Our Nixon

We all know about the Nixon White House tapes, right? Well, what about the Nixon-aide home movies? During Tricky Dick’s presidency from 1969 through 1973, three White House staffers recorded more than 500 reels of Super 8 footage. Seized during the FBI’s Watergate investigation and filed away for more than 40 years, they’re coming to light for the first time in this innovative documentary composed solely of found footage: news stories, old interviews and those infamous audio recordings.
Our Nixon presents the Nixon White House as experienced by three of the president’s top advisors: chief of staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, a young ad man as square as his signature crew cut; chief domestic advisor John Ehrlichman (stay after the end credits for a hilarious clip from his post-White House career); and deputy assistant Dwight Chapin, another youngster who strikes an eerie resemblance to Mad Men’s Bob Benson. Starting with Nixon’s inauguration in 1969, they have a front-row seat during an incredible period in American history, including Vietnam War protests, the Apollo moon landing and the first presidential visit to China, as well as lighter moments like Tricia Nixon’s White House wedding.
The footage reveals an initially motivated yet relaxed, even jovial, staff dealing with a needy and paranoid boss capable of stunning denial. (All three were pushed out of office in the wake of Watergate.)