The Castle of Death

Sickness to The Brink of Death

Nixon (1995) HQ "Do you ever think of death, Dick?"

"Oliver Stone's talents as a Director may be erratic 

but they shine at full strength in the richness 

of this scene depicting an uneasy agreement 

between President Richard Nixon 

and CIA Director Richard Helms.

Stone's trademark of combining aesthetic precision 

with playful creativity gives this scene 

a spinning prism-like effect, 

flashing light into a myriad of 

shadowy and suggestive areas.

However the historical inaccuracy 

of Oliver Stone's works is often held up. 

My view is that watching a film 

is like experiencing another person's dream. 

A film cannot really re-create people or events. 

It is inherently too subjective.

Stone's "dreams" make me especially curious 

to know more about historical figures 

and events and in that sense 

I appreciate them. 

I do not watch them expecting to see "what really happened". 

Hopkins is a puppet, Stone a puppeteer 

creating questions and intrigue. 

Like them, we have to find Our Own Truth 

about Nixon and Helms..."