Editing Il Postino: The Postman (section)

== Production ==
[[Massimo Troisi]], a popular Italian actor and filmmaker, had purchased the film rights to [[Antonio Skármeta]]'s ''[[Ardiente paciencia]]'' intending to adapt it into a feature film. The novel was itself an adaptation of a largely-unknown 1983 film of the same name, written and directed by Skármeta. Troisi, having seen [[Michael Radford]]'s 1983 film [[Another Time, Another Place (1983 film)|''Another Time, Another Place'']], wrote a script treatment and gave it to Radford, who appreciated Troisi's enthusiasm but was dissatisfied with the script. Together with Troisi's ex-girlfriend Anna Pavignano, they stayed in a [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]] beachfront hotel and wrote a new screenplay.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/23/how-we-made-il-postino-michael-radford-maria-grazia-cucinotta|title=How we made Il Postino|last=Hoad|first=Phil|date=2018-10-23|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-11-19|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Among the changes made to the original novel was changing the setting from contemporary Chile to 1950s Italy, and the character of Mario from a teenage fisherman to a 40-year old postman. Whereas the novel and the 1983 film were set in Chile, with Neruda living in his home at [[Isla Negra]] around 1970, ''Il Postino: The Postman'' moves the setting to Italy in about 1950.

Armed with a production budget of $3 million,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stack |first=Peter |date=1995-06-19 |title=At the End of 'Postman', the End of a Life |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/At-the-End-of-Postman-the-End-of-a-Life-3030328.php |access-date=2025-03-12 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> the film is set and was filmed on the island of [[Procida]], gulf of [[Naples]]; some additional filming took place on [[Salina Island|Salina]], one of the volcanic [[Aeolian Islands]] that form an archipelago off the northern coast of Sicily. [[Corricella]] is the setting for some of the waterfront scenes in the movie.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XcD9AgAAQBAJ&q=corricella&pg=PA117|title=Fodor's The Amalfi Coast, Capri & Naples|publisher=Fodor's Travel Guide|year=2014|isbn=978-1-908206-94-7}}</ref> Filming took 11 weeks, with only one break for the Easter holiday.

Troisi's performance was hampered by his worsening heart condition, brought on by childhood [[rheumatism]]. Troisi was so weak that it was only possible for him to work for about an hour each day. Most of his scenes were shot in one or two takes. A shooting schedule was designed to allow the film to be shot around him. This was aided greatly by the fact his [[body double]] bore such a striking resemblance to Troisi. He was used for all back to camera, long/medium shots and most of the bicycle riding sequences. Troisi recorded all of his dialogue early in the production, in case he died before filming could be completed. This later proved necessary, since Troisi died one day after principal photography at his sister's house.<ref name=":0" />

Troisi originally intended to co-direct the film with Radford, but was unable to effectively do so due to his illness. Though he is credited as co-director in the Italian release version, he is not credited in any other version, and as such was not eligible to be nominated for directing awards outside of Italy.