In his early sixties, traveling salesman Willy Loman (Dustin Hoffman) is tired and washed up. Barely able to keep food on the table and a roof over his family’s head, it’s been suggested he never came close to reaching his full potential. Nonetheless, Willy still harbors delusions of grandeur and carries himself as if he were a younger man set to conquer the world. His personal life is as messy as professional one. He is dismissive of his wife Linda (Kate Reid), despite her fierce loyalty to him. He is estranged from his older and favored son Biff (John Malkovich), who like his dad, has failed to live up to his potential. A football star in high school, Biff dropped out before graduating and struggles to make his father proud. Meanwhile, having lived in his brother’s gigantic shadow, Harold “Happy” Loman (Stephen Lang) is desperate to get his father to notice him at all.
The performances here are stellar across the board. Hoffman, an obvious standout, won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his work. Despite his bravado, Willy is a pathetic character, raving about what a raw deal his life has been and never acknowledging some of his own bad choices. Yet, Hoffman plays the character with such a palpable sadness and sense of uncertainty, it’s impossible not to feel a certain level of empathy for him. As Willy slips in an out of memories of his past, when he had a close relationship with his son, when Biff was a high school football star, it becomes clear that Willy is losing his present to senility.
Death of a Salesman is a sad story. While one hopes that Willy will recognize the error of his ways before senility consumes him, his pride, like it has so many times before, will probably get in the way. It’s easy to see that Willy and his family could have been happier years ago, if he could have faced reality rather than live on a dream. As you watch, you see that Willy’s life was one of squandered and missed opportunities. As frustrating as that is, Dustin Hoffman ‘s performance is a brilliant portrait of a man who let his dream overtake his reality.
While there are obvious limitations when dealing with a 1985 TV production, I was hoping for a bit more from this Blu-ray. Framed the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer is surprisingly software and fine detail almost nil. The color palette is rather muted and the stage setting never comes to life. Film grain is prevalent and blacks and whites are well dialed in. This transfer should be considered a slight uptick from the previous DVD release, nothing more.
The DTS-HD MA mono track serves the film very well. Dialogue is crisp and clean throughout. You won’t find much in the way of immersion here, but that’s fine, given the talkie nature of the film.
English subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Private Conversations (SD, 1:21:19) In this extensive feature, we get an in depth look at how the cast and crew related to the project and how the actors approached their characters. If you’re a fan of this production, this documentary is well worth a look.
