calvinnme This film is about the trials and tribulations of four door-to-door Bible salesmen in 1968, on the eve of when their occupation was about to become extinct. Of course, the filmmakers could not know that at the time, but this fact is what adds to the sadness of this film today. The salesmen are four New Englanders named Paul "The Badger" Brennan, James "The Rabbit" Baker, "The Bull" and "The Gipper", their nicknames being derived from their individual sales tactics. Despite the holiness of their products, this really is a cutthroat business, as is made evident in some of the sales meetings that are shown. The main character, "The Badger", reminds me of Jack Lemmon's character in Glengarry Glen Ross. Life - and his profession - have beaten him down, and none of his sales pitches are working as he talks to one indifferent potential customer after another. These guys are always looking for a new angle to make the sale, but usually just about everything they come up with is not successful. Remember, this was in the days when people were unafraid to open their doors to strangers, and equally unafraid to be rude to them. The film not only makes you feel what these unsuccessful salesmen are feeling, it a time capsule for the end of the '60s, and a portrait of an occupation that doesn't really exist anymore due to telemarketing, Internet sales, two-income families meaning nobody is home during the day, and finally the fact that adult strangers on your doorstep are assumed to be potential criminals.Paul Brennan really seems to have the saddest story of the four. His sales are dwindling, and he is really too old to start over in another occupation. Paul's sales become so poor that at one point that he is partnered with a more aggressive salesman so Paul can observe his technique in the hope that something will rub off on Paul. This younger, sharper salesman, who obviously has not yet developed a tolerance for human frailty, is constantly snapping at Paul for his poor technique and unenthusiastic delivery. If you're an older person who has ever worked for a younger one, you know what I'm talking about. As sorry as you may feel for him though, when we see Paul using the possibly superstitious beliefs of his customers to get them to buy products they may not be able to afford, you have mixed feelings about the man. Is Paul purely being manipulative, or is he resorting to desperate means to survive? Probably a little bit of both is true. Paul realizes that his time as a salesman is coming to a close, and it's not like he has a big bank account to fall back on. Such career struggles are expected when you are in your 20's, but by the time you are Paul's age you are expecting something more...more job stability, more respect, more financial security.The film does add some humor throughout the film to keep the viewing experience from being too much like a funeral for both Paul's career and the profession of door-to-door salesman itself. Sometimes the salesmen lighten up and even have some camaraderie in their conversations. Sometimes there is a funny remark from the "no sale" Boston housewives the salesmen encounter, and sometimes there are even funnier remarks from the salesmen as they leave a house where they've been refused. There's also an episode in a hotel pool in the middle of the night that is rather humorous.I'd say that even though the film has a very dated look to it, you should watch it because what it has to say about the human spirit, aging ungracefully, choosing the wrong career, and then failing at that career is timeless.

st-shot Salesman is a grainy documentary consisting of a crew of two (The Maysles brothers) following four door to door salesman selling high end bibles to struggling Catholic families. It is a gloomy watch as well as uncomfortable one as we barge in the front door with the wheeler dealers and sit through the pitch. It is also one of the finest representations of the genre in the history of medium.The Badger, the Gipper, The Bull and the Rabbit make their way through the frozen snow lined streets of Boston in search of customers outed by their local parish to sell ornate bibles. Business has been slow and shows little sign of picking up from the home visits we are witness to. They decide to try out new territory in sunny Florida but first attend an employees conference in Chicago where publisher Ivan K Feltman delivers a canned speech to rally the troops. Florida's welcoming warmth (they rent convertibles)energizes the boys but sales remain cold especially for traveling vet Badger, Paul Brennan.Within its raw simplicity Salesman blossoms with irony, metaphor and a touch of surrealism where the beleaguered Brennan finds himself lost in Opa Loka, a Moorish themed community with street names such as Ali Baba Drive and yes Sesame Street. The unctuous but affable quartet wear their glum existence on their sleeves slogging through slush, crashing at drab motels, chain smoking and going over the days disappointments. Brennan in particular is a remarkable watch as he rides his losing streak into near complete melt down in front of customers near film's end. It is one thing to be emotionally moved and impressed by a performance the likes of Lee J. Cobb in Death of a Salesman or anyone else playing the role well. In Brennan we are witnessing the real thing and it is devastating.The days of door to door shilling for the most part have long been replaced by cable home shopping networks and the internet. Instead of attempting to get his foot in the door he is now sitting in the living room twenty four, seven. Salesman is a superb document and time capsule on the way it used to be even if it is a journey through the past grimly.

RuthlessGoat This documentary about Salesmen is simply awesome. Set in the 1960's, this film brings to life the reality of four Bible Salesmen. We have Paul "The Badger" Brennan, Raymond "The Bull" Martos, Charles "The Gipper" McDevitt and James "The Rabbit" Baker. These drummers pitch the reverence, serenity and beauty of their gaudily illustrated and over- priced goods, but there is no peace for the figidity, knuckle-gnawing, chain-smoking and desperate men in this documentary, especially for "The Badger". Failure, fear and despair was written all over his face as he has lost his touch, mostly because of his own soured attitude, and there will be no stopping this decline because he just cannot close any more. The sales targets, as you might guess, are people who can afford it the least, poor Catholic families in middle to lower middle class neighborhoods. "We're from the Church" is the first lie that comes out of their mouths as these hucksters use Jesus and guilt to try to separate money from those who cannot afford, and do not need yet another Bible. After a gut-wrenching and intimidating Sales Meeting, they move their dog and pony show from snowy Massachusetts to Florida, but nothing really changes for the desperate salesmen. I mean, why mince words, these guys are creeps and no one is more creepy than the inevitable Sales Manager, a wide-eyed gunslinger who ghosts their every activity. This asshole is the very embodiment of micromanagement by intimidation, and nothing was more disgusting and revealing than the fraudulent "role-play" in which he showed his uncanny ability to NOT LISTEN. I mean, this was ROLE PLAY using professional salesmen, but even there the tension was electric, it was just an amazing scene. As a successful Salesman for 25 years, this documentary was depressing as hell and the misery showed on the faces of everyone involved. The body language was stunning, especially from the hapless prospects, with arms folded in defense. No one is happy here and these are pigeons who did not want to buy the goods from totally eviscerated salesmen. The last scene with the visibly defeated Badger was excruciating to watch and the mere fact that this ancient documentary has had such an impact on me is a testimony to its excellence. This is one of the greatest films on Salesmen ever, just watch it. 9/10 Stars, magnificent!

Polaris_DiB he Maysles brothers depict what it's like to be in the middle of an uncomfortable salesman situation from both sides, over and over and over and over again. In the meantime, they explore the nature of salesmanship, it's ties with the American Dream, and also the irony of being a Bible salesman and a Catholic. It's good, but it's not really pleasant viewing anyway you stretch it, and for anyone who's been a salesman or had to deal with them (i.e., the majority of everybody), it brings up some bad memories.As a movie made under the Maysles' "direct cinema" approach, it's very successful: finding a narrative in the real-life records, making a nonfiction that doesn't call itself documentary. This movie is certainly a very interesting exploration of editing and form, especially as concerns the scene of traveling on the train, where the two brothers literally put thoughts into the character's head via flashbacks.--PolarisDiB