The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Good story and actors deliver fine entertainment in this movie drama. The movie moves at a steady pace unraveling along the way making the viewer wonder what would they do and why along with the characters. In the course of the story being told, interesting developments take place adding more viewer attraction. Worthy to note is the little diner and where it is located. Quiet diner, with traffic that does repairs and sells gas sustains itself if you work it. They apparently get greedy and work other things thus making one wonder what was the point? The idea of appreciating something after you lost it is introduced here not once but twice and you wonder why it took two times. Enter human nature and perhaps as many as 70 times for the many to come around if they have grace. In this movie, the characters ran out of that plus time and what was lost stays that way. Another interesting note. Watch how people who break the law try to live a normal life. But the question begs...How can they? Its not what you have but how you came to have it that all mankind has to answer for. In this movie, they show you how you can gain the whole world but lose your soul and is demonstrated very well. While the postman may ring twice to make sure you get your package....

It doesn't seem relevant to me to have read the book or to have watched the previous versions in order to value the film for what it is: A non-dissembled classic tragedy. Crude, very expressive, of brutish characters, clearly focused on their inescapable sacrifice. The best? How the constant humidity of the atmospheres is portrayed, the clear and fine exposure of the eroticism, the depth of the shadows of the characters: Aggressive punks oozing of sex for whom the red lines don't exist. Characters that fit perfectly with the genre, in fact. The best of the best? The outstanding performance, very transpired, relevant by the chemistry between the actors. Excellent stuff! After the movie I ran to buy the book. I promise to read it soon. OK, I was crossing my fingers.

Wasn't there some significance to the title in James Cain's novel and the 1946 movie version? It's a long time since I visited either so I can't be certain, but I seem to remember the postie's propensity for ringing twice was at least referred to. Unless I missed it, it gets nary a mention in this lethargic 1981 remake of the original, making the title somewhat meaningless.Anyway, Jack Nicholson reins in his trademark rakish, devilish attitude to play the role of the drifter (previously played by John Garfield) who conspires with luscious housewife and gas station-diner cook Jessica Lange to do away with her annoying Greek husband, Nick. Nick takes his wife for granted; he has a Stavros accent and buys himself silk nightgowns and so deserves to die. Jack and Jessie make a convincing couple – probably more so than Garfield and Lana Turner, although that's the only respect in which this version surpasses the original. Their attraction is animal, their love-making more of an adversarial duel than a demonstration of intimacy as they tear at each other on the diner's kitchen table. It's easy to see why Cora falls for Frank, even as his ardour cools. He offers a way out from the drudgery of her life with Nick. But for Frank you always get the impression (until the end at least) that it's more about the sex, and that he never really knows what he wants.The story is slow in unfolding, but drags fatally once the killer couple get away with their crime. Perhaps that's deliberate, to demonstrate the aimlessness of their relationship – or of any relationship that isn't fuelled by love. The couple blow hot and cold with each other as they wait for Cora's brief probation period to be over so that they can move away from the scene of their crime. You get the impression that, if Cora's life hadn't been cut short, they would have ended up either destroying one another or drifted aimlessly through life long after any love they feel has been extinguished, wondering why the hell they stay together. Either way, you don't really care that much whether their end is happy or tragic.If you have a choice, watch the original (or the Italian movie, Ossessione, another version). If you don't, this one's OK but it's nothing special.

Disappointing is the first word that comes to mind after sitting through this sexed-up noir remake of a 1946 film of the same name based on a popular novel. This critic has neither seen the original, nor read that novel, so he is forced to take this film on face value and evaluate it on its own merits. That said, The Postman Always Rings Twice failed to come close to my expectations. You won't care a lick about drifter Jack Nicholson and bored housewife Jessica Lange who start a torrid love affair behind the back of her husband, and then look to kill him off. These two amoral jerks are all dressed up with nowhere to go in this script, and once the deed is done, the story really jumps the tracks. This was an intriguing premise, but the many talented people who made this film have all done much better things.The biggest selling point for this film was its steamy sex scenes, and there are indeed a few. But something is missing. Something that should be fairly obvious to those of us who have had sex in our lives. Nobody is ever nude during them! Save for one brief scene where we see Nicholson's rear, there is a jarring lack of nudity. At times these people seem to be having intercourse right through their clothes! I've heard Nicholson is a legendary lover, but is he strong enough to.... I'll stop there. What happened? I'm sure they at least negotiated with Lange about perhaps a topless scene or something. I guess she said no. Look, one does not need nudity for a sexy scene. The only interesting scene in Random Hearts is a testament to that. But when you advertise your picture as a steamy, sexy thriller, you pretty much have to go all in, or the whole thing is a waste.Aside from the sex scenes, this film seems confused about what its characters are supposed to do once the husband is out of the way. And the conclusion is so abrupt, its almost like they ran out of money and just decided to kill one of the leads off and call it a wrap. The acting isn't bad, but thats about all the film has going for it. Lange is her typical self... not great, but not bad either. Nicholson is born to play this type of character, and he doesn't disappoint. You may remember John Collicos from TV's Battlestar Galactica. Angelical Huston is on hand for a cameo that they probably just gave her when she was hanging around the set to be close to her main squeeze Nicholson. This film is really just a waste of your time when you consider all of the better pictures these people have made. Avoid it. 4 of 10 stars. And what does the title have to do with the movie, anyway? The Hound.