Rating: 
Summary: Death of a Salesman: A Forgotten Classic
Review: "Death of a Salesman," by Arthur Miller, is a play that examines the breakdown of the American Dream and family values through the literary lens of social realism. This particular production, produced at CBS studios in New York during the early 1980's, was considered by Miller himself to be the best interpretation of his play ever produced. Likewise, he considered Dustin Hoffmann as Willy Loman to be the best interpretation of the play's main character. It is hardly surprising. Death of a Salesman was the first play Hoffmann ever read, and it is easy to see the play's influence on every role Hoffmann has ever played. Volker Schlondorff did a fantastic job as director. His production is extremely faithful to Miller's notes, and although this production was made for television, the shift in medium loses nothing. I am using this two-tape set in my Literature class to show my freshman college students how to "get inside" a play and to realize that reading a script is not nearly as effective as seeing it acted out. This really is a magnificent production that presents the script with integrity and then gives you the chance to see the "guts" of the play.
Rating:
Summary: A Hard-Working Man's Lifetime Dream Doesn't Come True
Review: +++++
This movie is about hard-working, traveling salesman Willy Loman (Dustin Hoffman), a man whose life has become a permanent nervous breakdown. He's about to lose his job, he can't pay his bills, and his sons Biff (John Malkovich) and "Happy" (Stephen Lang) don't respect him and can't seem to live up to their potential. His wife (Kate Reid) still loves him but she is caught up in a state of "bitter helplessness." Willy, now in his sixties, wonders what went wrong (after all, his dream of monetary success should have come true by now!!) and how he can make things up to his family. He is now indeed a "low man."
A talented, sensitive director (Volker Schlondoroff) with a topflight main cast (stated above), under the supervision of the original author who penned the Pulitzer Prize-winning play in 1949 (Arthur Miller, Oct. 1915 to Feb. 2005) on which this movie is based, make this movie an unforgettable viewing experience. The emphasis of this entire movie is on the excellent performances.
Hoffman (who won an Emmy and Golden Globe for this role) gives a standout performance in this movie as the bewildered Willy who now is suffering a crisis, a kind of "success mania." Malkovich gives a superb performance as Biff, the son that Willy has decided to transfer his failed ambitions too. Also look for Linda Kozlowski of "Crocodile Dundee" fame in a small but sharp role.
Finally, the DVD extra called "Private Conversations" is a ninety-minute documentary with the entire cast that especially features Hoffman, Malkovich, Miller, and Schlondoroff.
In conclusion, this is an unforgettable movie with outstanding performances that's based on an award-winning play. Thus, you can't go wrong in watching this movie!!
(1985; 2 hr, 15 min; made for TV; full screen)
+++++
Rating:
Summary: Hoffman/ Malcovich personify the tragedy of...
Review: ...hollow/go-through-the-motions convential living. Dustin Hoffman displays the desperate drama a soul goes through when realizing the futility of a wasted life VERY well. Malcovich (as usual)leaves his distinctive mark as a true actor and assists all who were involved in creating this film in sending one of the most important messages one can offer the world...a message concerning true living.
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Summary: Oh so depressing
Review: Before I watched the film version of Arthur Miller's classic play recently, I thought I was the only person on the planet who had not read or watched a version of his work. I had a good idea of the general outline of the whole thing before I went in, of course, thanks to years of pop culture references to Willy Loman, but I just never got around to sitting down for a look. Every once in awhile, I get frazzled that I haven't seen or read things that I feel every educated person ought to experience, hence it was way past time to see this one. So many different versions of the play exist, mostly made for television adaptations, that I worried a bit about which one was the best. I finally decided to view this 1985 Dustin Hoffman version simply because it was the only one I could find. Easy, huh? Yep, it was, but the subject matter of the play, and Hoffman's soul stirring performance as Willy Loman, did not make this an easy program to watch. "Death of a Salesman" is a depressing, sad play that makes you ponder ideas we Americans take for granted. Miller's work effectively tosses a bucket of ice water over the idea that the American Dream means everyone who works hard will ultimately succeed beyond his or her wildest expectations.
Willy Loman is a salesman who cannot escape the lure of past triumphs. He continually flashes back to earlier, halcyon days when his two sons, Biff (John Malkovich) and Hap (Stephen Lang), were in the prime of their life. These were good days, days full of big paychecks, hard work, a happy family, and sons whose athletic prowess promised great things. Biff especially looked as though he would have a wonderful future. His abilities as a football star virtually insured that he would end up at a great school, with even more promises to come. But a certain horrific event concerning Willy and his life on the road destroyed forever Biff's bright future, and life took a decidedly bleak turn in the intervening years. We gradually come to learn that Willy's existence has been one big failure. His age is a factor working against him at his firm, where the son of the original owner seeks to force Loman out. Debts of all sorts begin to press down on the family. And Biff and Hap, both over the age of thirty, largely failed in life. Hap is a schemer and womanizer who moves from one small job to another. Biff doesn't work at all, and even left for points unknown for a few years before turning up on the Loman doorstep. The only loyal trooper in the bunch is Willy's weathered wife Linda (Kate Reid), a woman that never fails to praise her husband's meager accomplishments.
What happens to those of us who fail at life? You certainly won't see these poor souls on television or in the movies, two mediums that tend to emphasize the glamorous, the successful, the wealthy, and the talented. The only place you will see the teeming millions not making the cut are on shows about crime and prison. Society doesn't wish to acknowledge people who slaved away for years without making appreciable gains. Perhaps that is why "Death of a Salesman" is such a tough program to watch; we see by increments a grown man crumble away to a pitiful fate despite his best efforts to succeed. And Willy Loman's descent into despair and ruin is about as painful as you could imagine. Hoffman plays the character as a withered, blundering, bland sort of fellow prone to frenetic outbursts of disassociated ramblings, which I think works in many ways. By appearing as an anonymous looking chap you wouldn't notice if you walked by him on the street, Hoffman manages to convey the sense of the "every man" that Miller's play strove to immortalize. Loman resembles most of us because he doesn't look glamorous, doesn't look successful, doesn't look wealthy, and doesn't look talented.
I should mention two other very important aspects of this production. First, the makers of this version of "Death of a Salesman" chose to shoot the program on a half film half stage set. Rooms in the Loman household don't have roofs or walls in certain places, and the neighboring buildings are obviously one dimensional structures. I'll bet this annoyed some viewers, but not me. I took the noticeably fake set pieces as a symbol of the failures in Willy's life, and as a symbol of the charade of the American Dream. Too, "Death of a Salesman" is a play and the producers probably wanted the production to have that feel. Second, the performances here are magnificent. John Malkovich proves once again that he's a performer capable of totally immersing himself in a role. I started to worry when I saw this actor running around in a football uniform tossing a ball around since I didn't think he looked like a teenager. The later scenes where he confronts his father blew my earlier conceptions out of the water. Malkovich delivers his lines with an emotional intensity that's tough to watch.
I wasn't as impressed with "Private Conversations," a lengthy behind the scenes look at the production. This extra on the disc provides little of interest with its inclusion of assorted blooper footage, a couple of interviews, and other odds and ends. Just skip "Private Conversations" and watch "Death of a Salesman" instead. The emotional power of Miller's play is undeniable, and stands as a cautionary tale about dreams and those who fail to attain them.
Rating:
Summary: one of the greatest movies ever made
Review: Dustin Hoffman is awesome in this movie. I enjoyed this movie 100%. There were no boring parts to me. It's interesting all the way through.
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful film
Review: Dustin Hoffman stars in this film reproduction of the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. It contains superb acting, especially on behalf of Hoffman and by one of my favorite actors, John Malkovich.The story delves into the hardships and broken dreams of the main character, Willy Loman, who represents the average joe. Because of this, it is very easy to become entrapped in the life of the struggling characters that are representative of the all too common man. This movie is a compelling drama; the audience becomes sucked in and sympathetic towards the deteriorating family. It is the ultimate representation of the failure of the American dream. The movie at times may drag for those who are only interested in action and special effects. There is no focus on elaborate scenery or props; instead the main focus is directed towards the poignant acting that is very well delivered by a well chosen cast.
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Summary: Hopeful Movie Despite a Pessimistic Premise
Review: Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich shine in this now classic play. Like Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll's House," we have characters confined by prescribed fate looking to climb out into their own.
What is fate?
In this case, Willy Loman is bound by his belief that personality alone, of being liked, is enough to make it to the American Dream. Unable to reconcile that those days never existed, and that hard work involved more than a firm handshake and a smile, he becomes despondent as he thinks of the lost potential. He is reminded in flashbacks and visions of relatives and friends who have succeeded.
His two sons are also confined to Willy's delusions of grandeur. Biff, played by Malkovich, had a future as a football star, but was handicapped by his dad's inhibitions and lack of reality. When he realizes his dad is a failure without integrity, after idolizing him, he concludes he too will be a failure.
Hap, on the other hand, Bif's brother, played by Stephen Lang, is a young Willy. He thinks his dad is right, and although he lives in futile mediocrity, believes dreaming is enough.
Kate Reid plays Willy's wife, Linda. She knows Willy is a failure, but tries to exist within the lie. She never declares the truth, but instead allows Willy to dream without substance.
Willy's hopes are shown worthless when he meets up with those, like Bernard, the nerdy math geek when Bif and Hap were children, and now practicing law in front of the Supreme Court. Willy asks what the secret is. His dream is nothing but the puff of a distortion of a Horatio Alger story, but he won't accept it. Bernard's father, Willy's neighbor, offers him a job, but Willy refuses.
The conflict is about encountering reality, and who will meet the truth. Can Biff live his simple dream of working outside with his hands, but by doing so must destroy the family structure. He knows it, and so he struggles.
Willy Loman's failure is like the hope of an old spiritual show follower, looking for salvation, but not willing to commit to what gets paired with it. It is a search for meaning. Despite a pessimistic premise, there is hope resident in this amazing film.
I fully recommend "Death of a Salesman."
Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: One of the most powerful films I have ever watched.
Review: Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, and the rest are truely outstanding in this adaptation from the stage. This is a painful movie to watch for anyone and in particular for fathers and sons. Not to be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I am a big fan of Arthur Miller, especially "The Crucible" and "Death of a Salesman". This production of "Salesman" misses nothing in it's depiction of a confused man in the midst of suicide. Dustin Hoffman is brilliant. I loved it!!!
Rating:
Summary: This film is EXCEPTIONAL !
Review: I believe this movie to be a definitive version of Miller's work. The tone, mood, and imagery in this interpretation capture the essence of Willy Loman's life and death. I cannot say enough about the acting - Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich lead the cast with performances of the absolute highest order! They deliver a poignance and a gravity unmatched in recent cinema. Their drama is enhanced by the superb supporting cast; each supporting character adds both depth and clarity to the two protagonists. The unseen sides of Willy and Biff become visable to us through their interactions with the small core cast. I would be most interested in Arthur Miller's views on this adaptation.
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