Death of a Salesman/ Private Conversations

Death of a Salesman/ Private Conversations Review

Director Volker Schlondorff's version of the Arthur Miller play really hits on all cylinders. The mood, pacing, characterization and accuracy of Death of a Salesman are masterfully blended into a well-thought production. One underappreciated aspect is successfully incorporating a play into a film. Many times we have read a play only to watch a film version seem trite, forced or disappointingly unable to make the transition; Death of a Salesman doesn't have this problem, as many significant scenes, such as Biff's epiphany and confrontation with Willy, keep their power. Also, the key quotes from characters are given their moment. Unlike many other reviewers, I haven't seen the Broadway Production of Death of a Salesman, so I can't compare this one to any other production, but I think this version will hold up nicely to other successful versions.

As far as the story itself, Death of a Salesman is a classic case for the failure of the American Dream. Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman, is a tragic hero who loses touch with reality as he wavers between the present, 1942, and the past, 1928. Willy's tragic flaw is that he has false values that he takes as the proponents to success. Not only this, but he pushes these values onto his two sons, Happy and Biff. Willy's false belief that success in life can be attributed to personal appearance, being liked, and connections lays foundations for present day failures. We come to understand that Willy's glowing vision of the past is only an exaggeration for his idealistic hopes. Willy not only has visions of the past, but seeks the answers to life from his dead brother Ben, who, unlike Willy, was a success early in life. Much of Willy's success as a salesman is exaggerated; his false pride gets in the way of any transformation. Happy and Biff, because of Willy's outlook, are also lost in the world, lack identity, and represent failures. Willy has inflated Biff's ego to the point where Biff lacks responsibility, and, as a result, Biff can't hold down a job. The film investigates the negative aspects of having wrong values, and how it can destroy hopes of the American Dream. Although Willy's state of mind is quite fractured, Linda (his wife) and the two sons, for the most part, do not attempt to confront him or his suicidal tendencies, ignoring the problem and thus emphasizing false perception. Biff, however, is the one character who finally wakes up and challenges Willy's views, and "sees the light" about the lie he's been living. Death of a Salesman proposes that having the wrong dreams can lead to tragic results.

A great job was done assembling a cast that really made this play come to life. Dustin Hoffman really gives the edginess to Willy Loman, yet he also makes Willy a sympathetic character, one who you feel sorry for by the time the credits are rolling. The other actors also do solid work. A young John Malkovich does a commendable job as Biff Loman, the one who Willy has high hopes for.

Also included within the DVD is Private Confessions, a documentary which sheds some light on background into the play and the idea of the traveling salesman. If you haven't read the play, this might be a good way to begin before viewing the film.

Over all, this is an excellent job of bringing Arthur Miller's play to life. This is also is an exceptional resource for either a teacher or student who wants to use the film to help with the study of the play, which can be confusing to read with the various time shifts.

Fantastic production! Definitely recommended!

Death of a Salesman/ Private Conversations Overview

Willy Loman has spent his entire life believing he and his family are bound for greatness. Struggling day to day as a traveling salesman, Willy begins to lose touch with reality and drifts away into the past. Meanwhile his family, including wife Linda and sons Biff and Happy, attempts to cope with Willy's self-destruction and the still-lingering ghosts of the past. Arthur Miller's timeless Pulitzer Prize-winning play is brought to the screen with a powerhouse performance by Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman, who earned Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for this role. The stellar supporting cast features Kate Reid, Charles Durning, Stephen Lang, and in his first breakout role, John Malkovich as Biff, all guided by internationally-acclaimed director Volker Schlondorff (The Tin Drum) and a haunting score by legendary composer Alex North (Spartacus).

Death of a Salesman/ Private Conversations Specifications

German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff's 1985 production of Arthur Miller's most famous play appeared squarely and quite hauntingly in the middle of the go-go economy of the Reagan-Bush years. Miller's story, set during the post-war boom period of the late '40s, concerns an aging, traveling salesman named Willy Loman (Dustin Hoffman), who despairs that his life his been lived in vain. Facing dispensability and insignificance in a heated, youthful economy, Willy is not ready to part with his cherished fantasies of an America that loves and admires him for personable triumphs in the marketplace. But the reality is far more pitiable than that, and the measure of Willy's self-delusion and contradictions is found in his two sons, one (Stephen Lang) a ne'er-do-well gliding on inherited hot air and repressed feelings, and the other (John Malkovich) a mousy, retiring sort unable to reconcile--or forgive--the difference between his father's desperate impersonation of success and the truth. Schlondorff's remarkable cast explores Miller's rich subtext to great effect, though Hoffman--despite giving us a new model of Willy to contrast with Lee J. Cobb's definitive portrayal a generation before--is a bit insect-like and shrill in his approach. Malkovich, Lang, and Kate Reid (as Willy's long-suffering wife) are perfect, however, and the production is atmospheric and strong. --Tom Keogh

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 24, 2010 10:48:10