Best. Nixon. Movie. EVER!!!

[johnfunk]

Okay, awright.

I know there are plenty of cinema partisans who consider Oliver Stone's Nixon the best Tricky Dick flick.

Others prefer Andrew Fleming's very funny Dick not only for the babe-a-luscious Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as the "Official White House Dog Walkers" but Dan Hedaya for his side-splitting take on the paranoid Prez.

A favorite guilty pleasure of mine is Elvis Meets Nixon, a 1997 TV "mockumentary" chronicling the loopy, pill-popping King of Rock'n'Roll's appointment by the Trickster himself as an honorary DEA agent. It's still not on DVD, but you can score VHS copies on eBay and Amazon for $10-$15.

But take your Uncle Johnny's word: the best of the Nix Pix is about to be released on DVD: Robert Altman's Secret Honor, based on the one-man stage show featuring Philip Baker Hall as Nixon the night before he is to leave office, alone in his private study with a tape recorder, a bottle of pricey scotch... and a gun. This one was in and out of theaters back in 1984 (talk about an appropriate year of release) faster than legendary pot-smoking conservative judge Douglas Ginsburg's Supreme Court nomination, and was unjustly ignored by many critics. It's not "mainstream" Altman -- and that's a virtue. Baker and Altman are both at the top of their game.

The bad news: it's being issued Criterion Collection, which puts the price in the high-premium zone ($25-$30).

The good news: nobody, but nobody, beats Criterion for transfer quality, and any serious rental place will have it in stock on street date, October 19.

You know what to do, AV Club members...

[olddem43]

1. Don't forget "Millhouse, a white comedy" from around 1972.

That was a documentary but was funny too. When it came out, I and a friend laughed so much they almost threw us out of the theater. I guess the other patrons in this Repug town didn't see the humor in it.

[mark0rama]

2. P.B. Hall kicks major ass.

I'll have to see that. Altman is a fave of mine too.

I gotta say, though, Dick is freaking hilarious. I love that movie.