The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

In The Postman Always Rings Twice Jack Nicholson teamed up again with his Five Easy Pieces and King of Marvin Gardens director Bob Rafelson for this 1981 version of James M. Cain's hardboiled novel of lust and murder. This version takes a much grittier (and sexually explicit) approach to the material than the slick 1946 MGM version starring John Garfield and Lana Turner. Nicholson plays Frank Chambers, a drifter who happens upon a roadside diner run by Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange) and her swarthy Greek husband, Nick (John Colicos). Sparks fly, and before you can say l'amour fou, Frank and Cora are making the beast with two backs on the kitchen table. One thing leads to another and they conspire to murder Nick. The movie is still a little too cold and distant to fully convey a hot-blooded passion that leads to murder, but it is a strangely haunting and disturbing film nevertheless. The screenplay is by David Mamet, the photography is by the great Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer), and watch for Anjelica Huston in a supporting role. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com

The Postman Always Rings Twice. Jack At His Best!

A movie you will want to watch over and over. Jack and Jessica Lange at their acting best. A drifter and a frustrated wife of a roadside diner owner. Set in the depression era, watch Jack and Jessica burst into flames on the screen.
A must see movie! June 16, 2008

David Mamet's first screenplay

Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) is a drifter who manages to scam his way into the lives of married couple Nick (John Colicos) and Cora (Jessica Lange). Nick owns and operates a small diner in the middle of nowhere and his wife Cora is the cook. Nick falls for one of Frank's schemes but nonetheless offers him a job and a place to stay. Frank is immediately attracted to Cora and decides to stay on as a mechanic behind the diner. Cora is initially cold to him and refuses his advances while Nick likes Frank a great deal and invites him into his home to talk and drink all night. Frank waits for the day when Nick leaves town on business to make a move on Cora. He tries to whisk her away to Chicago but she is resistant and the trip ends with her returning home. Frank feels burned by her and isn't interested when she tries to get him to help her kill Nick. " They hang people for that" he tells her. Cora continues that Nick is worth a lot of money that the two could run off with and make a life for themselves. Frank takes some convincing but agrees to act as lookout while Cora kills Nick in their home. The attempted murder doesn't go smoothly since Nick is not really dead and he emerges a changed man who wants to keep Frank and Cora even closer than before. The two decide to try again and make a life for themselves but they have now drawn the attention of cops and lawyers who have them pegged for murderers who are hoping to collect on the hefty life insurance policy. The film is actually a little long and boring in spots. Nicholson is pretty good but this is not one of his best performances and Lange is quite sexy. Colicos is the most sympathetic character and actor Michael Lerner plays a lawyer who represents Frank as the story progresses. Anjelica Huston, Nicholson's lover at the time, has a very brief role as a lion tamer in a traveling circus that Frank has an affair with. The script has none of the usual Mamet dialogue and in fact was changed drastically in spots by director Bob Rafelson. The biggest example of this is the first time Frank and Cora have sex. The scene is very brutal and plays like a rape that Cora doesn't entirely consent to at first. This scene also sets the standard for the rest of the sex scenes. There is practically no nudity only brief flashes but regardless the scenes are quite explicit. The film is okay but a little long and pointless all leading up to a dumb ending. Still fans of Nicholson or Mamet might want to check it out as a curiosity. May 3, 2008

The Postman Rings Twice & maybe more!

Very, very much the classic "Nicholson". Jessica Lang is supremely sexy, beautiful, and the combination of the two of them just explodes on the screen, Both are truly wonderful actors and, although a remake of the original, it is better by far.

There are only a few movies that I would put in the same category along with it: Casablanca, The African Queen, and The Great Escape. In short, I loved it and probably have seen the movie about 50 times. It is indeed a classic! February 29, 2008

A Good Remake But the Original is a Classic

I saw the 1981 "Postman" when it first came out. The period recreation and photography are excellent. Moreover, the performances are convincing and the sexual heat can be felt. Lange, who hit major stardom the following year with "Tootsie" and "Frances," has been a top notch actress ever since her arrival in Hollywood. Here, she gets her first high profile dramatic role. In her prime, Lange was an incredibly sexy woman. Hot with a capital "H." In this version, Rafelson and company are true to the ethnicities of Cain's characters. Nick is Greek not English and the lawyer is Jewish not Irish. Another reviewer, Dennis Littrell, suggested that 1946 Hollywood was afraid of being offensive. Littrell is mistakenly applying modern PC concerns to the past. Unflattering and even offensive potrayals of different races and ethnic groups were commonplace at the time. Even though Jews of European descent largely ran Hollywood, they were convinced that many audience members didn't want to watch anyone that might be a little different from them. Of course, John Garfield was Jewish but he wasn't playing a Jewish character. Although certain forties films like "Gentleman's Agreement" addressed the issue of bigotry, it wasn't until the fifties that people of different races and ethnicities were up on the screen more often. Nonetheless, the 1946 version with sultry Lana Turner and ruggedly handsome Garfield really captures the era and the tragedy of these doomed characters. August 5, 2007

A POTBOILER

I admit to being a film noir fan of long standing. Maybe it was the fact of growing up in the time of black and white television and watching all those late night movies which were freely available at the time. Maybe it was that tight, if improbable, dialogue, the relatively simple plots and the dramatic effect of the shadows of black and white photography on mood. In any case, the Postman Always Rings Twice fits nicely into that mix. The plot line is fairly simple- unhappy California house wife, an older overbearing, uncaring lout of a husband and a younger man at the door who turns out to be handy with a wretch- all the ingredients for a murder. Of course, as always the guilty parties will have to face justice. You know this is a modern morality play, after all. This remake, in color, starring the always watchable Jack Nicholson and forbiddingly sexual Jessica Lange is probably truer to Cain's wicked designs but to my mind the old noir classic black and white starring John Garfield and Lana Turner is the definitive Postman. In any case one should read the book by James M. Cain to get a better feel for the language, the steamy sexual tension and better insight into the motivations driving the characters to their fates.

August 3, 2007

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