AFI DOCS: Our Nixon

Photo credit: Courtesy of AFI DOCS

The legacy of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of The United States, is as varied as the definition of the word legacy itself.  He would have been 100 years old this year.

Like JFK, no matter how much has been written about him, there is always unclaimed material that has been tucked away that resurfaces and bears with it a fresh perspective.  Such is the case our Our Nixon which will be broadcast on CNN Films on August 1st.

“Throughout Richard Nixon’s presidency, three of his top White House aides obsessively documented their experiences with Super 8 home movie cameras.

Young, idealistic and dedicated, they had no idea that a few years later they’d all be in prison. This unique and personal visual record, created by H.R. Halderman, John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin, was seized by the FBI during the Watergate investigation, then filed away and forgotten for almost 40 years.

OUR NIXON is an all-archival documentary presenting those home movies for the first time, along with other rare footage, creating an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency as never seen before.” Production Notes

OUR NIXON, which was screened in collaboration with the National Archives, was part of AFI Docs Film Festival in Washington, D.C. and was followed by a panel discussion featuring two former members of the Nixon Administration – special assistant Dwight Chapin and speechwriter Lee Huebner.   CNN anchor Jake Tapper of The Lead, moderated the discussion.

Co-producers Brian Frye and Penny Lane drew upon archival news and interview footage, along with film curated from more than 500 reels of re-discovered Super 8 home movies.

While the below trailer reminds us of the headiness of youth, we have also included an interview with Johnny Damgard, former Assistant to President Nixon to get his perspective all these years later.  “He was a very interesting guy. He certainly didn’t get elected on his charm and good looks; but he probably knew more about the political process than anyone,” he said.  See the interview by Hollywood on the Potomac below.