 01:52:20,065
Yes. Would you like
some tea or champagne?

1991
01:52:20,150 --> 01:52:23,402
Hey, you know,
we got that caviar
the Shah of lran sent me.

1992
01:52:23,486 --> 01:52:24,528
No, thank you.
You sure?

1993
01:52:24,612 --> 01:52:25,904
Come on. lt'll be
no trouble at all.

1994
01:52:25,989 --> 01:52:27,197
No, really, we must be. . .

1995
01:52:27,282 --> 01:52:30,993
Okay, fine, fine.
Thanks for coming by.

1996
01:52:34,038 --> 01:52:36,290
You were a worthy opponent.

1997
01:52:38,293 --> 01:52:39,418
Goodbye, Mr. President.

1998
01:52:39,502 --> 01:52:40,794
Bye-bye.

1999
01:52:40,879 --> 01:52:42,254
Goodbye, Mr. President.

2000
01:52:42,338 --> 01:52:43,380
Goodbye.

2001
01:52:45,133 --> 01:52:47,760
Oh, God !
l almost forgot. l. . .

2002
01:52:48,762 --> 01:52:54,683
l brought you a present,
those shoes you admired.

2003
01:52:54,976 --> 01:52:56,727
l brought you a pair.

2004
01:52:57,896 --> 01:53:00,898
Well, jeez. Thank you.

2005
01:53:05,612 --> 01:53:10,783
l'm touched. Safe trip, now.

2006
01:53:15,163 --> 01:53:20,876
Oh ! Say, David, you think
l could speak to you,
privately, just for a minute?

2007
01:53:32,222 --> 01:53:34,807
Do you know those
parties of yours?

2008
01:53:34,891 --> 01:53:37,351
The ones that l read about
in all the papers?

2009
01:53:37,435 --> 01:53:40,187
Do you actually enjoy those?

2010
01:53:41,064 --> 01:53:42,439
Of course.

2011
01:53:43,983 --> 01:53:47,903
You got no idea how
fortunate that makes you.

2012
01:53:49,072 --> 01:53:53,325
You know?
Liking people,
and being liked.

2013
01:53:53,409 --> 01:53:58,080
Having that facility,
that lightness, that charm.

2014
01:53:59,582 --> 01:54:02,000
l don't have it.
l never did.

2015
01:54:02,794 --> 01:54:05,629
lt kind of makes you wonder
why l chose a life

2016
01:54:05,713 --> 01:54:08,799
that hinged on being liked.

2017
01:54:09,092 --> 01:54:12,511
l'm better suited
to a life of thought,

2018
01:54:12,595 --> 01:54:14,805
debate,
intellectual discipline.

2019
01:54:15,849 --> 01:54:17,057
Maybe we got it wrong.

2020
01:54:17,141 --> 01:54:19,017
Maybe you should have
been a politician

2021
01:54:19,102 --> 01:54:21,436
and l the rigorous
interviewer.

2022
01:54:22,063 --> 01:54:23,313
Maybe.

2023
01:54:24,774 --> 01:54:25,899
David.

2024
01:54:28,236 --> 01:54:31,697
Did l really
call you that night?

2025
01:54:34,033 --> 01:54:35,242
Yes.

2026
01:54:36,119 --> 01:54:39,955
Did we discuss
anything important?

2027
01:54:44,252 --> 01:54:45,711
Cheeseburgers.

2028
01:54:48,131 --> 01:54:49,673
Cheeseburgers?

2029
01:54:55,388 --> 01:54:56,889
Goodbye, sir.

2030
01:55:07,066 --> 01:55:09,234
RESTON: Well, New York,
London and Sydney

2031
01:55:09,319 --> 01:55:11,737
welcomed David
back with open arms,

2032
01:55:11,821 --> 01:55:13,530
as did his friends
and investors,

2033
01:55:13,615 --> 01:55:16,074
who\ve made a fortune
from these interviews.

2034
01:55:16,159 --> 01:55:17,743
He got back all of his shows.

2035
01:55:17,827 --> 01:55:20,078
He even got back
his table at Sardi\s.

2036
01:55:20,830 --> 01:55:22,205
As for Richard Nixon,

2037
01:55:22,290 --> 01:55:23,498
well, he certainly
never achieved

2038
01:55:23,583 --> 01:55:26,251
the rehabilitation
he so desperately craved.

2039
01:55:26,336 --> 01:55:28,503
His most lasting legacy

2040
01:55:28,588 --> 01:55:31,381
is that today
any political wrongdoing