Why was Waterston deleted?
Sam Waterston played the CIA director in the first release of this movie. Why was it deleted in the DVD?
sharebecause he was the ultimate poker player
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And I think you have it wrong: Waterston might appear in the DVD directors edition, but he doesn't appear in the video or the usual DVD edition.
And when you see the scenes with you, you can see why: it doesn't fit with the rest of the movie, its too long and, quite frankly, its too boring.
hahaha because he was the ultimate poker player!!
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king
I loved the scene with Waterston, it gave me chills. I disagree with other posters in that I think the scene fit well with the film-It added resonance to the scenes with Hunt and the Cubans, it gave us a bit of insight into why Nixon was so afraid that the "Bay of Pigs" issue would rear its ugly head. Also developed the theme that came up with the students at the Lincoln monument: That Nixon and the elected government as a whole was to a certain extent at the mercy of shadowy right-wing forces within the intelligence community which had acquired a life of their own.
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Stone says on the commentary that he thinks it belongs in the movie, but it was cut for time constraints on a theatrical release.
shareYep the scene belongs in the movie in my opinion because it is awesome and fits perfectly.
I can't more strongly disagree with the posters who think it doesn't fit.
The black eyes, the casual flippant tone about his evil deeds, the 2nd coming poem, all perfect representations of the evil of our government and what is really running the show. Our presidents have merely become figure heads for this evil unfortunately and nothing short of another American Revolution will change this.
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It fits in showing the paranoia of Nixon. I love that scene it also gave me chills.
shareI agree with you, total chills from Sam's performance. It might be too long for some viewers, but frankly for a film THIS good I don't mind the time used from this or other deleted scenes. For those that would like to see the scene, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWRVyaKnGcA
This is a significant scene, if you are interesting in the thread started in the beginning of the film, Hunt, 'the Cubans', hush money, etc. Good stuff.
Totally agree, thought the scene was brilliant.
One question though, off the topic: At the start of the scene when they are walking through the CIA offices, General Bob Cushman gives Nixon a briefing - Who is the actor who plays General Cushman?
Initially I recognised him and thought he had appeared in Stone's JFK. I could not figure out who he played in JFK and at one point was thinking perhaps he plays the same character (General Cushman) in both movies - an idea which I liked the thought of.
After more thought, I am almost sure the actor who plays General Cushman in Nixon is the same actor who plays Clay Shaw's attorney in the courtroom scenes towards the end of JFK - is this correct?
I cannot confirm these details in either of the movies credits.
Interesting thought though if Stone had opted to use a number of actors in the same character roles in both movies, or even more of his movies...imagine if, in history, George W. Bush has ever had an encounter with Richard Helms, and the encounter appeared in Stone's upcoming W. with Sam Waterston reprising his role as Helms, or imagine an encounter between W and an older Nixon, with Anthony Hopkins reprising his role as Nixon for a cameo...these ideas sit nicely with me, but I am not aware of such occurrances happening.
Any comments?
Yes, it's the same actor who was Clay Shaw's attorney.
Spider-Man 3 is superior in every way to Funny Games.
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"Richards Helms, the most evil man in the world next to Hitler"
What about Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and 100 others? And why the hell did you post in all italics?
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"it doesn't fit with the rest of the movie, its too long and, quite frankly, its too boring."
I completely disagree. I think the scene is the best scene in the entire movie. The scene might be 10 minutes in length, but I've never felt its length nor has anyone else I've seen the movie with complained about the scene being out of place or being too long. Every word of dialogue between Nixon and Helms grabs you and holds you completely in awe. All the way up to Helms reading Yates. And the musical score and the shots and intercutting it with real life political events - makes it hauntingly powerful and beautiful.
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I completely disagree. I think the scene is the best scene in the entire movie. The scene might be 10 minutes in length, but I've never felt its length nor has anyone else I've seen the movie with complained about the scene being out of place or being too long. Every word of dialogue between Nixon and Helms grabs you and holds you completely in awe. All the way up to Helms reading Yates. And the musical score and the shots and intercutting it with real life political events - makes it hauntingly powerful and beautiful.
Yes, it was a great scene. Helms threatened to sue, so the studio pulled the scene --- much as Ehrlichman threatened to sue, and his scene was softened.
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Non-sequiturs are delicious.
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