A Look Inside Glengarry Glen Ross
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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This video looks at the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross and how it was adapted from a broadway play to a feature film.
If the presentation of this video looks different it's because I put in a background photo in the hopes that it wouldn't be noticed by copyright head hunters. Lets see if it works (It didn't). And sorry for the lack of output this summer, I'll try to be more consistent this fall.
Copyright Disclaimer - This video contains copyrighted images and sound. It is an educational study and falls under the "fair use" provisions of copyright law and the first amendment to critique and discuss.
As a straight commission insurance salesman for over 30 years, I can feel exactly what they’re feeling. Many a night I was in my office crying because I didn’t have the rent due the next day.
so how'd you deal with not having rent
One thing that interested me about Glengarry Glen Ross is how subtle the exposition is. Would you even call it exposition? You're just kind of thrown into the middle of things, and have to figure out what's going on based on conversations and context. Anyway, I like the critique on modern society: the employers screw over the employees. The employees screw over each other, but they may have a chance if they team up. But even if they work together, their success comes at the expense of their customers. Even so, what are they supposed to do? You gotta eat. They're in a situation where survival means betraying others. I think the stakes are highest for Shelly, because of his daughter. I mean, I wouldn't say he's likable, but... You feel sorry for him. You do get the impression that the business he used to thrive in has changed, and he couldn't keep up, and it's sad. Actually... is it just modern society that has these problems, or has it always been that way? Is it even just a problem of society?
To your queries, I direct you to “The Death of a Salesman”.
@@jerrymammoser9857 Oh, yeah, great work! Not so sure if it answers those questions but it certainly asks them, lol.
@@jerrymammoser9857 During the making of the film, they jokingly called it "Death Of A Fucking Salesman" because of all the cursing.
I can only watch this film while sipping on a Cutty or a quick J&B scotch during a torrential downpour...coffee's for closers
Oh yeah. Coffee for closers, Levine. He's such a fucked up salesman, he can't even close stolen leads.
a fifth of Sark will do just fine
@@austinteutsch have you actually watched the film? He does not close or try to close the stolen leads, he sells them.
@@WSMDSA I KNOW that, idiot. My thought was WHY not try to close them instead of sell them. Fucking trolls.
@@austinteutsch It was THE NEXT DAY!
One reason the film didn't hit big: it was called Glengarry Glen Ross.
Perhaps it should have been called Glengarry Diana Ross? 😃
I never did understand that title.
Glorified Truth you know what you might it
Death of a Fucking Salesman !
@ The title comes from the names of two of the real estate developments: Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms.
One of my favorite movies. Seen it more times than I can count. A while back I watched it two times in a row.
And a special mention to the wonderful, late, Mr. Al Jarreau for the best rendition of “Blues Skies” you will ever hear on this Earth. Peter Erskine, drums. Wonderful job! ..Of course, Wayne Shorter, tenor sax. Rock!
"How do I tell these people I'm pretentious without saying I'm pretentious?"
The film is lean, wastes no time, is delivered in a straight-forward manner that retains the feel of a stage play, especially with the staging and set design. Arguably one of the best 90 minute films in terms of pacing and editing. The actors intrinsicly understand Mamet's intended delivery style, they are all consumate professionals. It really all comes together in this movie.
How did Jack Lemon not get an Oscar for this??! Not even nominated?..
I know! One of the greatest performances in Cinema in my opinion.😢
dont know how Don didnt win anything for his masterful performance!
@@derekholland3328Who’s Don? There’s no Don in the movie.
@@Mostopinionatedmanofalltime meant Jack Lemon, my bad.
“You can't close the leads you're given, you can't close shit, you are shit, hit the bricks, pal, and beat it 'cause you are going out”!
I would disagree on there being no one to sympathize with. I was rooting for Levene because he was a once great salesman who was being treated like shit because he hasn't had a good sale in a while, plus he had a dying daughter in the hospital. Given that second part, it makes sense why he'd be so desperate and steal the leads and I felt very badly for him in the end.
You felt sorry for Levene, but at the end of the day, all the salesmen were selling garbage to people. When it's uncovered that he was involved in stealing the leads, the sympathy kinda dissipated.
"In order to be a good salesman you have to be a good actor." And in order to be a good actor you have to be a good salesman.
Well said. I learned that early in sales and have refined my acting for years. One of the sales jobs I had required me to tear-up during the pitch. I realized that I was a natural. It frightened me….. Which is when I decided to leave sales.
Great job! I remember when I first saw this film. I had read about this film and when I was in San Diego doing a stint at San Diego Naval Medical Center I rented it. I was awestruck after one viewing and like with all great films, I watched it again.
this movie is epic...
Great look at a great film.
Honestly, I still liked Roma even after he basically manipulated Lingk. Sleazy? Sure, but he just knows how to play the game. Roma doesn't suffer fools, as seen when he chews out Williamson, but he also knows the importance of teamwork and support in the business, such as when he humiliates Moss for his disregard of Shelly's sale (regardless if it turned out to be a bust, in that moment there wasn't any reason not to at least congratulate Shelly). In a lot of ways he's still the most respectable character in the film, except for maybe Aaranow, but he's such a dope you don't really feel anything towards him.
We all only like Roma cause Al Pacino gave him such flair. But really, Roma is a sociopath.
@@OldManNutcakez I dislike Roma for lying to Lingk,but than again,he only did it to survive.But I also like Roma for taking the time to listen to George when he is in a slump.George puts himself down and Roma says "Hey, fuck that shit, George. You're a good man, you just hit a bad streak."
This was one of my favorite plays that made its way to the big screen. All of the performances were first rate, particularly with Al Pacino dominating the first half of the film and Jack Lemmon in the second half of the film.
One of the top 25 movies of all time. IMO. Great acting. Great screenplay/stage play. Mamet is a damn genius.
The idea of the Greek tragedy I hadn't thought of, but it's right. For the protagonist, that's hidden in the idea of 'the working man' brought out in the dialogue several times, especially by Pacino's character. It's so in your face it's not even noticed. So there is someone to relate to all the way through. The absolute worst job I ever did was a telephone solicitor with the job of phoning people to sell them the idea of what we were selling, so salesmen could contact the leads we supplied and close on the deal. Last day at work, I pulled in six leads, probably worth thousands, for which I was paid maybe a lousy twenty bucks; enough for a pizza and a beer.
Every time I see this excellent production I thank God I never got into the Real Estate game.
Great "look inside" Sean. I have only seen the movie and as you stated the performances were great. They get you absorbed in the film. I liked Jack Lemmon's character the best and I wasn't surpised the Simpsons picked up on his character. It didn't take me long to get the overall feeling that sales is a miserable job filled with miserable characters and suckers for clients and the higher the stakes, the more miserable it all is. One thing in the film is thought was such a great "added touch" was the number of clips shot in the rain, with characters getting soaked like an old hound dog which further describes the miserable job, desperate, and miserable characters. I love great drama and this was so well done.
I thought moss got angry because shelly got the sale with the 'trash leads' he couldn't, making him see himself as weak for having to resort to robbing it. And since introspection to most people is like pulling teeth, he instead lashes out at the people around him.
Interesting point.
One of my all time favorite films. If you’ve ever been a salesperson you can relate to so many scenes
Thanks, I've always wanted to see the theater shots of this.
I so miss that night I got baked and saw this movie for the first time.
seen this film a minimum of 25 times..used to use the film to pep the troops when I was brokering real estate..and now I watch it with gratitude for not having to broker real estate anymore!
Masterful performances.. this screen version is amazing
So glad you did this GGGR. This one's in my top five. The acting and writing are terrific, and - whadaya know - I'm in sales. This is Citizen Kane to salesmen and The Boiler Room is our Pulp Fiction.
Me too agree. I wish I could find the scene where MOss and Aron get donuts and coffee.
@@mebeasensei Mamet toned that dialogue down for the film.
The film is incomparable. The play, even with Pacino, doesn't even come close.
Strange to hear an audience laugh at Moss.
For some reason it's often billed as a black comedy.
sounds like my former career as a teacher forever getting screwed by principals. I taught computer engineering, math, robotics, and special education. My students were amazing.
Baldwin is great in this Film because he's Playing Himself. A Douche Bag New Yorker. I'm from NYC and I know those people very well. Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce does a Great New York accent and is a Fantatstic "Schlub".
If you actually put the clients needs ahead of your commission and do right by them you dont have to pretend at all. I love being a salesman and honesty helps me be a great salesman
Well it sounds like you actually care about your reputation. The characters in this film certainly did not.
One of the best invent movies I’ve ever seen. I see clips of the stage play, the audience laughter seems so odd to me, I don’t remember laughing during the movie.
Ive seen the movie a dozen times, lot of funny scenes honestly
I enjoyed the critique. You mentioned some things I hadn't thought of.
Now for my two cents. For a while I tried writing and most writers of fiction know of the 36 dramatic where all stories are a variation of one those plots, which all seem to have evolved from a Greek tragedy.
The main thing I got from the film (probably on HBO or some paid cable channel) and what I wanted to share with others, is the kind of world men live in, and the difficulties they must struggle with.
The same can be said (in my opinion) for Death of a Salesman. No doubt I identify with those scenarios because of my personal life. Of the many jobs I've had, selling on commission was the worst.
Apparently cast members on set called this "Death of a fucking Salesman".
Not a single female in Glengar Glenn Ross.... Its a mans film.
Sean has a great line: "Now you're left with noone to root for". I never realized, but there isn't anyone you have sympathy for, except maybe Arkin.
And thats just because he's bad at his job.
I sympathized with Shelly
"I come here and I meet gestapo tactics....I meet gestapo tactics !"
@@AA-sn9lz Jack Lemmon is so desperate here.
@@SeaTac411 "Hey, fuck that shit, George. You're a good man, you just hit a bad streak."
Sales is an act, except they don't buy the tickets until after the show! So you have to be the best actor in the world, which I was. I was so good I wound on tv doing a combination of sales characteristics that wound down to a cheap trick used car salesman and it won hundreds of awards. Sales is fun if you're good, if not it's the nightmare you see in Glen Gerry.
Well done review. I use that Alec Baldwin presentation about steak knives, in all my $ales management/motivational meetings. LOL. Then the top 3 closers each get a free copy of the classic business book: Who Moved My Cheese.
When he says "PERFECT DRAMAS" he aint kidding....
0:54 Isn’t the actor on the right one of the “Bobs” in The Office Space?
I’m about to watch this. Hope it’s good
You have to be a great actor to be a salesman?
You haven’t sold shit in your life.
You have to believe in the product and communicate effectively to be a great salesman.
If you’re “selling” something you know is a shit deal, you cease to be a sales person and you instead become a scam artist.
Thank you for your share
I just started watching your flicks. Nice work. Why do Kubrick's minuets work so much better than Warren Beaty's? How would you compare their respective use of camera movement?
You say it's 'swampland' in your criticism, but I know in the play there is no mention at all of that in the script. That would, to some extent, defeat the meaning of the play. Yes, they sell using hard tactics, even underhanded ones, but the lessons in the play apply to the entirety of our culture, not just people selling swampland or things of no value. The key is that they have to get people they don't know at all to hand them over lots and lots of money from their bank account for something they can't see. Whether it is ultimately a good investment or not is not the point.
FUCK YOU, THATS MY NAME...
The great Jack Lemmon
Blake also knew about the leads. The cops should also interrogate Blake . Imagine the cops trying to play hard with Blake: You call yourself a salesman, you son of a b****?
Is the entire play avalable? I'd like to see this casts take on the story.
I could only find a few clips of the 2012 play on RUclips. To my knowledge there is no footage of the 1983 version of the play.
I enjoyed your analysis.
I especially liked your Fllm Noir style narration.
I'm going to see if you've done other reviews. I understand about RUclips's kowtowing to alleged copyright holders, even in reviews. I stopped doing 'em due to "strikes."
This is some premium review
Can someone explain to me the significance of the train?? and why its sound pops up randomly throughout the film? I know it's symbolic of something but don't understand what...
Every single time I watch this movie I’m ALWAYS disappointed that Ricky Roma (Al Pacino) was not in the office for the Alec Baldwin scene. I am sooooooo curious how Ricky would have reacted to the way Alec Baldwin’s character was talking to everyone. 😂
Great movie. Baldwin in HILARIOUS SNL sketch, he is the same character as I. Play - “winters breath” sent from Kris Kringle ( Murray) to talk to the elves (salesmen) about their disastrous performance.
You must see this, showcases what an amazing actor Baldwin is - plays tragedy and comedy in the same exact performance .
He is unjustly accused in Rust case.
name another movie LIKE it, & i will watch it. 😁
Resivoire Dogs
Boiler Room
great movie, it's finally on RUclips
Roma's interaction w/ George is the funniest .AP: how ya doin' George"? AA: y' mean on the board"? AP: pauses,"OK, on the board" AA: "terrible".
Happy to see you back and doing this movie. So underrated it isn't even funny, it is scarcely mentioned within great movies and even when talking about Al Pacino's great movies.
Betcha when people saw the title they thought it was a John Ford film about the Irish starring Maureen O'Hara.
(Or the actress from the film adaptation of Angela's Ashes whose name slips my mind.)
Al Pacino reminded me of Don Flamenco from Mike Tysons Punch Out in this flic!!!! Really something!!!!
Lol!🌹
This movie is awesome
I work in sales. 6 min in. We call it "make a friend, make a sale." You're not selling the real estate, you're selling yourself. Period.
Should have been titled Put That Coffee Down
Since this film, Alec's private life has betrayed this character.
Naw. They probably wanted a good title.
Roma is on top of the world. but when the client from the bar comes to the office . to break the deal off Roma pretty much gets on his knees. and begs the man.
Well I don't think he was begging, he was trying to keep him in the office and try to find another angle to keep his check in the bank. Right before Williamson blows the deal Roma figures out that Link's wife pushes him around so when he discovers that he decides to take him to the bar again. If Williamson didn't interrupt than Roma would have gotten Link drunk and convinced him to stay involved just to spite his wife.
Sean McDougall williamsnon just to cover his own lies . be caused the contract was stolen.
and I ment begging/ stalling for time to keep link running around.
The salesmen aren't using their skills on the leads, but on each other.
One of my Top 5 movies of all time. TREMENDOUS
Baldwin should have received an Oscar for that speech alone
Great synopsis
Great insight, Sean!
Thanks Rob.
Very good thank you
You're welcome.
Sir-----------" A perfect drama ' ?? NO----------it is a tragedy, from start to end with NO hero-------hell, NO protagonist at all. Maybe, " the leads " are protagonist ? They damn sure are talked about ALL the time ! No, this film is a tragedy, a dark, sad, tragedy, all the way. Now, is it beautifully re-imagined ? Yes ! I've seen the play, with Joe Mantegna as Ricky Roma --------and, Bobby Cannavale in the same role. Good as both are, none even comes close to Pacino. He was born to play that role & should have, along with Jack Lemmon, been nominated for Best Supporting Actor ! And Spacey ???? Just watching him, gave me the creeps ; THE " company man " . Spacey was almost too perfect.-------------I'd have worked nights at 7-11, before I'd have been a salesman ! ----N F W !!--------MJ, 77 y/o
Being a salesman is like going gambling.
One of the best movies ever made.
Ed Harris is so great...
Such a great movie about terrible people. Realistically, two of them didn't really want to be terrible people, but felt trapped. Such a great drama.
I disagree that it's the "modern Death of a Salesman." DOAS was - to me - more of a modern take on Taming of the Shrew. A tragedy. DOAS was an AMAZING tragedy.
GGGR was more of DOAS turned prefect DRAMA.
We need a coffee is for closers’ cup ☕️
saw it as a first run film. Summer/fall of '92. I saw some of my very favorite actors in performances that were among their best. twenty years after 'the Godftaher' and Pacino is as good as he ever was. jack Lemmon? probably the last of his great efforts .ol' Alan Arkin has the last cold call of the story.
'oh,...., I hate this job"...
If you want to see why it did poorly at the box office, just watch the trailer. People were expecting an entirely different movie.
sean you're really good
Thanks.
Cops would never show up so fast in real life for a trivial rinky-dinky theft. You have to suspend some belief to enjoy this movie.
Roma says some pretty awful things at the bar. I'd be a bit worried about anyone who believed in him
fuck you that's my name
We watched this in English comp in college after reading death of a salesman. Needless to say I was more than a little surprised.
Do yourself a favor and watch House of Games another classic from David Mamet!
Feel a bit sorry for Kevin Spacey, however, he does little to help his guys!
one of the modern concepts in movie making is to create a lot of characters who don't wear black or white hats, more like gray to use a metaphor. We can relate to and be supportive but only up to a point. We can despise and feel repelled but then a softer more likable/ understandable side emerges. In the end we might not care for any one character but it's made a more complex choice by gifted writers. That would be my all time most favorite TV show series the Sopranos, I'm sure there's plenty more examples of writers and directors emphasizing that approach. Glengarry sort of played with the audience too, though maybe it was just picking the least offensive character to each viewer. Not a happy choice but much of real life is just that and I'm fine by that.
Just looking at the play and then the movie, the delivery is drastically better in the movie it's night and day
Great job on this video. you hit some very pertinent points in the film and stage production of Glengarry. Ricky Roma's line "you don't speak until you know the shot", says it all. Company man Kevin Spacey hears Roma's response then Lemon's. Only with Lemon, he learns something that tells him who robbed the office, Shelly The Machine Levine himself. The biggest Ahole in the movie is Moss. Only by a hair considering all of them would sell out anyone to make a buck. Alan Arkin's charactor George Aranow (sp?) seems like the nice guy fish out of water who because he can't lie, doesnt earn selling Florida swampland. First Moss goes after to him to be an accomplice to robbing the office, then Shelly. They are all great performances and it's great that Mamet wrote an entirely scene or act with Alec Baldwin "from Mitch & Murray". The term ABC always be closing alone makes the film version of GlenGarry my fav for sure.
It is a terrible story
The only female in this movie is the coat check woman at the Chinese restaurant.
5:32 The line al Pachino he says gave me flashes of how he said the line in Donnie Brasco. The sound guy was asked to turn the sound of Al Pacinos lether jacket screeching as to make the scene more intense
nice breakdown....yeh i liked that :D
Wait. I always thought the Machine was lying about closing the Nyborgs. That morning? They did a shot of booze to celebrate from the sideboard Shelly didn't even know was in there? B.S. Roma knew it.
When Roma said "you closed them today"? He knows something is up because nobody in their right mind would give a salesman $82,000.00 in less than 24hrs. But Shelly is so excited about the deal that he can't recognize that the Nyborgs are nuts.
Sean McDougall you don't think it's all a lie? You think the whole description he gives to Roma actually happened? I don't. He lies about not stealing the leads. I think bursting in with where's Williamson grab the fuckin chalk is convenient for a man who robbed the joint the night before to have something to focus on as he knew the office would be suspicious and crawling with cops. Love this movie. I love how Shellys big mouth reveals him to John. And he does it in a diatribe about keeping your mouth shut if u don't know the shot. Brilliant writing.
There are many continuity/logic problems I have with the screenplay. Mamet isn't famous for explaining everything but some things just don't make sense. I'll accept that Shelly was lying about the Nyborgs because he was busy robbing the office but then why would he say to Roma "I got up early, tracked them down, and closed that fucker." He did close the Nyborgs but are we supposed to believe he did so just that morning? That's not at all believable. Also Williamson said "last night I stayed home with my kids", so then how does he know Roma's contract is on his desk? When did Roma turn it in? If it was before the office was closed up that was never made clear. Finally, how is it Roma and Moss seem to know the Nyborg's reputation but Shelly discovers they're nuts only after he thinks he made a major sale to them?
@@Adam-hi9dh you need to rewatch the film. You have misheard and misunderstood a lot.
@Adam
Yes, Roma knew the Nyborgs were frauds. Levene "closing" the sale heightened Roma's suspicion about the office break in. Roma knew Levene was going down, and was very kind to him.
These Look insides soooo make to directly to the full moves . Epic content & thank you
Great video!
I actually didn't like the movie. It had great actors, but it didn't change the fact that really nothing of importance happens during the whole movie. It's a movie about salesmen, but somehow no one manages to sell anything in the entire movie.
Also while Alec Baldwin's speech may have been epic, it ended up having no effect on anything. No wonder it wasn't in the original broadway version.
@TheStapleGunKid
Words were used as "violence", in place of action. Words drove the story and emotion. Brilliant, Pulitzer Prize winning writing. I beg to differ.
Correct, nobody manages to sell anything, and they're all worse off in the second act compared to the first. That's exactly the point of a two-act tradegy. But just because nothing is accomplished I wouldn't say nothing of importance happens :)
With regards to Baldwin's character (Blake), he's of the opinion that they're all a bunch of losers that doesn't even deserve coffee. However, he's being pressured by the higher-ups at Mitch & Murray to deal with the situation. He doesn't want to be there. He doesn't want to deal with these low-life bums. His natural habitat is downtown. He's obviously rolling in cash, and to have to deal with this shit is beneath him, it makes him frustrated. So he takes out his frustration on these guys, whom he doesn't respect one bit. He wants them out of the company all together, and his speech is designed to demotivate and terrify them so that they leave. And I would say mission accomplished. Two of them will face charges because of what they did in pure desperation. They're out of the company for sure. One of them realizes he's not cut out to be a salesman. That leaves the office clerk Williamson, and Roma. Those two aren't enough for running a branch office, not even with the new leads.
@@kimkimpa5150 Baldwin's speech was still totally pointless. The movie would have played out exactly the same if his character and the speech wasn't in it. And like I said, that's the case for the broadway version. That doesn't have the character or the speech, but the plot is still the same.
@@TheStapleGunKid I dunno, you can use the same argument about any movie that differes significantly from the book or play it's based on (*cough* The Hobbit *cough*). I would argue that without the Blake character, the movie would've been much less interesting. The speech, in my opinion, serves as a catalyst for Moss' decision to steal the new leads, which in turn informs the entirety of the second act. If you were to pluck out the Blake character from the movie, Moss' decision would make very little sense. Then you'd have to build up Moss' character in some other fashion for it to make sense.
@@kimkimpa5150 The thing is, the character and speech just boiled to "do a better job selling things or you're fired". That's it. They didn't need to make an entire new character just to give out that message. They could have just had Williamson say it. If they had Baldwin do something else after that, I could understand, but he doesn't. He just leaves the movie. You still seem to be disregarding the fact that this movie is based on a Broadway play, a play in which Alec Baldwin's character and speech does not exist. Virtually everything else between the play and the movie are still the same.
I’ve seen this 🎥 about a dozen times and if it’s on I have to watch it !! Is there something wrong with me 😆🤣…
I think the sanest among us relish this film.
I'm buying this on Blu Ray tomorrow.... goddamit!
Really stimulating review. Congratulations
Moss is too thin to eat that many donuts
Two REALLY weak "premises" here; the presumed "value" of the new leads - the ones that AREN'T weak! - and the crap about "the contract going to the bank." Hasn't anyone heard of a stop payment order? Last time I bought real estate, the deposit had to be made using a certified check. In the vast majority of states, real estate sales require a formal closing and recording the deed. The agent doesn't get his commission until that's complete.
Great insight
Russ from Harvard Law again
Yeah. This is good. But after the absolute perfect timing of the movie version....nah.