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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘The Real Nixon’ A Counterpoint To Film

Andy Wickstrom Philadelphia Inquirer

Richard Nixon, as he himself often remarked, had few friends in the news media. During most of his political career, the mainstream press enjoyed portraying him as “Tricky Dick,” in keeping with his bareknuckled campaign style and his sometimes furtive air.

This enduring image has reached its apotheosis in Oliver Stone’s dream history “Nixon,” which at least has the virtue of rekindling the debate about a controversial figure’s successes and failures.

As an antidote to Stone’s brooding, obsessed president, video watchers can turn to a three-tape set called “The Real Richard Nixon” from Central Park Media (201 minutes, $49.95). Written and produced in 1984 by Frank Gannon, who worked in the Nixon White House and later helped Nixon organize and research his memoirs, the three volumes are boiled down from 38 hours of his videotaped interviews with Nixon that took place over 10 months. The individual titles are “Early Life” (66 minutes), “Pat” (50 minutes) and “Twenty Eight Days” (88 minutes), each priced at $19.95.

Gannon is a friendly interrogator whose questions are often merely cues for Nixon to roll out a well-worn reminiscence, especially in the family focus of the first two volumes.

Yet there’s a pervasive artificial formality, like a Sunday morning talk show on current affairs. Nixon appears in the same navy business suit and navy tie throughout and speaks as a man who knows this video record may live on years after his death. Here, 10 years before his death, he looks relaxed and rested, able to look back with a statesman’s equanimity.

What we’re seeing, ultimately, is the official “classroom” Nixon, a video tape suitable for inclusion in a high school study guide: “Early Life” is a reflection on his boyhood in Yorba Linda and Whittier, Calif.; “Pat” concerns his marriage to Patricia Ryan and her contributions to his political career; and “Twenty Eight Days” presents the countdown to his resignation over the Watergate affair.

Nixon admirers will delight in the first two titles, which depict an upstanding young man who worked hard to overcome his modest means. Naturally, Watergate junkies will gravitate toward “Twenty Eight Days,” where Nixon still squirms at certain memories and gets his digs in on the media.

Students of politics will continue to quarrel over the pros and cons of Nixon, and “The Real Nixon” will settle no debates. The tapes let Nixon be his best possible self. But friends and foes can benefit from seeing him placed in yet one more perspective.

“The Real Nixon” is available in video stores and can be ordered directly from Central Park Media by calling (800) 453-4000.