Glengarry Glen Ross: Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 4.0/5

Plot Synopsis: When an office full of real estate salesmen is given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up. Shelley Levene (JACK LEMMON), who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson (KEVIN SPACEY), but to no avail. When his coworker Dave Moss (ED HARRIS) comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen.

Quick Hit Review: Glengarry Glen Ross has always been an interesting gem of a film. There’s not really a plot (the above description is pretty much it) and not even a character study either. It’s 100-minutes of a group of salesmen (con men) bitching about crappy leads they’re supposed to try to sell property to. Adding to the pressure, those who don’t come in first or second, as told by fast-talker Blake as portrayed wonderfully by Alec Baldwin, will get fired.

That’s it. There is some plot about the office break-in, but at its core this is a movie about great actors giving incredible performances, spouting dialogue that is so unique to David Mamet, who is one of those writers, kind of like Tarantino, when you hear the words, you know it was from Mamet (see Ronin, credited under a pseudonym due to a WGA dispute).

I’ve probably seen this film a handful of times over the years and it still holds up so well. Not sure, but my initial interest was seeing Jack Lemmon unlike we’ve seen him before, spewing f-bombs left and right, gone is the genial old man and inserted a guy down on his luck yet also full of hubris.

Nearly 30 years old, Glengarry Glen Ross still holds up really well, featuring sharp dialogue and electric performances from a great cast.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.5/5

This release comes with a matted slip cover. The interior cover is reversible revealing the movie’s original poster artwork. This is #107 in the Shout Select series.

Audio Commentaries:

• Director James Foley
• Actor Jack Lemmon

I’m not entirely sure, but it appears the Lemmon commentary is the first time it’s appeared on either DVD or Blu-ray as my copies don’t list it on the back. From my minimal research, it does appear his commentary was originally recorded for the Laser Disc release, so really nice to have it here. Listening to both, Foley is quite insightful giving behind-the-scenes stories and other tid-bits. However, the Lemmon track is absolutely great and it’s times like these that I am glad these legendary talents record these as even though he is solo, is filled with information on the production.

A Conversation with James Foley (37:23) — New interview with the director looking back on how he came to the project, presented by Al Pacino with other potential scripts, including interestingly enough, Se7en. Also discusses directing such an iconic group of actors and on Mamet’s script.

God Bless Ricky Roma (24:31) is an interview with Joe Mantegna who played the part on the stage play, and talks about working with Mamet.

A.B.C.: Always Be Closing (29:59) explores the dos and don’ts of the salesmen through the real life people.

Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (30:05) — Nice featurette on the legendary actor through those who knew or worked with him.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.25/5

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Overall, Glengarry Glen Ross, after all these years (close to 30 now) still holds up so well, with sharp, pointed dialogue that only David Mamet can write without coming across as pretentious. Beyond that, top notch performances all around, especially Jack Lemmon. This “Collector’s Edition” Blu-ray from Shout Factory offers up great video and audio transfers alongside a nice selection of bonus features, including a finally ported over commentary track with Lemmon, previously only available on Laser Disc.