CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 01/12/07

A Crooked Man on a Crooked Road

by jeff goldsmith

Screenwriter-director Robert Rossen's 1949 version of All the King's Men netted seven Academy Award nominations and four wins (including Best Picture). The secret to success in Steven Zaillian's remake lies in his religiously faithful adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel, illuminating an excellent ensemble of morally doomed and damned characters living within a terminally corrupt political landscape.

Steven Zaillian (also directed)
Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren

New Orleans journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law) figures he's been sent on another boring assignment when he covers small-time politician Willie Stark (Sean Penn), but after spending time with the man, Burden realizes that Stark is the real deal: a simple man with compassion for his constituents and a real shot of winning the governor seat. Burden documents Stark's idealistic rise to power and quickly witnesses just how fast absolute power can corrupt absolutely as Stark turns into the same kind of crooked politician that he once so vehemently opposed. Burden's position as Stark's political advisor becomes personal after his close friends and family oppose Stark, resulting in Stark sending Burden to dig up dirt on them. Burden is then tasked with a daunting ethical dilemma as he must decide whether or not he can live with betraying those closest to him for a man he knows is far from innocent. Stark's taunting of Burden family friend Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) with a monologue on (of all things) dirt sums up the film's moral landscape. The words of the speech's climax—"What are we but dirt blown off the hands of God Almighty? You and me and George Washington?"—will haunt Burden on his downward spiral toward the murky truths that he and the audience have yet to discover.

Unlike the 1949 film, where Rossen respectfully re-wrote Warren's work when he deemed necessary, Zaillian remained faithful to Warren's words, which is how he managed to present such a rich ensemble of well-rounded characters, each with their own unique voices and self-serving agendas. While many years have passed since the book's publication in 1946, its relevancy hasn't faded a bit. While most contemporary politicians aren't as overtly corrupt as Willie Stark (who was based on real-life Louisiana Governor Huey "The Kingfish" Long), the act of passing payola on to friends and constituents via meaty government contracts definitely still exists. The interesting aspect of Willie Stark as a character is that while giving and receiving payola he's also legitimately trying to use these corrupt channels to help the common man. Stark presents the idealistic image of a do-gooder, even though both we and Burden know that Stark's good deeds are usually the end result of many grim acts—which is how the story elicits the classic ethical question as to whether or not the ends truly justify the means.

- The Making of All the King's Men
- Shake Hands With the Devil (cast/crew discuss politics and corruption)
- An American Classic (Introduction to Robert Penn Warren)
- LA. Confidential: On Location with All the King's Men
- Deleted Scenes
- Alternate Ending

The extras do a great job of dissecting how Robert Penn Warren came to write All the King's Men and examining why this story of corruption in the '30s remains relevant today. Men was also the last film to be shot on location in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit, and the location featurette works well to show how Zaillian made his location a hauntingly beautiful character of sorts. The real gems are the deleted scenes and alternate ending. The longest deleted scene (running over five minutes) is an important scene that shows Stark (presumably late in act three) deciding to veer back to his innocent roots in order to do the right thing. It's a shame that Zaillian did no commentary on the film or the deleted scenes to explain why the scene was cut. The alternate ending explains a bit more as to who was really behind a climactic violent act—a thread effectively tied off in the theatrical version, but to which this ending adds a bit more depth.

Steven Zaillian's adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel taps into the right wavelengths of poetry, real politics, and philosophy while presenting a gritty look into a grimy political mirror. It's worth watching for any screenwriter interested in ensemble writing or writing a political thriller.

All the King's Men (Special Edition)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated PG-13; 128 min.
$28.95

Buy it now

Jeff Goldsmith is senior editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine and serves as the Los Angeles Events Coordinator in charge of the Creative Screenwriting screening series.

All The King's Men (Special Edition) courtesy Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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