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#2. ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976)

Whenever I’m in Washington D.C., I walk through the National Mall. It’s expansive and intense, and I always feel something that falls somewhere between nostalgia, pride, and extreme power. It’s the backdrop for so many of America’s stories, both good and bad. And it’s one of the settings in “All the President’s Men,” a terrific film about the infamous Watergate scandal.

I used to watch this movie over and over again in high school. Embarrassingly, it played a big role in my decision to major in political science and to work as a reporter for my college newspaper. While my dreams of becoming the next Bob Woodward were never realized, I still hold on to my love for media and politics.

D.C. is, of course, a major player in this film about bringing down Richard Nixon. While you may think parking garages and the insides of newsrooms are the sets for the majority of the scenes, there are great panoramic shots of the city and sinister, ghostly images of the White House and Capitol. Woodward, played by Robert Redford, and Carl Bernstein, played by Dustin Hoffman, walk quickly through long, shadowy government corridors and go door to door asking questions. One memorable scene in particular is of the two of them waking the formidable Washington Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee (played perfectly by the late Jason Robards), and having a heated discussion in front of Bradlee’s Georgetown home.

Here’s the theatrical trailer. I love the flirtatious banter between the source and Bernstein with the Mall in the background, at the 1:17 mark.