The Post (2017)

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between the press and the government.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Liz Hannah, Josh Singer

Stars:

Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 112 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Meryl Streep	...	Kay Graham
Tom Hanks	...	Ben Bradlee
Sarah Paulson	...	Tony Bradlee
Bob Odenkirk	...	Ben Bagdikian
Tracy Letts	...	Fritz Beebe
Bradley Whitford	...	Arthur Parsons
Bruce Greenwood	...	Robert McNamara
Matthew Rhys	...	Daniel Ellsberg
Alison Brie	...	Lally Graham
Carrie Coon	...	Meg Greenfield
Jesse Plemons	...	Roger Clark
David Cross	...	Howard Simons
Zach Woods	...	Anthony Essaye
Pat Healy	...	Phil Geyelin
John Rue	...	Gene Patterson

Storyline

When American military analyst, Daniel Ellsberg, realizes to his disgust the depths of the US government's deceptions about the futility of the Vietnam War, he takes action by copying top-secret documents that would become the Pentagon Papers. Later, Washington Post owner, Kay Graham, is still adjusting to taking over her late husband's business when editor Ben Bradlee discovers the New York Times has scooped them with an explosive expose on those papers. Determined to compete, Post reporters find Ellsberg himself and a complete copy of those papers. However, the Post's plans to publish their findings are put in jeopardy with a Federal restraining order that could get them all indicted for Contempt. Now, Kay Graham must decide whether to back down for the safety of her paper or publish and fight for the Freedom of the Press. In doing so, Graham and her staff join a fight that would have America's democratic ideals in the balance.

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Plot Keywords:

washington post | newspaper | expose | freedom of speech | vietnam war | 

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Taglines:

Truth be told

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Cyril Creighton who plays Jake a young reporter who was given a shoe box of evidence was also in the movie Spotlight. He played a man who helped reporters from the Boston Globe with stories about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. At the time of their writing Ben Bradlee Jr was in charge of the Globe.

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Goofs

When Ellsberg first opens the cover of the Pentagon Papers binder, the three Accopress type binding pins are then shown being immediately pulled out. This type of binding pin would have to be first straightened at the opposite end before it could be removed.

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Quotes

Kay Graham: Quality and profitability do go hand in hand.

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Crazy Credits

Dlsclaimer in closing credits: "Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation did not receive any payment or other consideration, or enter into any agreement, for the depiction of tobacco products in this film."

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Holly Hunter/Jason Jones/Alan Cage (2018)

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Soundtracks

On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)
Written by Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner
Performed by Peter Duchin
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

The Post Tries To Hammer Its Somewhat Obvious Message.

The Post is Political Hollywood at its propaganda best. They're all there, the Press, Streep, Spielberg, the Academy, all shouting about the good deeds done by the press in the past (they virtually had to go back decades to Watergate and rehash a new take on 'All the Presidents Men'!) In the present climate, it could hardly be a more obvious attempt to squash the fact that the modern press has become a 'Fake' sham (and that President Trump remains fair game). Time to get over it - stop attempting to convince the voters that a possible corrupt system should be back in power - simply because it serves others selfish purposes. It's also a big push for the Washington Post, who only picked up on the groundbreaking hard work (already done ahead of them) by the New York Times. With the Post even using the same N.Y.T. informants leaked files.

The Awards given for this rather ordinary movie need explaining - Streep was simply Streep, Hanks has done far better work (without honours) beforehand. Spielberg was in his usual by-the-numbers mode and turned in an overlong (often boring movie) consisting of a string of round table talkfests (ie; sometimes small table, other times a larger table or a typical party scene) nothing special here. In fact, it all looks too obviously like an attempt to fool some of the people all of the time. Maybe it's time to move on and consider working together for the betterment of all.....

As James Goodale said on PBS News Hour during a summary of the movie:- with words along the lines of; "If doing a movie now (about newspapers) you want to be sure you're being authentic". Very good advice! Another insightful comment came from; Matt Bobkin, writing for Exclaim!, he gave the film a 6 out of 10 score, and went on to say; the film "has all the makings of an awards season hit, but is too calculated to reflect today's ragged, tenuous socio-political climate." Touché Matt..

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 2018 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Le post

Filming Locations:

White Plains, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$526,011, 24 December 2017

Gross USA:

$81,903,458

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$179,769,457

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, DreamWorks, Reliance Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 SDDS DTS (DTS: X)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1