An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 14 nominations total
Barry Rohrssen
- Assistant Detective
- (as Barry Rossen)
Leigh French
- Additional Voice
- (voice)
Murphy Dunne
- Additional Voice
- (voice)
Dana Lee
- Additional Voice
- (voice)
Julie Payne
- Additional Voice
- (voice)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe single largest cost on the movie was for the rain effects throughout the first half of the film.
- GoofsStealing the list of references from Williamson's office constitutes the crime of burglary, but the police describe the crime as robbery. This same mistake was present in the original play.
- Quotes
Ricky Roma: You never open your mouth until you know what the shot is.
- SoundtracksBlue Skies
Performed by Al Jarreau
Words & Music by Irving Berlin
Courtesy of Irving Berlin Music Company
Featured review
Very riveting filmed play...
... involving characters with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
I don't know how anyone could watch this entire movie and think that it was a celebration of capitalism or a model for human life. The characters are by various degrees dishonest, manipulative, vindictive and disloyal, and by competing them against each other it serves only to bring their negative traits out further. Also watching this would be a good incentive to learn a trade - plumbing, electrician, accountant, nursing, engineering - so you don't wind up selling for a living and swimming among sharks like those in this film.
It's about a real estate sales outfit and one office in particular with four salesmen played by Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin. The office has been having flagging sales. Towards the beginning ace salesman Blake (Alec Baldwin) comes to the office to give what is supposed to be a pep talk but just ends up dehumanizing and demoralizing the sales force. He sets up a competition that ends up making the company worse for it in the long run or even the short run. He announces that during the next month that the top salesman gets a Cadillac, the second gets steak knives, and the bottom two get fired.
The Baldwin scene espouses the individualistic capitalist dream, but it is his words and actions that cause the moral degradation of the office. Whilst someone might sit on top of the ladder and get a cadillac, the office as a whole is a microcosm of the American capitalist business system. The top guy gets richer on good leads whilst the middle guys compete for scraps and the loser gets fired. This leads to the social structure of the office falling apart as individuals resort to immoral acts to get ahead and actively try to hinder each other's progress. The result is a net loss for the office rather than any collective gain that could have been achieved by working together.
I don't know how anyone could watch this entire movie and think that it was a celebration of capitalism or a model for human life. The characters are by various degrees dishonest, manipulative, vindictive and disloyal, and by competing them against each other it serves only to bring their negative traits out further. Also watching this would be a good incentive to learn a trade - plumbing, electrician, accountant, nursing, engineering - so you don't wind up selling for a living and swimming among sharks like those in this film.
It's about a real estate sales outfit and one office in particular with four salesmen played by Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin. The office has been having flagging sales. Towards the beginning ace salesman Blake (Alec Baldwin) comes to the office to give what is supposed to be a pep talk but just ends up dehumanizing and demoralizing the sales force. He sets up a competition that ends up making the company worse for it in the long run or even the short run. He announces that during the next month that the top salesman gets a Cadillac, the second gets steak knives, and the bottom two get fired.
The Baldwin scene espouses the individualistic capitalist dream, but it is his words and actions that cause the moral degradation of the office. Whilst someone might sit on top of the ladder and get a cadillac, the office as a whole is a microcosm of the American capitalist business system. The top guy gets richer on good leads whilst the middle guys compete for scraps and the loser gets fired. This leads to the social structure of the office falling apart as individuals resort to immoral acts to get ahead and actively try to hinder each other's progress. The result is a net loss for the office rather than any collective gain that could have been achieved by working together.
helpful•100
- AlsExGal
- Aug 4, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- El precio de la ambición
- Filming locations
- Office, 1515 Sheepshead Bay Road, Brooklyn, New York, USA(Premiere Properties Office)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $12,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,725,228
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,104,402
- Oct 4, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $10,726,612
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content