Postman Always Rings Twice, The (DVD)

Connect to Facebook/Twitter, recommend via email and much more.

---

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" exemplifies the noir movement in Hollywood, as I've said, even if Hollywood didn't call it that at the time. Part sultry romance, part mystery thriller, the movie continues to keep audiences intrigued with its edgy character relationships and unforeseen tensions.

Video:
The 1.33:1 ratio, black-and-white picture is transferred from what appears to have been very good film stock, the image clean and free of most age marks. There are periodic faint, vertical lines that appear, but they are of little concern. No specks, flecks, scratches, or apparent fading is noticeable. The overall aspect of the picture is slightly gritty in the manner of films of that era, and some scenes are a bit on the soft side, especially nighttime shots. There is also in brighter scenes some small fuzziness around the edges of individual objects, indicative of minor edge enhancements. Still, these are not at all objectionable, and the viewer will hardly notice them, if at all.

Audio:
The sound here is neither good nor bad. It's a Dolby Digital remastering of the film's original monaural soundtrack that appears to my ears somewhat bright and hard, but that's pretty much what soundtracks were like back then. There is a degree of background noise and hiss accompanying the sonics, too, which is exacerbated by a wide dynamic range that renders some sounds quite soft compared to louder sounds. Anyway, for an old movie, the audio comes off well, and dialogue is clear as a bell.

Extras:
I've always been of the opinion that the quality of the bonus items on a DVD is more important than the quantity of the items. This disc is a good case in point. There's not too much stuff on the disc, but it's quality stuff. The first item is a five-minute introduction to the movie by USC film professor, historian, and author Richard Jewell. Next, and most important, is a newly made, fifty-seven minute biographical documentary, "The John Garfield Story," that is narrated by the actor's daughter, Julie Garfield, and includes commentary by a score of people who knew the man, worked with him, and admired him, plus a recap of his later years when he was dogged by the House Un-American Activities Committee, followed by his early death. After this are thirty-two scene selections; a behind-the-scenes image gallery; and theatrical trailers for the original movie and the 1981 remake. English and French are provided for spoken languages; English, French, and Spanish for subtitles.

Parting Thoughts:
"The Postman Always Rings Twice" was remade in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange, mainly to capitalize on the new freedom the cinema provided by then to include some of the steamier scenes that had to be tamed for the original. Unfortunately, the new, sexier version was less effective than the first, despite its greater frankness. I suppose it goes to show that the imagination is still a filmmaker's most potent ally.

In any case, viewers will enjoy the strong, smoldering relationship between Garfield and Turner in "Postman," plus they'll get the benefit of some fine stylistic photography, a slew of surprises, and the whole noir atmosphere. Not a great movie, perhaps, and maybe not the absolute best movie in the noir genre, but a good and absorbing movie, nevertheless.