Another newspaper movie makes this year’s list: a smartly paced thriller from Steven Spielberg about the drama behind the Washington Post’s decision to publish details from the secret Pentagon Papers, parts of which were already scooped by the New York Times. Set in 1971, the film depicts the intense rivalry between the Post and the Times as more pages are leaked and each seeks to be first with new revelations. In addition, there are the pressures and risks of publishing leaked information against the government’s wishes. Meryl Streep plays Washington Post publisher Kay Graham, who faces her own battles as a female executive, and Tom Hanks is the cantankerous editor Ben Bradlee. Graham and Bradlee put their careers and the future of the newspaper on the line to publish details from the documents turned over by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg. Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled the government could not block publication of its contents (New York Times Co. v. United States).

Trivia: The Post is the first film in which Streep, Hanks and Spielberg have collaborated.

See our August 2018 cover story: “The 25 Greatest Legal Movies.”