Rating: 
Summary: Willy Loman - a common man like most of us
Review: Seeing the filmed version of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman left me with an intense feeling of sadness. It is a real-life story without any "decorations." It a story about the choices we sometimes make and their consequences.
Willy Loman is a common, fallible man, who realizes that in spite of his high hopes and efforts he has not achieved anything real in life. His sons are not what he wanted them to be, especially Biff. Willy made some major wrong choices and he is definitely not the "winning-type" of a man but he loves his family.
I personally saw something of my father in Willy Loman, and probably that is why it was so appealing for me. But I do not think I can see the movie again. I will simply not be able to.
Volker Schlondorff did a wonderful job, in my opinion. The actors' playing is more than excellent. I think Willy Loman's role is the best one Dustin Hoffman has ever played. John Malkovich also makes a remarkable performance as well as all the other actors
Rating:
Summary: Willy Loman - a common man like most of us
Review: Seeing the filmed version of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman left me with an intense feeling of sadness. It is a real-life story without any "decorations." It a story about the choices we sometimes make and their consequences.
Willy Loman is a common, fallible man, who realizes that in spite of his high hopes and efforts he has not achieved anything real in life. His sons are not what he wanted them to be, especially Biff. Willy made some major wrong choices and he is definitely not the "winning-type" of a man but he loves his family.
I personally saw something of my father in Willy Loman, and probably that is why it was so appealing for me. But I do not think I can see the movie again. I will simply not be able to.
Volker Schlondorff did a wonderful job, in my opinion. The actors' playing is more than excellent. I think Willy Loman's role is the best one Dustin Hoffman has ever played. John Malkovich also makes a remarkable performance as well as all the other actors
Rating:
Summary: "Nobody blame this man... a salesman is got to dream, boy".
Review: The title of this review is quote of what Charley said at Willy's funeral and he is absolutely right. It is true that Willy's deluded and unachiavable dreams lead to his miserable downfall, but it is also true that it is that exact illusions and dreams that keep Willy alive in the first place. They are his only weapon against the toisome reality that surrounds him. As Hap mentions just before Willy comes to the restaurant, Willy is never as happy as when he is looking forward to something. What he is constantly looking forward to is the fulfilment of his dreams.
In his essay "Tragedy and the common man" Arthur Miller says that each tragic hero is characterized by a 'tragic flaw'. It is the desire of that character to oppose what he does not like and this leads to his decline. Willy does not act "act agains the things that degrade" (Miller, Tragedy and the Common Man) him, he dreams against it.
I very much enjoyed this movie, because it reaches deep into the mind and the soul of a common person just like me. All of Willy's innner struggles are more or less something we all have to go through in one form or another. Willy's experience can be a lesson to all of us, the common people.
Rating:
Summary: A Stunning Realization of Miller's Masterpiece
Review: This 1985 film of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, directed by Volker Schlondorff, recreates Arthur Miller's original casting ideas for the three principal characters. Miller had originally envisioned Willy Loman, the unsuccessful traveling salesman of the title, as a physically small man with a big wife and two big, strong sons; in this film, that is exactly what we get: Dustin Hoffman as Willy, Kate Reid as Linda, John Malkovich and Stephen Lang as Biff and Happy. Whereas the original Willy on Broadway, Lee J. Cobb, was large and imposing, Hoffman's Willy is a ridiculous little man with impossibly high ideals. His is a humorous and pathetic rather than a tragic interpretation, but this is perfectly valid - there is, after all, more than one way to "be" Willy Loman. And viewers should keep in mind that Miller himself praised Hoffman's characterization, naming him among his three all-time favorite Willys (the other two being Cobb and Warren Mitchell, the British actor who played in an acclaimed London revival).
Kate Reid gives a strong performance as Linda, Willy's loving and suffering wife. She is vicious in her defense of Willy to her sons, especially at the end, when she orders them to "get out of this house...get out of my sight." John Malkovich, with his soft-spoken voice and timid manner, might seem unsuited to Biff, the "all-American football hero" - but I don't think so. To me, Malkovich's halting delivery suggest a confused young man who thinks deep thoughts but lacks the education to be able to articulate them well. Malkovich's performance is a revelation in many ways: in the restaurant and final "confrontation" scenes, for example, we sense that Biff now sees Willy realistically for the first time in his life, and is therefore able to act more fairly towards him. The tragedy, of course, is that Willy is still unable to see reality and Biff is unable to MAKE him see it.
Stephen Lang is unobtrusively excellent as Happy, Biff's neglected younger brother. Charles Durning also does an excellent job as Willy's prosperous neighbor, Charley, who has no illusions about Willy (I always laugh when Willy sneaks a look at Charley's cards during the card game scene, and Charley, without a word, turns the cards over so that Willy can see them.). Joseph Polito is fine as Charley's successful son, Bernard. The small roles are all done well, particularly Tom Signorelli as Stanley, the waiter in the restaurant and an old family friend of the Lomans ("Sure, you look...all right."). Schlondorff's direction is great, with so many telling and memorable moments. The hotel-room confrontation between Willy and Biff is affectingly done: Malkovich is touchingly vulnerable, his last cry to Willy of "You fake!" heartrending. The final confrontation between the two was filmed in several "takes," making the viewer feel that he/she is caught right in the middle of a terrifying family argument. Last but not least, Alex North's musical score, based on his score for the original Broadway production, adds much to the drama.
Rating:
Summary: No special effects needed; it's all in the words and acting
Review: This 1985 version was actually a TV movie using most of the original cast from the 1984 version of the Broadway play first written by Arthur Miller in 1949. Since then it has been performed many many times with a variety of different casts. A million years ago I even remember studying it in college. I have always wanted to see the play and was thrilled that I discovered this video.Dustin Hoffman stars as Willie Loman, a fading traveling salesman who has made all the wrong decisions in his life. A young John Malkovich plays his son, Biff, a jobless loser. Steven Lang, is cast as his other son, Happy; Linda Reid plays Willie Loman's wife; and Charles Durning plays his neighbor, Charlie. All have been nominated for a variety of awards and Dustin Hoffman won a Golden Globe for best actor that year. There is no doubt that this is a play, not a movie by the way it is staged. Flashbacks are achieved, for example, by the character Biff, coming on stage in a High School sweater. The characters often seem to be speaking directly to the audience also. I found all this refreshing after watching so many movies where computerized cinematography and special effects are everything. This play doesn't need special effects. It is all in the words and the acting. And what fine acting it is! I forgot how good a play can be! Especially one by Arthur Miller. The Director, Volker Shloendorff, made his American debut with this production, his prior experience being only in France and Germany. For drama at its finest, I definitely recommend this video.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This is a great 2 act and a requiem play, and Dustin and the cast do a superb job. However, it still doesn't equal Lee J. Cobbs' portrayal of this delusional salesman and his last years of justification of his life. I would like to see the version with Frederic March as Willy. I am sure this scenario about the trials and tribulation of Willy Loman are carried out in the real world, more times than we really know. Overall, a fantastic story by Arthur Miller and worth 5 stars all the way.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous production based on a real masterpiece
Review: This is a wonderful movie. Even though it was mandatory for my literature course, I can say I really loved it. I even borrowed the DVD from my professor to watch it again back home ... Most people look pessimistic when directors try to recreate some world-famous literature masterpieces in their latest movie productions. Even though they might be right, one should take into account the stellar cast and the director as well. With such an actor as Dustin Hoffman, an Academy Award winner who received an Emmy Award for his role of Willie Loman in the movie, and internationally renowned German director Volker Schlondorff, the success of the production was simply inevitable. With so many action movies out there full of stunning effects and computer graphics, the viewers were thirsty for a real old-school type production. When this DVD came out in January 2003, it filled this genre gap and, to my opinion, achieved good popularity not only among the connoisseurs. To my opinion, it is a brilliant asset to the film world...
Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent---With One Exception
Review: This is an emotionally-wrenching, beautifully-directed interpretation of the play many believe to be the finest ever written by an American. Unlike many theatrical adaptations, this one abounds with visual inventiveness and never feels "stage-bound." Schlondorff has found perfect visual equivalents to Miller's surreal stage directions,all while keeping this magnificent play intact, scene-for-scene, word-for-word. And the acting! Kate Reid is simply overpowering as Linda---a role which too often is played subserviently and "mousily." This woman is a survivor, a wife who has devoted her life to her husband quite literally for better or for worse---and this story is about the "worse." Stephen Lang exudes just the right amount of amoral obliviousness as Happy. And John Malkovich, while physically wrong for Biff (especially next to the much beefier Lang), gives a performance of extraordinary anguish and intensity, making the climactic confrontation between son and father almost too painful to watch. But...this may border on blasphemy, but for me, Dustin Hoffman proves jarringly mediocre as Willy Loman. He struts, he rants, he yells---but he is just never convincing in the part. Every time he moves, it appears "studied": he does not move like a tired old man, he moves like a vigorous young man who has learned to imitate a tired old man. His performance is filled with the kinds of little gestures and tics that Method actors learn from observation, but in this case they are never internalized, never built into a coherent performance. Indeed,this is a performance of "moments," and Hoffman is best in the quiet ones, when he is sitting out on the porch asking his wife if she remembers what things used to be like. At such times, he loses the gimmickry and becomes movingly human. But in the "big scenes," he mistakes volume for power, shrillness for emotion. With a weaker supporting cast, his limitations might not have been quite so noticable. But in the face of the extraordinary actors on view here, Hoffman all but disappears. It is a serious problem, but Schlondorff's film largely overcomes it through visuals, montage, and the power of the rest of the cast. As it is, this film is not quite a classic, but it comes close. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Trully a great film!
Review: This is by far the best movie I've seen this year, Dustin Hoffman Plays the part wonderfully--I highly recommend this to anyone intrested in what the human spirit goes through.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most profound experiences of my life
Review: This is one of the most profoundly impactful movies that has ever graced my eyes, my ears, my consciousness. Few works have the power to stir the soul, Our Town, Independence Day, Brave Heart, etc. this is one of those movies. Hoffman's portrayal of a man whose existence has exausted him and is sinking into madness is beyond compare and Malcovich is his usual half-brooding excellent self. This movie is reccomended to all.
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