Death of a Salesman (1985) (TV)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.3/10   

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Guionista:

Arthur Miller (play)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

15 septiembre 1985 (USA)

Género:

Drama

Frase comercial:

Its passion cannot be overstated. Its power must not be overlooked.

Plot:

An aging traveling salesman recognizes the emptiness of his life and tries to fix it.

Plot Keywords:

Salesman | Traveling Salesman | Aging | Despair | American Football

Premios:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Shame on you, Mrs. H.

Reparto

Dustin Hoffman	...	Willy Loman
Kate Reid	...	Linda Loman
John Malkovich	...	Biff Loman
Stephen Lang	...	Harold 'Happy' Loman
Charles Durning	...	Charley
Louis Zorich	...	Ben Loman
David S. Chandler	...	Bernard, Charley's son
Jon Polito	...	Howard, Willy's Boss
Kathryn Rossetter	...	Woman from Boston (as Kathy Rossetter)
Tom Signorelli	...	Stanley the waiter at Frank's Chop House
Linda Kozlowski	...	Miss Forsythe
Karen Needle	...	Letta, Forsythe's friend
Anne McIntosh	...	Jenny
Michael Quinlan	...	Waiter

También conocida como:

Der Tod eines Handlungsreisenden (Alemania Occidental)
Muerte de un viajante (Spain) [es]

Duración:

130 min

País:

USA | Alemania Occidental

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

1.33 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (bw)

Locaciones de Filmación:

Astoria Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Compañía:

Bioskop Film

Trivialidades:

The original Broadway production of "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller opened at the Morosco Theater on February 10, 1949, ran for 742 performances and won the 1949 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Play. "Death of a Salesman" won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1949.

Errores:

Continuidad: When Biff and Linda argue in the kitchen, Linda grabs an empty glass and places it under the tap, when she turns the tap on no water comes out but when she picks the glass up, it is full of water.

Citas:

Linda Loman: [to Willy's grave] Willy, dear, I can't cry. Why did you do it? I search and search and I search, and I can't understand it, Willy. I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there'll be nobody home.
[a sob rises in her throat]
Linda Loman: We're free and clear.
[sobs]
Linda Loman: We're free.

Conexiones de Película:

Apareció en Private Conversations: On the Set of 'Death of a Salesman' (1985)

Shame on you, Mrs. H.

I had to read Arthur Miller's „Death of a Salesman` for my English class this year. Our teacher was a very industrious woman and let us analyze every character's every word several times, until we couldn't hear the words „Willy`, „Linda`, „Biff`, „American Dream` and „stockings` any more. It was terrible! She didn't show us any theater or film version, so we began to utterly dislike the text as a whole: a sentimental play where you already know the ending when you read the title.

A few days ago, I spotted Volker Schlöndorff's film version on television, a German dubbed version, but that doesn't matter because I already knew the lines and Schlöndorff hardly changed them.

Fortunately, Schlöndorff didn't make any effort to put his own special style into the movie, he just left the play the way it was and the way, I suppose, Arthur Miller wanted it. So some of you might claim that this version was too stage-drama-like, not cinematic. For me, this was ideal because I could see the REAL, lively „Death of a Salesman`, played by an ideal cast: Dustin Hoffman: a little over-acting, but enthusisiastic; Kate Reid: so authentic that she could be taken for my mother; John Malkovich: silent, thoughtful, „self-confident`, great! How shall I put it? This film sort of opened my eyes towards this great, merciless work of Arthur Miller. This play is something you can orientate your life to. At many important turning points of your life, you can remember Willy Loman and his fate that is fictitious but – and believe me, I know some people who are exactly like him – definitely could be the fate of a real person, and not only of an American. I found the „Salesman` important, not as much as a criticism of the American Dream but an account of what must happen, if lives are built upon lies – lies to others and lies to yourself. Those people who think „Death of a Salesman` is rubbish are those who suppress cruel truths just as Willy Loman does.

So, when I saw this movie, I was completely stunned because its hopelessness became clear to me and I noticed how crucial this American classic really is. I give Schlöndorff 8 out of 10 stars because there are some flaws in his way of directing (e. g. letting Malkovich and Lang play their young alter egos was stupid because no one believes that they are 17).

Another sad example how bad teachers can destroy a masterpiece. Shame on you, Mrs. H.!