The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1981 "You can get away with anything. Once."
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice

6.6 | 2h2m | R | en | Drama

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

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6.6 | 2h2m | R | en | Drama , Thriller , Crime | More Info
Released: March. 20,1981 | Released Producted By: Paramount , Lorimar Film Entertainment Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

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

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Cast

Jack Nicholson , Jessica Lange , John Colicos

Director

Joseph Hurley

Producted By

Paramount , Lorimar Film Entertainment

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Reviews

Kirpianuscus Significant is the reflection of yhe essence of novel. The atmosphere. And the connection between Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson. The eroticism is pne of the pieces of the Depression chronicle of a dark love story . It works not only for the right script and good performances. But for the fine science to explore the details and give more than portrait of a dramatic fight for survive.
PimpinAinttEasy Dear Jessica Lange,you really nailed the working class femme fatale, Cora. It really was a stellar performance from you. Your use of body posture (for example: the way Cora sat on the ground during the picnic) to convey the character's unabashed rustic charm was very commendable. The cinematographer paid special attention to your rough hands and almost muscular arms. I think your performance is superior to both Lana Turner and Clara Calamai. While Turner looked too sophisticated to be a working class woman, Clara Calamai was overtly bovine and unattractive.Jack Nicholson was terrific as always, there are few actors who can match his screen presence. But he was too old for the role. And while the sex scenes between you guys were true to the book, I did not find them to be too erotic or anything. This was a bit of a drawback. While there is something satanic about Nicholson, he is not someone I would think about if I was making a movie with some really hot love making scenes.I liked the film's pastoral setting. There are some really pleasant shots of rural life that expressed the idyllic nature of the character's lives. The house and café where the events unfolded was a great set piece. The drawers with all that beautiful canned food stood out.However, the film's languid pace was in direct contrast to the succession of explosive events in the book by James.M.Cain. The film was too long at 2 hours.But it was still very engaging especially due to your presence, Jessica.Best Regards,Pimpin.
seymourblack-1 It's easy to understand how attractive it must have seemed to make a 1980s movie of "The Postman Always Rings Twice". James M Cain's famous depression-era melodrama had already been successful as a book (1934) and a movie (1946) and a 1980s version could obviously benefit from the advantages of being made in colour and at a time when censorship constraints would be far less strict than they had been in 1946. The result is a production in which this story of lust, adultery, murder, blackmail and "the hand of fate" is told in a style which is far more raw, gritty and explicit than the 1946 movie.Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) is a drifter who stops for a meal at a remote countryside diner / filling station somewhere outside L.A. and decides to stay a little longer after catching sight of the establishment's attractive cook called Cora (Jessica Lange). Cora's the wife of Nick (John Colicos) who's the considerably older Greek proprietor of the business. Nick offers Frank a job as a mechanic and soon Cora and Frank are involved in a passionate affair.After the couple fail in an attempt to run away together, they decide to murder Nick. They succeed at the second attempt but soon Cora is put on trial for the crime. The prosecuting attorney succeeds in getting Frank to betray Cora but some slick work by her lawyer results in her being acquitted. After the trial, Frank and Cora resume their relationship and a succession of surprising developments culminate in a tragic conclusion.Frank is a man whose misfortunes don't simply emanate from his weakness or the consequences of making a wrong turn in his life. He's a violent, petty criminal who's driven by lust, but nevertheless, seems more in control of his destiny than is typical of a noir protagonist. In this version of the story, in an interpretation which is probably more realistic, he's more cynical and brutal than John Garfield's 1946 incarnation and as a result is a far more unsympathetic character.Jessica Lange's Cora is also different from Lana Turner's as she seems much too strong and spirited to be as trapped as she claims and also doesn't have the kind of mystique or ambiguity which makes it seem credible that she could've been harbouring dark thoughts about killing Nick for some time.The ways in which the characters of Frank and Cora have been changed is interesting to watch but the same can't be said of the changed ending which lacks both the irony of the original and its significance to the story's title.This movie is strong on atmosphere and intensity and convincingly evokes the period in which the action is set. Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange are excellent in their roles and the supporting cast (particularly John Colicos) is also very good.
Rodrigo Amaro Yes, this story was told a few times in the past, being one of the versions the classic of same title starring Lana Turner and John Garfield, one of the most acclaimed stories of all time "The Postman Always Rings Twice" becomes a sexy, romantic and sad tale on the hands of Bob Rafelson ("The King of Marvin Gardens"), yet this work resurrected the film noir genre in the 1980's, giving new forms, exploring a more sexual and violent side which wasn't possible to be presented in the golden era of noir.With the same story as the 1946 adaptation of James M. Cain's novel, the film stars Jack Nicholson as Frank Chambers, the drifter who fell in love with Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange), a simple housewife who helps her husband Nick (John Colicos) to manage a roadside diner in the East Coast. But they have a plan to kill Nick and live together forever but the destiny has some tricks, up's and down's, twists and turns to make their lives complicated each time their plot fail again and again. The difference between the seductive and classic version of this same story is the approach given by writer David Mamet, who made the love story between these two characters something sexy, animalistic, a full exploration of the senses with a lustful couple ripping each other's clothes, having sex on a kitchen table (one of the most iconic moments of the 1980's), something almost gratuitous but very effective for most audiences nowadays. While Tay Garnett's version was a provocation that could never go too far in its sensuality, only showing short kisses but very effective tender moments, this update is more of a visual film made to present something exciting, thrilling. And Nicholson and Lange have the chemistry and quality in their wild performances here.To me, comparing back to back both films they're equally great just as the novel. They have their differences, specially concerning about the characters characterization and performances of actors, the way they were written. Examples: Nicholson is more believable as a hobo than John Garfield, in the way he's dressed, the way he talks and moves; the Cora played by Lange was something new, more passive and quite joyful which is nothing similar than the one of the book and 1946 film materials, who is very smart, dominating in the relationship with Frank; but the most striking difference was the friendly Nick, played here as an rude and irritating man, therefore, the script is basically giving a reason for us not like this guy and cheer that the horrible plans of Frank and Cora become successful. The George C. Scott rule of not giving awards to actors unless the play the same parts is useful here to see in which films the acting worked better. If only we could team Jack Nicholson and Lana Turner together....we would have something explosive and very interesting. On a minor look to the film, I really enjoyed the ending with a devastating moment, without the trial and that whole depressive conclusion (although it ended sad the same way, but this time the viewers will make their own conclusions instead of having the title explained at the final and moralistic scene as MGM's version). Also enjoyed Sven Nykivst colorful cinematography with a right use of darkness in the most tense moments. The melodramatic soundtrack works one time or the other but for the most of the film is just silly. The importance of this version of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" is the fact that it brought back the film noir with a new style, new faces (ok, Nicholson was in "Chinatown" in 1974, so it doesn't count) and more baldness. After this film, we had "Body Heat", the parody/homage "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", and plenty of others. Take a look and enjoy it. 10/10