Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie Review

A.B.C.: A Blu-ray Classic?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 23, 2017

One of my unexpected but newly favorite literary finds of 2016 was a little volume called Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Number and Deuteronomy, a set of commentaries on the weekly Torah parshah (or portion) written by noted rabbi Lawrence Kushner and kind of amazingly also by David Mamet. I say “kind of amazingly” because anyone knowing Mamet only through his verbose but often scabrous plays like Glengarry Glen Ross might be surprised at the succinct, insightful and typically pretty reserved Midrash he offers in his sections of the book. But of course anyone who has experienced Mamet’s command of language and character knows he is a man of immense intellect and keen observational powers, two elements that have one of their most paradigmatic examples in Glengarry Glen Ross. One of the kind of interesting things about the play and its subsequent cinematic adaptation is how there’s a certain Social Darwinism at play, one that might seem to both reflect but also chafe against Mamet’s Jewish sensibilities. There’s very little evidence of any Divine hand working miracles in the real estate offices that are the setting of this story, and in fact the men at the core of the tale seem positively divorced from being able to control even the tiniest aspects of their lives at times, leaving the general tenor of the piece subsumed in a kind of chaotic ambience which doesn't exactly portend Order (with a capital O). Perhaps surprisingly given the status of the play and the general critical acclaim that the film version met with when it was released, Glengarry Glen Ross wasn’t exactly a blockbuster at the box office and it’s had a somewhat spotty release history on home video. It may seem a little odd that a film of this stature from a writer of this renown, a film which was originally released in 1992, would have to wait this long to receive a domestic high definition release, but perhaps that’s simply further evidence that some of the weekly tribulations Mamet details in Five Cities of Refuge continue to afflict wandering Jews to this day.

Anyone who has ever suffered through one of those interminable timeshare pitches that’s required to be endured in order to get some kind of swag at the end of it will understand the general emotional ambience of Glengarry Glen Ross, though the film is told mostly through one sided interchanges where the audience eavesdrops on various sales pitches made by the coterie of guys who work at Premier Properties. Another salient cultural touchstone (i.e., alongside timeshare pitches) that some may recognize is hapless salesman Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon), who despite his nickname of "The Machine" is a guy seemingly genetically incapable of closing a sale and who is reportedly the inspiration for the similarly inept Gil Gunderson on The Simpsons.

Levene’s sad inabilities are displayed from the get go, but the real juice of the drama comes when the scene shifts to the offices of Premier Properties, where Blake (Alec Baldwin), a new sales manager at the site, announces a sales contest which is in fact a bit of Social Darwinism in action—there are supposedly deluxe prizes for the winners, but the losers will in fact be losing—their jobs. It immediately sets up a kind of dog eat dog mentality among the staff, which includes hotshot Ricky Roma (Al Pacino, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated for this performance), office manager John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), and scheming associates George Aaranow (Alan Arkin) and Dave Moss (Ed Harris), whose machinations ultimately spill into developments concerning Shelley’s increasingly desperate attempts to close even one sale.

Mamet adapted his own play, and made at least a couple of significant changes along the way, including the introduction of the Blake character, but also (perhaps not that felicitously and arguably a decision made in conjunction with director James Foley) opting to “open up” the inherently claustrophobic atmosphere of the original by getting characters out and about, at least fitfully. That said, this is certainly one of the smartest adaptations of an iconic play ever brought to celluloid, and the film version fairly crackles with intensity, much of which is attained through the “simple” impact of Mamet’s amazing command of language. This is not a film for those who blanch at foul language, but the rough and tumble interchanges between the salesmen perfectly indicate the bravado, even the machismo, they’re forced to exude in order to make a living and (perhaps not so coincidentally) quell the competition.

Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Glengarry Glen Ross is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.34:1. This appears to be extremely similar if not downright identical to the British Blu-ray release Svet reviewed several years ago, but the good news is despite the assumed age of the transfer, as Svet noted, things look very good throughout most of this presentation. Colors appear natural and are nicely suffused, and the rainy, almost Impressionistic, ambience of the film, while probably unavoidably soft looking at times, offers abundant detail and fine detail levels, especially in close-ups. A lot of the film takes place in shrouded or even nighttime environments, and while shadow definition is occasionally a bit lacking, detail levels are surprisingly high, at least given the dark overall ambience. When the film ventures out of doors in daytime (a rare occurrence, admittedly), the palette pops considerably better. Grain is nicely resolved and looks organic throughout the presentation. There is very little in the way of major age related wear and tear on display here, but occasional small signs of dirt and similar issues can be spotted.

Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Glengarry Glen Ross features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that isn't overwhelmingly immersive, but which achieves at least intermittent surround activity courtesy of both ambient environmental effects, but also perhaps more subtly from some smart discrete channelization of effects and dialogue within the confines of the Premier Properties offices. James Newton Howard's enjoyable score resides in the side and rear channels quite well.

Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most (but not all) of the supplements from the old two disc Special Edition DVD have been ported over to this release:

• Audio Commentary with James Foley


• Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (480i; 30:06) is a sweet retrospective on the legendary actor, and includes some nice interviews with his son Chris.


• A.B.C. "Always Be Closing" (480i; 29:58) is a rather interesting featurette that places Glengarry Glen Ross in the context of sales pitches, cinematic and otherwise.


• Clip Archive - The Charlie Rose Show (480p; 10:11) is a collection of interview segments Rose did with Jack Lemmon.


• Clip Archive - Inside the Actors Studio (480p; 2:10) is a brief but fun piece with Kevin Spacey involved in a Q & A with an audience member.

Note: For those with region free players, the British release offers more supplementary material than this release.

Glengarry Glen Ross Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this film version of Glengarry Glen Ross has been wandering in the desert for an unexpectedly long time before its domestic Blu-ray debut. That said, this release is certainly worth the wait. Video and audio quality are by and large excellent, and the supplementary material, while not as copious as on the British release, is also often extremely interesting and well done. Highly recommended.