The Post

DVD Rating: ****

Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson

Read Jennie Kermode's film review of The Post
The Post
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In a world of identikit DVD extras, the ones for EntertainmentOne's The Post are a pleasant surprise. The attention paid extends to their titles, which mirror newspaper themes.

Layout: Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee and The Washington Post packs a lot into its 21 minutes, offering actual footage of the Washington Post's publisher and editor at the time the film is set, along with a string of people who knew them offering their opinions - including Graham's son, daughters and grandson.

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It's especially pleasant to see someone celebrated for what they were in all its complexity, so that Graham's family don't shy away from describing her as "the world capital of self-doubt", even as they show how she ultimately was able to make this work in her favour. More than just a profile of two people, this extra goes beyond Graham and Bradlee to offer further background on the story behind the film and could easily be enjoyed as a standalone short documentary.

Editorial: The Cast And Characters Of The Post digs further into the making of the film, with Steven Spielberg talking about the way that they were able to benefit from being able to speak to people who were around at the time. Like all the extras here, this is more in depth than usual and particularly worth watching for the admiring and interesting way that Tom Hanks (Bradlee) talks about the way his co-star Meryl Streep (Graham) works.

The Style Section: Recreating An Era digs into the set dressing and costumes used, particularly focusing on the cavernous Washington Post offices that they recreated. Whoever directed these featurettes has done a good job of digging about to get contributions from the full breadth of the cast and crew - it's always a treat to hear a cinematographer, for example. They didn't quite get so lucky with costume designer Ann Roth, who is only glimpsed rather than spoken to, but her presence is nonetheless strongly felt because of the way so many of the cast talk about her essential input into their characters.

The final featurette - Arts And Entertainment: Music For The Post - though quite short, is a charmer - showing the working relationship between Spielberg and composer John Williams. Speaking about his love of working with the director, Williams says: "Every day seems like a new thing" - who wouldn't warm to that?

The disc also includes an audio descriptive track and subtitles.

The Post is available to download from May 14 and on DVD and Blu-ray from May 21 - win a copy in our latest competition

Reviewed on: 08 May 2018
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The story of how the Washington Post rose to prominence by taking on the Nixon administration.
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Product Code: EO52160D

Region: 2

Ratio: 1.85:1

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital 5.1

Extras: 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, audio descriptive track


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