The Postman (1997) on Netflix
R19972h 57mActionAdventureDrama
In 2013, a drifter is conscripted by the Holnists, the militia of General Bethlehem. He escapes with a postal uniform and mailbag, then claims to be a postman from a restored government.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.1/1084,076 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes14%
Trailer
Plot summary
The former United States is a scattering of settlements where a nameless nomad wanders, trading recitals of Shakespeare for food and water. The Holnists, the neo-feudal militia led by General Bethlehem, seize him and press him into their ranks. Captain Idaho singles him out for abuse. The nomad escapes and takes refuge in an abandoned postal jeep, wearing the long-dead carrier's coat for warmth and keeping the mailbag. Reaching Pineview, he is held at gunpoint by Sheriff Briscoe and saves himself by declaring that he is a postman of the restored federal government, offering a letter for Irene March as proof. The teenager Ford Lincoln Mercury believes him, is sworn in as a carrier, and Pineview's post office reopens.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Postman (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Costner is said to have passed on the lead role in Air Force One in order to work on The Postman instead.
- Despite the film performing disastrously at two test screenings, Costner refused Warner Bros.' appeals that he edit it down from its three-hour running time.
- The Postman was nominated for three Saturn Awards, and it also won all five of the Golden Raspberry Award nominations it received, including Worst Picture.
- Author David Brin has written that while studios were bidding for The Postman, his wife decided during a screening of Field of Dreams that Kevin Costner should play the title character; a decade later, learning Costner would be cast, Brin said he was "thrilled".
- As late as 2023, Rolling Stone was still citing The Postman as one of the fifty worst decisions in film history.
