7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband... but they must live with the consequences of their actions.
Starring: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon AmesFilm-Noir | 100% |
Romance | 45% |
Drama | 29% |
Crime | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
German: Dolby Digital Mono
Italian: Dolby Digital Mono
Spanish = Latin & Castillian
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The 1946 film noir classic, The Postman Always Rings Twice, was the third film adaptation of James M. Cain's 1934 novel but the first one to use Cain's original title. The previous two had the excuse that they were in French (Le dernier tournant) and Italian (Ossessione). Even so, Cain's title mystified readers, because there's no reference to a postman in the novel. The screenplay filled that omission with dialogue near the end, based on an explanation provided by Cain in the preface to Double Indemnity, which the author published in 1943 and Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler adapted for the screen the following year. I won't repeat the explanation here, because it's twisty and spoiler-laden; I'm just reassuring first-time viewers that their patience will be rewarded. (The 1981 remake omits this part of the story.) The production code of the era prevented femme fatale Lana Turner and hard-boiled sap John Garfield from exchanging more than a kiss, but audiences had no doubt about what they were doing off camera. From the moment the adulterous couple surveyed each other, it was obvious they were headed for the bedroom—and might not even make it that far before they became entangled. Garfield was already a major star for Warner Brothers (and would be better known today, if the black list and death from a heart attack at age 39 had not cut his career short), but Turner was still primarily a pretty face. Postman was the film that gave her credibility as a dramatic actress, because the role of Cora Smith required a performance that kept everyone guessing right to the end credits and beyond. Other characters were never sure what to make of Cora, and neither was the audience. Even now, when many elements of the film have dated after sixty-two years, it's impossible not to have your gaze drawn to Turner's Cora and wonder what lurks behind those eyes.
The Postman Always Rings Twice was one of the last films shot by Sidney Wagner (Boys Town) before his untimely death at the age of 47. The film is unusual among classics of film noir for being largely shot in brightly lit settings, with relatively few scenes at night. Only a few settings occur in a city environment. Still, Wagner's effective black-and-white photography and the efficient staging by director Tay Garnett maintain the familiar film noir sense of suspense and unease even in wide open spaces. (A late-night scene involving a cat and a ladder is particularly well done.) Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray isn't the eye-popping revelation of some of the other B&W films we've seen from the same period, but it's still a pleasure to watch, with plenty of fine detail and well delineated shades of black, gray and white in the more brightly lit scenes. Night scenes, especially long shots on the beach or the highway, are more problematic, with contrast and brightness levels that often turn blacks to gray, but I suspect this is inherent in the original photography, which was almost certainly "day for night". The image's original grain structure appears to be natural and intact, with no signs of digital filtering or other inappropriate manipulation. No compression artifacts were in evidence.
The film's original mono soundtrack is presented as DTS-HD MA 1.0, and it sounds quite good, with clear dialogue and dynamic range that conveys the full range of the vocal inflections. The score by George Bassman (Ride the High Country) is vividly audible, which is unfortunate, because it's not a great score. Bassman underlines every turn of the plot with the most lurid possible instrumentation. Where Bernard Herrmann is a highbrow intellectual, Bassman is a tabloid journalist (at least in Postman). Eventually you just have to tune him out.
The major extras from the 2004 DVD have been included, omitting only the trailer for the 1981 remake and a behind-the-scenes image gallery. Substantial new extras have been included; they have been marked with an asterisk.
The Postman Always Rings Twice is one of a handful of essential film noirs of the 1940s, and Warner's Blu-ray is a superior presentation with an unusually rich complement of extras. Unless you're allergic to black and white, there's no good reason to pass on this one. Highly recommended.
1950
1945
1946
1955
Warner Archive Collection
1940
Warner Archive Collection
1944
Hot Spot
1941
1948
1949
Warner Archive Collection
1952
1950
4K Restoration
1948
Fox Studio Classics
1944
1942
1945
2001
4K Restoration
1946
Limited Edition to 3000
1947
Warner Archive Collection
1953
1945