Death of a Salesman (1985) (TV)

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writer:

Arthur Miller (play)

Release Date:

15 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Der Tod eines Handlungsreisenden (West Germany)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Bioskop Film

Trivia:

Dustin Hoffman called this his favorite acting experience.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Biff Loman: [to his father] Will you let me go, for Christ's sake? Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Tobey Maguire/Sisqo (#25.17)" (2000)

Disturbing and real...

This film counts as one of those that are uncomfortable, well-acted, and disturbingly real.

John Malkovich and Gary Sinise are very real, as well as Dustin Hoffman. It is an initial shock to see him as an aged man.

The cinematography is stark and unforgiving. Willy Loman has lived in ineffective and meaningless life. He will die as a salesman, bragging about sales which mean nothing, building up his sons into something they never were.

Anyone who has read or seen the play will feel the desperation of Biff, and Happy, young men who witness their father's depression, and cannot alter the outcome.

Arthur Miller has touched the reality of American life in the depression. A brilliant playwright, he addresses issue of the family, and struggling economy which today are still avoided. Kurt Vonnegut once wrote that America is a prosperous nation because the poor will never admit they are poor, and therefore the elite classes have had less social responsibility since the Napoleonic era. A brilliant insight that has been perpetuated since WWII. 9/10.