President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan at the White House Theater
A man of the people, Joe Biden, recently saw a new box office Christopher Nolan struck Oppenheimer while on vacation in Midway, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He liked it, though his three-word verdict — “it was irresistible” — is unlikely to set him up for a post-presidential career as a film critic (we haven't heard his thoughts on Barbie yet).
However, Biden's biggest break with tradition here was attending the public Atlantic Theaters Movies, rather than watching the movie in the more traditional setting of the White House's own movie theater.
None other than Bill Clinton called the home theater the presidency's greatest asset, calling it “the wonderful movie theater I have here.” While other cynics might suggest that Clinton equally enjoyed the other perks that came with the Oval Office, his successors and predecessors alike have checked into the 42-seat auditorium, which is equipped with all the modern conveniences audiences can expect. ; plush red velvet seats, front-row ottomans and state-of-the-art picture and sound systems.
It took its current place after Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt refurbished it from a wardrobe in the East Wing of the White House known as the Hatbox and offered the beleaguered president, his family and staff a chance to catch up with the latest films since then. since.
But what does the choice of different presidents really say about them as people? When does escapism turn into political commentary? And what leader of the free world could only ask after watching one of the most lauded and talked about films of the year: “What was it all about?” ” /> Woodrow Wilson
President from 1913 to 1921, Woodrow Wilson's time in office is more closely related to America's shift in view of World War I from neutrality to his country's accession to the Allied Powers, and the fact that he suffered a debilitating blow while in office . However, he was also unfortunate enough to organize the very first recorded White House screening of D. W. Griffith's infamous epic The Birth of a Nation, which was screened in the East Room on February 18, 1915, and shown by two tuxedoed projectionists.
Wilson was initially impressed with the film, of which he is said to have commented, “It's like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it's all so terribly true.” But the notoriety of the film's racist content, which portrayed the Ku Klux Klan as a hero, soon led Wilson to state that he was “utterly ignorant of [the film's] character before it was presented, and never once expressed his approval of it.” His exhibition at the White House was a courtesy to an old acquaintance.”
D. W. Griffith. Birth of a Nation By REX
Few were convinced, and Wilson's reputation as a pioneer of White House screenings was usurped by contempt for his poor judgment.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt, as he was called, could have been a big fan of movies to open the White House movie theater, but his tastes were decidedly approachable; some might call them low-browed. While Roosevelt struggled to get America out of the Great Depression and then had to preside over the country's entry into World War II, his favorite pastime was nothing more than a series of Mickey Mouse short films, which he was said to watch over and over again. .
Where he switched to live action, he was a particular fan of the duo Abbott and Costello, whom he invited to perform at the White House on several occasions; a much-needed source of entertainment amid the inevitable pressures that eventually led to his death in office in 1945 from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 63.
Harry Truman
Harry Truman, memorably portrayed by Gary Oldman in a one-shot cameo as an evil egotist in Oppenheimer, is best remembered today as the president who gave the green light to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And yet, when he disapproved of actions that would forever change the face of the 20th century, his cinematic tastes were more conventional; he was a particularly big fan of the western My Darling Clementine, John Ford's lyric about Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the O.K. Corral shootout.
Henry Fonda in “My Dear Clementine” Credit & Copyright: Getty direct portrayal of honest virtue (as embodied by Henry Fonda's Earp) against the vile forces of villainy , which are duly defeated at the end of the movie. If only real life could be this simple.
But the real movie buff in the Truman family was daughter Margaret, who claimed her parents “don't really care” about movies. So she took her friends to screenings of old movies like “Naughty Marietta” and “Gone with the Wind.”
Dwight Eisenhower
The most popular film among American presidents is High Noon, Fred Zinnemann's masterpiece, in which Gary Cooper plays a principled city marshal who finds himself alone when a gang of ruthless assassins head towards his city, seeking revenge. It was released in 1952, and Dwight Eisenhower, who later became president, was said to have been so enamored with it that he watched it at least three times in theaters, though that number was minuscule compared to Bill Clinton, who saw it. 20 times his presidency.
Grace Kelly and Gary Cooper in High Noon. Author: Bettmann
They went against John Wayne, who called High Noon “the most un-American thing I've ever seen in my entire life.” Eisenhower was the first true movie president, and shortly after coming to office, he installed four plush chairs (plus footrests) at the front of the movie theater. White House projectionist Paul Fisher, who kept a journal of his boss' favorite films, also noted that Big Country, about a sea captain whose homecoming after World War II leads him into domestic strife, was another of Ike's favorite films; this may well have resonated with him as a military man who first achieved success in the war, and then tried to figure out his own country.
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy's most notable action from the White House when it came to movies was to show up to a screening of Spartacus in Washington DC at the invitation of Kirk Douglas and overcame a picket line to see the film; this silenced the angry rumblings of the once-disgraced and blacklisted Dalton Trumbo, credited as the film's screenwriter. However, when at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kennedy's tastes were less socially conscious.
Due to chronic back problems, Kennedy often watched films while sitting in a specially fitted orthopedic chair; sometimes they brought a bed. He is said to have adored Casablanca and was a particular fan of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, which he showed him after its release in 1962; he never got to see his sequel, From Russia with Love, which was released the day before he was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The last film he saw was Tony Richardson's Oscar-winning Tom Jones, starring Albert Finney as his beloved Henry Fielding. libertine; any resemblance between Jones, a man who could barely look at a woman without trying to sleep with her, and America's promiscuous president was no doubt coincidental.
Cliff Richard and Yolanda Donlan in Expresso Bongo. Photo: Alamy
Incidentally, the very first film that Kennedy screened at the White House was Marilyn Monroe's 1961 comedy The Misfits, from which the president reportedly “gave up” halfway through. Even more intriguing, on August 19, 1961, projectionist Paul Fisher noted in his journal that Kennedy watched Cliff Richard play in 1959 with an unnamed guest. This was the only time Fischer failed to identify a viewing companion, and he did not name a name in 2000 when he was interviewed for the documentary. But we do know that his wife, Jackie, was out of town that evening; feel free to draw your own conclusions.
Lyndon B. Johnson
The JFK LBJ successor lacked the charisma and energy of its predecessor, so it's no surprise that his favorite picture of John Ford's The Searchers reflected something of his impassive dignity. Although Ford's painting is deservedly considered a classic for all time, it is unlikely that it was a reflection of the revolutions that took place in society and in cinema. However, Johnson preferred not to watch a movie at all, but a short documentary that LBJ commissioned from the US News Agency to introduce himself to the American public after he became president. Narrated by Gregory Peck, an all-American model of decency, Johnson was apparently so taken with the 10-minute short film that he sat in the White House screening room and watched the film over and over again.
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon, the only president to resign over scandal, five and a half years in office nonetheless gave him enough time to find easy relief on the silver screen – usually accompanied by his former golf buddy Charles “Bebe”. » Reboso.
George Scott in Patton. Photo: Corbis-Bettmann REUTERS
He had an eclectic taste in pictures, including Barbra Streisand's musical extravaganza Hello Dolly, although he had an intense, even vehement dislike for Streisand herself, who was on his list of enemies, and was said to have a fondness for the 1942 musical comedy. Yankee Doodle Dandy. However, when it came to his “official” favorite film, Nixon proudly declared that his choice was the Francis Ford Coppola biopic of General Patton. It became so clear to his co-workers and acquaintances that Patton was his favorite photograph, that Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai viewed it as preparation for his historic meeting with Nixon in 1972—all in order to understand the man he was dealing with. negotiation.
Jimmy Carter
Neither Gerald Ford nor Ronald Reagan (the latter, surprisingly given his origins as a light film actor) were particularly big movie buffs; it was assumed, perhaps cruelly, that Ford's favorite movie was Home Alone, while Reagan's favorite was Top Gun (although Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis' love scene was too “hot and heavy”). However, the president who stepped between them, Jimmy Carter, along with Clinton and Obama, was arguably the biggest fan of the White House viewing room ever.
Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy
During his tenure, he was reported to have watched 480 films, averaging two and a half weeks over four years, and he made history (and headlines) as the first president to screen an X-rated film, in this case winning an Oscar. fragment of John Schlesinger's New York sleaze “Midnight Cowboy”.
Punished by the backlash, Carter requested that only wholesome films be shown to him and his guests thereafter, but he also had a wry sense of humor; the first picture to be shown during his administration, “All the President's Men” was a story about the Watergate scandal that led to the overthrow of his predecessor, Nixon.
Bill Clinton
As someone with a strong middle ground in his office tastes might imagine, Bill Clinton enjoyed serious, thoughtful Oscar-winning films such as American Beauty and Schindler's List. , lighter, goofier comedies like The Naked Gun and big blockbusters like Titanic (which he watched with his family days after reports of his affair with Monica Lewinsky first surfaced).
The Clintons watch the Super Bowl at the White House in 1993 with Mario Cuomo and Ann Richards. Photo: Getty
If he shared a love of “High Noon” with Eisenhower, he could also relax watching everything from the jingoistic Independence Day featuring President Bill Pullman, who seemed to epitomize the democratic but patriotic era when Clinton presided. – to Mel Gibson's favorite historical epic “Braveheart”. However, sometimes even his choice can be too far. After watching Jane Campion's The Piano, the bewildered president turned to his aides and asked, “What was it all about?”
George W. Bush
Whether the contemporary notion that George W. Bush was nothing more than an idiot was completely unfair, completely unfair or not, he did himself some favors by enthusiastically extolling the merits of Mike Myers' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. scale”; Bush was reported to be particularly impressed with Myers' performance as the potentially megalomaniac Dr. Evil, and he popped his little finger into his mouth in front of admiring/surprised aides in imitation of the camp's supervillain. However, after 9/11 happened, instead of the playful British joke, the aggressively serious pictures of the war went away.
One of them, Ridley Scott's grueling Black Hawk Down, apparently led Bush to define the external US politics in the cinema; after observing a report on American soldiers left behind in Mogadishu in 1993, he stated “I would never have done that” and so cited it as a guiding principle in Iraq and Afghanistan, with, it must be said, not entirely successful results.
Barack Obama
Luckily, Barack Obama compiles an annual list of movies he particularly liked, which provides valuable insight into the former president's tastes; imagine watching Clinton, but with a master's degree. During his time in office, Obama, a self-proclaimed “movie man”, often turned to the great classics of cinema; Lawrence of Arabia and The Godfather. Those seeking psychological insight may notice that both protagonists of these paintings find themselves making unpleasant and difficult choices after being forced into them by circumstances.
Barack Obama screening Men in Black 3 in 2012. Photo: Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images However, Obama also fathered two little girls when he was president, and it was widely reported that High School Musical 3 was screened for Malia and Sasha on inauguration night. with the surprise appearance of the Jonas Brothers in the title role. East room; the world is far from the birth of a nation, in both senses.
Donald Trump
Prior to becoming president, Donald Trump appeared as himself in cameos ranging from Home Alone 2 to Model Male, but few imagined that he would ever have deep cinematic interest or knowledge. Of course, what he showed at the White House during his presidency was absolutely mainstream; films like Joker, about a fame-hungry madman driven to desperate stunts, and Finding Dory, an animated comedy about a hapless clownfish, were preferred to be seen in the cinema. But it was always said that he preferred cable news, especially if he was in the spotlight.
Melania Trump at the 2018 screening of Miracle in the White House. Photo: Getty
Trump also named Jean-Claude Van Damme's absurd film Bloodsport as his particular favorite, calling it “an incredible, fantastic film.” That's a lot more than he did for Bong Joon Ho's more accomplished picture 'Parasite', about which he complained, “How bad were the Academy Awards this year? The winner was… a film from South Korea. What the hell was all of this… Was it good? I don't know. Let's start Gone with the Wind. Can we bring back Gone with the Wind, please?
Joe Biden
While the list of films Biden has seen during his time in the White House has yet to be made public, you can expect the vast majority of them to be related to the public perception of the 46th President – undoubtedly well-intentioned and often dignified, but sometimes either unimpressive. or just weird.
Joe Biden hosts a screening of Till, February 2023. Photo: Alami
However, he is known to have screened the film “Hot Flamin”, directed by Eva Longoria, about a Mexican caretaker who was supposed to have invented the “Chito” appetizer, during which he introduced himself as “Jill Biden's husband”, and “Till”, about Mami Till's fight for justice for killing her 14- summer son Emmett.
And he previously said that the multi-Oscar-winning British sprint film Chariots of Fire is his favorite film, remarking in 2008 that “someone put personal fame and glory for principles… this is a sign of true heroism for me.” Or, as a cynic might say, a politician trying to associate himself with a much loved and inspiring piece of cinema.
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