William Goldman has made a documentary thriller out of Woodward and Bernstein's factual book, resisting the urge to fill in this couple's characters at all, making it a film to admire rather than love. Pakula (and Gordon Willis) give it that dark, paranoid seventies feeling. It's rather riveting.
Well played by Redford and Hoffman. With a good supporting cast comprising Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Hal Holbrook, Jane Alexander.
Goldman, Robards, sound and art direction won Oscars (Bugsy Malone won the screenplay BAFTA!) Robert Wolfe edited.
Goldman tells in 'Adventures in the Screen Trade' how eight months in to the writing, Redford summoned him over and casually told him that Bernstein and his girlfriend Nora Ephron had written their own version of the script and he should take a look at it. He felt it a 'gutless betrayal'. Ultimately the one scene from it that was used - Bernstein tricks his way past the secretary - was made up, something Goldman would never have done on such a serious project. Then, because of this, it got out that he had written a dud, that the script was in trouble. Then when Pakula was finally attached to direct, he kept asking for scenes to be rewritten in different ways, because he couldn't make up his mind what he wanted. Fifteen months after it had begun, with more rewrites than on any other project, it's the one he wishes he had never been involved with...
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