Subtitles for ‘Nixon’? What a Good Idea!

Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson asked--apparently in jest--if they could have obviated Howard Rosenberg’s criticism of the mix of reality and invention in the film “Nixon,” which they co-wrote with Oliver Stone, by “flashing subtitles on the screen” (“Critic’s Ploy to Review ‘Nixon’ Is the Only Dirty Trick,” Calendar, Jan. 1).

Yes! Please! I was a reasonably concerned adult during the Watergate episode. I was aware of Nixon’s checkered (pun) past, of his vicious destruction of Helen Gahagan Douglas and of his despicable role as a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

I knew about the gang that broke into Democratic headquarters and suspected their payoff. I was delighted with Martha Mitchell’s embarrassing revelations, and outraged at her persecution.

But--even I really needed subtitles to identify “Bob” and “Al,” and all the others we were supposed to recognize and fit with their well-known last names.

As my companion viewer and I agreed when we left early, we might have appreciated the fine acting and the value of such added (speculative) scenes as Pat Nixon’s revolt had we seen the film in a non-English-speaking country, where captions would be de rigueur.

HELEN L. TRAVIS

San Pedro