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The American President

  • 1995
  • PG-13
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
62K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,267
227
Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in The American President (1995)
Home Video Trailer from Columbia Pictures
Play trailer1:35
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Political DramaRomantic ComedyComedyDramaRomance

A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.

  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writer
    • Aaron Sorkin
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Annette Bening
    • Martin Sheen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    62K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,267
    227
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • Stars
      • Michael Douglas
      • Annette Bening
      • Martin Sheen
    • 265User reviews
    • 59Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 11 nominations total

    Videos2

    The American President
    Trailer 1:35
    The American President
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin
    Clip 5:24
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin
    Clip 5:24
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin

    Photos212

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    + 204
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    • Andrew Shepherd
    Annette Bening
    Annette Bening
    • Sydney Ellen Wade
    Martin Sheen
    Martin Sheen
    • A.J. MacInerney
    Michael J. Fox
    Michael J. Fox
    • Lewis Rothschild
    Anna Deavere Smith
    Anna Deavere Smith
    • Robin McCall
    Samantha Mathis
    Samantha Mathis
    • Janie Basdin
    Shawna Waldron
    Shawna Waldron
    • Lucy Shepherd
    David Paymer
    David Paymer
    • Leon Kodak
    Anne Haney
    Anne Haney
    • Mrs. Chapil
    Richard Dreyfuss
    Richard Dreyfuss
    • Senator Rumson
    Nina Siemaszko
    Nina Siemaszko
    • Beth Wade
    Wendie Malick
    Wendie Malick
    • Susan Sloan
    Beau Billingslea
    Beau Billingslea
    • Agent Cooper
    Gail Strickland
    Gail Strickland
    • Esther MacInerney
    Joshua Malina
    Joshua Malina
    • David
    Clement von Franckenstein
    Clement von Franckenstein
    • President D'Astier
    Efrat Lavie
    Efrat Lavie
    • Madame D'Astier
    John Mahoney
    John Mahoney
    • Leo Solomon
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before the movie started shooting, Michael J. Fox was still keeping his Parkinson's disease a secret. He felt he would lose the role if Rob Reiner found out. During a basic and routine fitness screening, Fox was terrified that clinicians would detect the periodic shaking in his left hand and eventually connect it to Parkinson's. Fortunately for Fox, he took his medication in time to quell the shaking and the test amounted to nothing more than checking heart rate and blood pressure.
    • Goofs
      After the President's big speech at the end of the movie, staff members are walking quickly back to re-write the State of the Union address. After Leon says "Well, you don't see that every day," Louis says "Yeah - he's got the members of the press corps asking each other how to spell 'erudite.'" Although the president never uses the word 'erudite' in his speech, erudite is an apt description of his demeanor during the speech. This was a reference to his demeanor, not a reference to something he said.
    • Quotes

      A. J. MacInerney: [in the Oval Office] The President doesn't answer to you, Lewis!

      Lewis Rothschild: Oh, yes he does, A.J. I'm a citizen, this is my President. And in this country it is not only permissible to question our leaders, it's our responsibility!

    • Alternate versions
      Company logos change between versions. For example, on the laserdisc, the movie starts with a 20-second silent Columbia logo (before the Castle Rock logo), and the end credits crawl includes (after the title of the movie has gone onscreen) a line-art logo "Released by Columbia Pictures/A Sony Pictures Entertainment company" that crawls up and stops, over the end of the music. On the international prints, the 1990-1997 Universal logo was played and it was also silent. The 1999 WB DVD skips the opening logo, starting with the Castle Rock logo instead, and where the Columbia logo at the end should appear as the music ends, a still clouds-and-shield WB logo appears instead (Distributed by WB/A Warner Communications Company). The Columbia versions are probably truer to the original theatrical release. See also The Shawshank Redemption.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Fair Game/Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain/Home for the Holidays/Powder/Three Wishes (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050, 1st Movement: Allegro
      by Johann Sebastian Bach

    User reviews265

    Review
    Review
    Featured review

    The thinking woman's Pretty Woman

    I don't mean that as a slam. I like Pretty Woman a lot, too. But this movie is my "cure for all ills" movie. The one I throw in the DVD player on rainy Sunday afternoons and crack out my best junk food. And the political setting seems to give it more meat.

    Michael Douglas is perfect. Annette Benning is perfect (and I would give anything to look as beautiful as she does in that blue dress at the State Dinner). Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Anna Devoure Smith. People being passionate about each other and about important issues and about doing the right thing. Everything about this movie lifts me up when I'm feeling down.

    I'm not a liberal, and I'm not a conservative - I fall somewhere in the middle. My beliefs in gun control to not include "(getting) the guns". But this movie is so good - that I can look past the occasional differences in political views. Those views are presented in a smart, thoughtful and constructive manner - and I appreciate them even though they are not my own.

    I enjoy this movie for what it is - a sweet, smart, funny movie set in one of the most "romantic" settings in the world - The White House.
    • doll_face
    • Jul 9, 2003
    • Permalink

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 17, 1995 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros.
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Mi querido presidente
    • Filming locations
      • Lake Tahoe, California, USA(Snow at Camp David)
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Wildwood Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $62,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $60,079,496
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,014,558
      • Nov 19, 1995
    • Gross worldwide
      • $107,879,496
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • DTS-Stereo
      • Dolby SR
      • Dolby
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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