Death of a Salesman (1985)

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

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers:

Arthur Miller (teleplay), Arthur Miller (play)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Willy Loman
Kate Reid	...	Linda Loman
John Malkovich	...	Biff
Stephen Lang	...	Happy
Charles Durning	...	Charley
Louis Zorich	...	Ben
David S. Chandler	...	Bernard
Jon Polito	...	Howard
Kathryn Rossetter	...	Woman from Boston (as Kathy Rossetter)
Tom Signorelli	...	Stanley
Linda Kozlowski	...	Miss Forsythe
Karen Needle	...	Letta
Anne McIntosh	...	Jenny
Michael Quinlan	...	Waiter

Storyline

Salesman Willy Loman is in a crisis. He's about to lose his job, he can't pay his bills, and his sons Biff and Happy don't respect him and can't seem to live up to their potential. He wonders what went wrong and how he can make things up to his family.

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Plot Keywords:

salesman | traveling salesman | aging | self deprecation | suicide attempt | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dood van een handelsreiziger

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roxbury Productions, Punch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arthur Miller always pictured Willy Loman as a short, weak man with a booming voice. After nearly 40 years Miller finally got his wish after casting Dustin Hoffman.

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Goofs

When Willy is talking to himself, drinking milk, the level of milk changes in his glass before he takes a drink.

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Quotes

Biff Loman: I run out of that building and I see... the sky. I see all the things I love in this world. The work, the food, the time to sit and smoke. And I look at this pen and I ask myself, "What the hell am I grabbing this thing for? Why am I trying to become something I don't wanna become when all I want is out there waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am?"

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Connections

Version of En handelsresandes död (1961)

User Reviews

Depressive and Tragic Theatrical Movie With Awesome Performances

On the age of sixty and something years, the salesman Willy Loman (Dustin Hoffman) realizes that he is a loser and his empty life was a worthless fraud. The disturbed and deranged Willy becomes delusional, mixing fantasy and reality, and disclosing secrets of his family.

"Death of the Salesman" is a very depressive and tragic theatrical movie with awesome performances, mainly of Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid and John Malkovitch. I have never read Arthur Miller's novel or seen the movie or the play; therefore I did not expect such a sad story with so complex characters. The story, in the 40's, shows the evil face of the capitalism (and the American Dream), and the character of Dustin Hoffman becomes insane when he sees that he is a loser and his life a complete failure: he is paying the last installment of his old house after thirty years of sacrifice; his sons have not been successful in life; his old car is broken; his old refrigerator needs repair; he does not have any money after more than thirty years working for the same company and in the end he is treated like a street dog and fired. For a viewer that does not know this drama (like me), I recommend to see this movie in a happy day, otherwise he or she may become too much depressed with such heart-breaking story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Morte do Caixeiro-Viajante" ("Death of the Salesman")