Looking back on the weekend, it was interesting (and totally coincidental) that I happened to see "All the President's Men" for the first time the day after I watched Robert Redford's latest film "Lions for Lambs."

The films are both thickly political thematically, though "Lions" is much more overt (and, as I said in a previous post, preachy) with its politics than is "All the President's Men." The latter film was compelling and amazing in the sense that the narrative is driven mostly by conversations either on the phone or in person. There are no car chases, no violence (though a little intrigue when Woodward starts to peek over his shoulder later in the film), and really there's not all that much shouting. It relies almost totally on keeping the audience informed as to what's going on and using dialog to carry the conflict. It was a risky, but well done, way of carrying the movie.

Watching the two films together reminded me how intelligent Redford is regardless of his politics. He is thoughtful and eloquent and impressive to watch.