Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Director:

James Foley

Writers (WGA):

David Mamet (play)
David Mamet (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The hardest thing in life is sell

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Office Manager | Film With Ambiguous Title | All Male Cast | Police Investigation | One Day

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

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 Rossen	...	Assistant Detective
Leigh French	...	Additional Voices (voice)
George Cheung	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Murphy Dunne	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Dana Lee	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Julie Payne	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Gregory Snegoff	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Greg Snegoff)

Directed by
James Foley

Writing credits (WGA)
David Mamet		(play)
David Mamet		(screenplay)

Produced by
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.	....	executive producer (as Joseph Caracciolo Jr.)
Nava Levin	....	co-producer
Karen L. Oliver	....	associate producer
Morris Ruskin	....	co-producer
Jerry Tokofsky	....	producer
Stanley R. Zupnik	....	producer

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Juan Ruiz Anchía		(director of photography) (as Juan Ruiz Anchia)

Film Editing by
Howard E. Smith		(as Howard Smith)

Casting by
Bonnie Timmermann

Production Design by
Jane Musky

Art Direction by
William Barclay		(as Bill Barclay)

Set Decoration by
Robert J. Franco

Costume Design by
Jane Greenwood

Makeup Department
Sheryl Berkoff	....	makeup artist
Colleen Callaghan	....	hair stylist
Alan D'Angerio	....	hair stylist
Sharon Ilson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Celia D. Costas	....	unit production manager
Patricia Anne Doherty	....	assistant production manager
Helene Mulholland	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harvey Epstein	....	dga trainee
Richard Patrick	....	second assistant director (as Richard Drew Patrick)
Thomas A. Reilly	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Kenneth Albanese	....	carpenter (as Ken J. Albanese)
James Archer	....	set dresser (as Jim Archer)
Billy Bishop	....	props
John R. Ford	....	assistant property master
Andrew Gangloff	....	carpenter (as Andy G. Gangloff Sr.)
Robert Griffon Jr.	....	property master (as Robert J. Griffon)
Denise Gurkas	....	scenic artist
George Hugel	....	carpenter (as George A. Hugel)
Tim Kearney	....	stand-by carpenter
Robert H. Klatt	....	set dresser
Douglas F. Lebrecht	....	scenic artist (as Douglas Lebrecht)
Caty Maxey	....	draftsman
Tom McDermott	....	set dresser (as Thomas McDermott)
John McDonnell	....	props (as John B. McDonnell)
Fred Merusi	....	construction coordinator
Jack Mortellaro	....	props
Billy Patsos	....	construction grip (as Bill Patsos)
Robert T. Prate	....	key construction grip (as Robert Prate)
Leslie Saulter	....	scenic artist
Bob Shaw	....	assistant art director
William Sohmer	....	camera scenic artist (as Bill Sohmer)
Dick Tice	....	leadperson
Richard A. Ventre	....	master scenic artist (as Richard Ventre)
Patricia Walker	....	camera scenic artist
Don Zappia	....	construction grip

Sound Department
Wayne Artman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ed Callahan	....	sound effects editor
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby Stereo (as Thom Ehle)
John Fundus	....	second boom operator
Howell Gibbens	....	supervising sound editor
Matthew Harrison	....	foley editor
Denise Horta	....	dialogue editor
Frank Howard	....	sound effects editor
Chris Ingram	....	assistant sound editor
Joseph A. Ippolito	....	dialogue editor
Frank Jones	....	sound re-recording mixer
Constance A. Kazmer	....	dialogue editor
Lisa J. Levine	....	supervising adr editor
Danny Michael	....	sound mixer
Jonathan Phillips	....	assistant sound editor
Daniel Rosenblum	....	second boom operator
Andrew Schmetterling	....	boom operator
Edward M. Steidele	....	foley artist (as Edward Stidell)

Special Effects by
Mike Maggi	....	special effects coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Joseph R. Collins	....	camera trainee
Doug Dalisera	....	electrician
Jerry DeBlau	....	gaffer
Richie Ford	....	best boy electric
Bill Gerardo	....	second assistant camera (as William Gerardo)
Vinnie Gerardo	....	first assistant camera (as Vincent Gerardo)
Craig Haagensen	....	camera operator
Paul Kinghan	....	electrician
Sal Lanza	....	best boy grip
Martin Lowry	....	grip
Arthur Moshlak	....	house electrician
Fred Muller	....	electrician
John Panuccio	....	best boy grip (as Jack Panuccio)
John Petraglia	....	rigging gaffer
Tom Prate	....	dolly grip (as Thomas Prate Jr.)
Tom Prate	....	key grip (as Thomas Prate Jr.)
Andrew D. Schwartz	....	still photographer (as Andrew Schwartz)
Lance Shepherd	....	electrician (as Lance A. Shepherd)
Matty Sicurella	....	grip
Joseph Viano	....	grip (as Joe Viano)
Russell Caldwell	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Sylvia Fay	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Charles	....	associate costume designer (as David M. Charles)
Kevin P. Faherty	....	wardrobe supervisor
Hartsell Taylor	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter: Kona Cutting
Pam Di Fede	....	second assistant editor: New York
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Elizabeth Schwartz	....	first assistant editor: New York
Terilyn A. Shropshire	....	first assistant editor: Los Angeles (as Terilyn Shropshire)
Bambi Sickafoose	....	second assistant editor: Los Angeles
Mary Skinner	....	post-production assistant
Nick Smith	....	assistant editor
Mike Stanwick	....	color timer

Music Department
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	music contractor
George Greif	....	music advisor
Tom Kramer	....	music editor
Tommy LiPuma	....	additional music producer: songs
Tommy LiPuma	....	score producer
Tommy LiPuma	....	score supervisor
Johnny Mandel	....	additional music producer: songs
Michael Mason	....	scoring coordinator
Robert Schaper	....	score mixer
Wayne Shorter	....	musician: tenor and soprano sax

Transportation Department
Richard Babcock	....	driver
Ed Battista	....	driver
Henry Boyle	....	driver
Richard Curry	....	driver
Phil Ford	....	driver
John Leonidas	....	teamster captain
Dennis Radesky	....	teamster co-captain
Barry Sweeney	....	driver
James Patrick Whalen Jr.	....	driver (as James Whalen Sr.)

Other crew
Michael Alpert	....	unit publicist
Andrew Bernstein	....	set production assistant
Carol Chambers	....	assistant: Mr. Foley
John C. Ching	....	assistant: Mr. Foley
Christie Colliopoulos	....	assistant: Mr. Tokofsky
Sandy Cuomo	....	production coordinator
Patricia Anne Doherty	....	location manager
Dianne Dreyer	....	script supervisor
JoAnn Foley	....	office production assistant
Marisa Forzano	....	associate: Mr. Pacino
Christopher Gambale	....	location manager
Gregory Gieras	....	set production assistant
Raphaella Giugliano	....	assistant production accountant
Mike Hall	....	unit publicist
Julie Hansen	....	post-production accountant
Antonio Huidor	....	production assistant
Delroy Hunter	....	parking coordinator (as Delroy M. Hunter)
Bud Isenberg	....	insurance
Leslie Loftis	....	set production assistant
Justin Moritt	....	set production assistant
Christo Morse	....	office production assistant
Donald Murphy	....	office production assistant
Christopher D. Ozerofer	....	production counsel
Bridget Pickering	....	assistant: Mr. Timmerman
Danielle Rigby	....	set production assistant
Lori H. Schwartz	....	production associate
Susan Senk	....	unit publicist
Stacey Spencer	....	craft service
Laurence Starkman	....	title designer
Michael Vieira	....	assistant: Alec Baldwin
Rosanne Vogel	....	production accountant
Christian von Tippelskirch	....	assistant location manager
Nicholas Wolfert	....	production assistant

Thanks
Jake Bloom	....	thanks
Steve Brookman	....	thanks
Tom Hunter	....	thanks
Jon Levin	....	thanks
Harvey Polly	....	thanks

Production Companies

• GGR
• New Line Cinema
• Zupnik Cinema Group II

Distributors

• Artisan Entertainment (19??) (USA) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• New Line Cinema
• United International Pictures (UIP) (Spain)

Other Companies

• Albert G. Ruben and Company  insurance
• Bank of America Inc.  financing arranged by
• Bud Isenberg Insurance Associates  insurance
• Camera Mart  electrical equipment
• Entertainment Accounting  post-production accounting
• Entertainment Partners  accounting systems
• Entertainment Partners  payroll services
• Film Finances  completion guarantee
• General Camera Corporation  camera equipment
• Gripon Film Services  grip equipment
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  music preparation
• Kona Cutting  negative cutting
• Pacific Title  title opticals
• Saxon/Ross Film Design  main title sequence
• Star Lighting Enterprises  electrical equipment
• Sylvia Fay/ Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Warner Bros. Studio Facilities  re-recording

Also Known As:

Glengarry Glen Ross (Australia) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | France:U | Norway:5 | Iceland:L | USA:R (certificate #31643) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Netherlands:AL | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

GGR

Trivia:

As of 2008, the cast includes four actors (Alan Arkin, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey and Al Pacino) who have won Academy Awards and two others (Alec Baldwin and Ed Harris) who have been nominated for Academy Awards.

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Dave Moss: Cop couldn't find his dick, two hands and a map.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Roseanne: Glengarry, Glen Rosey (#5.23)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Daydream

One of top 100 greatest films of all time! and it's based on a play!

I cannot believe this film is rated below an 8

What else can be written about James Foley's adaptation of David Mamet's Pulitzer prize winning play other than devastatingly scorching.

Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin, and Jonathan Pryce: perhaps the greatest acting ensemble ever put before a camera, collectively portray employees of a real estate agency- the sales department. Some of the greatest characters written in the 20th century cinema. Lemmon, 'the machine' Levene, is the old hero, now on a steady and sharp decline. Revered by others. Pacino,Ricky Roma the hot shot. He keeps an arm's length from everyone. Alan Arkin, George, is simply the loser. Never was hot, never will be - totally hopeless. Ed Harris is Dave Moss, a fighter, kinda like DeNiro in Raging Bull. Not hot, willing to do anything to reach the top. Like a rabid pitbull. Frustrated and at the boiling point. Kevin Spacey, Williamson, is the manager. A puppet of the owners, a real pencil pusher. But at least he doesn't live off of door-to-door sales. Alec Baldwin, in his greatest performance of his career, only taking up a mere 10 mins of screen time, tears the screen to shreds and burns the film up with one of the most incendiary, provocative, foul-mouthed, scene-chomping speeches ever. I was 17 when I saw this in the theatre and Alec Baldwin blew my mind with that scene. In college we used to watch this film over and over and rewind the speech 10 times over. We knew every line, every gesture. Jack Lemmon's face when Baldwin yells "Put that coffee down! Coffee's for closers". Or "You see this watch? this watch costs more than your car".We would kill ourselves laughing, that's how much we loved it.

Mamet's character driven screenplay delves into the place in our souls and in our psyches, where desperation exits. The men live off of selling near useless Florida real estate, and their tool is the cold call - the hard sell. Lemmon, Pacino,and Bladwin are true masters. Gold belt senseis of the cold call. The bullcrap that they can unload is remarkable. Stream of consciousness. Lie upon lie. Smug and greasy. Pacino's monologue to the hapless gimmel Pryce, leads to tangents about pedophilia, and the stench of urine in subways. He wields a cheezy brochure of the properties like it's Shakespeare, with a picture of a fabergé egg on it. Lemmon meanwhile desperately stands in rain drenched phone booths, creating illusions to the listener like a verbal ballet. When he worms his way into one of the lead's house, he plants himself on the couch and grabs a stuffed animal he sees there. That little thing he does there, that gesture; in those 3 seconds, his character's conflict is symbolized. Though the guru to all younger than him, his decline is turning into an avalanche, ready to bury him. He is so desperate he resorts to the cheesiest, phoniest, approaches. It is heartbreaking to watch. Drama not unlike that of the great Greek tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides. Classic human fare. Alan Arkin is slightly type-cast as the bumbling, mumbling, passive, loser. He has done it so many times. But this has to be the apex of that characterization for him. Ed Harris is so full rage, spitting venom (and literally spitting on Al Pacino during his farewell speech, his "farewell to the troops"). It is literally one of the most expletive laden tirades ever projected in mainstream cinemas. You are just waiting for his ears to smoke and his head to explode. Gut wrenching. Williamson, is subject to, by Roma and Levene, the harshest tongue whippings ever. Ferocious, nasty, derogatory. Spacey is literally humiliated by these masters of bulls**t. He most certainly gets his comeuppance; and later, a pretty nasty little service return of his own. Much is written in these reviews about the swearing in the film. Swearing, in Mamet's works, is part of the syntax of those worlds. It is almost like the curse words become subtext. It is like the plié in his abusive ballet of words. But nonetheless, umbrage can be made about this matter. It is after all, foul swearing, carpet-bombed from a writer who uses it as his key verbal motif. You simply have to accept as Mamet's artistic license and move on. It is one of those things that you simply cannot let ruin the experience for you. Mamet is widely considered one of the greatest living playwright and screenwriter in the English language. Just consider the swearing as part of the stylization of the cold-caller salesman language.

The narrative of Glengarry Glen Ross takes place in one evening and the next morning, and is mostly in a dingy office and a Chinese restaurant. Superbly light, and with an awesome jazz score, it has great camera moves that highlight, accent, punctuate, and round out the actors' performances. My favourite motif is the subway that rattles by - at crucial moments of crucial dialogues. It is interesting to note, that the director, James Foley, who superbly crafted this ensemble piece, never really became an A-list director. All the elements are there, perfectly and purposely assembled - the sound, the image, the performances. Perhaps, Mamet did more directing than the writer normally would? Or did the real cinema pros - the cast - just take the ball and run, literally directing the film themselves, so used to playing those roles on stage, with the exception of Pacino and Baldwin. Another note of interest, is that I have seen this film numerous times, with a variety of people, and have yet to meet a female who liked it. This seems to categorize Glengarry Glen Ross as perhaps one the more masculine, testosterone soaked, man-only films ever. Like wild male animals fighting it out in the jungles. Despite that, I say this is definitely a must see for guy and gal cinema lovers all over.