UNLOCKED! Bonus Ep38 Absolute Power (1997)

I Don't Speak German

IDSG

Politics, News, Currentaffairs, Society & Culture

3.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Originally published 11th April 2024.

Our series on 'movies about presidents' continues with a fun discussion of this 1997 'thriller', written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman based on the debut novel of David Baldacci, starring/produced/directed by noted chair-interviewer Clint Eastwood, and boasting a splendid cast - including recently-deceased screen legend Gene Hackman - none of whom are given anything very interesting to do. Clint plays a suave cat burglar - with the unlikely name of Luther Whitney - who accidentally witnesses the president of the United States sexually assaulting a woman (far-fetched, right?) and getting her killed. All Hell then persistently threatens but repeatedly fails to break loose. Instead we get a slow, aimless, half-baked movie filled with good elements that don't cohere or go anywhere special. It sparked an amusing conversation though, as we hope you will agree.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wanted.
0:02.0	Ambitious individual for leadership position.
0:06.0	Be prepared for difficult application process and stressful work environment.
0:12.0	Challenges, many.
0:14.0	Rewards, numerous.
0:16.0	Failure, possible.
0:18.0	Your employer, the American people.
0:22.4	The few chosen have been the presidents.
0:29.7	Okay, and welcome back, everybody, to the IDSG bonus episode series on movies about presidents.
0:37.8	And, yeah, there's no reason to stop. I yeah, there's no reason to stop.
0:40.3	I mean, there's no reason to be, you know, like existentially terrified whenever anybody
0:44.0	mentions the concept of the president of the United States or anything like that.
0:46.5	I mean, you just carry on talking about this.
0:49.4	So, yeah, another episode in that series, movies about presidents.
0:52.7	And the movie that we are talking about in this bonus episode is absolute power.
0:58.8	And you should probably get used to me saying it that way, because every time I say the title of this movie in this episode, I'm liable to say it, absolute power.
1:10.9	Daniel, I know nothing about this.
1:14.6	I've just realized I've completely failed to do the normal basic baseline minimum
1:18.8	bloody research that I should normally do before coming into a recording.
1:22.4	I don't know what year this was released.
1:25.2	You've probably been looking at this stuff instead, you know, when I haven't, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, tell the, all about absolute power.
1:35.1	Sure.
	...

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