Description
“Attention must be paid” to this abbreviated but superb 1966 television adaptation by Arthur Miller of his Pulitzer Prize-winning modern tragedy, starring the incomparable Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock recreating their original Broadway roles as the Lomans. In a career-defining performance, Cobb portrays the suffering Willy Loman–the middle-aged man at the end of his emotional rope–with Dunnock equally impressive as his patient wife, Linda. George Segal and James Farent… More >>
Ensemble Theatre Group
Molasses Tank Productions is an ensemble theatre group that attempts to make its performances contribute in a visible way to the quality of life in both the city and the region.
Death of a Salesman
Sun, Apr 18, 2010
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April 18th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
The DVD was in excellent shape and arrived promptly. So far as Amazon and their affiliate are concerned, they get 5 stars.
The cast and acting were excellent.
The play is dark, depressing and disturbing. I had to get this movie for a graduate class in American Literature. In a couple of weeks I will be doing my best to get it out of my head and will never watch it again.
Rating: 4 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I have always considered “Salesman” the greatest American play and saw the original production when I was only 15 and was floored. But, even allowing for my then easily impressionable age, I still believe I saw, as near as possible, theatrical perfection. Since then there have been many hundreds (thousands?) of productions including some excellent “revivals”. But this is as close as you can get to that original production. Although the script was altered a bit because of tv constrictions, the power of the play shines through and you have the amazing performances of the original Willy and Linda Loman and a fine supporting cast. This is a must for anyone interested in the theatre whether playwriting, production, ot acting.
Rating: 5 / 5
April 18th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Arthur Miller had a good ear for the foibles and traumas of the ordinary people of the old middle class put up against the wall in a world that was dramatically changing after World War II. The time of the man in the gray flannel suit and the victory of corporate culture that destroyed the old independent professions was not Willie Loman’s time. In this play, seemingly only about the trials and tribulations of Everyman Willie Loman a used up salesman at the end of his career, the underlying tension is that he cannot keep up with those changes and therefore has to be discarded. This has a fallout effect on his personal life as well. He does not understand what has happened to destroy the integrity of his dysfunctional nuclear family. The old standards that had guided him do not stand up in the new suburban-dominated world where he must try to survive. Obviously there is some dramatic tension between him and his sons who have in their own way nothing but contempt for the old man, his old ways, his illusions and his duplicity. But also, as is always the case with rebellious children, love, at least their conception of it, as well. That this is not good enough to save him in the end is one of the lessons to be learned from the play. Read the play and see the Lee J. Cobb version of the movie. Cobb is Willie Loman.
Rating: 5 / 5
April 19th, 2010 at 12:11 am
Having assembled the vast majority of Broadway Archives and even classic movies, modern and B&W alike…….this along with Jason Robards in “The Iceman Cometh” simply stand alone.
After watching Lee J. Cobb in 12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront, certainly you can understand why he was one of the great character actors of his day. But this performance stands alone from anything I have ever seen and heard. It is as powerful, as resonate, as skilled a performance as one can expect. It is said that when an actor can make you feel his pain, his suffereing, think his thoughts beyond the words…that is what happens here, it transcends the work itself almost.
I have seen many and heard many versions of this play (George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman, Brian Dennehy, Frederich March, even Paul Douglas on cassette), but this creation of Willy Loman belongs only to Mr. Cobb.
The supporting cast is stellar, but they do revolve around this tragic truly American character, akin perhaps even to King Lear in a sense. No one can heap to much praise for this production, you might as well start at the top if you’re going to watch the American Stage on DVD in your home. I don’t know that we can expect to see something this powerful again. It is that good.
Rating: 5 / 5
April 19th, 2010 at 1:52 am
… the closest you’ll get to the original cast of arguably the greatest American play of all time. Stunning.
Rating: 5 / 5