Ron Howard’s recent film of the landmark interviews between David Frost and Richard Nixon portrays the conversations between the British talk-show host and the disgraced former president as a verbal sparring match. Nixon ducks and weaves between Frost’s questions, jabbing back with self-serving anecdotes, until the uppercut of a long-forgotten transcript leaves Tricky Dick sprawling. Nixon’s outburst of “If the president does it, that means it is not illegal” is the last gasp of a man on his way to the mat, a shocking admission that causes Frost to stumble over his words.

The reality isn’t quite as sexy, as Frost/Nixon: The Original Watergate Interviews shows. The quote that features prominently in Howard’s film is nowhere to be found — it actually came from a different portion of the marathon interview session, not the Watergate portion covered here. The defeated Nixon of the film is also absent — he offers an apology of sorts, but there’s nothing resembling a comprehensive admission of guilt. In fact, the only American president ever to resign from office comes across as sympathetic, if you can believe a word he’s saying. Nixon is a notoriously good speaker, and even the camera doesn’t seem as harsh on him as in, say, the Kennedy debates that nearly derailed his presidential aspirations.

Even if it isn’t as clean-cut as the Hollywood version (nothing ever is), The Original Watergate Interviews is still a fascinating watch. Nixon’s been caricatured so often that it’s difficult to look at the man without imagining his nose swelling, his jowls drooping and his voice transforming into something far more feral. For those who only know him as a cartoonish monster, it makes it a little more understandable how Nixon could’ve been elected in the first place.

The only significant problem with the disc is its highly misleading name. While the Frost/Nixon interviews originally consisted of four programs on topics from foreign policy to personal life, this release only covers the last program. Granted, the Watergate discussion is what everyone came for, and the final product is compiled from multiple interviews, but anyone expecting the fully rounded portrait of the original broadcast will be disappointed.