Eastwood’s J. Edgar Trailer

Even great men can be corrupted.

Based on the life of J. Edgar Hoover, who was the first director of what would become the FBI in 1935 and remained director until his death in 1972. Credited with building the FBI into the efficient crime-fighting agency that it has been known as and setting it up with modern innovations such as centralized fingerprint files and forensic laboratories.

In his older life and after his death, Hoover became a controversial figure for exceeding the jurisdiction of the FBI by harassing political dissidents and activists and collecting secret files against political leaders.

J. Edgar was written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk) and was directed by Clint Eastwood. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover through key moments of his life, including his homosexual relationship with Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network), the associate director of the FBI.

The cast is rounded out by Judi Dench, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Lea Thompson, Dermot Mulroney, Stephen Root, and Jeffrey Donovan.

J. Edgar is set to be released on November 3rd at the AFI Film Festival, with a November 9th release date in the US.