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The Postman Always Rings Twice

Play trailer Poster for The Postman Always Rings Twice R 1981 2h 3m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
73% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Itinerant troublemaker Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) has a meal at a roadside restaurant and meets devastating femme fatale Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange). As it turns out, Cora is married to the restaurant's owner, Nick (John Colicos). Happy to have a visitor, Papadakis offers Chambers a job. Chambers stays on and begins to help himself to whatever he likes -- including Cora. The two dive headlong into a torrid romance and begin to plot the perfect murder.
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The Postman Always Rings Twice

Critics Reviews

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Noel Murray The Dissolve 02/07/2014
3.5/5
With its earthy Sven Nykvist cinematography and its emphasis on the character's rumpled clothes and weathered homes, this Postman is like something from the [Bob] Rafelson of 10 years earlier: pensive and realistic. Go to Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/2004
2.5/4
The Postman Always Rings Twice is an absolutely superb mounting of a hollow and disappointing production. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Jun 13
2/4
The Postman Always Rings Twice‘s grip on the viewer is slowly-but-surely loosened by an episodic midsection riddled with far-from-engrossing subplots... Go to Full Review Jesús Fernández Santos El Pais (Spain) 08/20/2019
The excellent cinematography and well-crafted mise-en-scène guarantee a long shelf-life to this novel. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Peter Ackroyd The Spectator 03/27/2018
Because there is no consistency of character, and therefore of meaning, the plot lurches around, to the evident bewilderment of the audience; the closing scenes are a terrible mess. Go to Full Review Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice 11/05/2012
4/5
A heated-up drama about sexual passion and obsession. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Hans H @HansHans 3d Kept my attention. Love gone wrong setup great acting and Ms Lang was excellent. Enjoy. See more rex W @RT11010153 5d "Postman..." seems longer than 2 hours. The sex scenes were uncomfortable to watch. And the 2nd half lost its structure. Nicholson and Lange were good, but not great. A better director would have made a better film. See more Henry D @Henry_Domke Jun 23 Beautiful to look at, with fine cinematography and believable sets and costumes from the 1930s. It’s also always fun to watch Jack Nicholson perform. The dark story had the feel of film noir, but it seemed unnecessarily complicated, with too many twists and turns. See more Mireille M @RT54922496 Jan 20 I had seen the earlier version...so in my head i knew that in old movies people always get punished for their bad deeds,so i did nt want to get to attached to the characters.What is there to say ....Jack nicolson and Jessica Lange,complexity ,intensity,rawness well done. See more Jerod S @jeroduptown 01/21/2023 Jack and Jessica have a decent chemistry as they plot the death of Jessica's husband and restaurant owner. But, the film is way too long and too tawdry to make an impact beyond a sexual one. It's fun to see A listers in their earlier years, though. See more steve d @RT35616104 01/07/2023 ok remake because of its actors, See more Read all reviews
The Postman Always Rings Twice

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Cast & Crew

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Bob Rafelson

Director

Jack Nicholson

Frank Chambers

Jessica Lange

Cora Papadakis

John Colicos

Nick Papadakis

Michael Lerner

Mr. Katz

Christopher Lloyd

The Salesman

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The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Itinerant troublemaker Frank Chambers (Jack Nicholson) has a meal at a roadside restaurant and meets devastating femme fatale Cora Papadakis (Jessica Lange). As it turns out, Cora is married to the restaurant's owner, Nick (John Colicos). Happy to have a visitor, Papadakis offers Chambers a job. Chambers stays on and begins to help himself to whatever he likes -- including Cora. The two dive headlong into a torrid romance and begin to plot the perfect murder.
Director
Bob Rafelson
Producer
Bob Rafelson, Charles Mulvehill
Screenwriter
David Mamet
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Lorimar Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 20, 1981, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2016
Runtime
2h 3m