Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

imbluzclooby Having faced burnout on the Sales profession myself I decided to Google any good films about the subject. I happened upon this forgotten gem that showed up on a "Top Ten List" of the topic in question. A Youtube channel had it available for free watching and watched I did without interruption. The only people who may find this subject matter interesting are Salesmen, would be salesman and maybe those who are close to a salesman. Otherwise, this documentary may be an excruciating bore to others. We have four characters presented to us who are all haggard, middle aged men trying to hustle a buck for a fancy Bible. The Bible is a publication from the Mid-American Church and is the identifying brand for Church members and Catholics to keep and cherish as a family heirloom and perpetuity. This is what the Sales force is hoping to accomplish by selling these fancy Bibles to low income households. What we learn in these pieces is that Poor people in rural settings are the most susceptible to easy pickings and small time marketing. While the more affluent households are less receptive and harder to sell to. This point is touched upon briefly by one of the fellow salesman, The Gipper, on the team. If anyone has ever worked extensively in sales they can relate to this sad and sardonic fact of American life. But the movie's focus is much more than revealing smarmy sales tactics and cheap cajoling. It explicitly shows how depressing and monotonous the life of a Door to Door salesman is, a profession that has nearly gone obsolete in recent years. These salesmen are matured. The four men are between the ages of 40 and 60, Paul the badger being the eldest, most experienced and least likely to succeed. We see jaded and grown men in suits shuffling around tacky hotel banquet rooms, sharing dingy motel rooms, attending unpleasant sales rallies, enacting the annoying role play scenarios and driving in their rented cars from house to house. Sales is a sad and meaningless profession that is soul-sucking for these men. To add injury to insult we see these same men being emasculated by a boorish and corpulent sales manager, the schoolyard bully who takes pleasure in insulting and condescending his team due to their unsatisfying sales results. Some of us have been there and have witnessed first hand the repugnant confrontations by such people in pep rallies, sales conferences and one-on-one meetings. The quiet desperation seen in these men's faces is palpable and difficult to watch for those who can relate. The cynical hope of making some money or just a meager living is what drives these men to get up every morning. But that hope has dwindled for Paul, the badger, who realizes the waste, futility and hopelessness of his career choice. This is Willy Loman all over again. Paul is presented as the central character that anchors this downbeat story. The overall tone is depressing, even though there are brief moments of sardonic humor. James, the rabbit, comes off as an awkward and goofy sales man yet is still more energetic than Paul. The Gipper is a resilient straight- man who presses forward in his work without getting down. The Bull is the best of the four and even as he comes off as smooth and persuasive in his sales methods, We witness his inability to persuade and win over a couple of people. The Mayslie Brothers are making a statement about the tragedy of how the American Dream has alluded some people. What better way to reveal that debacle than showing us a day in the lives of four traveling Bible salesman? It's brilliant, because it is so real. The camera takes a fly on the wall approach as it focuses on the subjects in their homes. People seem unaware or clueless that the camera is rolling and don't seem affected by it. Unlike reality TV today, this is not fake and the homeowners seem completely detached from wishes to have their fifteen minutes of fame. It's like candid camera where people back in the 60's didn't grasp the concept of how media is alluring. The subject matter is presented so plainly that we see how both the salesman and their targets are victimized. Paying $49.95 for a Bible in monthly installments seems trivial by today's economy, but in the sixties it was quite a sum for lower income folk who most likely didn't qualify and would end up delinquent in their accounts.This documentary is certainly not enjoyable and has the appeal of morbid curiosity. It is a footnote in a bygone era where certain sales models have dwindled. Even though they didn't have the technology of GPS tracking systems and CRM's to aide in their Prospecting management, the basic salesmanship is still there and relevant. This is Cinema Verite and the Mayslie Brothers are credited for this type of genre. The film also has an Avant Garde feel to it that leaves us intrigued and depressed. By the end, as we see Paul lament about his unstable career choice in a motel room among his colleagues,the film ends as the credits flash on a black screen to the industrial noisy sounds of the urban sprawl that leaves us in despair and wonder of what the lack of meaning in a profession can do to some people.

Michael_Elliott Salesman (1968) *** (out of 4) Interesting documentary from Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin about the life of four door-to-door salesmen. The film shows the life on the road as these four people, working for the Mid-American Bible Company, go from one location to the next trying to sell these rather expensive Bibles to people who more often than not don't want them. SALESMAN isn't the best film that the filmmakers have ever done but it does remain an interesting look at a life that I'm sure most people would never want. Of course, the door-to-door salesman is pretty much a thing of the past but it's interesting to see how the business was working and especially one in the Bible selling. It was interesting seeing the four men going from house to house trying to sell a $50 Bible and it's clear that most people weren't interested yet some of them felt it was their duty to support the "message" of the book. I think the best parts of the film is when we see the salesmen inside houses trying to pull their certain tricks in order to get a sale. These are clearly the highlights of the film, although while watching I kept wondering why so many of these people were okay with not only a salesman coming into their home but also a film crew. I also thought the salesmen sitting around their hotel rooms talking really gave great insight into their lives. The weaker moments include the pep rallies given by some of the bigger dogs who are trying to inspire the other salesmen to do a better job.

Stanley Jacobs The first job many of us have early on in life is the task of selling some type of product or service to another person. "Salesman" is a wonderful examination of the door-to-door sales person masterfully executed because you experience and understand what it is like to be one of them. This is a film worth staying with so it can unfold into your conscientiousness. It's also a great historical record that needs to be preserved.The Maysles Bros.' non-interruptive approach to their subject is an important chapter in film ethics. Have we drifted too far from it in some of today's documentaries? It's one of my inspirations for the feature documentary film, "Pitch People."

ZOMBIE-8 You know, I'm VERY open minded when it comes to different types of film, whether its fiction or non-fiction. However, I can't see what people enjoy about this documentary... nor can I see it as "Criterion Collection" material. This film can be summed up like this:1. Salesman approaches possible customer; 2. Salesman explains all paying plans; 3. Possible customer is not interested; 4. Salesman continues pushing; 5. Possible customer still not interested; 6. Salesman keeps pushing; 7. Possible customer puts foot down; 8. Salesman gives up; 9. Salesman complains to other salesmen; 10. Start back at step #1 and repeat entire process until 90 minutes are up.That's it. This "documentary" redefined the term "monotony". Usually a documentary is made up of narration, photos, interviews, and b-roll footage. Imagine just 90 minutes of nothing but b-roll footage. No narration. No interviews. No photos. Just a camera running with some of the footage thrown together in the editing process. Also, all four of the salesmen seemed too similar to really get to know them. The only one I can remotely remember was the skinny one who kept breaking out into the voice of an old Irish woman. In short, remember the feeling you had after seeing The Blair Witch Project for the first time? Same reaction here. Almost the same concept as well: A "documentary" that is nothing but b-roll footage and has a bunch of people doing the same thing over and over again and complaining about it. Like I said, I'm usually pretty open minded about film in general, and I tried as hard as I could to respect this film, but it just fell flat and I left wanting that hour and a half of my life back. The 4 stars I gave out of 10 were more or less pity stars for the effort these people tried in making some type of documentary. There are so many deeper documentaries out there, and this doesn't even come close.