Glengarry Glen Ross

Clanket

I've been taking some abuse on other threads because I said I did not like this film. After watching it, I felt like I'd been robbed of two hours of my life (or however long it is).

Good acting (though I would say overacted at times), bad storyline, unrealistic dialogue and generally just a story that drags on and goes nowhere.

What's your opinion on it?

Basq

It's not for everyone but I think it's a stupendous film.

It's got top-notch performances and some truly great writing from David Mamet.

So much of the film is quotable!

pinksoir

Anything that can inspire the character Old Gil from the Simpsons is worthwhile.

But seriously. Great film. You know it was a film version of a play, right? Because that explains a lot about it.

Clanket

I sure do. I said elsewhere that it may have been a great stage play but it didn't do it for me as a film.

And you're right, the fact that it was written as a stage play does explain a lot. Written for the sake of acting. Very little storyline

Latchy

I loved it and have it on DVD. It was the claustaphobic feel to the film I enjoyed and the characters .Some great scenes such as when the guy tells Al Pacino he has cancelled the contract ...when Kevin Spacy humiliates the older salesman Jack Lemon ....how in the sales pitch they used each other to keep ahead .A intresting portrayal of Human behaviour under pressure

purple_hatstand

Alofthedunnes wrote: »

I've been taking some abuse on other threads because I said I did not like this film. After watching it, I felt like I'd been robbed of two hours of my life (or however long it is).

Good acting (though I would say overacted at times), bad storyline, unrealistic dialogue and generally just a story that drags on and goes nowhere.

What's your opinion on it?

Do you like Pulp Fiction?

Mackman

Fantastic movie, great performances from everyone, i can see how it might not be some peoples cup of tea though

faceman

OP, if you dont like the film, you dont like the film. No need to lose sleep over it. I hate Tarantino and think Resevoir Dogs is awful. But i rest easy at night with my opinion!

WRT to Glengarry, excellent film, top performances from all actors (possible the best performance of Alec Baldwin in his whole career) and the script is excellent.

DublinWriter

One of my favourite American movies.

Penn

I actually only heard of it recently so I bought it last weekend. Might try watch it tonight, see what all the fuss is about

krudler

Alofthedunnes wrote: »

I've been taking some abuse on other threads because I said I did not like this film. After watching it, I felt like I'd been robbed of two hours of my life (or however long it is).

Good acting (though I would say overacted at times), bad storyline, unrealistic dialogue and generally just a story that drags on and goes nowhere.

What's your opinion on it?

That one i cant agree with, David Mamet is one of the most acclaimed stage/screenwriters in history and this is his masterpiece, whats wrong with a movie that just has great performances and dialogue, what constitutes a good story?

spoilers below:

Its simply about a bunch of salesmen, some of whom are at the end of their tether due to a competition orchestrated by their bosses, one of them has a sick daughter who he cant afford to pay medical bills for and desperately needs a big sale, thinks he gets one but it falls apart, two more conspire to rob their office and steal the sales leads to sell to a rival company, it all has a conclusion so I dont know where you're getting the no story criticism

Clanket

purple_hatstand wrote: »

Do you like Pulp Fiction?

Yes I love it. I think the reason I don't like GGGR is because it's very slow moving and I didn't really like any of the characters. As apposed to Pulp Fiction which is quite fast moving and has a lot of characters I enjoyed. Also, most of GGGR is set in one place (the office), which I found a bit boring.

faceman wrote: »

OP, if you dont like the film, you dont like the film. No need to lose sleep over it. I hate Tarantino and think Resevoir Dogs is awful. But i rest easy at night with my opinion!

I aint losing sleep over it. I only started this thread because i heard so many good things about the movie, I watched it and didn't like it. Just wanted to see what other people thought of it. Guess I'm alone in not liking it, which is fine.

krudler wrote: »

That one i cant agree with, David Mamet is one of the most acclaimed stage/screenwriters in history and this is his masterpiece, whats wrong with a movie that just has great performances and dialogue, what constitutes a good story?

Absolutely nothing wrong with it. I just didn't enjoy the movie. Simple as.

faceman

Maybe we need to determine if its just David Mamet you dont like.

Watch "American Buffalo" and see what you think.

Clanket

faceman wrote: »

Maybe we need to determine if its just David Mamet you dont like.

Watch "American Buffalo" and see what you think.

I'll give it a go. Is it similar to GGGR

krudler

Yes I love it. I think the reason I don't like GGGR is because it's very slow moving and I didn't really like any of the characters. As apposed to Pulp Fiction which is quite fast moving and has a lot of characters I enjoyed. Also, most of GGGR is set in one place (the office), which I found a bit boring.

You're not really supposed to like any of the characters aside from Jack Lemmon as he's the most sympathetic, as for being set in one place, so is Reservoir Dogs for the most part, and that works

Clanket

krudler wrote: »

You're not really supposed to like any of the characters aside from Jack Lemmon as he's the most sympathetic, as for being set in one place, so is Reservoir Dogs for the most part, and that works

I'll re-phrase. I didn't enjoy any of the characters.

I've never sat down and watched Reservoir Dogs in full. Seen a lot of bits of it but was always walking in on someone else watching it. I'll put it on my to watch list along with American Buffalo.

Penn

paddyirishman85 wrote: »

I actually only heard of it recently so I bought it last weekend. Might try watch it tonight, see what all the fuss is about

Just finished it a few minutes ago. I thought it was really good. Dialogue was brilliant, excellent acting, brilliant cast. Really good film in my opinion

irish_bob

worth seeing alone for the ten minute performance of alec ( you see this watch ) baldwin

Call Me Jimmy

I would agree that it was probably Alec Baldwin's best performance.

The acting was theatrical but great, some of the most memorable lines delivered with perfection. I thought it was simply a master-class of interesting acting. One of my all time favorites.

Pride Fighter

irish_bob wrote: »

worth seeing alone for the ten minute performance of alec ( you see this watch ) baldwin

Coffee is for closers.

Pride Fighter

Anyway, I seen this film recently. I have never actually heard about it until recently but on youtube I have seen crank calls using soundboards of Alec Baldwin's and Al Pacino's dialogue from this film. Needless to say the crank calls are hilarious and they got me to research the actual film.

The film is magnificent. Well acted, great storyline and it has a realism that I felt was lost to cinema in the recent past. The early 90's had it in films such as this and Falling Down. Then big budget blockbusters and special effects became the order of the day, I blame Jurassic Park. Recently cinema is rediscovered its gritty edge but films like Glengarry Glen Ross were some of the last films of an era IMO. What replaced fims like this was not my cup of tea either.

My 2 cents on the matter.

tech77

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Anyway, I seen this film recently. I have never actually heard about it until recently but on youtube I have seen crank calls using soundboards of Alec Baldwin's and Al Pacino's dialogue from this film. Needless to say the crank calls are hilarious and they got me to research the actual film.

"What are you going to do about it...asshole?"

"Where did you learn your trade, you stupid ****ing ****?!"

"Whoever told you that you could work with men?!"

"Oh, I'm gonna have your job, ****head."

"I don't care whose nephew you are...who you know...whose dick your sucking on, you're going out!"

"Does that seem clear to you?"

"You ****ing child."

^Soundboard gold from Pacino speech.

Edit: Just realised that film has to have one of the highest swear counts of any movie.
There's a swear word in every second line

eddhorse

Loved it and so do my colleagues. So much so one of the sales guys were given a set of steak knives in a frame , hehe

CliffHuxtabel

tech77 wrote: »

Edit: Just realised that film has to have one of the highest swear counts of any movie.
There's a swear word in every second line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QipAqdomO3I

Gunther_Gloop

I don't like David Mamet movies on the whole. I find them dull and predictable even as they're being hailed as the opposite. And I've seen most of the movies. I won't make a list because we'll all get into sling fights.

But Mamet didn't direct GGGR and I think that's the main reason why it's so great.

The first time I saw GGGR (when it came out -mid-80s?) I thought it was rubbish. The movie ended and I was left with a feeling of being duped. There was no resolution... "but who won the car?"
I wanted to complain that the end of the movie was missing.

Now of course I laugh at that reaction. It's not about the car or the competition or anything other than a bunch of men (only men) in their natural habitat -or at least the habitat in which they exist, unnatural as that may be to some of us.
Nor should all movies have "a resolution".

It's not something that can be taught, but your opinion of it might change. Not that you're wrong to dislike it of course -and I know I've watched other Mamet films (Mamet-directed films I mean) a number of times wondering what I'm missing or maybe if I'm over-analysing them, but Glengarry Glen Ross is all gold in my opinion.

Leave it a while, then watch it again in a year or so. You could be amazed at the difference in your opinion of it.

Gunther_Gloop

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

The first time I saw GGGR (when it came out -mid-80s?) I thought it was rubbish.

1992 I've discovered. I was a sprightly 22. Old enough to know better.

...Not that liking or disliking this or any other movie is down solely to age of course.

Greyfox

Excellent film, loved Alec Baldwins speech! I think anybody that's worked in sales would really appreciete it

Pride Fighter

Gunther_Gloop wrote: »

I don't like David Mamet movies on the whole. I find them dull and predictable even as they're being hailed as the opposite. And I've seen most of the movies. I won't make a list because we'll all get into sling fights.

But Mamet didn't direct GGGR and I think that's the main reason why it's so great.

The first time I saw GGGR (when it came out -mid-80s?) I thought it was rubbish. The movie ended and I was left with a feeling of being duped. There was no resolution... "but who won the car?"
I wanted to complain that the end of the movie was missing.

Now of course I laugh at that reaction. It's not about the car or the competition or anything other than a bunch of men (only men) in their natural habitat -or at least the habitat in which they exist, unnatural as that may be to some of us.
Nor should all movies have "a resolution".

It's not something that can be taught, but your opinion of it might change. Not that you're wrong to dislike it of course -and I know I've watched other Mamet films (Mamet-directed films I mean) a number of times wondering what I'm missing or maybe if I'm over-analysing them, but Glengarry Glen Ross is all gold in my opinion.

Leave it a while, then watch it again in a year or so. You could be amazed at the difference in your opinion of it.

Pacino got the car. Even though Spacey cost him 6000$ Jack Lemmon's character who made the 82,000$ sale was going to go to jail. That is my take anyway. I thought it was obvious.

Earthhorse

There are some wonderful performances in the film, no doubt (Jack Lemmon steals the show for me), but like yourself OP I don't rate this as highly as others. I find that with many classics though, they really are no different than most movies in that they split people's opinions but the people who like them love them and the people that don't are left wondering what all the fuss was about.

And whilst I think Mamet is great at dialogue I actually felt it was quite stilted in this film; like he was trying to capture an environment but not quite succeeding, it sounded inauthentic to me and didn't make up for it by being particularly strong on any other front.

Clanket

Earthhorse wrote: »

There are some wonderful performances in the film, no doubt (Jack Lemmon steals the show for me), but like yourself OP I don't rate this as highly as others. I find that with many classics though, they really are no different than most movies in that they split people's opinions but the people who like them love them and the people that don't are left wondering what all the fuss was about.

And whilst I think Mamet is great at dialogue I actually felt it was quite stilted in this film; like he was trying to capture an environment but not quite succeeding, it sounded inauthentic to me and didn't make up for it by being particularly strong on any other front.

Wihooo. I was starting to think I was some sort of weirdo for not liking this film.

Oasis44

Only thing that I didn't like about it was Pachino's monologue to the weak husband he is trying to sell property to. The whole speech is total nonsense IMO. Other than that this film is brilliant no doubt - great acting.

gandalf

One of my favourite films of all time as I have stated on numerous threads here. The acting is superb, especially Lemmon and the infamous Alec Baldwin speech which is his finest hour in acting. Maybe its because I have worked in Sales for the last 15 years that I can identify with the characters in this film so much and know what they are going through. It is an excellent examination of people under pressure and what they are prepared to do under that pressure.

I wouldn't worry though if you didn't like it. Thats personal choice, what I like others don't and on occasion I hate films that everyone else raves about. At least you watched it and formed an opinion on it, I can't stand people who say they won't like something without even watching it. I thought that about The Reader and having watched it last week I was totally wrong about that film. It was excellent.

Clanket

gandalf wrote: »

Maybe its because I have worked in Sales for the last 15 years that I can identify with the characters in this film so much and know what they are going through.

Just out of interest, do you feel that the film accurately reflected what it's like to be in sales? Or did it just come up with some brilliant lines, that, while unrealistic, were perfect for quoting to friends/colleagues?

faceman

Oasis44 wrote: »

Only thing that I didn't like about it was Pachino's monologue to the weak husband he is trying to sell property to. The whole speech is total nonsense IMO. Other than that this film is brilliant no doubt - great acting.

The reason for that is to highlight how little the sales people care for their the people they sell to, nor the property they sell.

Pacino comes across in the film as the biggest waffler, spoofer and chancer and despite the dislike we develop for him, we see that he is the best salesman.

the whole year inn

Off I go with my brass balls to watch this movie.Truely class

tech77

CliffHuxtabel wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QipAqdomO3I

Thanks- that was brilliant.
I love those re-edits.
One of the best i've seen.

/Deep voiceover
"Four men with Tourette's".

Baldwin as their doctor is inspired.