Great performance by Hoffman
He was extrodinary in this movie, probalbly the best ive seen him act.
shareyeah he really was brilliant.
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MovieChat Forums > Death of a Salesman (1985) Discussion > Great performance by Hoffman
Hoffman's small, wiry, intense Willy, is more what Miller had in mind than the big, bearlike Lee J. Cobb who originated the role on Broadway. It is interesting to see this performance in relationship to Cobb's and with Thomas Mitchell's who continued the role...Hoffman brings new breath to this American classic. Excellent casting, excellent performances!
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One of his best performances. He got a Golden Globe for it but surely an Oscar nomination atleast?!!
shareYea I wish they brought it to the screen but Miller had some issues with the first film adaptation (see first Death of a Salesman film for info)but if they did Hoffman would have been nominated if not won.
shareAre you serious? I could not understand a word he was saying in this film. To me, this indicates bad acting.
LMC xxx
I pull the trigger till it goes click.
"Are you serious? I could not understand a word he was saying in this film. To me, this indicates bad acting."
No, it doesn't. Bad acting is unrealistic acting. A lot of people don't speak clearly. That's realistic.
I'm pretty sure that if you went to the theatre and couldn't understand a word an actor was saying because they mumbled with a thick accent then you would say they were a bad actor. Why is it any different on film?
Just twat him with the bonsai mountain!
"I'm pretty sure that if you went to the theatre and couldn't understand a word an actor was saying because they mumbled with a thick accent then you would say they were a bad actor. Why is it any different on film?"
Theater and film are very different.
The acoustics of a theater are not nearly as good as those of a set for a film. The producers could just turn up the volume so the viewers could hear it more well.
In a theater, you have to project; this is not necessarily true in a film.
I still maintain that incomprehensibility is as very bad trait in an actor.
Just twat him with the bonsai mountain!
"I still maintain that incomprehensibility is as very bad trait in an actor."
To each their own, but most people who know more about acting than you do will vehemently disagree with you.
By the way...Dustin Hoffman was using a New York accent in the film. And NOT using an accent in a film, if one is necessary, is a very bad trait in an actor.
So the fact that I disagree with you clearly means I'm ignorant about acting? Not like I've worked in the theatre for years, or have a floor-to-ceiling film collection, or anything? Lovely.
I agree that not using an appropriate accent is a bad thing as well, but a line must be found whereby your words are still intelligible to the greater part of the audience.
Just twat him with the bonsai mountain!
"So the fact that I disagree with you clearly means I'm ignorant about acting?"
No, not the fact that you disagree with me. It's the fact that you disagree with the majority. I wouldn't say that you are ignorant about acting; just ignorant about one aspect (or more; I wouldn't know).
Most people---most people that seem to know a good amount about acting, anyways---think a great film actor gives a believable, riveting performance, which isn't impossible if the actor is supposed to (and does) speak in such a manner that is difficult to understand. I've taken this belief, and think the same occurs to theater, only your lines should be more intelligible. You can't tell me Marlon Brando isn't a good actor because he mumbled and slurred everything he said in A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront, and The Godfather? A lot of actors have a similar way of speaking in their films. Do you think that's how their characters are supposed to be? Do you think it says something about their character that wouldn't make the film as poignant and meaningful if it weren't so?
This has to be one of the finest performances ever by Mr Hoffman. He was simply phenomenal as "Willy Loman".
We should notice how good was John Malkovich as well. He easily could have been overshadowed by Dustin Hoffman's great perfomance but Malkovich's "Biff" is another of the many reasons why this movie works.
Great story, great acting, great directing, not a big budget but a lot of talent involved.
8/10 Not bad for a Low-budget TV movie!
he was really great! as nearly all the people here, i'm studying it in my class. and i could say, the class were all talking and not paying attention, until Willy spoke. and 10 mins into his speech, i look around and realise everyone is dead silent watching. Hoffman's performance got me feeling that lump in my throat kinda feeling.
shareThis is probably my favorite Hoffman performance of all.
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It was a very good performance, especially when you consider that Hoffman felt (perhaps justifiably) that he was completely miscast in the part.
I've seen two other adaptations of this play: one with Lee J. Cobb, another with Brian Dennehy, both of whom fit my own image of what Willy Loman looked and sounded like much more than Hoffman.
He anchors the piece to perfection. Not as transcendent as Midnight Cowboy performance, though.
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