Like some of Boll's previous films including House of the Dead (2003) and Alone in the Dark (2005), Postal is a film adaptation of a video game, in this case, Postal (1997), though this film draws more heavily from the video game's sequel, Postal 2 (2003). Also like Boll's predecessors, it was a commercial failure, grossing less than 1% of its budget, and received negative reviews from critics. Although it was better received by fans of the games due to its shocking humor being in line with the games content.
Plot
The film begins with a prologue, showing Asif and Nabi, a fictional portrayal of two of the Flight 11 hijackers during the 9/11 attacks, debating the number of virgins they get as a reward for carrying out the attacks. After a long debate, they decide to call Osama bin Laden, their leader, to find out the exact amount. Osama tells them that there "are not enough virgins to go around", and upon hearing this, the two hijackers abandon the attack in dismay and happily change their flight path to the Bahamas. At this moment, however, the passengers of the plane storm the cockpit and attempt to retake the plane (this was based on what happened on Flight 93, one of the other hijacked aircraft during 9/11). In the struggle, the terrorists try and reason with the passengers, but to no avail, and ultimately, the plane inadvertently flies into the South tower of the World Trade Center.
Five years later, in the town of Paradise, Arizona (a ghost town in real life), where the volatile Postal Dude, after being mocked at a job interview, kicked out of his local unemployment office and discovering that his morbidly obese wife is cheating on him with various and skinny townsmen, is more than a little angry and is desperate to get enough cash to finally leave his dead-end town. He decides to team up with his Uncle Dave, a slovenly con artist turned doomsday cult leader who owes the US government over a million dollars in back-taxes. With the help of Uncle Dave's right-hand man Richie and an army of big-breasted, scantily clad cult members, the Dude devises a plan to hijack a shipment of 2,000 Krotchy Dolls, a rare, sought-after plush toy resembling a giant scrotum. Uncle Dave plans to sell them online, where their prices have reached as high as $4,000 a doll.
Unbeknownst to them, Osama bin Laden and his group of Al-Qaedaterrorists, who had been secretly hiding in Paradise since the 9/11 attacks, under the watchful eye of bin Laden's best friend President George W. Bush, are after the same shipment, but for entirely different reasons. Hoping to outdo the catastrophe of 9/11, they plan to instill the dolls with Avian influenza and distribute them to unsuspecting American children. The two groups meet at the shipment's destination, German-themed amusement park called Little Germany. A fight between Postal creator Vince Desi and Postal director and park owner Uwe Boll (which ends with Boll being shot in the genitals, confessing "I hate video games"), sparks a massive shootout between the cult, the terrorists and the police, resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent children. The Dude and the cult are able to get away with both the shipment and the park's opening day guest, Verne Troyer, pursued by Al-Qaeda, the police and a mob of angry citizens.
Upon returning to their compound, which has been overtaken by the terrorists, the Dude, Uncle Dave and the rest covertly sneak into the compound's underground bunker, where Richie reveals that he must now fulfill the prophecy foretold in Uncle Dave's fictional Bible: to bring about the extinction of the human race. As per Uncle Dave's Bible, the event initiating the apocalypse is the rape of a "tiny entertainer" by a thousand monkeys. After Verne Troyer is quickly thrown into a pit of chimpanzees, Richie shoots and kills Uncle Dave, then imprisons the Dude. The Dude manages to escape the compound with a plethora of weapons, deciding to wage a one-man war against al-Qaeda, his uncle's murderer, his cheating wife, the police and the many people who want him dead. On the way to his trailer (where he plans to blow up his spouse), he meets up with an attractive young barista, Faith, who joins forces with him after an explosive gunfight followed later by the Dude's heartfelt but futile monologue about war. The two of them then proceed to kill all the terrorists, all the bloodthirsty townspeople, the remains of the now-mad cult, his wife, and her multiple lovers. In the midst of the shootout, bin Laden is wounded but escapes to a payphone, where he calls Bush for help. Bush sends a helicopter to save him and plans for the two to rendezvous.
Having won their war, the Dude, his dog Champ and the barista drive away in a stolen police car. They casually turn on the radio, only to learn that Bush has blamed the day's shootouts and explosions on China and India, and has been "forced to destroy both countries with extreme nuclear force". The United States then launches thirty nuclear missiles at China and India each. In retaliation, China and India launch thirty nuclear missiles each as well towards America, all missiles are scheduled to hit their targets in under two minutes.
The film's final shot features Bush and bin Laden skipping through a field together, hand-in-hand. As mushroom clouds explode on the horizon, bin Laden laughs and says, "Georgie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship". At that moment, all of the nuclear missiles hit, and the country, and possibly the world is destroyed.
According to Uwe Boll, the German fan club for Postal contacted him, offering the possibility of the game being adapted into a film.[3] Intrigued by the game's premise and blatant political incorrectness, Boll contacted Running with Scissors president Vince Desiderio, who sold him the rights under the condition that he would be involved with the script and the production. Supposedly, Desiderio and Postal 2 director Steve Wik pitched a much grittier, darker version of the Postal story, but Boll rejected it, fully intent on turning it into a comedy in order to use the film as a platform for political satire as well as "revenge" against the people who have protested his movies.[3] Boll ended up writing the script with assistant director Bryan C. Knight, who had worked on all of Boll's previous video game adaptations. In an interview for Nathan Rabin's book My Year of Flops, Dave Foley said that Boll did want to make a serious statement about how a cult of heroism had surrounded people who were murdered in the 9/11 attacks, and that he and Boll agreed that being the victim of terrorism makes people victims, not heroes. Foley added that he tried to talk Boll out of including the notorious 9/11 sequence that opens the film where two Al Qaeda hijackers plan to call off their attack when Osama Bin Laden informs them that they will not receive anywhere near 72 virgins for their services, only to have passengers break into the cockpit and accidentally fly the plane into the World Trade Center because the film would have no chance of appearing on many (or any) screens in the U.S.
The 114-minute director's cut of Postal premiered at Montreal's Fantasia Festival on July 21, 2007. The film made its way along several more United States and European film festivals until finally receiving a limited release in Germany on October 18. It opened at #27 in the German box office, taking in $79,353 from 48 screens and banked $142,761 in its entire run. In Italy, it ended its box office run after two weeks with $3,980. As of August 31, 2008, it has grossed a total of $146,741 worldwide.[5][6]
North America
Despite Boll's announcement that Postal would be given a wide release on October 12, 2007,[7] it was delayed until May 23, 2008. Additionally, on 16 May, theater distributors pulled out of their deal for a wide release of 1,500 screens to a limited release of only four screens.[8][9] Said Boll of the change, "Theatrical distributors are boycotting Postal because of its political content. We were prepared to open on 1,500 screens all across America on May 23rd. Any multiplex in the U.S. should have space for us, but they're afraid... We have even tried to buy a few screens in New York City and Los Angeles, and they won't let us even rent the theaters! I urge independent exhibitors to contact us and book 'Postal'! Audiences have been expecting the film and I don't think exhibitors should censor what gets played in U.S. theaters."[10]
On May 20, the screen count increased to 12 screens. By release, it had grown to 21.[11]
Postal opened one day after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which led to video promotions from Boll, jokingly claiming that his film would "destroy" the other film at the box office.[12] A number of Internet promos were made featuring Troyer dressed as Indiana Jones, proclaiming Postal's superiority.[13][14]
Home media
Postal received its North American DVD release on August 26, 2008, in both 102-minute unrated and 100-minute rated versions, as well as a 102-minute unrated Blu-ray release. Both versions feature the film's trailer, a promotional spot featuring Verne Troyer's Indiana Jones, a featurette detailing the filming of the Little Germany scene, footage of Boll's infamous "Raging Boll" boxing matches and an audio commentary by Boll. Some editions come with the full version of Postal 2 (Share the Pain edition) on a bonus disc.[15]
The 118-minute director's cut was released on September 26, 2008, in Germany. It was planned for a North American release on Blu-ray for November 25, 2008, and on DVD for January 6, 2009, but both of these releases were delayed indefinitely.[16] The director's cut is cropped from the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio into 2.35:1.
The film has also been released in Australia as an 89-minute cut with no special features, bearing an MA15+ rating.
Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 9% based on 46 reviews, with an average score of 3.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "An attempt at political satire that lacks any wit or relevance, Postal is nonetheless one of Uwe Boll's more successful films – for what it's worth."[17]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 22 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[18]
Jeremy Knox of Film Threat gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated, "It's such an insanely fun ride that most of its flaws are forgivable."[19] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "Not only less than horrible, but actually occasionally enjoyable."[20]Nathan Rabin of AV Club gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "A provocation first, an insult second, a publicity stunt third, and a film a distant fourth." Dennis Harvey of Variety gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "This anything-goes exercise isn't dull -- one just wishes the outrageousness were more consistently funny."
Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "Postal's touches of wit are lost in the flying body parts, gross-out gags, and the full frontal spectacle of Foley's no-longer-private parts."[21]Michael Harris of The Globe and Mail gave the film 1 star out of 5 and stated, "What Boll gives us is a boring beating over the head."[citation needed]Aaron Hillis of The Village Voice gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and stated, "Manages to be as toothless as he (Boll) is tasteless. Poorly framed, tone-deaf, and nonsensical (yet still Boll's best!)" Nathan Lee of The New York Times gave the film 0.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "Infantile, irreverent and boorish to the max, Postal explodes with bad attitude and lousy filmmaking."[22] Elizabeth Weitzman of the Daily News gave the film 0 out of 5 stars and stated, "Where Boll's movies were once amusingly atrocious, Postal is so aggressively tasteless and knowingly idiotic, there's just no fun to be had."
Despite critical condemnation, Postal won two awards at the Hoboken International Film Festival: Best Director and the festival's top prize, Best of Festival.[24]
Cancelled sequel
Boll stated shortly after the film's production that he would most likely make a Postal 2, even if it went direct-to-video. In a 2012 interview, Vince Desi of Running with Scissors commented that they "are in talks at present regarding another movie".[25] On August 28, 2013, Boll announced he was funding production of Postal 2 through Kickstarter. The project was canceled on October 5 due to lack of funding.[26]
Osama bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born Islamist dissident and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda, a militant terrorist organization espousing Islamism, pan-Islamism and jihadism. Bin Laden participated in the Afghan mujahideen's jihad against the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War, and supported the Bosnian mujahideen during the Yugoslav Wars. Opposed to the United States' foreign policy in the Middle East, Bin Laden declared war on the U.S. in 1996. He supervised international terrorist attacks against Americans, including the September 11 attacks inside the U.S. in 2001.
There were many video and audio recordings released by Osama bin Laden between 2000 and his death in 2011.
The bin Laden family, also spelled bin Ladin, is a wealthy Hadhrami family intimately connected with the innermost circles of the Saudi royal family. It is the namesake and controlling shareholder of Saudi Binladin Group, a multinational construction firm. Following the September 11 attacks, the family became the subject of media attention and scrutiny due to the activities of Osama bin Laden, the former head of al-Qaeda.
Mohammed Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani is a Saudi citizen who was detained as an al-Qaeda operative for 20 years in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba. Qahtani allegedly tried to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks as the 20th hijacker and was due to be onboard United Airlines Flight 93 along with the four other hijackers. He was refused entry due to suspicions that he was trying to illegally immigrate. He was later captured in Afghanistan in the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001.
Postal is a 1997 isometric top-down shooter video game developed by Running with Scissors and published by Ripcord Games. Players assume the role of the Postal Dude, a man who commits mass murder throughout the fictional town of Paradise, Arizona to cure what he believes to be a "hate plague" released by the United States Air Force.
Postal 2 is a 2003 first-person shooter video game developed by Running with Scissors and published by Whiptail Interactive. It is the sequel to the 1997 game Postal and was released for Microsoft Windows in April 2003, macOS in April 2004 and Linux in April 2005. Postal 2, as well as its predecessor, has received notoriety for its high levels of violence, stereotyping, and black comedy. Unlike the first installment, Postal 2 is played from a first-person perspective, rather than an isometric perspective. The game is the first in the series to feature an open world.
Uwe Boll is a German filmmaker. He came to prominence during the 2000s for his adaptations of video game franchises. Released theatrically, the films were critical and commercial failures; his 2005 Alone in the Dark adaptation is considered one of the worst films ever made. Boll's subsequent projects, released during the 2010s, were mostly released straight to home media. After retiring in 2016 to become a restaurateur, Boll returned to filmmaking in 2022. His films are financed through his production companies Boll KG and Event Film Productions.
PENTTBOM is the codename for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into the September 11 attacks of 2001, the largest criminal inquiry in the FBI's history. Its name stands for "Pentagon/Twin Towers Bombing Investigation". The investigation was launched on September 11, 2001, and involved 4,000 special agents and 3,000 professional employees.
Inside 9/11 is a three-part television documentary film produced by Towers Productions that premiered on August 21 and August 22, 2005, on the National Geographic Channel. The program covers the September 11 attacks in 2001, the events that led to it, and its aftermath. The first part consisted of examining, event by event, the build-up towards September 11. The second part consisted of the events of 9/11 itself and the aftermath. Experts and eyewitnesses provide their accounts of the attacks, and the events are covered in chronological order.
Postal III is a third-person shooter video game developed by Trashmasters and Running with Scissors, and published by Akella. It was released for Microsoft Windows in December 2011. Postal III is the third game in the Postal series, being the sequel to Postal 2, and follows series protagonist, The Postal Dude, who, after leaving Paradise in the previous entry's Apocalypse Weekend expansion pack, finds himself in the town of Catharsis, Arizona after running out of gas, and must find a way to escape. Ports for OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 were announced, but were ultimately canceled. Originally, the game was intended as a sequel to Postal 2, but after significant backlash from critics and fans, Running With Scissors now considers the game a spin-off, and has retconned it as non-canonical.
Far Cry is a 2008 English-language German action film loosely adapted from the video game of the same name. The film is directed by Uwe Boll and stars Til Schweiger. It was a major box-office bomb and received negative reviews.
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the third into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania during a passenger revolt. The September 11 attacks killed 2,977 people, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. In response to the attacks, the United States waged the multi-decade global war on terror to eliminate hostile groups deemed terrorist organizations, as well as the foreign governments purported to support them.
American officials have reported that the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had numerous bodyguards. They reported that the detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp included at least 30 of Bin Laden's bodyguards.
Hamza bin Laden was a Saudi Arabian-born key member of al-Qaeda. He was a son of Osama bin Laden. On 25 July 2019, it was claimed by the American media that he was killed by a U.S. airstrike on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In 2024, clues were found in Afghanistan that he was still alive and a senior leader of al-Qaeda.
Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? is a 2008 documentary film conceived by Adam Dell and co-written, produced, directed by, and starring Morgan Spurlock.
Osama bin Laden, the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda, has been depicted or parodied in a variety of media. Notable examples include:
Tere Bin Laden is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language satire comedy film produced by Walkwater Media and written and directed by Abhishek Sharma. In the film, an ambitious young Pakistani reporter, in his desperation to migrate to the United States, makes a fake Osama bin Laden video using a lookalike, and sells it to TV channels. Osama bin Laden was played by Pradhuman Singh. The film is a spoof on Osama Bin Laden as well as a comic satire on America's war against terror and the realities of the post-9/11 world. The film was released worldwide, except in the United States and Pakistan, on 16 July 2010.
Postal is a series of shooter video games created by Running with Scissors known for its high-speed gameplay, violence and off-color humor. The series' mainline games span several shooter sub-genres, including top-down shooters, first-person shooters, and a third-person shooter. The series has spawned several spin-off games and other media, including an eponymous film adaptation by Uwe Boll.
At around 9:30pm on September 11, 2001, George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), told President George W. Bush and U.S. senior officials that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center had determined that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for the September 11 attacks. Two weeks after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation connected the hijackers to al-Qaeda, a militant Salafist Islamist multi-national organization. In a number of video, audio, interview and printed statements, senior members of al-Qaeda have also asserted responsibility for organizing the September 11 attacks.
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