Rating: 
Summary: "EVERYTHING BUT THE CHINESE FENCE".
Review: A few months ago I rented the Criterion edition of Gimme Shelter. The DVD included a fascinating preview for another film by the Maysles brothers called SALESMAN. I had never heard of the film but after seeing the preview I had to see it. Much to my dismay SALESMAN was not available, nor does it appear to have ever had an official release on video. Thankfully, Criterion has seen fit to release this long lost American masterpiece. I was completely won over by this tragic but hysterical documentary about door-to-door Bible salesmen. The Maysles brothers focus most of the film on Paul Brennan aka The Badger. Brennan appears to be the the main inspiration for Gil, the unlucky salesman on The Simpsons. Brennan rarely scores a sale and when he doesn't his fellow (and more successful) salesmen have to endure his bizarre Irish rants and mumbled complaints. SALESMAN is full of strange lingo, strong Irish accents, and tons of smoking. I don't smoke but by the end of the film I felt in need of a light. Most of the banter between the Bible sellers and their prospective buyers is very funny. One woman declared that she was the "literal" person of the household. Criterion's presentation is excellent. The disc includes an interview with the two brothers by Jack Kroll. Kroll's interviewing skills are terrible at best. More than once he cuts off the two filmmakers to plunge the shallow depths of his scary thoughts. Even worse he goes on to tell them what they mean to say. The commentary track by Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin is interesting and informative. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The American 'cinema verite'
Review: A masterpiece of the direct-cinema, the real life of an american bible salesman, brought to us by the Maysles brothers.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning....
Review: A very solid documentary. I was bowled over by it. It's easy to see the influence on Glengarry Glen Ross, but this is much more bleak(in a memorable way). I was mesmerized watching these four bible salesmen work. The dvd also has a neat little radio interview with "The Rabbit"(all 4 salesmen have nicknames) which was enlightening, as was the interview with the Maysles(commentary is excellent too!).
Rating: 
Summary: Albert and David Maysles' big breakthrough...
Review: Albert and David Maysles' verite documentary Salesman is one of the most interesting documentaries that I've seen. I definitely prefer it to their Grey Gardens which seemed somewhat exploitative to me. Here, they don't seem to be condescending to their subject (a downtrodden Bible salesman) much. The film feels like a real-life Paper Moon, in that the whole setup feels like a scam. You get the impression that the housewives buy the Bibles that are sold out of a sense of guilt or good manners. Still, it's a very interesting film, and it hasn't dated much at all.
Rating:
Summary: A Peek at Times Gone By
Review: I bought this DVD purely our of curiousity---I never saw it until 30 years after it came out. This is pure Americana--it follows a group of bible salesman starting in Boston and ending in the Miami area. (You will see how much times have changed by the amount of smoking everyone in this film does from start to finish.) Although I never liked door to door salesman, you begin to appreciate the frustrations they encounter on a daily basis as well as their devotion to their craft. I don't think fellows like this exist anymore--they are from a time long gone. It might be an interesting film for students to watch and see a snapshot of America as seen through the eyes of these salesmen.
Rating:
Summary: A Peek at Times Gone By
Review: I bought this DVD purely our of curiousity---I never saw it until 30 years after it came out. This is pure Americana--it follows a group of bible salesman starting in Boston and ending in the Miami area. (You will see how much times have changed by the amount of smoking everyone in this film does from start to finish.) Although I never liked door to door salesman, you begin to appreciate the frustrations they encounter on a daily basis as well as their devotion to their craft. I don't think fellows like this exist anymore--they are from a time long gone. It might be an interesting film for students to watch and see a snapshot of America as seen through the eyes of these salesmen.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable
Review: Perhaps the best (along with "Don't Look Back"), documentary film of the 1960's. The Maysles boys coined the term "direct filmmaking", and this portrayal could not be more direct in its tone, tenor, and pathos. The camera captures a group of salesmen who try to convince the working poor to part with thier hard earned cash for a fancy, engraved bible. If they can't pay for it all at once there is the "Catholic Honor Plan". The camera is as harsh as it is forgiving. Everyone is a hero in this film, everyone perhaps except the supervising salesman who seems to enjoy humiliating the very men he is suppose to encourage. A real slice of Americana. A time gone by. I can understand D.A. Pennebaker wanting to film Dylan on his 1965 English tour, or Errol Morris doing a story about Randall Dale Adams, but only a genius could think that doing a feature length movie about a bunch of burnt our salesmen could be a worthy experience. Indeed, filmmaking at its best and most brutal.
Rating:
Summary: Sad/beautiful?
Review: The Maysles Bros. did a wonderful job with this film. The b/w photography is sharp and smartly orchestrated making _Salesman_ a must see in my book. Shot with a custom made handheld camera and portable boom mic, _Salesman_ is the story of four door-to-door bible salesmen in the late sixties. The film falls in to the documentary category, though the Maysles have coined their own term for their style of filming: direct cinema. The "salesmen" themselves are unforgetable; their performances in the homes of anyone who will let them get a foot in the door are fascinating and nerve wracking as you find yourself sympathizing both with the salesmen and the prospective buyers at the same time. It's this dynamic tension that gives the film some real drama. Better than what could have been scripted. I never saw this film on video so I can't comment on any improvements in quality. But I will say this: the film looks and sounds beautiful on DVD. Also, with the DVD is an interview (mostly pretentious banter revolving around the distinction of "direct cinema"), commentary with the Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin (editor) and film trailers.
Rating:
Summary: Makes "Glengarry Glen Ross" look like nursery school.
Review: This is fascinating, harrowing stuff -- I remain haunted by these men, these door-to-door Bible salesmen, peddling their wares, themselves, their humanity. It's after "Death of a Salesman," but plenty of Willy Loman stuff going on here, and obviously a wellspring of material for David Mamet, for Barry Levinson's "Tin Men," for so many other tales of salesmen. This is written pre-release, but I'm sure that the folks at Criterion will do an extraordinary job with this.
Rating:
Summary: Makes "Glengarry Glen Ross" look like nursery school.
Review: This is fascinating, harrowing stuff -- I remain haunted by these men, these door-to-door Bible salesmen, peddling their wares, themselves, their humanity. It's after "Death of a Salesman," but plenty of Willy Loman stuff going on here, and obviously a wellspring of material for David Mamet, for Barry Levinson's "Tin Men," for so many other tales of salesmen. This is written pre-release, but I'm sure that the folks at Criterion will do an extraordinary job with this.
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