Based on the Watergate scandal that nearly destroyed a US administration, All The President's Men is a brilliantly realised story of old-school investigative journalism and the people who drove it. In Nixon's paranoid America, 1972, five men have been arrested breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters under cover of darkness. The Washington Post gives this minor story to Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), who learns that the men have ties to both the CIA and the Presidency. As the story snowballs Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) is assigned as Woodward's partner and despite their personal differences the reporters must work together, drawn deeper into a dangerous conspiracy that goes all the way to the top.

About the curator: Kate McClymont is an investigative journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald. She is a ten-time winner of journalism’s most prestigious award, the Walkley, including the Gold Walkley. She was named the 2012 NSW Journalist of the Year for her investigations into the fraudulent activities of Michael Williamson, the head of the Health Services Union and the business activities of the now-jailed ex-NSW Labor minister, Eddie Obeid. Kate was inducted into the Media Hall of Fame for her contribution to the industry in 2017 and in 2020 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to the print media and investigative journalism.

Based on Woodward and Bernstein's expose and made only four years after the Watergate incident, the ripped-from-the-headlines feeling is enhanced by Pakula's obsessive attention to capturing the look and feel of a contemporary newsroom. Despite their bravery in doggedly pursuing the truth at great personal risk Pakula never shies away from depicting the less heroic aspects of journalism, their ruthlessness and risk taking (bordering on thrill-seeking) as they chase down every lead. The bustling ambience, clandestine meetings with shadowy figures in parking garages, “follow the money”— the influence of All The President's Men can be found in everything from The X Files to Zodiac, and it still stands as one of the most riveting detective stories in cinema.