Katharine Graham (Streep) is the first female publisher of a major American newspaper - The Washington Post. With help from her editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), Graham races to catch up with The New York Times to publish the leaked Pentagon Papers, detailing the US government’s misleading portrayal of the Vietnam War and exposing a massive cover-up that spanned three decades and four US Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light.

The Post may be set in 1971 but its theme about press freedom is all about today. Spielberg rushed to get the film completed and released within a year: “I just felt that there was an urgency to reflect 1971 and 2017 because they were very terrifyingly similar.”

The Post was named the best film of 2017 by the National Board of Review, a New York-based 100 year-old group of academics, filmmakers and professionals. Streep was named best actress and Hanks was voted best actor, setting the film up as an early front-runner for the Oscars.