Rent The Post (2017)

3.4 of 5 from 1330 ratings
1h 51min
Rent The Post (aka The Pentagon Papers / The Papers) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
"The Post" tells the incredible true story of the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) as they strive to expose a massive cover-up of devastating government secrets, risking their careers and very freedom in a fight for the truth.
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
Kristie Macosko Krieger, Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg
Writers:
Liz Hannah, Josh Singer
Aka:
The Pentagon Papers / The Papers
Studio:
20th Century Fox
Genres:
Drama
Collections:
2018, Award Winners, Best Film Quests and Adventures, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Films by Genre, Getting to Know :Tom Hanks, Getting to Know..., Oscar Nominations Competition 2023, Oscar Nominations Competition 2024, Oscar's Two-Time Club, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2
BBFC:
Release Date:
21/05/2018
Run Time:
111 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description, English Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Layout: Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee and The Washington Post
  • Editorial: The Cast and Characters of 'The Post'
  • The Style Section: Re-Creating an Era
  • Arts and Entertainment: Music for 'The Post'
BBFC:
Release Date:
21/05/2018
Run Time:
115 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description, English DTS 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.85:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Layout: Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee and The Washington Post
  • Editorial: The Cast and Characters of 'The Post'
  • The Style Section: Re-Creating an Era
  • Arts and Entertainment: Music for 'The Post'

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Reviews (24) of The Post

The Importance of a Free Press - The Post review by KW

Spoiler Alert
28/05/2018

A very interesting film covering the exposure of the Pentagon Papers, exposing the sham that the US was winning the war in Vietnam when it was not, and the cover ups that various Presidents had previously sanctioned. Added to that the volatility of then President Nixon and his reaction to any adverse press comments you have the perfect mix for an excellent film. Add to that the financial problems of the Washington Post and its potential floatation on the New York Stock Market and you have two central themes to this excellent film. Acting wise the star for me was Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham having been forced to take over running the paper on the death of her husband, manage the flotation and champion her editor Ben Bradlee, an excellent performance from Tom Hanks, in agreeing to publish the papers knowing that the White House will use all their powers to stop them. Add to that the Supreme Court ruling in their favour the perfect denouement to this very watchable film.

11 out of 11 members found this review helpful.

Give it a chance - The Post review by DH

Spoiler Alert
01/08/2018

Yes it's slow to begin with but there is an important story being told.

I think other reviewers only like movies that move at 100 mph. This one does not. It can't as its set in a newsroom.

If you like a carefully thought out story you'll appreciate it. If you like car chases and a high body count then you won't.

6 out of 8 members found this review helpful.

Dull and wordy drama about a newspaper versus the 1970s US Nixon whitehouse - The Post review by PV

Spoiler Alert
13/06/2018

I usually like Spielberg movies but I do have to admit I was really quite bored during this.

Maybe because the issue happened before I was around (and when Spielberg was a young man so it meant a lot to him obviously); maybe because it's so American-focused re Viet Nam - which I am sick of seeing films about. And thank goodness British PM Harold Wilson refused the US request for the UK to get involved in that mess (which had been created by Colonialist France).

So it's tough going - the jeopardy all hanging on whether a newspaper can print a story with official documents while Nixon is in power.

A curiosity really. 2 stars.

6 out of 10 members found this review helpful.

Critic review

The Post (aka The Pentagon Papers / The Papers) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

As with Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s The Post is a film that felt necessary to make. During a time when journalism is so undervalued, demeaned by everyone from YouTube commentators to the President of the United States, it’s important to remember how essential the free press is to society at its most challenged of moments. When the trashy news site Gawker was brought down by a high-priced court battle, it’s easy to see the small picture of the mean-spirited outlet publishing the sex tape of Hulk Hogan. But if a journalistic firm can be taken down for the right amount of cash, what’s to stop any wealthy client from taking down a publication simply for the distaste of politics, religion, or, well, anything?

For the New York Post of 1971, they faced greatest opponent of the US government. When secret papers were smuggled out of the Pentagon to reveal the dark path that led to the Vietnam War, President Nixon became so hot under the collar that publishing these documents would lead to newspaper organizations being brought to court. The New York Times is the first to find and publish some of these documents, leading to them promptly being barred from publication from the government. Realizing they could face prison time, the New York Post debates about what to do with the other batch of the Pentagon papers they come into discovering.

There are many conflicting views on this subject. For lead editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), he’s committed to publishing the documents as he knows it’s the right thing to do. Even after consulting with the legal team and realizing he could go to prison over this, he still thinks it’s a fight worth fighting. Publisher Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) has a tougher call to make as the one who ultimately has to make the decision of whether or not to publish. She’s struggling to hold control over a company she wants to succeed and has friends within Washington that she could lose if she publishes these documents. Reporter Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) hopes she will as he risked a lot of time and possible jail time for finding these leads. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) would rather she not, more or less begging for her understanding in knowing that the truth will come out. All of this leads up into one heck of a heated argument over the phone.

A film such as this seems as though it could become too political or preachy and Spielberg certain tap-dances around that level of timely importance for the film. Thankfully, he sticks to publisher perspective, favoring the press’ ordeal with being silenced and less of the political powers doing the silencing. As with all of Spielberg’s films, he brings us deep into the trenches, sharing the same space as the reporters and editors. We get a sense of the office day, running up and down the typing pool with new leads and infiltrating competing newspapers with semi-illegal tactics. Some of the best moments from a cinematography perspective feature the old-fashioned production of the paper, from the rough concepts to the assembled plates to the building-shaking movement of the printing machinery. It really nails home the excitement of what could have been a fairly dry thriller of printing government documents.

That being said, Spielberg’s rushed production seems to handle the importance with perhaps a few too many theatrics. There’s a great significance with Graham’s position as a woman of power, always hinted at with every pressing decision. This point is nailed home too clearly in her somber, bedside speech and then smashed in with a battering ram in the scene where she descends the courthouse steps with all the admiring women surrounding her. There’s also a few too many winks and nudges in the dialogue about how darkly comical such an important story reflects today. There are several awkward bits of dialogue that highlight this aspect, the most prominent being a muttering that this ordeal of censoring the press couldn’t possibly ever be as worse as it is in 1971. Going one step further, the final shot sets up Watergate almost like a thrilling trailer for The Post 2.

I feel bad that The Post didn’t hit me harder, but that’s possibly because the film feels the need to be so big. Spielberg’s bluntness almost robs the film of having something more to go along with its historical importance. As a result, the film becomes more entertaining for the fantastic performances than the subtleties of the grander themes. At least students will have one heck of a film to watch in the classroom with the combined talents of Spielberg, Streep, and Hanks on screen. Oscar bait? Perhaps, but at least there’s a purpose to the picture, perhaps more relevant than any other film of 2017. Streep’s character ends the picture by stating that the free press will make mistakes, but their purpose is essential. The exact same thing can be said of the film for not being one of Spielberg’s best, but certainly his most meaningful.

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