Glengarry Glen Ross (1992/Umbrella/Region Free/Zero/PAL DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C Extras: D Film: C+
PLEASE NOTE: These DVDs can only be operated
on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0 PAL
format software and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment
at the website address provided at the end of the review.
For many,
David Mamet is a great writer and a force to be reckoned with, so when Glengarry Glen Ross arrived, it
received all kinds of praise. Some
suggested this was a continuance of themes begun in Death Of A Salesman, but for all the praise, the film was not a
hit, yet people still talk about it. The
James Foley-directed 1992 film version is a mixed bag for me and always
was. I liked the cast, some of the ideas
and some moments, but I always felt the film was overrated and still do.
Jack
Lemmon, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce and Alec
Baldwin star in this tale of real estate sales gone vicious long before the
housing market collapsed. To many, this
will seem like the root beginning of how it all happened, but despite the
obviously good writing, there is something often phony and staged-feeling in a
not-so-good way that I always felt held back its cinematic potential. Foley just cannot find the way to take this
stage work and open it up all the way.
The result is a good film that could have been better, but in a sea of
so many bad films since, seems better.
At least it is about something, but some of the pacing backfires on the
dialogue and some motifs are repeated to the point of self-satire.
The anamorphically
enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is colorful, but also has some detail issues. However, this is no worse than the
long-ago-released U.S. New Line DVD edition.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has some Pro Logic type surrounds, but they
are weak, as are certain aspects of this transfer’s audio. There are no extras.
As noted above, you can order this PAL DVD import exclusively
from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
