5 times Hollywood stopped the presses
With this week’s release of “The Post,” Steven Spielberg’s film of how The Washington Post got involved in publishing the controversial “Pentagon Papers” in 1971, audiences are again reminded of a film subgenre perhaps not seen as often these days: the newspaper movie.
Over the years, these films often are gripping procedurals that manage to show how the journalism sausage is made and why it’s important — while also still being entertaining.
With that in mind, here are five favorite newspaper movies worth checking out.
1. “All the President’s Men” (1976)
Showcasing the Washington Post’s journalistic chops on the big screen is hardly novel. Director Alan Pakula, coming off such hit films as “Klute” and “The Parallax View,” did it 42 years ago when he brought to life the de-
tective story of how Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate scandal. He was helped by a remarkable cast that, in addition to Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, included Jason Robards as the Post’s Ben Bradlee (played by Tom Hanks in “The Post”), Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander and Jack Warden. It remains a persuasive piece of work.
2. “Citizen Kane” (1941)
Not only is Orson Welles’ groundbreaking film breathtaking in its style and scope but now it also seems remarkably prescient. Though loosely based on the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, Charles Foster Kane (played by Welles) — who made up news for his paper — anticipated the whole “fake news” controversy by about 80 years or so. “Citizen Kane” is considered not just one of the best newspaper movies but one of the greatest films, period.
3. “Spotlight” (2015)
The reporters and editors at the Boston Globe are the heroes here as they expose the sexual abuse of children by area Catholic priests. Director Tom McCarthy took what could have been as dry as a desert afternoon — interviews, phone calls, editors meetings — and turned it into riveting drama.
4. “It Happened One Night” (1934)
Frank Capra’s romantic comedy starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert may be less realistic in its portrayal of newspaper life than films that would come later, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. As Variety noted, it is “the only true ‘newspaper movie’ to win a best picture Oscar” and it also won statues for director, actor, actress and screenplay.
5. “The Paper” (1994)
Ron Howard’s look at a day in the life of a newspaper isn’t as sober as “All the President’s Men” or “Spotlight” but it manages to capture the rhythms of a newsroom all the same. Howard assembled a firstrate cast that included Michael Keaton (who also is in “Spotlight”), Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Randy Quaid, Marisa Tomei, Spalding Gray, Jason Alexander and Robards (also seen in “All the President’s Men”).
Honorable mentions:
There are many others deserving of recognition including, here are a few:
“The Front Page” (1931, remade in 1974)
“Foreign Correspondent” (1940)
“His Girl Friday” (1940)
“Call Northside 777” (1948) “Ace in the Hole” (1951) “Deadline USA” (1952) “The Sweet Smell of Success” (1957)
“Absence of Malice” (1981)
“Continental Divide” (1981). “Zodiac” (2007) “State of Play” (2009)