“The Post” tells the fact-based story of the 1971 publishing of the Pentagon Papers from an insider’s perspective of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham (played to note-perfection by Meryl Streep, three-time Oscar recipient, actress, “The Iron Lady,” 2011; “Sophie’s Choice,” 1983; “Kramer vs. Kramer,” 1980) and Post editor Ben Bradlee (an astounding Tom Hanks, two-time Oscar recipient, actor, “Forrest Gump,” 1995; “Philadelphia,” 1994).

There was a lot riding on the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, a voluminous top-secret CIA report about the handling of the Vietnam War by the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and which were leaked by former RAND military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (an excellent Matthew Rhys).

“The Post” director Steven Spielberg (Oscar, director, “Saving Private Ryan,” 1999; Oscar, picture, “Schindler’s List,” 1994; Irving Thalberg Oscar, 1987) conveys the drama, intracompany disputes and bonhomie of reporters, editors and, yes, copy boys, who rolled up their sleeves and got the job done.

The screenplay, co-written by Liz Hannah (feature-film screenplay debut) and Josh Singer (Oscar recipient, original screenplay, “Spotlight,” 2016; screenwriter, “The Fifth Estate,” 2013; writer, TV’s “The West Wing,” 2003-2006), captures the tension, not without dollops of newsroom humor, of the challenging assignment.

Production design by Rick Carter (Oscar, production design, “Lincoln,” 2013; Oscar, art direction, “Avatar,” 2010) captures the manual typewriter-clacking, cigarette and cigar-smoking, vacuum tube (whisking edited copy to the typesetters) newsroom, linotype-setting machines, newspapers rolling in serpentine rivers off the mighty presses, and delivery trucks zooming off to plunk their precious newspaper bundles on the streets.

The costume design by the Lehigh Valley’s Ann Roth (Oscar, costume design, “The English Patient,” 1997) replicates the nerdy glasses, shirts, ties and pants of the males and the efficient dresses and pantsuits of the few women on staff.

“The Post” recounts an important lesson about the First Amendment then as now, reminding us why those annoying journalists and media types ply their trade on international, federal, state and local news beats.

If you’re not familiar with this episode in American history and journalism, “The Post,” an American Film Institute 2017 Top 10 “Movie of the Year” and the National Board of Review “Best Film of 2017,” is a must-see. If you are reading this movie review in your newspaper or on a screen, “The Post” is a reminder of the crucial role of journalists and the media.

“The Post,”

MPAA rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.) for language and brief war violence; Genre: Biography, Drama, History; Run time: 1 hr., 56 min.; Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.

Credit Readers Anonymous:

“The Post” was filmed in White Plains and New Rochelle, New York, and at Columbia University, New York City.

Box Office,

Jan. 19: Freedom High School graduate Dwayne Johnson made it a three-peat at No. 1, three weeks in a row after two weeks at No. 2, with $20 million, $316.9 million, five weeks, keeping Chris Hemsworth’s Afghanistan fact-based war drama, “12 Strong,” debuting at No. 2, with $16.5 million, one week, and the crime film, “Den of Thieves” opening at No. 3, with $15.3 million.

4. “The Post” dropped one slot, with $12.1 million, $45.1 million, five weeks. 5. “The Greatest Showman” continued at No. 5, with $11 million, $113.4 million, five weeks. 6. ”Paddington 2” climbed up one spot, $8.2 million, $25 million, two weeks. 7. “The Commuter” dropped four tracks, with $6.6 million, $25.7 million, two weeks. 8. “Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi” zoomed down two slots, $6.5 million, $604.2 million, six weeks. 9. “Insidious: The Last Key” notched down five places, $5.9 million, $58.7 million, three weeks. 10. “Forever My Girl,” $4.7 million, opening.

Unreel,

Jan. 26:

“Maze Runner: The Death Cure.”

PG-13: Wes Ball directs Rosa Salazar, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dylan O’Brien, and Kaya Scodelario in the science-fiction-thriller. Thomas is on a mission to find a cure for the deadly disease, the “Flare.”

“Hostiles,”

R: Scott Cooper directs Scott Shepherd, Rosamund Pike, Ava Cooper, and Stella Cooper in the western. In the late 1800s, an Army captain escorts a Cheyenne chief and his family.

This review is dedicated to the late John Strohmeyer, a Pulitzer Prize-winner of whom it was said to budding young journalists when he was editor of the Bethlehem Globe-Times: “You aren’t worthy enough to carry his typewriter.”

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes

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