Product Details

• Actors: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris
• Directors: James Foley
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• VHS Release Date: May 25, 1994
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (284 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302732875
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,225 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
Like moths to a flame, great actors gravitate to the singular genius of playwright-screenwriter David Mamet, who updated his Pulitzer Prize-winning play for this all-star screen adaptation. The material is not inherently cinematic, so the movie's greatest asset is Mamet's peerless dialogue and the assembly of a once-in-a-lifetime cast led by Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin (the last in a role Mamet created especially for the film). Often regarded as a critique of the Reagan administration's impact on the American economy, the play and film focus on a competitive group of real estate salesmen who've gone from feast to famine in a market gone cold. When an executive "motivator" (Alec Baldwin) demands a sales contest among the agents in the cramped office, the stakes are critically high: any agent who fails to meet his quota of sales "leads" (i.e., potential buyers) will lose his job. This intense ultimatum is a boon for the office superstar (Pacino), but a once-successful salesman (Lemmon) now finds himself clinging nervously to faded glory. Political and personal rivalries erupt under pressure when the other agents (Alan Arkin, Ed Harris) suspect the office manager (Kevin Spacey) of foul play. This cauldron of anxiety, tension, and sheer desperation provides fertile soil for Mamet's scathingly rich dialogue, which is like rocket fuel for some of the greatest actors of our time. Pacino won an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance, but it's Lemmon who's the standout, doing some of the best work of his distinguished career. Director James Foley shapes Mamet's play into a stylish, intensely focused film that will stand for decades as a testament to its brilliant writer and cast. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Human Drama, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This is perhaps the most well written movie of our time.If you are looking for explosions and car chases,please move on.The dialogue(David Mamet)is scintillating,the interaction of the characters is intriguing.The editing is quick,the cinemetography superb.The cast is phenomanal.Al Pacino(Ricky Roma):the quintessential swarthy,bottom feeding salesman...Jack Lemmon(Shelly Levine):The has been,looking for any angle to snap out of his sales malaise;the pathos conveyed by Lemmon is gutwrenching...Ed Harris(Dave Moss):The scheming,conniving loser;he will go to any lengths to move ahead...Alan Arkin(George Aranov)The mousy under achiever;easily swayed.His understated lack of direction is carried off with deft subtlety by Arkin.Kevin Spacey(John Williamson)The clueless office manager,and whipping boy.Spacey manages to give this role a sinister undercurrent.He ends up as quite the paradox...Alec Baldwin turns up for ten of the most memorable minutes ever filmed.This role is the highlight of his underwhelming career.Arrogance oozes from his every word;contempt permeates his every sentence.Expertly directed by James Foley,this is 36 hrs.in the lives of men desperate;on the edge.The world of real estate sales will never be the same after you see this classic.An extremely cerebral flick,not meant for those with short attention spans.A gauranteed can't miss movie experience.

69 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You call yourself a Special Edition DVD you son of a.......?, November 11, 2002

By	"nopanandscan" (Fontana, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glengarry Glen Ross (DVD)

I have been waiting for Glengarry Glen Ross since I first purchased my DVD player several years ago. This film is easily in my all time top 10. When I heard it was going to be a 2 disc special edition, I figured it would be worth the wait. I managed to get my hands on a copy early and to be honest it is a let down. The widescreen transfer is beautiful but this has to be one of the most empty 2-disc SE's around. The most disappointing missing feature is the commentary that Jack Lemmon did for the SE laserdisc. What better way to preserve his legacy than to include his comments about arguably his finest film performance? Instead, you get a Jack Lemmon "tribute" feature with interviews from his son, Peter Gallagher, and other folks who are mildly ammusing. Another feature is "New Cast Interviews" which is simply Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin (separately) doing commentary over scenes from the movie. No Pacino, no Ed Harris, no Spacey. They have included a nice Charlie Rose show clip with Lemmon and a very short Spacey clip from "Inside the Actor's Studio". Then you get a non-Glengarry related feature on salesman. Why? You do get a new commentary from the director which is nice, but this was an actor's movie first and foremost. Why Artisan took several years to finally release this on DVD is quite frankly hard to understand with what has been delivered. Mitch and Murray would be very upset with Aristan's effort here. Long live the Machine!

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Film is for Closers Only, December 19, 2002

By	Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Glengarry Glen Ross (DVD)

Welcome to the world of real estate, where the golden rule always is "A.B.C." Always Be Closing. This means, lie, cheat, steal, whatever. As long as you get a signature on the dotted line, nothing else matters. And times aren't the greatest for the salesmen at Premiere Properties. None of them are getting the good leads that they need in order to close. And if they don't start closing soon, they're going to find themselves out of the job. There are the "Glengarry" leads, but they're reserved for closers only. And this heated-up and emotional drama gets even more deeper when it turns out that the next day the office was broken into and the Glengarry leads were stolen. In a business where lying, cheating, and stealing all are in a day's work, everyone is suspect.

I cannot believe I had never heard of "Glengarry Glen Ross" until recently. As soon as I popped the DVD in, I fell in love with it immediately. It is so well written and well acted that you can't do nothing but watch in awe. And then, you want to watch it again and again. I have just purchased this movie a couple of weeks ago, and I know my viewings of the film are already in the double digits. This is a movie you can really watch whenever you want. You don't need to be in a certain mood to enjoy it.

The cast is sensational. You've got Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, and Alec Baldwin. Pacino is great as always and really steals the show during the second act of the film. Your eyes never leave him for a second. Jack Lemmon was also so terrific in it, and it's heartbreaking that he didn't win an Oscar. Everybody else did great in their roles as well.

What I liked about this movie most was the realistic dialogue. People may think that there's a lot of profanities in this film, but this is the real world. People talk like this, especially in the business world. David Mamet did a spectacular job in writing it. I look forward to reading the play. I love it when the story mainly focuses on the characters than on plot.

The DVD is also very good, but not special. But alas, isn't that what it says on the cover? "Special Edition." While there are quite a few extras, it's still nowhere near "special." "Requiem for a Dream" had more extras, and it wasn't even a Special Edition DVD. I know people were let down by this and I can see why. Personally, I didn't have a real problem since I hadn't seen the movie before buying the DVD. I was satisfied, but I clearly understand how others were not.You get the choice of either watching a widescreen version or a full screen version. You also get the choice of watching it in DTS, which is always a nice thing. The picture and sound quality is really great. Some of the extras are a documentary, a tribute to Jack Lemmon, new interviews, commentary, production notes, and cast and crew biographies. Aren't those a couple of features? Yes, but nothing I'd consider "special." For a two disk set, I was expecting more. However, I'm not that let down.

"Glengarry Glen Ross" is a fabulous film that had me hooked from the very beginning. It is now one of my favorites. If you love a good drama where the main focus is on the characters themselves, then this is the movie for you. The only flaw is the lack of special features, but that's no fault of the film itself. Welcome to Real World 101. It's a jungle out there. You think you've got what it takes to close the deal? "You call yourself a salesman, you son-of-a-(bleep)?" Maybe you are... and maybe you're not.