The Postman

Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Kevin Costner	The Postman
Will Patton	Gen. Bethlehem
Larenz Tate	Ford Lincoln Mercury
Olivia Williams	Abby
James Russo	Idaho
Daniel von Bargen	Pineview Sheriff Briscoe
Tom Petty	Bridge City mayor
Scott Bairstow	Luke
Giovanni Ribisi	Bandit 20
Roberta Maxwell	Irene March

Director	Kevin Costner
Producer	Kevin Costner; Steve Tisch
Writer	David Brin; Eric Roth; Brian Helgeland

Falling from the Oscar-winning glory of Dances with Wolves to the opposite end of the critical and box-office scale, Kevin Costner must have been deeply humbled when this three-hour postapocalyptic tale--his sophomore effort as a director--was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid audience response. One of the most conspicuous flops of its decade, the 1997 release must have seemed like a sure thing on paper: a kind of futurist Western starring Costner as a charismatic drifter-turned-hero who leads the resistance against a military tyrant (Will Patton) by reviving the long-dormant postal system to reunite isolated communities in their fight for freedom. The movie bombed, but, like many audacious failures, it's got qualities that make it at least partially endearing, and its earnestness (although bordering on corny) keeps it from being entirely silly. Faint praise, perhaps, but Costner's ode to patriotism is occasionally stirring and visually impressive. The dual-layered, widescreen DVD includes a documentary segment about the creation of the film's special effects sequences, featuring a running commentary by the special effects creators. --Jeff Shannon