Rating: 
Summary: LUVLUVLUVLUV this movie!!!
Review: Pay attention while you watch this - and you will catch all the significance, the depth, maybe even figure out the title during your first viewing.It took me to watch this gem a second time before fully grasping how FIT the title is to this movie. I won't deprive you of the joy of finding out for yourself so I'll stop about that. This is one of the most romantic, dramatic, and endearing movies of all time. YOU JUST HAVE TO WATCH THIS ORIGINAL VERSION and forget the KNOCK-OFF attempted by Lang/Nicholsen. Flick it away and get the ORIGINAL. I can't imagine anyone else portray the characters so fully, or the message so vividly (as opposed to talking in this modern-day language of today). This is got to be among my top 10 faves. I just love movies where Every line counts.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome to the Twin Oaks
Review: Postman's plot centers around drifter Frank, and his relationship with the beautiful Cora. Cora and husband, Nick, run the Twin Oaks -- a roadside service station/diner -- and Nick has hired Frank to help around the place. Cora and Nick are May/December, but there is no romance whatsover between them. The reason for their marriage is cryptically revealed during one scene, but, in the end, one never can quite figure out why they are together. Frank and Cora quickly fall for each other and desire a life together -- a desire that requires removing Nick from the picture. The urgency reaches fever pitch when Nick announces his intention to sell the diner and move Cora to nothern Canada where she will care for Nick's recently paralyzed sister, who, in Nick's words, is going to live for a long time. As other reviewers have mentioned, the DA and defense attorney stand out in this film as well-conceived characters, the defense attorney played to perfection by Hume Cronyn. Over the years, Postman has been lauded as perhaps the quintessential piece of film noir -- an intentionally bleak genre that experienced its heyday in the forties and fifties. Although Postman is undoubtedly a precise work of film noir, it's reputation may be based as much on it's mold-shattering relationship with MGM as on its artistic merit. Released by MGM, Postman was so far out of character for the studio that MGM had to borrow John Garfield to cast the leading role. That said, one is hard pressed to envision Frank as having been played by anyone other than Garfield. The same can't be said for Lana Turner's Cora, though. Yet, while other actresses may admirably have filled Cora's sultry shoes, Turner does indeed sizzle in this role. Both Garfield and Turner play their parts to perfection -- their acting is simply terrific. Somehow, though, the chemistry between the two leaves a little something wanting. For me, this was underscored by the instant chemistry that exists between Frank/Garfield and the "other woman" he picks up at the train station during Lana/Cora's absence. That said, the little something that is wanting between Turner and Gerfield contributes, in its own way, to the bleakness of the plot. Technically, the dvd presentation of Postman is quite good. The transfer here is not as pristine as other Warner releases and there are digital artifacts and noise noticeable in many scenes. However, they are not severe enough in effect or number to detract from the film. Although the audio on this dvd is fine, the score for Postman is really just mediocre. Heavy on suspense motifs, one is left feeling as though they've heard much of this music before. The highlight of the dvd is the Garfield documentary that Warner has included as an extra. For fans of the noir genre, and for fans of Garfield in particular, this extra transforms a good dvd into a must-own dvd. All things considered, this is a title for confirmed noir fans, and, for them, it is highly recommended. Even if you're not a noir fan, though, Postman is a work of broader cultural significance and is well worth owning even if its the only noir on your shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the Twin Oaks
Review: Postman's plot centers around drifter Frank, and his relationship with the beautiful Cora. Cora and husband, Nick, run the Twin Oaks -- a roadside service station/diner -- and Nick has hired Frank to help around the place. Cora and Nick are May/December, but there is no romance whatsover between them. The reason for their marriage is cryptically revealed during one scene, but, in the end, one never can quite figure out why they are together. Frank and Cora quickly fall for each other and desire a life together -- a desire that requires removing Nick from the picture. The urgency reaches fever pitch when Nick announces his intention to sell the diner and move Cora to nothern Canada where she will care for Nick's recently paralyzed sister, who, in Nick's words, is going to live for a long time. As other reviewers have mentioned, the DA and defense attorney stand out in this film as well-conceived characters, the defense attorney played to perfection by Hume Cronyn. Over the years, Postman has been lauded as perhaps the quintessential piece of film noir -- an intentionally bleak genre that experienced its heyday in the forties and fifties. Although Postman is undoubtedly a precise work of film noir, it's reputation may be based as much on it's mold-shattering relationship with MGM as on its artistic merit. Released by MGM, Postman was so far out of character for the studio that MGM had to borrow John Garfield to cast the leading role. That said, one is hard pressed to envision Frank as having been played by anyone other than Garfield. The same can't be said for Lana Turner's Cora, though. Yet, while other actresses may admirably have filled Cora's sultry shoes, Turner does indeed sizzle in this role. Both Garfield and Turner play their parts to perfection -- their acting is simply terrific. Somehow, though, the chemistry between the two leaves a little something wanting. For me, this was underscored by the instant chemistry that exists between Frank/Garfield and the "other woman" he picks up at the train station during Lana/Cora's absence. That said, the little something that is wanting between Turner and Gerfield contributes, in its own way, to the bleakness of the plot. Technically, the dvd presentation of Postman is quite good. The transfer here is not as pristine as other Warner releases and there are digital artifacts and noise noticeable in many scenes. However, they are not severe enough in effect or number to detract from the film. Although the audio on this dvd is fine, the score for Postman is really just mediocre. Heavy on suspense motifs, one is left feeling as though they've heard much of this music before. The highlight of the dvd is the Garfield documentary that Warner has included as an extra. For fans of the noir genre, and for fans of Garfield in particular, this extra transforms a good dvd into a must-own dvd. All things considered, this is a title for confirmed noir fans, and, for them, it is highly recommended. Even if you're not a noir fan, though, Postman is a work of broader cultural significance and is well worth owning even if its the only noir on your shelf.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven production, unfulfilled potential
Review: So much potential. This could have been a great movie. Scene after scene the viewer is swept along with the momentum, only to find that the final scenes are empty, void of any motivation to watch, except in knowing that the end is near. Weakness in the "legal" aspects would have been insignificant, if only the story had been properly concluded. Lana Turner and John Garfield were masterful. The turns of emotion between contempt and fear and love and hate were brilliantly portrayed. The characterizations were real, Turner beautiful and desirable, Garfield believable as a drifter, as a handy-man, and as Turner's love interest. Yes, the DA was too brilliant and the motorcycle cop too stupid - both minor characters - most of the supporting cast was superb. The emotional tension is kept at a fever pitch until the final scenes, and then a total and complete let down. This movie should have ended at the final calamity. There was nothing more to be said, unfortunately, more was.
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC FILM NOIR
Review: Taken from the once-popular novel by James M. Cain, this story is steeped in repressed sexuality, involving a bizarre love triangle among two young lovers and an elderly husband played by Kellaway. Essentially, this film is more interesting for the visual and physical tension between Turner and Garfield than for any other single element. Scenes which stand out both visually and dramatically include the murder sequence in which the young lovers try to electrocute the old man and, of course, the famed scene in the car where Garfield strikes Kellaway with a whiskey bottle. Lana is cool and calculating as the frustrated young wife of the old coot and she made quite a sensation looking ravishing in her all-white wardrobe (notice how she contrasts with Garfield's dark, brooding look). This film was an important step in Turner's film career and one can see what all the fuss was about when seeing her in this. Garfield is natural and excellent as the young tough drifter. Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames score as the mercenary lawyers, however the script could have been a bit sharper at times (it should have been more similar to that of THE BIG SLEEP or THE MALTESE FALCON.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, defective manufacturing.
Review: Terrific film noir! I've been waiting for this movie to be released on DVD for many months. The video restoration is only fair-to-good and a movie of this caliber deserves a commentary, but the quality of the writing, acting, and direction of the film overrides these glaring deficiences of this video issue. The only problem is this DVD does not play on my DVD player. I have gone through 4 different replacements and the darn thing freezes and skips throughout the movie and special features. Warner Bros. is mum on the run of defects (or incompatibilities), but I have yet to get a hold of a disk that plays trouble free. If your player handles this disk without problems--enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Talky version of Cain's first novel
Review: The best thing about this rather vapid 1946 production of the James M. Cain pulp novel/turned literature is Lana Turner as Cora, but not for her acting, which was ordinary, but because she looked so good. Director Tay Garnett had her in stunning, shapely white dresses, pants and uni's that showed off her figure, complemented by a platinum hairdo that in glorious black and white was so intense it was almost colorful. (People on the set may have needed to wear shades.) After she returns from her mother's funeral, Garnett has her in the blackest black from a black hat to her black shoes--heels, I should emphasize, since she was almost always in heels in the movie, even returning from the beach or crawling up a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains, she was in heels. John Garfield, who plays Frank Chambers as though wandering through the role (which is not entirely inappropriate), is sympathetic and has the kind of raw animal appeal that we would expect to see in Cain's depression-era antihero. But he too was not out to win any acting awards. Cecil Kellaway, who plays Nick (in this case a "Nick Smith," not the Greek immigrant Nick Papadakis from the novel) does the best acting job as he brings a bit of the delusive psychology of an older man with a beautiful young wife to life when he announces that he selling the café and moving to the backwoods of Canada so Cora can take care of him and his invalid sister! This bit of senile daydreaming was not in the novel; indeed a lot of what transpired in this self-conscious, misconstructed flick was not in the novel, including a sappy post-ending in which the title is "explained." I won't go into the explanation except to say it wasn't convincing, but I can understand why they tacked it on since nowhere else (that I know of) is the title explained. Cain's original, and appropriate title was, "Bar-B-Que." See my review of the novel at Amazon.com for some speculation on how they came up with the rather magical title. A better rendition of the Postman is the 1981 production starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. It too is no masterpiece, but it is both truer to the novel and less talky. A true to the spirit of the novel adaptation would require a terse, stream-lined directorial style with an emphasis on blind animal passions unconsciously acted out, something novelist Cormac McCarthy might accomplish if he directed film. I think that Christopher Nolan, who directed the strikingly original Memento (2000) could do it.
Rating:
Summary: one of the greatest noir films ever made
Review: The casting in this film was supurb and the directors camera angles and backgroung light was some of the best i've seen since the original of this film.
Rating:
Summary: John Garfield
Review: The opening narration of this film by Garfield puts you on notice that he is doomed ! Garfield, the first real "fall guy" in films proves once again he is always on the fringe and is always ready for the final curtain. Tuner is striking..but somehow you cant take your eyes off of Garfield. Its his personna..Hume Cronyn is in on the double cross..and its all hopeless because " The Postman Always Rings Twice"
Rating:
Summary: The Best and Greatest Movie of Lana Turner
Review: This is one of the classic movies of Lana Turner that no one should miss. Lana Turner herself admitted that this is her career best, and she enjoyed doing this film. Director Tay Garnett fully exploited the youth and beauty of Lana Turner in presenting her to the viewers as young Cora Smith married to a middle aged cook stuck in a roadside diner. The movie revolves around young Cora who refuses to cheat on her husband; slowly but steadily she falls under the seductive influence of a young drifter, and very soon she will be plotting the murder of her husband with her lover. Part of the movie was set near beaches in Malibu, Santa Monica and other parts of Southern California. It is really enjoyable to see the unspoiled beauty of Southern California beaches of mid 1940s. If you are remotely interested in Lana Turner's movies and career; this is the first movie you should be watching.
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