Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.

Director:

James Foley

Writers:

David Mamet (play), David Mamet (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Ricky Roma
Jack Lemmon	...	Shelley Levene
Alec Baldwin	...	Blake
Alan Arkin	...	George Aaronow
Ed Harris	...	Dave Moss
Kevin Spacey	...	John Williamson
Jonathan Pryce	...	James Lingk
Bruce Altman	...	Larry Spannel
Jude Ciccolella	...	Detective
Paul Butler	...	Policeman
Lori Tan Chinn	...	Coat Check Girl
Neal Jones	...	Man in Donut Shop
Barry Rohrssen	...	Assistant Detective (as Barry Rossen)
Leigh French	...	Additional Voices (voice)
George Cheung	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Storyline

Times are tough in a Chicago real-estate office; the salesmen (Shelley Levene, Ricky Roma, Dave Moss, and George Aaronow) are given a strong incentive by Blake to succeed in a sales contest. The prizes? First prize is a Cadillac El Dorado, second prize is a set of steak knives, third prize is the sack! There is no room for losers in this dramatically masculine world; only "closers" will get the good sales leads. There is a lot of pressure to succeed, so a robbery is committed which has unforeseen consequences for all the characters.

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Plot Keywords:

real estate | office | robbery | contest | subway | 

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Taglines:

Lie. Cheat. Steal. All In A Day's Work.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

El precio de la ambición

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$10,725,228 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

GGR, New Line Cinema, Zupnik Cinema Group II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A few little known facts about the filming location, at 1515 Sheepshead Bay Road NY, the building is owned by Premiere Properties (an existing, real estate company based in New York), who had its main office on the second story there, but had been moved to another location in 1991. Its vacant main office was then used for filming in 1992 without removing the lettering on the building and on the office door as an agreement to lower the rent of that office for filming purposes, in exchange for visibility of the company name. Also, the China Bowl Restaurant (which really existed back in 1992), on the opposite side of the street, is now a Chinese food store.

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Goofs

George's position when talking to Ricky about the break-in.

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Quotes

Blake: You want to know what it takes to sell real estate? It takes BRASS BALLS to sell real estate.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Annette Bening/Gwen Stefani/Akon (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Prelude to a Kiss"
Performed by The Bill Holman Orchestra
Written by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills and Irving Gordon
Used by permission of Mills Music Inc.

User Reviews

You won't find a better acting ensemble!

For those who are fans of action, explosions and flashy special f/x--this is not your movie. For those who are fans of extraordinary acting, strong characters, a great plot and priceless dialogue--it just doesn't get any better than this! When I say you're in for a treat, I mean it with the utmost certainty. Al Pacino and Kevin Spacey are on my list of favorite actors. The rest of the cast isn't quite on there, but they're all actors that I highly admire and some of which come close to being on my favorites list. First of all, it's hard to not be at least somewhat interested by a film written by David Mamet. He is simply the master when it comes to pacing and sharp dialogue. He truly has a style like no other. There's a million lines in this movie that I love to quote, many of which are in Alec Baldwin's opening speech. "F**k you, that's my name. You came here in a Hyundai, I drive a 80,000-dollar Oldsmobile--that's my name." And Kevin Spacey's "Go to lunch" speech is great as well. Every time I watch that scene I think back to when he read those same lines with a student on "Inside the Actor's Studio." Mamet's dialogue is delivered a lightning-fast pace, which I find fascinating. It makes you feel like you're watching an old movie, only in color and with an abundance of cuss words. This film brought tears to my eyes, not because it's incredibly sad, but because it's so intense. Watching actors like Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon share a scene is like a dream for any true film buff. Lemmon gave one of the best performances of his entire film career in this movie, and that's saying a whole lot! Needless to say, we suffered a tragic loss when he died. It's a surprise that he didn't receive an Oscar for his work in "Glengarry." Pacino also gives one of his best performances, in my opinion. In his recent films like "The Recruit" and "Simone," he hasn't gotten the chance to show off his acting chops to the fullest extent. His performance in this movie is an example of Pacino in full gear. Spacey is perfectly slimy in his role, and I despised him every minute he was on screen. Everyone who's ever had a job is familiar with some secretary or assistant manager, who's uptight and constantly plays by-the-book, just so he can maintain the respect of the boss whose butt he kisses every minute of the day. We've all encountered scumb*gs like him, and that's why it made it so easy for me to hate his guts. Every character is multi-dimensional, and I was able to feel either a deep sympathy or a deep hatred towards each of them. Some have criticized this film for being visually unimpressive, since it takes place mainly on one location. That didn't bother me one bit. When you have actors this engaging, setting is definitely not the issue. People always feel that when a play is adapted onto screen, it has to take place in many different locations, to "take advantage" of it being a motion picture. I always feel that good writing and good acting are the key elements of a good movie. If you want to see great visuals, go rent the whole "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. But for those begging for something of substance should love this movie. I'm constantly on the edge-of-my-seat when I watch this movie. All aspiring actors should be required to watch "Glengarry Glen Ross" as a prerequisite, because all you need to know about great acting is in this movie. A DON'T MISS!! (10 out of 10)