The Postman
All team (22)
Short description
Set in 2013, decades after a nuclear war has shattered the United States, the film follows a wandering stranger with a trained mule who survives by performing Shakespeare for food and shelter. He comes upon the uniform and mailbag of a dead postal carrier and begins delivering letters between isolated settlements, presenting himself as a representative of a restored government. His deception gives scattered communities something they had lost, and they begin to organize against General Bethlehem, the self-proclaimed tyrant who rules the territory through fear. The movement the drifter sets in motion soon grows beyond his control.
Kevin Costner directed and stars as the postman, working from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland. The production, backed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Tig Productions, was made for about 80 million dollars, a substantial figure for its time. Will Patton plays Bethlehem, with Larenz Tate as Ford, Olivia Williams as Abby, James Russo as Idaho and Daniel von Bargen as Sheriff Briscoe among a credited cast of 76. The film runs 178 minutes and blends action, adventure, science fiction and war.
It was the second feature Costner directed, arriving seven years after Dances with Wolves and six years before Open Range. Commercially it fell far short of its budget, taking in roughly 18 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.1 out of 10 from 83,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.3 from about 1,200 votes, while critics' reviews average 4.2 out of 10.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was shot in Washington, Arizona, and Oregon.
- The length of the film is 4982 meters of film.
- The film is based on the eponymous post-apocalyptic novel by David Brin.
- Kevin Costner, as director and producer, involved three of his own children in the film: Annie Costner, Lily Costner, and Joe Costner.
- The actors performed the scene on the suspension bridge themselves. Experienced horseman Kevin Costner also refused a stunt double for the horseback riding scenes and filmed them himself.
- The film was shot in a small town in Washington State, and accommodation was scarce, so some members of the cast and crew had to rent housing from local residents. The filmmakers and actors ate at local establishments, where they were often approached for autographs.
- An open-pit mine in Tucson, Arizona, was used for filming. The camp of the general, played by Will Patton, became one of the largest film sets in the history of cinema – measuring three kilometers by almost 400 meters. Bridge City was built near a hydraulic structure that supplied water to half of Seattle, Washington.
- Residents of apartments in the town in Washington State were paid for all their windows being blown out by the explosion. The windows were later replaced.
- The towns of Pineview and Benning were filmed in Washington State. Tons of earth were brought in to turn the paved roads into dirt roads. The appearance of the buildings was deliberately 'aged'.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
