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The Postman
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Product Description
Product description
Set in the near future after a catastrophic war which has destroyed the government, a traveler finds an old mail bag and starts delivering it.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-FEB-2005
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
Falling from the Oscar-winning glory of Dances with Wolves to the opposite end of the critical and box-office scale, Kevin Costner must have been deeply humbled when this three-hour postapocalyptic tale--his sophomore effort as a director--was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid audience response. One of the most conspicuous flops of its decade, the 1997 release must have seemed like a sure thing on paper: a kind of futurist Western starring Costner as a charismatic drifter-turned-hero who leads the resistance against a military tyrant (Will Patton) by reviving the long-dormant postal system to reunite isolated communities in their fight for freedom. The movie bombed, but, like many audacious failures, it's got qualities that make it at least partially endearing, and its earnestness (although bordering on corny) keeps it from being entirely silly. Faint praise, perhaps, but Costner's ode to patriotism is occasionally stirring and visually impressive. The dual-layered, widescreen DVD includes a documentary segment about the creation of the film's special effects sequences, featuring a running commentary by the special effects creators. --Jeff Shannon
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.35:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.38 x 0.6 inches; 4 ounces
- Director : Kevin Costner
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Anamorphic, NTSC, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Color, Widescreen
- Run time : 2 hours and 57 minutes
- Release date : June 9, 1998
- Actors : Kevin Costner, Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish, French
- Language : French (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Studio : Warner Home Video
- ASIN : 0790736500
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #16,837 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #340 in Science Fiction DVDs
- #1,696 in Action & Adventure DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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While one professional movie critic at the time blindly accused The Postman of "jingoism", it's clear that this movie is pretty damn far from jingoistic. In fact, the message and overall delivery is quite the opposite, in that it seeks to focus on the more humanitarian aspects of the existence of the United States, as opposed to reveling in military might or throwing out abstract and cliched statements about "freedom" in an attempt to imply some type of "manifest destiny". The movie is set 16 or so years after a limited nuclear/biological war (that apparently lasted only 3 days) set off a spiral of chaotic breakdown in the U.S. While the conflict's effect was apparently limited enough that the country's government could have weathered the storm normally, the rise of the Holnists, an alliance of racist, survivalist militia types, violently subverted the governments efforts to restore order, eventually leading to the burning of the White House, and the fall of the government. Without the basic human services needed, the ensuing plagues and nuclear winter, combined with the predatory Holnist raids, served to drive the survivors of the mass riots and disasters into isolated communities.
Costner's character, aka "Shakespeare", wanders the vast wilds of the American Northwest as the movie opens. It appears that most of the aftereffects of the war have finally subsided by this point; however, the people are disconnected and isolated from each other, and lack the unity to rebuild what was lost. The first part of the movie sets up Shakespeare as a likeable, unmotivated nomad, who ends up being drafted by force into the Holnist army while trying to put on the world's worst production of Shakespeare at a town, in exchange for food. The Holnist leader, General Bethlehem (Will Patton, who was also in "No Way Out" with Costner), sees in Shakespeare a potential leader in his army of "the strong", but Shakespeare has other ideas, and manages to escape. Lost in a torrential rainstorm, Shakespeare takes shelter in a crashed Postal Service truck, and appropriates a postman's uniform. When he reaches the town of Pineview, Shakespeare, in an act of desperation, poses as a postman for what he terms "The Restored United States Government" in order to finagle some food and shelter. The unforseen consequences of this act define the rest of the movie, as despite the fact that Shakespeare isn't the most convincing liar in the world, the people are desperate for any shred of hope, and any symbol that can give them reason to emerge from the frightened mode of existence they had been lost in for years. And so, without giving too much away, Shakespeare unwittingly inspires the creation of a ragtag "postal service", and eventually accepts his role as the leader in a fight against Bethlehem's forces, and their attempts to maintain the chaotic, warlord-friendly status quo.
It's true that the movie is earnest to a fault, and that earnestness tends to seep into sappiness at times (notably the much maligned "letter hand-off" scene involving his real-life son). But a movie like this requires a sort of no-holds barred bravado to effectively work as a counterweight to the traditional "patriotic" movie, where machismo for its own sake is dressed up with abstracts such as "fighting for freedom". I will gladly admit that, if done well enough, such as in the Rambo Trilogy, a macho patriotic movie can be worthwhile entertainment. But The Postman's focus on the loss of what Americans take for granted, and how the drive to restore that sense of order and dignity can take root in one who has no desire to be a leader, but becomes one out of necessity, cuts to the heart of what is good in the United States far more effectively than any chest-beating, bullet-bedangled cinematic proclamation of the "superiority" of the United States could hope to.
Like the movie itself, the performances are generally enthusiastic and likeable, if a bit un-nuanced. Olivia Williams plays the obligatory love interest with a degree of strength, while Larenz Tate does a good job of embodying the naivete of someone who has finally found a positive symbol to follow (an interesting counterpoint to the ignorant thuggishness of the Holnist forces). Will Patton's character is likewise interesting, as a former copier salesman with delusions of grandeur, who uses the fall of society to ascend, and carry on the Holnist's twisted crusade oppression of the weak, who he feels have held back "the strong" for too long. Costner himself is rather subdued...but then again, that's pretty his method of acting.
One of the real stars here is the filmography itself. By using a combination of vast sweeps of rugged wilderness, and carefully chosen isolated outposts of civilization, Costner and crew manage to convey a sense of scope and "beautiful desolation" that subtlely imply the departure of civilization, without having to show ruined cities, or much in the way of actual devastation. The Blu Ray version does a good job of presenting these visuals in a sharp, clear manner, and also boosts the rather subdued audio levels that were present on the original DVD release. I will say, however, that a rather significant opportunity was missed in this release- the lack of a commentary track. A commentary track with both Kevin Costner and David Brin, discussing the diverging approaches of the book and the movie, as well as the troubled history of completing the project, would be a great addition. Alas, we'll have to make do without.
In any case, I recommend this release, to both fans and skeptics alike. Even Roger Ebert, who didn't recommend The Postman, appeared to respect the intentions and the effort put forth. After all, its failings are substantially outweighed by its heart and earnestness, and sometimes, that's just good enough a reason to enjoy a movie.
Top reviews from other countries
Set in a near-future America devastated by a nuclear/biological war, it follows the fortunes of an itinerant who wanders around the scattered townships which remain, in the hope of finding one to take him in. He doesn’t have much luck on that score, as most already have as many people as they can support, until he gets an unexpected break. He finds the remains of a US postman, with a bag of old mail some of which, providentially, is addressed to people in the next town at which he calls.
Costner secures admission by claiming to be a a real postman, working for a (fictionally) restored US government. He is met with some scepticism, especially by the local sheriff, but enough people believe him to encourage him to keep up the masquerade.
However, his hopes are quickly dashed by the arrival of the Bad Guys, a self-appointed militia group called Holnists, who roam around exacting tribute (and conscripts) from the townships They are led by one General Bethlehem, who does not appear in the book. The Holnists as a movement do, but there are important differences in the movie version. Bethlehem is decidedly racist, rejecting one draftee for being of Asian origin, and closely inspecting another for possible Black ancestry. His men even kill and eat Costner’s mule, because a cross-breed of horse and donkey has no place in the New Order. In the book, by contrast, we are explicitly told that their founder, Nathan Holn, was *not* a racist. Though Brin’s Holnists follow a “Might Is Right” philosophy, and practice a form of serfdom, this does not appear to be on racial lines.
This is my one real grumble about the film, which I feel overdoes it a bit, turning the Holnists into cardboard villains. Thus when Bethlehem rides into town, he immediately starts conscripting, without the slightest effort to find volunteers. Yet in this situation, he could probably get quite a few, given that most young men there may well have few job options other than unmechanised farm labour, ie a lifetime contemplating the south ends of northbound mules. Compared to that, service under Bethlehem might really not seem so bad Yet in the film the only character who expresses that view is shown as a dimwit, hardly above the level of the village idiot. Here I feel the movie “cheats” a little, passing over the motives of those who accepted the Holnist life. After all, Nathan Holn’s original followers must have had some reason for following him.
However, for me at least this nitpick is more than offset by the touching (and revealing) scene at the film show, where Bethlehem’s men indignantly reject Universal Soldier in favour of The Sound of Music. Clearly the Holnist rank and file – even willing ones who accept their life as the “least worst” of a rotten set of options – still pine for the happier and gentler things that they have lost, and would welcome an alternative if they saw one. In a way, they too are victims. This provides an explanation of their behaviour at the end of the film, where things that Costner has learned during his time with the Holnists will play a crucial part in enabling him to defeat Bethlehem.
But that’s in the future. More immediately, Costner escapes from the Holnists and hides out with his future wife, who eventually (and somewhat forcefully) persuades him to come back to town. On arrival, he finds that he has really started something. The young people of the townships are worshipping him as a hero and organising themselves into a postal service for the whole area. Indeed, it emerges later that he has admirers far beyond the immediate precincts, with others having set up a similar service for a “Restored Republic of California”. We are never told whether this republic really exists or is just a fiction similar to his own, but it hardly matters now. The movement is in full swing.
Needless to say, Bethlehem is not best pleased by any of this, and sees all too clearly the danger to him which the postmen present. He launches all out war, and as the casualties mount, Costner looks on in horror and attempts to call the whole thing off. But this ship has already sailed. His young “disciples” have the bit between their teeth and will not take no for an answer. Costner has made his bed and must lie in it, come what may.
And more does come. The enthusiasm of the young Postmen starts to captivate their elders, who also rally round. In one scene, reminiscent of a WW2 drama, the Sheriff of Pineview, who had once (correctly) dismissed the Postman as an obvious fraud, now defiantly shouts “Ride, Postman, ride!” as he and his fellow townsfolk are mown down by a Holnist firing squad. The fire is well and truly lit.
I have seen some criticism of the way the townsfolk are allegedly portrayed as “sheep” knuckling under to the Holnists until hero-boy comes along, John Wayne style, to set the example. To me though, all this indicates is that Costner has been lucky in his timing. Had he come on the scene ten years earlier, a populace still demoralised from the apocalypse would not have followed him. Ten years later, and he would not have led them to victory because someone else would already have done it. As it is, he has arrived at the critical point, where the townsfolk have recovered enough to take on the Holnists, but haven’t fully realised it yet. Costner is the trigger rather than the bomb.
All in all, I find it a great movie, and certainly far superior to the epidemic of disaster films with which we have been bombarded since, with their ice ages, earthquakes and of course asteroid and meteor impacts ad nauseam. Those who panned when it first came out might perhaps have been cautioned that ”You ain’t seen nuffin yet.” Like those who welcomed Henry VIII as a great relief after his father’s tyranny, little did they know what they had coming.