The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writers:

James M. Cain (novel)
David Mamet (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller | Romance

Tagline:

You Will Feel The Heat.

Plot:

The sensuous wife of a lunch wagon proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordidly steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Drifter | Cafe | Lunch Wagon | Remake

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jack Nicholson	...	Frank Chambers
Jessica Lange	...	Cora Papadakis
John Colicos	...	Nick Papadakis
Michael Lerner	...	Mr. Katz
John P. Ryan	...	Kennedy
Anjelica Huston	...	Madge
William Traylor	...	Sackett
Thomas Hill	...	Barlow (as Tom Hill)
Jon Van Ness	...	Motorcycle Cop
Brian Farrell	...	Mortenson
Raleigh Bond	...	Insurance Salesman
William Newman	...	Man from Home Town
Albert Henderson	...	Art Beeman
Ken Magee	...	Scoutmaster
Eugene Peterson	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

Wenn der Postmann zweimal klingelt (West Germany)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (1981) | Singapore:PG (cut) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | France:-12 | Norway:15 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Australia:R

Filming Locations:

Santa Barbara, California, USA

Company:

CIP Filmproduktion GmbH

Trivia:

Meryl Streep rejected the part of Cora.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Cora walks to the door of the café after coming back from her mother's (1:38:25), her zipper and zipper pull show. What we see is an "invisible" zipper which were not invented until the early 1960s.

Quotes:

Sackett: Spit on the sidewalk and you'll die in jail!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick (2007) (V)

an original remake

A remake of the 1946 film, this version features Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, with a momentous white hot chemistry that can't possibly sustain itself but affords a memorable scene in the restaurant kitchen about ten minutes into the film which leads to the eventual plot to do in her older Greek husband. A story wherein neither would have the nerve to do such a thing alone, but together they make a job of it on one of the darkest nights and darkest rural roads ever. The trial for the murder features another couple of great performances by Michael Lerner as the resourceful to a fault defense attorney (if you were on trial for your life, you'd want this guy for a lawyer), and his investigator who becomes a menacing presence later in the film, played by John P Ryan. Very nicely photographed in color, it's set in the coastal hills and valleys north of LA, dotted with live oaks and capturing the rich earthy tones of the late afternoon golden hued hillsides that nicely contrast with the desperate story of the two lovers.