| The Life and Death of a Salesman |
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| written by RJones3 |
October 21, 2008 - 10:51 AM PDT |
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| This movie may have you wondering how an unpretentious documentary can be so powerful. In getting the movie to the TV market, the makers pitched it to a PBS executive. They thought they had a sale when the executive was discovered in tears while viewing the movie. No, in his opinion it was just too raw. Albert and David Maysles invented unobtrusive techniques for their new genre, called direct cinema, but Charlotte Zwerin deserves equal billing for boiling ten hours of film down to a coherent hour and a half. In its unobtrusive way the movie makes a strong statement about capitalism and religion in America. It is a case study for "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" even though the salesmen are primarily Irish-Catholic. If you don't take advantage, it's your fault. |
| A Landmark film |
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| written by sandcrane |
October 24, 2006 - 12:51 PM PDT |
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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| I saw Salesman once, probably 25-30 years ago, and I never forgot it. I figured I'd never get to see it again. When I joined Greencine it was the first movie I rented; what an amazing documentary! It was even better now, given the additional value of time perspective and age, than I remembered. A great sort of 'time capsule' of the late sixties; How enormous the changes have been. I'm not sure if the Maysles Bros. created a new genre with "Salesman", I'm not enough of a film historian to say--but I know it ignited my love of documentary film, in the same way Truman Capote's book "In Cold Blood" got me into True Crime books. Definately an exceptional film. |
| glen garry come to life |
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| written by alexjb |
January 28, 2005 - 3:48 PM PST |
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2 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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i actually suspect that Mamet penned GlenGarry Glen Ross after watching Salesman. these real-life salesmen map pretty well to Mamet's- especially the guy who turns out to be the 'main character'. just like Jack Lemmon's character, he's a salesman past his prime, fighting to hang on and whistle in the dark. he's both likable and pitiable as he is forced to realize that he's lost his mojo.
there's a mildly interesting interview with the directors included in the DVD, and though one of them is rather pomous and argumentative, it does add a little to the film experience.
despite being 'cinema direct' as the filmmakers like to call it (meaning as minimally intrusive to the subjects as possible), the film is edited well to flow smoothly, and even to build to something of a climax. |
| The sweat of your brow |
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| written by wes2666 |
December 19, 2004 - 9:20 PM PST |
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7 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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Salesmen follows four men who, in order to "live on their own hook," travel the country selling God's word on commission. They have been everywhere but each new town is just another "territory" full of poor people to exploit, and the potential for failure. The salesman Paul is the tragic center of the film. He is clearly slipping into Willy Loman-land, but his friends can't help him because of the competitive (and superstitious) tendencies that are near the heart of everyone who lives by their spiel.
Watching Salesmen will make you question every sacrifice and self-destructive choice you have ever made for a paycheck. I hope someone is filming "Telemarketer" or "Walmart Clerk" right now to document our own exile from the land of milk and honey.
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| Knock Knock... |
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| written by BrodiesGirl |
June 19, 2003 - 1:09 AM PDT |
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10 out of 11 members found this review helpful
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I thought this was a very interesting film, following four Bible Salesman as they try to make it in the hard knock life of Sales. I found it amusing that thirty-five years later the same remarks can be heard when doing door-to-door sales. (I did cold call door-to-door sales for about a year.) Many of the same "sales tricks" are used as well, which was amusing to hear some of the men spout out lines that I have said before. And while it is "painful" to see the rejection, the desperation that some of these men have, I have a different perspective on this since I actually experienced it first hand.
All in all, I found this a really intriguing portrait of people and an industry that still thrives today without too much change throughout the years. |
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