Despite the gimmick of re-releasing Nixon in an expanded “Election Year Edition,” Oliver Stone’s 1995 film is more poignant at this juncture than in its initial release 13 years ago. As we pace through the final months of the Bush presidency, it may be an apt moment to reflect on President Richard Nixon. Stone’s director’s cut of Nixon sheds light on the current political climate, illuminating the presidency that shaped the last quarter century—the president that made the Bush administration possible.

The director’s cut further illuminates the multifaceted beast that was Nixon. Spearheaded by Anthony Hopkins’ brilliant portrayal of the president, the film reveals his interior life and the important achievements of his terms that have largely been forgotten in the wake of Watergate. That, in retrospect, is possibly what is most fascinating about the film. Stone has never been secretive about his distaste for Nixon, yet he allows for a personal portrait, highlighting the tormented relationship Nixon had with power.

The additional scenes draw out the good in his presidency, when Nixon reached out to China and the USSR, and the ways in which he was an idealist who would stop at nothing, an attitude that made him the first power usurping criminal president of the modern era. The added material doesn’t make the film as laborious as his director’s cut of Alexander; it actually plays up the nuances of Nixon’s layered personality.

The special features on the second disc truly compliment the film’s historical intrigue. A host of scenes deleted from the theatrical release (included in the director’s cut) are introduced and examined by Stone. While it provides an opportunity for Stone to discuss why they were originally omitted, they, more interestingly, help to understand how Stone defined for himself what was factual about the screenplay and what was inferred and integrated into his narrative. Particularly fascinating is his brief discussion of “vertical editing,” a style that heavily borrows from the theories of Sergei Eisenstein’s “intellectual editing,” non-linear fast cuts that comment on what’s being said or done. Stone, never one for modesty, punctuates the segment by making sure the viewer understands that it was refined by himself, which is arguable.

The half-hour documentary by Sean Stone, Beyond Nixon, utilizes scholars, as well as Gore Vidal and former White House Counsel John Dean, to examine the truth behind the film and what makes Nixon such a monumental figure in modern American history. In addition to two feature commentaries is an appearance by Stone on the Charlie Rose show in support of Nixon from 1995. Stone defends himself repeatedly and reiterates much of what appears elsewhere on the DVD. The interview is somewhat disappointing after Stone appears as a particularly articulate version of himself in many of the other extras.

His defense of artistic license and his original reflections about the president have not changed in the time since the film’s release. Now with hindsight, it’s a little disappointing that he seems not to have something fresh to say. Nonetheless, the expanded director’s cut and the special features are an engaging viewing, if not slightly laborious at a total running time of over 12 hours. Dustin Nelson
August 26, 2008