Princeton, New Jersey (CNN) -- President Richard Nixon continues to loom large over America's political imagination. This week, CNN will air a documentary, "Our Nixon," based on home movies from three of Nixon's top advisers: H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin, all of whom served time in prison. The film offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to be part of that White House during one of the most turbulent periods in the nation's recent history. The film joins a huge library of books, movies, documentaries, academic publications and music -- all of which have taken us into one of the most puzzling and troubling American presidencies.
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A film based on home movies by Nixon aides airs on CNN at 9 p.m. ET Thursday
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Julian Zelizer says the film is a reminder of key lessons from Nixon's presidency
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He says Watergate showed dangers of executive power, need for investigative reporting
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Zelizer: In Watergate, an energized Congress showed effectiveness
Despite our fascination with Nixon, it is remarkable how many of the important lessons from his presidency that we forget and how many of the problems that emerged in the final months of the @placeholder remain with us.