Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

A modern classic

This is just a joy to watch. The masterful, powerful and elegant screenplay by David Mamet is compelling. The characters come alive in their minimalist settings. Despite their despicable professional lives, they successfully garner the viewers respect for what they do by their passionate dialog. Al Pacino is good as always, but Jack Lemmon steals the show in this one. July 6, 2008

Superb - for the connoisseur

This is a true classic. Acting at it's best. Need to watch it more than once to fully appreciate it. I know some people may say after watching it the first time, it is boring but after viewing the second and third time all the nuances are revealed. The interplay between Pacino, Harris, Spacey, Lemmon, Arkin, Baldwin, Pryce......all superb. Even the supporting cast is top notch. Check out Jude Ciccolella (24) as the cop. If you thought you were in a rat-race, just look at these guys. Be warned a lot of profanity, including the dread C-word, but doesn't use it for shock value, just to illustrate what these guys go through in the pressure cooker environment. Mamet's screenplay is excellent..only difference between the film and play is Baldwin's character, which in my opinion is the best acting he's ever done. Buy it now. I just wish they will release it on Blu-Ray. June 17, 2008

glengarry/ great movie

this is a true classic in movie/play form acting ,,,a david mamet pulizer
prize-winning play,,this has all the drama & entertainment you could ask
for,,,these battling real estate sales man go head to head ,cut throut,,
to get these lead's for the big sale's,,,it takes place mainly in the
office to where it all leads to an amazing climax,,,,with actors like
jack lemmon,alec baldwin,ed harris,kevin spacey,alan arkin,al pacino &
jonathan pryce ,,,this is a no brainer a must June 15, 2008

NEWSFLASH: Salesmen are whores! THIS IS NEEDED VIEWING IN OUR SUBPRIME CRISIS

I mean, watch Pacino con the john in the Chinese restaurant bar, pure drinks and charm and chat and seduction from his wife at home. This is salesmanship.

Capitalism turns us all in to sharks and thieves and liars and greedy individuals incapable of honesty and cooperation and community, into whores and assassins.

See the subprime crisis, bringing down at last the whole bushanomic house of cards.

Enron has won. The death of Enron was the canary in the cage. The Silverado Savings and Loan scandal only rewarded Neil Bush with a fortune. We did not make our economic system more just and honest and open and fair. We legislated greater secrecy and legitimized our thievery.

And now we pay the piper. Subprime deceptions bring down the whole house of cards. The USA is no longer a leading economic indicator; the tail shall now wag the failing dog, violently.

This film is metonymy for the entire moral and ethical and economic failure. This film is brilliant. This film must be seen as our ship of state sinks, as the band still plays on this Titanic. See this film.

This Tenth Anniversary Special Edition contains two disks. One disk has widescreen; the second disk has "full screen" which is best avoided. Together the two disks have enough extras to keep any film buff happy for days, for years. Disk one includes a brilliant and long tribute to Jack Lemmon, including words from his son and from his golf partner, from the director and from himself. It is enough to make you seek out other Lemmon films you have forgotten, including Save the Tiger, Missing, The China Syndrome (Special Edition), Days of Wine and Roses, Long Day's Journey Into Night or even the hilarious and tragic Bell, Book and Candle in which the grey and grim vampire businessmen, who reach their inevitable self-destruction in this film, conquer once colorful New York, rendering delightful witches zombie housewives unquestionably servicing their economic immoralties.

The extras on this two disk set also included an excellent interview with Alex Baldwin, and Mr. Arkin. Film students will appreciate the long commentaries by the Spanish cinematographer Juan Ruiz Anchia, forced to produce compelling camera work within the confines of a crowded office space, evocative of Rojo Amanecer, and under heavy rain. This powerful camera work in itself prohibits the watching of the "full screen" version as so much visual information, composition and balance is missing. Gratefully disk one here presents the widescreen version as meant to be seen.

These commentaries (which do no accompany as usual a full presentation of the movie, but have excerpts as background, a rather frustrating experience as we long to see Pacino in his full glorious performance, not as wallpaper) also include a rather long and unique speech by the production designer, of compelling interest most to the student of film, and of New York. The report of the fire on set due to the constant rain and the hot lighting cables provides some interest at least.

There is no commentary from Pacino; for this we might turn to his Pacino: An Actor's Vision (Chinese Coffee / Looking for Richard / The Local Stigmatic) which is valuable for his take on Shakespeare's Richard III. Nevertheless, the generous extras also include cast and staff bio's, including a very substantial and comprehensive multi-page report on Al and the rest. Please see as well his excellent William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice with Jeremy Irons.

The cast is brilliant and the best that can be had, with Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, and Ed Harris as well as Kevin Spacey. Ed Harris of course may now be known through the extras on his great movie Walker - Criterion Collection, as well as seen in the revealing glimpse of returning vets Jacknife, his personal project on Jackson Pollock - Love & Death on Long Island, A History of Violence (New Line Platinum Series), and hundreds of other Hollywood productions such as The Right Stuff (Two-Disc Special Edition).

You also find long interviews with salesmen, from Fuller Brush to real estate, and saleswomen, and you wonder how and why we ever allow them to deceive us so willingly. We are a nation of suckers. There is also an interesting if very low budget documentary on a platitude pronouncing used car, flea market, used furniture impresario, great for the weird old haircuts is little else. Now we have that antique roadshow selling us the same junk.

My only problem with this movie is the editing, and the excessive quick cuts which leave me seasick. I have been spoiled by Director Alex Cox's excellent and effective master shot technique which keeps the camera running for the full ten minutes the technology permits, and is shown to good effect in his Highway Patrolman and Revengers Tragedy as well as in embryonic form in the Walker - Criterion Collection mentioned above. As this Glengarry Glen Ross was originally a play, holding the camera without cuts, and with two characters seated together in the compelling and real and potent dialogue would have been more effective than swinging our perspective violently from talking head to talking head in quick and constant cuts, destroying the deep rhythm of the percussive talk. At such moments turn up the sound and close your eyes to avoid vertigo.

Otherwise excellent, and a legend for our disastrous times. This is the disaster movie to end all disaster movies, and how our nation collapses upon itself now.

See this film with understanding. See this film. The Cocoanuts [Groucho Marx and Harpo Marx], one of the first full length movie comedies, also had to do with selling swamp land in Florida, as Groucho promised: "And you can get Stucco! Boy, can you get Stucco!" See this last film still selling swampland and still getting us stucco. June 7, 2008

Al Pacino's performance the stuff of cinematic wet dreams.

Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon star in this hugely memorable film. Oh, and some guy named Al Pacino as well. Glengarry Glen Ross has become the type of film that slowly has sprung forth legend and arguably some of the most memorable lines in movie history, most notably Alec Baldwin's, "Put that coffee DOWN! Coffee's for closers!"

The plot (based on David Mamet's award winning play) deals with a number of real estate salesman and a day at the office that acts as a microcosm of what drives them. With pressure from the higher-ups downtown to close some deals, some will rise to the challenge while others will crumble under its avalanche.

Aside from the sub-two hundred f-bombs throughout the film, I enjoyed GGR, and honestly, found the film to suffice all my "angst against The Man" needs when I saw it a few years ago on TV. Al Pacino shines brightly as his character's lines flow with ferocious splendor throughout the film, with particular emphasis on the last fifteen minutes of the film when he proceeds to needle Ed Harris' character with a systematic verbal bout that made me stand up and applaud with cathartic approval. A very powerful film that will doubtlessly make your day a little more fun for having watched it. May 29, 2008

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