Opening

79% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
30% The Hangover Part III May 23
100% Epic May 24
95% Before Midnight May 24
75% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
83% Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story
—— Alyce Kills May 24

Top Box Office

86% Star Trek Into Darkness $70.2M
78% Iron Man 3 $35.8M
49% The Great Gatsby $23.9M
46% Pain & Gain $3.2M
69% The Croods $3.0M
77% 42 $2.8M
56% Oblivion $2.3M
98% Mud $2.2M
37% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Salesman (1969)

tomatometer

No Reviews Yet...

Release Date: Jan 1, 1968 Wide

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 2,271

My Rating

Movie Info

One of the most well respected of the cinema verite documentaries of the 1960's, this non-fiction film follows a group of real-life Bible salesmen for the Mid-American Bible Company as they ply their wares. The central figure in the film is Irish-American Paul Brennan, a 56-year-old of great wit who traipses door to door in an effort to sell the good book to Catholic housewives who really can't afford to buy but don't want to appear rude to a Church-sanctioned representative. The documentary, a

Jan 1, 1998

Criterion Collection

ADVERTISEMENT

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (0) | DVD (11)

At the risk of sounding like a salesman myself, if you get a chance to see this documentary, you should jump at it.

June 12, 2008 Full Review Source: Eye for Film
Eye for Film

This up close look at the anxious Bible salesmen trying to close the deal has become a cult classic documentary.

January 20, 2007 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Functions as both a tribute to their work ethic and a condemnation of the system that considers such a profession a healthy route to the American dream.

March 28, 2006

May not sound like the most scintillating of subjects, but the Maysles brothers have made quite a riveting, multi-layered film about it.

March 5, 2005 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

represents a remarkably disturbing visual document of a lifestyle that may well be gone forever while exposing the underbelly of capitalism that remains live and well

October 13, 2002 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

It hasn't dated much at all, which is both disturbing and enlightening.

March 5, 2002 Full Review Source: MovieMartyr.com
MovieMartyr.com

a stark, indelible cinematic portrait of the trials and tribulations of the door-to-door salesman, a profession that is virtually extinct today

September 4, 2001
Q Network Film Desk

Audience Reviews for Salesman

If I was born in another time, I would want to be born during this time. And this would probably have been my job.
July 6, 2007
tsigur

Super Reviewer

"Salesman" is a very effective cinema verite documentary from the Maysles Brothers about bible salesmen operating in Massachusetts and Florida on the surface. Unlike Jehovah's Witnesses, they are not selling religion. The targets are already believers who gave their names at their local churches. What they are really selling is status with the $50.00 bibles that can be bought with cash, C.O.D or, my personal favorite, the Catholic Honor Plan. All dollar amounts are from 1967, so this is an especially pretty penny. If you are a believer, then it is the words that count, not the packaging, unless you are trying to convince somebody else that you are wealthy enough to afford one which most of the people the salesmen talk to cannot. For these salesmen, victory comes in small bunches in this frustrating profession with its long hours on the job and nights in cheap motels. Some succeed like those that make $35,000 to $50,000 but they are rare, even as the bosses urge them that success is within their sights. And Paul Brennan, the center of attention, wonders if maybe he should have taken his family's advice to "join the force and get a pension" during one particularly bad week.
April 10, 2010
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

No quotes approved yet for Salesman. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Discussion Forum

There are no discussion threads for Salesman yet.

Latest News on Salesman

January 21, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with James Franco
Having established his name in the Spider-Man movies, these days James Franco is clearly making some...

Help | About | Jobs | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Mobile