The Postman

"The year is 2013. One man walked in off the horizon and hope came with him."

1997 2h 58m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 1,247

Science FictionAdventureAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 2013, there are no highways, no I-ways, no dreams of a better tomorrow, only scattered survivors across what was once the United States. Into this apocalyptic wasteland comes an enigmatic drifter with a mule, a knack for Shakespeare, and something yet undiscovered: the power to inspire hope.

“The year is 2013. One man walked in off the horizon and hope came with him.”

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Cast

Kevin Costner
The Postman
Will Patton
Bethlehem
Larenz Tate
Ford
Olivia Williams
Abby
James Russo
Idaho
Daniel von Bargen
Sheriff Briscoe
Tom Petty
Bridge City Mayor
Scott Bairstow
Luke

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kevin Costner
Writers: Eric Roth, Brian Helgeland
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 178 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 22% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kevin Costner, shot by Stephen F. Windon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Boyle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kevin Costner and Will Patton and Larenz Tate carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kevin Costner directs. Stephen F. Windon behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Peter Boyle cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 178 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Earned back only 22% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
429 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Directed by Kevin Costner, shot by Stephen F. Windon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peter Boyle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kevin Costner and Will Patton and Larenz Tate carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The year is 2013. One man walked in off the horizon and hope came with him.".
10IMDB entry: tt0119925 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "army", "based on novel or book", "horseback riding", "anti hero".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen F. Windon
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Peter Boyle
Production design: Ida Random
Runtime: 178 min · 2h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $80,000,000
Box office: $17,626,234
Return: 22% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Postman (1997)

Awards

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Kevin Costner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Patrick E. Abe2016-11-06
★ 6/10
Who will be responsible now, for these wayward children? That's a phrase that's in the book, but not the movie. I liked David Brin's tale of the communities growing up from a near-apocalypse and the conman, "Gordon Krantz." When I first saw the (overlong) movie, I was disappointed and felt Responsibility had been tossed aside. However, this tale of a traveling Shakepeare-mangler grew on me. David Brin himself defended the film, saying that the resolution of the battle between the Holnist/Survivalists and the postal carriers was good. Our drifter, accompanied by a mule, visits communities and puts on a "fractured fairy tales" version of Shakespeare for a meal and a night's lodging. Things go South suddenly, when a Survivalist army surrounds the town and drafts men/boys for the "Army of the Eight." The leader of this gang, prefers that he is the only literate person in the land, and tries to kill "Shakespeare," after turning the traveler's mule into stew. A narrow escape later, the drifter finds a U.S. Postal Service jeep, containing a uniformed skeleton and a bag of mail. Thus begins his next con job, "delivering the mail," which turns into a Crusade, led by "Ford Lincoln Mercury," his next mail carrier. Romance pops up, when he is asked to father a child for a man who "caught the bad Measles." The Holnists turn up again, and the pair flee the village. After a long Winter, the drifter and the pregnant woman return to free the village from the Holnists, who have been killing mail carriers. A final showdown with the "impotent ex-copier salesman" leads to "The Restored United States of America" and a legendary statue of The Postman. 7/10, but the book is 10/10!
misubisu2022-11-21
★ 4/10
This movie fits firmly in the "it's so bad it's good" category. It's so outrageous, that you just have to see how it's going to end up. The dialogue/scripts are woeful... but they are delivered with such passion that it almost leaves you breathless. At the end of the movie, I had no idea what I had just watched, but definitely felt that I had been entertained! Go figure.