post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
, who plays the lead role. The screenplay was written by
Eric Roth
Eric R. Roth (born March 22, 1945) is an American screenwriter. He has been nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay — for ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Munich'' (2005), '' The Curious Case o ...
and
Brian Helgeland
Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...
, based on
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,book of the same name. The film also features
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...
,
Larenz Tate
Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in ''Menace II Society'' and as Councilman Rashad Tate in ''Power''. Tate's other films and television series include the fil ...
,
Olivia Williams
Olivia Haigh Williams (born 26 July 1968) is a British actress who has appeared in British and American films and television.
After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakesp ...
,
James Russo
James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in over 150 films in three decades.
Early life
Russo was born in New York City, New York, to an Italian father and German mother. A graduate of t ...
, and
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...
.
It is set in a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
and neo-Western version of the disestablished United States in the then near-future year of 2013, sixteen-plus years after unspecified apocalyptic events, followed by plagues, left a huge impact on human civilization and erased most technology. Like the book, the film follows the story of a nomadic drifter (Costner) who stumbles across the uniform of an old
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
mail carrier
A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...
, and unwittingly inspires hope through an empty promise of a "Restored United States of America" and starts his path to become a national hero.
Released on
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
of 1997 by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, ''The Postman'' was panned by critics, who criticized the performances, screenplay, direction, and long runtime. Costner's decision to cast himself in the film was also criticized. The film was a
box-office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, grossing a total of $20 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. It was nominated for three
Saturn Awards
The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
Worst Picture
The Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture is an award given out at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst film of the past year. Over the 39 ceremonies that have taken place, there have been 202 films nominated for Worst Picture and 42 ...
.
Plot
In 2013, an unnamed nomad wanders the scattered communities of the
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
flatlands, trading performances of long forgotten
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
an plays for food and water. At one town, the nomad is forced at gunpoint into the ranks of the Holnists, a neo-fascist militia, and is branded on his shoulder with their symbol, a figure 8. The Holnists, under their leader, General Bethlehem, are the de facto authority in the area, collecting tribute and recruits from local towns. When the nomad escapes, he takes refuge in a long-deceased postman's mail vehicle.
With the postman's uniform and mail bag, he arrives in the settlement of Pineview claiming to be from the newly restored U.S. government. He convinces Pineview's leader, Sheriff Briscoe, to let him in by showing a letter addressed to elderly villager Irene March. The Postman inspires a teenager named Ford Lincoln Mercury, who asks to be sworn in as a member of the postal service and even helps him set up a post office for the town. The Postman also meets spouses Abby and Michael, fulfilling their clinical request to impregnate her. When the Postman leaves for the town of Benning, he carries a pile of mail left at the post office door by the townspeople.
During a raid of Pineview, General Bethlehem learns of the Postman’s tales of a restored government in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and becomes afraid of losing power if word spreads. He has the post office burned to the ground, kills Michael and Briscoe, abducts Abby, and raids Benning looking for the Postman. The Postman surrenders, but Abby saves him from execution, and the two escape into the surrounding mountains. A pregnant Abby and an injured Postman ride out the winter in an abandoned cabin. When spring arrives, they leave and run into a girl, who claims to be a postal carrier. She reveals that Mercury has kept the postal service alive by recruiting other carriers and building more post offices. They have established communications with other settlements, creating a quasi-society and inadvertently spreading hope.
Bethlehem continues to hunt and capture postal carriers, all of whom are executed and displayed publicly. Feeling responsible, the Postman orders the service to disband and writes a letter to the militia revealing the truth. However, Bethlehem learns to his dismay that the Postman's example has spread farther than he could have anticipated when his men capture a carrier from
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and he redoubles his efforts to find the Postman. The Postman and Abby, closely followed by young carriers Eddie, Ponytail, and Billy, travel to Bridge City. When Bethlehem's scouts catch up, the mayor helps the Postman escape on a cable car and urges him to find others willing to resist Bethlehem. Before leaving, he and Abby reciprocate their feelings and fall in love.
In a recitation of King Henry V's speech prior to the
Siege of Harfleur
The siege of Harfleur (18 August – 22 September 1415) was conducted by the English army of King Henry V in Normandy, France, during the Hundred Years' War. The defenders of Harfleur surrendered to the English on terms and were treated as pr ...
, the Postman rallies himself and his followers to war. The mounted Carriers and Holnists meet across a field. Not wanting any more carnage, the Postman instead challenges Bethlehem to a personal hand-to-hand duel, with their troops as witnesses. The Postman wins the fight but spares Bethlehem's life to maintain morale. Bethlehem tries to shoot the Postman in the back with his revolver, but is shot dead by his own second-in-command, Col. Getty. Getty then surrenders, and the rest of the Holnists follow his lead.
Thirty years later, the Postman's grown daughter Hope, accompanied by other public figures and servicemen (including postal workers), speaks at a ceremony unveiling a bronze statue by territorial waters in St. Rose, Oregon in tribute to her father, who has recently died (1973–2043). Her speech, along with the fact that all the attendees are wearing modern clothing and using technology, reveal that the Postman and his mail carriers' actions have helped rebuild the United States.
Cast
*
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
as The Postman
*
Will Patton
William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'' ...
as General Bethlehem
*
Larenz Tate
Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in ''Menace II Society'' and as Councilman Rashad Tate in ''Power''. Tate's other films and television series include the fil ...
as Ford Lincoln Mercury
*
Olivia Williams
Olivia Haigh Williams (born 26 July 1968) is a British actress who has appeared in British and American films and television.
After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years followed by three years at the Royal Shakesp ...
as Abby
*
James Russo
James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in over 150 films in three decades.
Early life
Russo was born in New York City, New York, to an Italian father and German mother. A graduate of t ...
as Captain Idaho
*
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...
as Bridge City Mayor
*
Daniel von Bargen
Daniel von Bargen (June 5, 1950 – March 1, 2015) was an American character actor of film, stage and television. He was known for his roles as Mr. Kruger on ''Seinfeld'', Commandant Edwin Spangler on ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and Chief Grady ...
Giovanni Ribisi
Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), '' Ted'' (2012) and its sequel '' Ted 2'' (2 ...
Joe Santos
Joe Santos (born Joseph John Minieri Jr.; June 9, 1931 – March 18, 2016) was an American film and television actor, best known as Sgt. Dennis Becker (later Lieutenant), the friend of James Garner's character on the NBC crime drama ''The R ...
as Colonel Getty
*
Ron McLarty
Ronald William McLarty (April 26, 1947 – February 8, 2020) was an American actor, playwright, and novelist. He also worked as an audiobook narrator, in which role he recorded over 100 titles and received many Audie Awards.
McLarty appeare ...
Peggy Lipton
Margaret Ann Lipton (August 30, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an American actress, model, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes i ...
as Ellen March
*
Rex Linn
Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American film and television actor. He is best known domestically for playing the role of Sgt. Frank Tripp in the CBS drama ''CSI: Miami'' and more recently for playing Kevin Wachtell in the televi ...
as Mercer
*
Shawn Hatosy
Shawn Wayne Hatosy is an American film and television actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the films '' In & Out'', ''The Faculty'', '' Outside Providence'', '' Anywhere but Here'', ''The Cooler'', and ''Alpha Dog''. He is also w ...
Charles Esten
Charles Esten Puskar III (born September 9, 1965), also known professionally as Charles Esten, and Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician and comedian.
Esten played the role of country singer Deacon Claybourne on the ABC/ CMT drama ''Nashvi ...
as Michael
*
Ty O'Neal
Ty O'Neal McClary (born August 2, 1978) is an American actor.
Career
He is best known for playing the ice-skating cowboy Dwayne Robertson in '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' and '' D3: The Mighty Ducks''. McClary became close with Kenan Thompson while ...
as Drew
*
Tom Bower
Thomas Michael Bower (born 28 September 1946) is a British writer and former BBC journalist and television producer. He is known for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorised biographies, often of business tycoons and newspaper pr ...
as Larry
*
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. She has starred in the films '' At Close Range'' (1986), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), '' Chances Are'' (1989), ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991) and '' Benny & ...
as Hope, Postman's Daughter (uncredited)
Production
On his personal website, author
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,studios
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
were bidding for ''The Postman'', his wife decided during a screening of ''
Field of Dreams
''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel ''Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...
'' that
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
should portray ''The Postman''. Brin agreed that the emotions evoked by ''Field of Dreams'' matched the message he intended to deliver with his novel. A decade later, after learning Costner would be cast as the lead, Brin said he was "thrilled". Costner discarded the old screenplay (in which the moral message of the novel had been reversed) and hired screenwriter
Brian Helgeland
Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...
; Brin says the two of them "rescued the 'soul' of the central character" and reverted the story's message back to one of hope. Costner supposedly passed on the lead role in '' Air Force One'' to work on ''The Postman''.
In an interview with '' Metro'' before filming began, Brin expressed his hope that ''The Postman'' would have the "pro-community feel" of ''
Field of Dreams
''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel ''Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...
'' instead of the ''
Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...
'' feel of Costner's other post-apocalyptic film ''
Waterworld
''Waterworld'' is a 1995 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It was based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it with Char ...
''. Brin said that, unlike typical post-apocalyptic movies that satisfy "little-boy wish fantasies about running amok in a world without rules", the intended moral of ''The Postman'' is that "if we lost our civilization, we'd all come to realize how much we missed it, and would realize what a miracle it is simply to get your mail every day."
''The Postman'' was filmed in Metaline Falls and
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass. The island is named af ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
;
central Oregon
Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards ...
; and southern
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
around
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
and Nogales. Metaline Falls is the location for the community of Pineview in the film.
Despite the film performing disastrously at two
test screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or ...
s, Costner refused
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
' appeals that he edit it down from its then-massive three hour running time.
Music
Reception
Box office
The film was a notable failure at the box office. The first four days after opening brought in only $5.3 million on 2,207 screens. Produced on an estimated $80 million budget, it returned less than $21 million.
The film was subsequently released on VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on June 9, 1998, and on Blu-ray Disc on September 8, 2009.
Critical response
''The Postman'' was panned by critics. On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 8% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 4.00/10. The site's consensus states: "A massive miscalculation in self-mythologizing by director and star Kevin Costner, ''The Postman'' would make for a goofy good time if it weren't so fatally self-serious."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gives the film a score of 29 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.Stephen Holden of ''The New York Times'' criticized the movie for its "bogus sentimentality" and "mawkish jingoism". Roger Ebert described ''The Postman'' as a failed yet noble effort at a parable, being "goofy", "pretentious", and "way too long", yet "good-hearted". He criticized Costner's putting himself in the lead role, arguing that such roles should be cast against type and that Costner had played too many similar roles in past films. On '' Siskel & Ebert'', Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film "two thumbs down", with Siskel calling it "Dances with ''Myself''" (in reference to Costner's Oscar-winning film ''
Dances with Wolves
''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel '' Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the ...
'') while referring to the bronze statue scene.
Costner defended the film: "I always thought it was a really good movie! I always thought I probably started it wrong. I should have said something like 'once upon a time.' Because it was just like a modern-day fairy tale — it wraps itself up with a storybook ending with the statue. You know, I thought it was a pretty funny movie set against the idea of a Superman — somebody stepping up. But in this case, it’s a very humble guy who's nothing but a liar aughs— delivers mail and burns half of it just to stay alive. So, I like the movie."