Death of a Salesman – 1985 Schlöndorff

It is a remarkable combination of pieces (a Pulitzer Prize winning source material, Alex North as the composer, Michael Ballhaus the cinematographer, and a talented cast)—but then Volker Schlöndorff largely keeps it woefully stagebound (The Tin Drum, which he directed in 1979— this is not)
As good as Malkovich is as Biff (Malkovich was a big deal in 1985 coming off 1984’s breakout year- Places in the Heart and The Killing Fields) as well as Stephen Lang and Charles Durning- I think the film here is Hoffman’s—and his achievement is easily the greatest

At times Schlöndorff is almost showing off that this is a stage. He elevates the camera to show the room has no ceiling. The painted backdrops are—well—very obviously painted
Hoffman is a tour-de-force as Willy Loman. He’s one of cinema’s great chameleons. He’s in his 40’s playing a man over 60. He’s muttering, losing touch with reality. Apparently the makeup for him is done by Ann Belsky and it took hours
A sad meditation on crushed dreams and false hope. A tragedy
There aren’t many- but there is one nice 360 degree shot in the restaurant with a flashback essentially going on in the background through a window