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The Postman (1997)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
25 December 1997 (USA)
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Tagline:
It is 2013. War has crippled the Earth. Technology has been erased. Our only hope is an unlikely hero.
Plot:
Post-apocalyptic America. What begins as a con game becomes one man's quest to rebuild civilization by resuming postal service. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
5 wins
&
5 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(36 articles)
Waterworld Blu-ray Review
(From Collider.com. 15 November 2009, 9:14 AM, PST)
Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy Confirmed for 'Mad Max'
(From Cinematical. 30 October 2009, 7:03 AM, PDT)
(From Collider.com. 15 November 2009, 9:14 AM, PST)
Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy Confirmed for 'Mad Max'
(From Cinematical. 30 October 2009, 7:03 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Not as horrible as all that
more (336 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Kevin Costner | ... | The Postman |
 | Will Patton | ... | General Bethlehem |
 | Larenz Tate | ... | Ford Lincoln Mercury |
 | Olivia Williams | ... | Abby |
 | James Russo | ... | Idaho |
| Daniel von Bargen | ... | Pineview Sheriff Briscoe |
| Tom Petty | ... | Bridge City Mayor |
 | Scott Bairstow | ... | Luke |
 | Giovanni Ribisi | ... | Bandit 20 |
| Roberta Maxwell | ... | Irene March |
 | Joe Santos | ... | Colonel Getty |
| Ron McLarty | ... | Old George |
| Peggy Lipton | ... | Ellen March |
 | Brian Anthony Wilson | ... | Woody |
 | Todd Allen | ... | Gibbs |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
177 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Alphacine)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:14 |
Iceland:16 (video rating) |
Canada:13+ (Quebec) |
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) |
Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) |
Canada:AA (Ontario) |
Australia:M |
Canada:PG (Manitoba) |
Singapore:M18 (re-rating) |
Singapore:PG (cut) |
Philippines:PG-13 |
Finland:K-14 |
France:U |
Germany:12 |
Hong Kong:IIA |
Netherlands:16 |
Norway:15 |
Portugal:M/12 |
Spain:13 |
Sweden:15 |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:15 |
USA:R |
South Korea:18 |
Brazil:Livre
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The crew referred to the film as "Dirt World".
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Goofs:
Factual errors: The main character assumes his role because he found an old abandoned mail truck containing the remains of a long dead mailman and pilfered the uniform from the skeleton. The problem here is the condition of the clothing he takes. When a person dies, the body goes through many stages of decomposition on its way to being merely a skeleton. As the tissues break down, many chemicals and enzymes are released, including the hydrochloric acid of the digestive system. In the final stages of decomposition, this is referred to as liquefacation or liquiescence. Given enough time and a suitable environment this combination of byproducts, with the addition of the bacteria that will inevitably emerge, would make any cloth or fabric (with the exception of treated leather products) not only disgustingly filthy, but also so weakened from exposure to what amounts to a corrosive liquid, that the fibers would tear apart from any stresses put on them. Even the act of taking the jacket off of the remains (and certainly that of putting the jacket on himself) would have pulled the fabric apart.
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Quotes:
General Bethlehem:
I was at the Battle of Georgetown; I watched the White House burn to the ground!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Final Sacrifice (#10.10)" (1998)
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Soundtrack:
You Didn't Have To Be So Nice
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (336 total)
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"The Postman" is one of those films that has become almost synonymous with the concept of "lousy, awful, horrible, terrible, stinking mess of a movie." Like "Plan 9 from Outer Space," "Ishtar," or "Gigli," it is sometimes invoked in this manner on Internet message boards or in chatter between friends. But is "The Postman" truly such a horrible disaster? I would argue that its bad reputation is overdone.
Make no mistake, this movie is no "Citizen Kane." There is no way, by any stretch of the imagination, that this could be called a "great" movie. But every week B-movies that are orders of magnitude worse come out. What is it about this one that accounts for its enduring lousy reputation? This in itself is an interesting question.
Part of the answer has to do with Kevin Costner. It is hard to imagine now, but at one time (especially in the wake of "Dances with Wolves") his reputation in Hollywood was towering and unassailable. Costner squandered his mega-star status with a series of expensive yet mediocre duds such as this one, and in the end "The Postman's" crime is not that it is a truly terrible movie, but that it is simply a not-great movie that deflated the public's hopes and expectations of what Kevin Costner film should be. The curse of too-high expectations.
The worst aspect of this movie is its occasional pomposity and self-importance, derived from Costner's own enormous mid-90s ego, and it is easy to laugh at the final scene or various dramatic sequences with swirling symphonic music and glistening slo-mo shots. But if you can get beyond this and look at the movie as just a somewhat entertaining way to pass a few hours, it really isn't that bad, especially if you are a fan of the "dark future" genre of films. Will Patton in particular provides a good, convincing performance, as do a number of other minor characters.
And the world of "The Postman" -- a decayed, post-apocalyptic, decentralized
America where the federal government has collapsed -- is interesting in its own right. Remember, this film was borne of the early/mid 1990s, a time that gave us Timothy McVeigh, anti-government sentiment, Waco, and fear about "militias." There was a sense in the air that America could possibly disintegrate and fragment into local areas battling each other in the long run. This world view seems very alien in the post-9-11 era, where there is much more of a consciousness of being an American, "rallying around the flag," and the role of the federal government as a powerful military force, for good or for ill. Nowadays fear of outsiders and terrorism has largely replaced fears of internal anarchy and domestic unraveling. "The Postman" reminds us that not so long ago America envisioned its dark possible futures in a very different way than it currently does, and this in itself is instructive and worth pondering.