Watergate - Dahlberg scene

[@jkrycz]

"Somewhere in this world there is a Kenneth H. Dahlberg." Kids, before the Internet, it really was like this.

[@MM-hi]

Just finished watching this masterpiece, and this scene is living rent free in my head! The camera work is absolutely genius and the acting by Robert Redford in this one take is so authentic, I urge anyone who has stumbled on this clip and hasn't seen this film to stop what they're doing and watch it right now!!

[@scottkirby8204]

In an interview about the Slow Horses series, Gary Oldman talks about “phone acting” and says this one scene is the Oscar-standard for that kind of acting. The camera stays on Woodward the whole time, with a slow and hardly noticeable move in on his face. It really, really IS a phenomenal piece of acting. Phone acting is NOT easy to do and Robert Redford nails it! Bravo!

[@kidjustice3220]

Redford is the King. No doubt about it.

[@americancitizen748]

Manual typewriters and no Google for searches. You gotta admire those old reporters...

[@MrDanty64]

At the risk of sexual harassment, this is tits.

[@daviskampschror4874]

Diana Stein calm you tits

[@anilomd]

....no cell phones.

[@evanfinch4987]

glory days

[@KristineMaitland]

Even in the days of Google sometimes going old school 🏫 way. I did some of my Black history research by using the phone book.

[@roquefortfiles]

Give the camera crew an Oscar. Look at the sides of the frame and see how incrementally tiny the camera is creeping closer to Redford as the shot goes on. The camera dolly grip did amazing work in this shot. Unbelievable focus on the material. Sure Redford is the star but the camera dolly work on this tells the story.

[@Wired4Life2]

In the Academy's eyes, it wasn't worthy of a nom, not to mention it wasn't as impressive as the revolutionary introduction of the Steadicam in Bound for Glory (even though Marathon Man and Rocky had also used the new tech and were released before Bound for Glory).

[@thecinematicmind]

Sarah Michelle Gilligan Didn’t he get an honorary Oscar in 2009. I thought he did.

[@Varykino1917]

I have seen this movie maybe a dozen times or more and never once noticed that. This is one of my most favorite movies. Do you have any other observations that you wouldn't mind sharing? Thank you!

[@Michael-4]

Haha good one.

[@stephenward7856]

Yeah, it's a great shot. Not sure if it's a zoom rather than a dolly? Plus there's something funny going on at the left side of the frame, notice that? The guys in left background stay in sharper focus than those behind Redford. Either way I love this shot and how it gradually builds. And damn, that kid Redford knows how to hold a camera!

[@duncansamways1363]

This is as exciting as any action scene. Why this masterpiece didn’t win all the Oscars it was nominated for is beyond me.

[@mohammedashian8094]

Hey 4 Oscars ain’t bad (best adapted screenplay for William Goldman, best supporting actor for Jason Robards, best production design and best sound mixing)

[@williamhare9776]

Yup. Today they would've had a million edits and different camera angles, pulsating music score - Would've killed the scene.

[@matchesmalone2625]

When Redford says the wrong name made the scene for me

[@gkroll8467]

@@mohammedashian8094watching paint dry is more exciting

[@danocable]

We lived next to the Dalhbergs in northern Virginia.

[@seanmcdougall9497]

They just don't do long takes like this anymore; I love the look on Redford's face at 6:43 because he said the wrong persons name by accident and he thought he ruined the take. Fortunately the blooper made the performance seem more authentic because I am sure reporters working the phones like that slip up all the time.

[@Pww642]

Holy shit, that wasn’t scripted? It’s such a perfect moment that I thought they added it to show the adrenaline of that moment and how his mind is racing.

[@Kwekubo]

It's so memorable! And it makes him seem really excited to have the scoop unfolding in front of him

[@gkroll8467]

The acting sucks the side players are great blonde and big nose commies suck

[@Bob31415]

Who says it wasn't scripted?

[@TitanicHorseRacingLover]

RIP "All the President's Men" screenwriter William Goldman, who passed away last night at 87. Great script. Mr. Goldman won a well deserved Oscar for this.

[@kennethrussell1158]

People don't realize how important the screenwriter is to the movie making process Terri

[@Lights_Darks]

Clever of Dahlberg to call the Washington Post to talk to Woodward and thereby confirm it really is him. You never know who is actually on the other end of the line.

[@mortalclown3812]

Fear can bring out parts of the brain that are rarely used.

[@spacewolfjr]

I read a story once about a software developer who made a free encryption program and had received a call from the NSA who wanted to know more about it (IIRC they were wondering about the key-length or something). Anyways, the developer described how the caller wanted him to look in the phonebook and call the number for a specific military base and what to say to the operator, etc. to get reconnected. All of it to prove that he really was talking to the NSA. It's funny because with phishing emails and other social engineering tactics we tell people to bookmark known sites, like your bank, etc. by typing them in from the addresses listed on the back of your card or official statements, etc. And not to click on random links in emails or to search for the website as some scams hijack the search results to try to be the first click (or use ads, etc). I just found the story, search for "Why the NSA Called Me After Midnight and Requested My Source Code"

[@arcanondrum6543]

​@@mortalclown3812 No, not fear. If he were afraid, he wouldn't have called back. He wants to be sure of who he is talking to.

[@asleandere8852]

smart. and we should always learn that lesson ourselves, now more than ever.

[@yohei72]

I've always thought the bit about Dahlberg's neighbor's wife being kidnapped was a really weird detail. I just looked him up and, once again, truth is stranger than fiction. His neighbor Virginia Piper was the victim of a sensational kidnapping at around the same time that Watergate was starting to unfold (she was found safe after two days).

[@luckyspurs]

It's an absolute 10 out of 10 film. So much amazing acting and film-making behind the camera.

[@Room142]

i get bored and go get snacks when there are car chases or people beating the crap out of each other but this scene always has me on the edge of my seat, rivetted

[@samfilmkid]

Really think about what they're doing here: They are doing a deep focus shot with a MOVING CAMERA. That's like trying to stir cake batter under water. On top of that, it is a slow moving dolly shot. Forget about the Oscars, the focus puller and camera operators on this movie deserve an Olympic Gold Medal for their work on this single shot/scene.

[@thatfilmgeekguy]

That long take on Redford is one of the best shots in film history.

[@marshajanulis6092]

agree and redford's legacy will be sundance

[@johnjones3813]

I agree.

[@rufuspipemos]

Such a time capsule of the 1970s. Need to ask for "an outside line" when calling from an office..... rotary phone with a cord.... have to go to a library and sift through books to get a simple phone number.... having to write notes instead of recording.... wild!

[@bertroost1675]

and today people are incredibly impatient over everything

[@MH-jc3uj]

I never noticed this extremely slow zoom-in, nor did I notice that this scene involved the use of a dioptre lens; if you look carefully, the lights on the ceiling on the left-side look more well-defined than those on the right. All this was brought to my attention by a post made by someone on Reddit. Excellent film and film-making. One of my all-time favourite movies!

[@MrDanty64]

Thanks for the FYI on the Filmmaking vernacular. My brother's wife manages a Silent Film Fest and it would be good to know this stuff when we're in the kitchen and the Kids on Sugar and the Grandparents do what they do...

[@ScottSullivanTV]

It's not a zoom-in. It's a push-in.

[@sallydaniel1023]

And these guys did this without the internet. Incredible work!!!

[@yohei72]

I've never seen another movie that made phone conversations so gripping.

[@interstellar1962]

I love this film, so many great scenes, such as this one. Excellent attention to detail. An all time favourite. Kudos to all involved.

[@michaelstone3069]

Dahlberg was a heck of fighter in WWII

[@michalsupej8380]

Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, POW Medal,...

[@pyreneesgal5823]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time.

[@kimberlytyrcha5930]

Mine too.

[@Bob31415]

Same here.

[@BloodoperaBlackvomit]

How GOOD is Robert in this film.... and eyeopener for me personally

[@mortalclown3812]

A world without cell phones and with phone books. And a young Redford. There was hope.

[@johnjones3813]

Everything before 2000 there was hope.

[@gpapa31]

Pacula’s directing is absolutely astounding!!

[@bevaconme]

one take. one take.

[@johnr7279]

An amazing scene in an amazing movie. I never get tired of this scene.

[@samfeldman5236]

“I know I shouldn’t be telling you this” Redford’s reaction Amazing

[@evanthompson6]

Incredible acting. I'm a reporter and I've been on some intense interviews with public officials. The subtle cues with the way he catches his when he's excited/nervous is just tremendous.

[@creativeworld3927]

One take... journalists and employees run to the TV in the background as Woodward untracks the trail of unreported laundered money filing into Nixon's re-election campaign (CREEP) for the purposes of running fraudulent black operations with former CIA and other various right wing militants, as the news breaks with Senator McGovern's voice being heard in the background in a press conference where he announces his running mate's resignation (Eagleton) from the campaign based on the shitty and illegal smear campaign that Nixon waged on McGovern & Eagleton... the evidence of Nixon's crimes both in the foreground and the background of this scene. Brilliant.

[@Varykino1917]

Thank you so much for adding this comment! Perfect observation! Do you have any other observations that you wouldn't mind sharing? This movie is one of my all time favorites - I love learning new things about it? Thank you!

[@johnjones3813]

This never occurred to me. Really great insight. Kinda like the end of the movie where the tv is showing the inauguration, and W&B have their noses down, working the real story. Canons going off. But the real Canon shots haven't even been fired.

[@ricarleite]

A 6 minute single take

[@MrDanty64]

with the camera SLOWLY zooming in...just makes it that much more tight...and love the end part about how Hoffman goes off..

[@lucaviggiani2189]

ricarleite Apparently he messed up the end by calling him McGregor instead of Dahlberg. Great they kept it in though. Adds to the tension and complexity of the cover up.

[@lelandrb]

Wow, you're completely right about the slow zoom, didn't even notice. Brilliant.

[@MrDanty64]

Dude. Its all there. Think about it. You KNOW from everything else leading up to that scene its all there. That. Conversation. Is. It. At that point. As in equivalent to Lights dimming on stage at a Play so that light focuses on ...

[@johnjones3813]

Yes, it is really awe inspiring. This is really difficult for an actor, plus there's so much going on behind Redford, too. This is more impressive than any cgi sequence in today's movies.

[@davewanamaker3690]

My newspaper library was just like this. Pretty neat scene. When they had their editor's meetings it was conducted like that too. So many cool details and set scenes.

[@yoshipower457]

amazing

[@stephenward7856]

Makes me smile - old Woodward still at it after all these years, doing his part in bringing down another corrupt President. With Bernstein on the sidelines, chipping in his two cents. And the stakes higher than ever...

[@gkroll8467]

God your such a commie sap

[@michaeldonovan4793]

pretty great how they nailed tricky dicky without cell phones or computers...

[@trythinkingforachange4201]

Let's hope they can nail Trump soon.

[@alexayers9463]

Sounds impressive, but keep it in perspective: Tricky Dicky had neither cell phones nor computers either.

[@yoshipower457]

they’re literally using cellphones

[@martinobrien7110]

THE MEANING OF " FOLLOW THE MONEY " THANK YOU DEEP THROAT

[@DavidM-eg1sl]

"I've just been through a terrible ordeal. My neighbor's wife has been kidnapped." Love it, have to use it sometime!

[@HardRockMaster7577]

"My neighbor's dog has been kidnapped."

[@JetMC254]

Probably the most random hang-up excuse in history

[@mohammedashian8094]

@@JetMC254 I thought so too but actually that did really happen and there was coverage about it

[@JetMC254]

@@mohammedashian8094 really ? Do you have a link to it ?

[@mohammedashian8094]

@@JetMC254 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Piper_kidnapping

[@sallydaniel1023]

They did all of this before the internet and brought down the Nixon presidency 👏

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Nowww, you can't beat the "Talking on the phone" stuff ...works everytime ...because you get to use your imagination 🧠✨

[@johnjadkowski8836]

How is this possible, they are clearly using a split diopter so how on earth are they pushing into only one side of the diopter, is it a zoom or a dolly? Is the diopter not mounted in the matte box?

[@Surftiva]

Last time I watched this movie had to be in the 70's as a teenager. lol

[@michaelcarter8120]

This scene really takes me back to a different time. Hell, a different world. First there’s those big, bulky phone books. Boy, did we need those things! But, when you look back, they didn’t contain 1% of the information we get off Google alone. Besides the phone number and address of a restaurant, now we can even get the menu. Then there’s the rotary phones. Remember dialing and your finger slipping and you had to hang up and start all over? There is one feature I sorta miss on those old phones. You could go to an extension, unscrew the part of the headset you spoke into, and listen to the conversation without the other parties knowing. An electric typewriter and paper. The typewriters in the film were state of the art IBM “Selectricts”. Instead of individual keys, you had that ball. You didn’t have to worry about the individual keys getting caught. The reporters had to type their stories on that special paper and give them to the printer department. Then those people had to create each and every page by hand before those huge printing machines would print the newspaper.

[@TrevorMoses312]

6:42 Robert Redford made a blooper there when he calls Dalhberg "Mr McGregor" but he corrects himself. 😊

[@PRQuintin]

Pretty sure that wasn't a blooper but actually scripted.

[@KenoSNeal]

Great scene!!

[@bricefuqua3567]

The movies nominated for Best Picture that year were: All the President's Men, Taxi Driver. Network, Bound For Glory & Rocky. Rocky won.

[@mikehersh6192]

Knockout

[@mikehersh6192]

1976. Tall Ships on Bicentennial Day. 🎉🎉🎉🎉this movie helped maga become 😮😮😮😮😮 Truth?🤔🤔🤔

[@Bob31415]

And that's a crime.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Note that Redford blows his lines - 6:40 he calls Dahlberg by the wrong name, but he stays in character and it’s seems like a natural mistake.

[@Robsay01]

Dang. Digging through old phone books. Blast from the past. Lol

[@mikehersh6192]

A perfect mugshot. 19 of em 🕺💃🕺💃💃

[@DivineSimply]

What a watershed moment, for the country, the film . . . and for every kid sitting on the fence wondering whether or not to apply to Journalism school.

[@jumpinjehoshaphat1951]

Kenneth Harry Dahlberg (June 30, 1917 - October 4, 2011) was an American businessman and highly decorated World War II fighter ace. According to reporter Bob Woodward, a cheque made out to Dahlberg was a key part in connecting the Watergate scandal to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign, though Dahlberg himself was not accused of any wrongdoing - Wikipedia

[@j.p.8304]

Real film making here.

[@vhayes2257]

Does anyone know who voiced Kenneth Dalhberg in this scene? IMDB isn't listing the actor and Google seems similarly mystified.

[@Bob31415]

Good question

[@345mrse]

Such a carefree time.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

When simply phoning with someone required a bulky machine with a rotary device that broke fingernails and took up to 10 seconds just to setup electromechanical relays at a substation to effect something known as a "connection" in order to move up the chain to more relays that finally ran through miles & miles of thin copper wires so that an electromechanical coil on the target bulky machine could "ring" a dual hemispherical noise maker known as a "bell" that audibly alerted a human ear to the fact their device known as a "dial phone" could "connect" them to someone at "the other end" to begin a conversation. And that, ladies & gentlemen, is the short form of what technology was doing in this scene.

[@darrylwiggins4799]

Goddamn,this is a great movie.

[@krisscanlon4051]

Paper phonebooks whew getting it done back then!

[@mossychops]

Google it?

[@barrygaynor1025]

Great movie.

[@MarijaCZadar]

They are so funny with turning these dials :D Today's kids wouldn't know how to use these phones anymore

[@y2m226]

Yeah those were advanced times. Let me call my family 5 da....dada dada....da dada 6....dada...dada...dada 3 dada....dada.

[@kennethrussell1158]

Great Point. I was 20 when this movie was released in 1976. Grew up in the 1960's, and attended High School in the early 1970's Marika C

[@yoshipower457]

boomer

[@12345682900]

This kids, was the "internet" in the 1970's; it was called "research."

[@yoshipower457]

yeah no shit

[@12345682900]

@@yoshipower457 Perhaps "no shit" to you, however, the Gen Z & Alpha crowds are not necessarily aware of this fact... hence the phrase, "this kids..."

[@user-jXuELydMX4rX]

Touched with deep zoom-up camera work belong closing to a core point of matters they chased.

[@Chanaleh]

Driving me crazy: who was the voice of Dahlberg? It's so familiar but he's not credited. Maybe Gene Wilder?

[@Madbandit77]

Chana Zelig It sounded like him, but it's a bit deep.

[@tomloft2000]

i think it's Basil Hoffman,who played one of the editors(city?) in the movie.

[@yomomma2054]

6:16, that bust a nut look

[@TnseWlms]

Why does Bob Woodward wear his watch on his right wrist when he is right-handed?

[@TrevorMoses312]

Personal thing: I do that too and people think it's odd. Not really: my watch, my wrist 😉

[@Bob31415]

I'm right handed and will switch my watch from left to right and back for comfort reasons.

[@MM-vv8mt]

Growing up in the 1960s and '70, the only thing I hated more than power cords were rotary phones. Make one mistake, and start over!

[@HarryCopperPot]

I'm triggered by dat rotary phone

[@MapleSyrupPoet]

Now ...that Dalberg info ...was a Scoop ehhhh

[@jayacorn4719]

And that is how. You. Do. It.

[@adamhonestyanddecency5054]

I would have inquired about Dahlberg's neighbor's wife; kept him talking.

[@ConanBarbarian-d5u]

Back when they took time to actually investigate... and cared about the truth. And when people actually cared about what the truth was, rather than just reading what supported their own beliefs.

[@SL-cl9gt]

The pre google days 😅

[@RoseBudpony1]

i feel like i'm watching the Office all over again...

[@yoshipower457]

“I beg you’re pardon?” Incredible

[@steved8053]

basic shoe leather detective work

[@TheRealBizWiz]

*Too bad Donald Trump is in the White House. We’ve obviously learned very little about Watergate.*

[@Wired4Life2]

Good luck with that.

[@HardRockMaster7577]

"The walls are closing in." 😅😆😗

[@Bertiesghost]

I’m from 2024 and I have some bad news..

[@brianwilliams8635]

Ah the world of "paper" resources! Like a time capsule now. Even many public figures were "in the phone book." Fat chance today.

[@broden4838]

When I first saw this film, I thought this was filmed in the 80s instead of 1976...

[@Section5_CdnIntelService]

His neighbour's wife had been kidnapped?

[@hillsidepoppy]

Apparently that really happened. And he was upset when he got the call. Not just some bizarre thing to say.

[@theolamp5312]

I have to thank DJT for getting me to watch Mr. Smith Goes To Washington & All The President's Men again. And, here we go again. Follow the money. Also, I think Dahlberg called back because he was afraid of lying to the Press. Lying to the press is lying to the American People. When will that become a crime ?

[@Mike-tw1pi]

Google would have made their job so much easier..

[@makeit7579]

Deep Throat were are you when we need you ?

[@mortalclown3812]

It's three years later. It's worse than ever.

[@jeanetteschock4744]

Greatest political movie

[@NordeastMarie]

Remember the Piper kidnapping too.

[@bradleybrown8399]

If all he needed was a telephone number from that phone book, why did he carry the phone book back to his desk?🤔

[@mohammedashian8094]

You think it’s easy to remember one single number out of a million?

[@bradleybrown8399]

@@mohammedashian8094 perhaps, perhaps not. Or, and stay with me here, it's a crazy idea, but perhaps he jots the number down before going back to his desk so he doesn't have to return the phone book to the library afterward.

[@BBC600]

@@bradleybrown8399 Probably wanted it to confirm he didn't transcribe it wrong or something.

[@bradleybrown8399]

@@BBC600 he seemed to be fairly diligent in his process. Do you think he would be that careless to write down a wrong number? He wrote everything else down. And by writing it down in his notebook, he's got it there as part of his documentation.

[@Bob31415]

@@mohammedashian8094 It doesn't matter what the total number of phone numbers in the phonebook is. He still only has to remember *one* number. Duh.

[@sir_flufflez3406]

Trump will be impeached.

[@mortalclown3812]

It's 2023 now and it looks like he'll be POTUS again: we're on the brink of fascism. And all we've got is Biden. It's pure hell.

[@HardRockMaster7577]

"The walls are closing in" 😄

[@Bertiesghost]

Have I got some bad news..

[@mikehersh6192]

My nebiours wife has just been kidnapped 😮 wonder what she said.

[@Kwekubo]

Her name was Virginia Piper, it was a high profile kidnapping at the time (you can Google it)

[@mikehersh6192]

😮😮

[@mikehersh6192]

Piper ?Virginia ?🤔🤔🤔

[@oscarm.1417]

Back when the WAPO had a shred of credibility.

[@PRQuintin]

Although seeing this huge story put beneath the fold is pretty typical of today's WAPO. Back then it probably wasn't done deliberately but today it probably wouldn't even make the paper.

[@slide4180]

Watergate is kid's play compared to what Trump did and would still do.

[@thepanel2935]

the GLOSSA channel

[@gordonhall9871]

still up to no good

[@KubieQ]

This is where the Q anons were in Dec 2017 - The Brilliance happens again!! Q - Deep Throat v2

[@tassieschnappi]

FAKE NEWS!

[@user-jXuELydMX4rX]

Touched with deep zoom-up camera work belong closing to a core point of matters they chased.