Glengarry Glen Ross
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Movie Reviews of Glengarry Glen Ross
Movie Review: Mamet at is Best and Another Great Performance By Lemmon
Summary: 5 Stars
Glengarry Glen Ross is a brilliant examination of the American dream gone south. This is an examination of power and desperation.
Premiere Properties sell investment land. Rio Rancho is the current project. The sales leads for the project are pretty well worn. The new project is Glengarry Glen Ross with brand new sales leads.
Just like the leads, the sales force is either well worn or hot. The sales force reeks with desperation. The sales force includes Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), Dave Moss (Ed Harris) and George Aaronow (Alan Arkin), James Lingk (Jonathan Pryce) all on the Rio Rancho downslide and Ricky Romano (Al Pacino), the only one on a hot streak. Their boss is John Williamson (Kevin Spacey). John lives and dies by his sales force. The main office wants Rio Rancho sold out before starting on Glengarry Glen Ross. They send division head Blake (Alec Baldwin) to incentivize the office.
This only leads to more desperation in the sales staff. Then, the office is robbed of the Glengarry Glen Ross leads. The police are called in and all the staff is questioned. Eventually, the thief admits to the crime.
David Mamet is considered on of the great playwrights of the 80's and 90's. What he is noted for is the exactness of his words. This makes it very difficult for actors. Casting is imperative. Its not the quality of actors, its just their type. In this case every actor is perfection.
This was one of Jack Lemmon's last films and was his one of his best performances.
DVD EXTRAS:
Disc 1:
Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon - A wonderful 30 minute tribute to Jack Lemmon from his son Chris Lemmon, actor Peter Gallagher (Long Day's Journey Into Night), and directors Jon Avildsen (Save the Tiger) and James Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross). It ends with his appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio and shows why he was so beloved by all who saw him.
Commentary by film director James Foley
Disc 2:
ABC: Always Be Closing - A 30 minute documentary interviewing real estate salesmen and getting their impression on the film.
J. Roy: New and Used Furniture - A 50's documentary on the salesman
Commentary from cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia -selected scene commentary (21 minute)
Commentary from Alec Baldwin - selected scene commentary (19 minutes)
Commentary from Adam Arkin - selected scene commentary (15 minutes)
Commentary from production designer Jane Musky - selected scene commentary (17 minutes)
Charlie Rose Show - 1993 interview with Jack Lemmon (10 minutes)
Inside the Actors Studio - Kevin Spacey clip (2 minutes)
Cast & Crew Biographies and Production Note
Disc 1 has the widescreen presentation of the film and Disc 2 has the full screen presentation.
This is a great film with a great cast. The extras are very good.
Movie Review: Timeless classic!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Glengarry Glen Ross takes us into the world of real estate sales. Premiere Properties is going through some tough times. Veteran sellers Shelly "The Machine" Levene ( Jack Lemmon), Dave Moss ( Ed Harris), and George Aaronow ( Alan Arkin) are all in a big time slump. The only one who seems to be on a hot streak is Ricky Roma ( Al Pacino). To make matters worse, the heads of the company send down an executive motivator ( Alec Baldwin) to initiate a sales contest. The winner gets to keep their job, and the ones that fail to meet their quota, are fired. Office manager John Williamson ( Kevin Spacey)could help the sellers out by offering the new "Glengarry Leads", which point to legit clients wanting to buy. The problem is that, the leads are being held back, until they can all prove themselves. Unfortunately, someone decides to take matters into their own hands, and steal the leads. Now these men are forced to try and keep their jobs, as well as prove their innocence. This film succeeds on so many levels. The multi - layered story, is a beautiful combination of mystery, and a realistic look into the selling world. The film portrays all of the pressure that one feels when having to meet a sales quota. The quotes given in this film are especially realistic when dealing with sales. "Live by the ABC's. Always Be Closing!" Anyone in sales will especially love this film, because of how accurate it is. The mystery of who stole the leads, is impossible to solve. All three men seem guilty and have reasons why they would want to steal.
The cast is what brought the story to life. All of them are equally brilliant, and bring something to the story. Al Pacino plays the hotshot Ricky Roma. Roma is a treat to watch because of how good he is at closing a deal. Jack Lemmon plays Shelly "The Machine" Levene. Levene used to be the best seller in the business, and now he is getting by on memories of his past glory. He refuses to believe that he is no longer "The Machine". Alan Arkin is great because of how naive he acts, and he refuses to accept the fact that they could be fired. Ed Harris is fantastic because he plays the "hot head" that blows up all the time and has a bad temper. Kevin Spacey is great because he plays the weasel of the story. He is the boss who is only out for himself, and feels no pity. Finally there is Alec Baldwin who makes a short but impressive cameo as Blake "The Motivator". The performance is explosive, charismatic, and he delivers some of the best lines of the film.
As good as the film is, the DVD is better. It is extremely low priced and offers outstanding extras. The best extra is the documentary entitled ABC ( Always Be Closing). It traces the psychological intersection of fictional and real life salesman. There is also a tribute to Jack Lemmon, new interviews with the cast, commentary from director James Foley, and a lot more. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
Movie Review: Credible, riveting condemnation of the yuppie era.
Summary: 5 Stars
Glengarry Glenross istantly reminded me of Miller's Death Of A Salesman (for obvious reasons), the comparisons between the Shelley character and Willy Loman are particularly striking.
Glengarry Glenross is more of a snapshot than a composition, there is no engineered changing of mood or pace which would suit most dramas, it ends in a similiar way as it begins and this creates extraordinary realism which is very powerful. The characters are brilliant, the cast exists as one of the finest collection of actors you are ever likely to see in a movie, period. I'm not sure who's performance was best, Lemmon is scintillating as the insecure ageing salesman who's morals are being challenged by economic hardship. Spacey is at his very best as the harried and despised manager at the firm. Pacino probably just steals the show as the firms most successful salesman, the way he manipulates the timid client gives a hint into his dark side, his character is able to bypass any moral questions easily.
It is interesting to think about the film in terms of chronology, Lemon's character was 'once' a succesful salesman but no longer, he is surely what Pacino's character (currently successful) will one day be, Spacey's character only tolerates Pacino's verbal abuse because of Pacino's current success..'you fairy you', in a few years he will get his revenge as he does with Lemmon's character. Meanwhile Pacino's otherwise rough-edged character is strangely gentle and indulgent with Shelley, perhaps he also sees himself in Shelley, twenty years older. The firm itself is a hot stew boiling over, there is constant pressure to perform constantly, and you are only as good as your last deal, is this turning them all into desperate crooks with no moral compass? The constant bickering between the characters betrays their unhappiness, the break-in at the firm betrays their moral decline, one character only (Pacino) seems to be thriving in the pressure cooker atmosphere and then only because of his amorality, the rest of them are unproductive unhappy employees. At one point in the movie an employee complains about how past mismanagement in the company has led to their current unprofitable situation epitomised by his clever line "you dont sell a man one car, you sell him 5 over fifteen years" - ie you dont screw your customer or he wont come back. The ultra-capitalist do-or-die attitude of their bosses is clearly failing on the business side of things as much as it is failing the employees, on a human level.
Best Line
"they're insane, they just like talking...to salesmen."
Movie Review: BUY this DVD right now! You will love it.
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't believe I never saw this movie until 2 years ago! I always thought it had a weird name and would probably be boring (Shawshank Redemption's creeped some people out too), but was I ever wrong! I thought the name had something to do with Glenn Close!
This film is simply fantastic, featuring an all-star cast and outstanding performances. If you haven't seen it, BUY THIS DVD NOW. You're in for a real cinematic treat. And it's only $10.
You get: 2 versions of the film (widescreen on Disc 1 and fullscreen on disc 2.. but who watches fullscreeen anymore?!). Disc 1: 3 audio tracks (different versions of Dolby surround) and 1 in French, a director's commentary track, and a 30 minute tribute to Jack Lemmon. (The Simpsons is always a good guage for the impact a work has on popular culture. The Gil character (failed salesman) is based on Jack Lemmon's Shelley in this film.) The 30 min tribute is kind of dry.. just a bunch of actors talking about Lemmon's work and life against a white screen.
Most of the bonus material is on Disc 2. It's a bit strange how the DVD makers divided it all up and didn't put all that on Disc 1. I guess the widescreen version of the film took up too much room, but no complaints here. You get a good amount of bonus stuff. An "ABC" sales industry documentary (30 mins), another biography of a furniture salesman, 10 minute Charlie Rose clip, a very funny "Go to Lunch" bit with Kevin Spacey at an acting workshop, production notes, cast biographies, and bonus commentary from the cinematographer, Alec Baldwin, and 3 or 4 other members of the cast and crew (varying lengths). I haven't watched/listened to most of the features yet, but Baldwin's commentary offers some real insights into the movie industry and this film. He's someone I admire greatly and it's a joy to listen to him.
I'm editing this review after I read another person's comments. I agree with another reviewer who was let down by this SE release. This is one of my top 10 or 20 films and there should've been more. (How about the original Mamet play, commentaries from Spacey, Pacino, Lemmon, or Ed Harris?). For $10, I can't really complain. Diehard fans of this film may be disappointed if they expect too much and compare this to some of the best SE DVDs out there. The number of features on this DVD is on par with other DVDs. Of course, it could've been done a lot better, given how many people love this film. I still give it a 5. $10 is not a lot to pay, and I guarantee you will be watching this film over and over again. It's that good!
Movie Review: "Coffee's for closers only". Fortunately, the DVD is not.
Summary: 5 Stars
David Mamet's unquestionable masterpiece, Glengarry Glen Ross, was made into perhaps one of the best dramas of the early 90's. It stands as having some of the best dialogue of any movie I have ever seen, and definitely one of the best cast ensembles as well. This is one DVD release I couldn't wait to get my hands on. In the shady world of real estate sales, good leads (customers) can make or break the salesman. The Glengarry leads (the best available) have arrived at Premier Properties, but with a message that unless sales pick up, they will not be given the prime customers, and consequently be fired. The late Jack Lemmon plays Shelly "The Machine" Levene, a former top closer who is on a bad streak, and Al Pacino delivers a powerhouse performance as Richard Roma, the hotshot of the month. Two others (Ed Harris and Alan Arkin) are equally unahappy with their jobs, and conspire to strike back at the company they work for. The leads are "for closers only", so the pressure mounts on them to perform while their personal lives are in equal turmoil. This is one of the most depressing, but brilliant, stories ever adapted to film.
The quality of the script and the acting speaks for itself. The characters are people who have sold their soul in the pursuit of money, but we are still able to sympathize with them. Lemmon in particular gives one of his grittiest performances as a truly tortured soul who is living under a constant raincloud. Al Pacino is way over the top with his character, with some of the juciest lines. It is easy to see why some people wouldn't like the script (the constant profanity), but the dialogue in this movie is priceless.
The long awaited Special Edition is somewhat hit and miss with the special features. The pieces from "Inside the Actor's Studio" are priceless, the documentary "A.B.C. Always Be Closing", while not overly exciting, is very interesting. Also good is the Tribute to Jack Lemmon, where a handful of actors (including his son Chris) remember Jack Lemmon through anecdotes and other insights into his career and personality. Rather bland, on the other hand, is the comentary by Director James Foley. I was completely tedious at times. Otherwise, this is a quality DVD package. The transfer and the Widescreen presentation far surpass the laserdisc and VHS versions.
There should be a law that states that every film buff should have this movie in their collection. It is that good. Some of the best performances from very distinguised actors and a script that can melt candles...what more could you want?