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Licensor Information
Maysles Films
This radically influential portrait of American dreams and disillusionment from Direct Cinema pioneers David Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin captures, with indelible humanity, the worlds of four dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen as they travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics. A vivid evocation of midcentury malaise that unfolds against a backdrop of cheap motels, smoky diners, and suburban living rooms, Salesman assumes poignant dimensions as it uncovers the way its subjects’ fast-talking bravado masks frustration, disappointment, and despair. Revolutionizing the art of nonfiction storytelling with its nonjudgmental, observational style, this landmark documentary is one of the most penetrating films ever made about how deeply embedded consumerism is in America’s sense of its own values.
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Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
Blu-ray
Disc:
BD-50 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
A (Blu-ray)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33:1
Audio Options:
English PCM Mono 1.0
Resolution:
1080p/24
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Audio Commentary, Interview, Audio Interview, Theatrical Trailer, Television Program, Insert
- Audio commentary by filmmakers Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin
- Television interview from 1968 Jack Kroll television interview with David Maysles and Albert Maysles
- New appreciation of the film by actor Bill Hader
- “Globesman,” a 2016 episode of the television series Documentary Now! that parodies the film, starring Hader and Fred Armisen
- Audio excerpt from a 2000 episode of NPR’s Weekend Edition profiling James Baker, one of the salesmen featured in the film
- Theatrical trailer
- An essay by critic Michael Chaiken
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Supplements
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Restoration Information
Salesman
Restoration by:
The Academy Film Archive
The Film Foundation
George Lucas Family Foundation
Year: 2017
Scanned at: 4K Digital
Restored at: 4K Digital
Sources:
16mm Fine-grain print
35mm Duplicate negative
16mm A/B camera negative
Release Notes on Restoration
Salesman
Salesman is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. on widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. This new digital restoration was undertaken by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation. A new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner, primarily from the 16 mm A/B original camera negative, and restored at Roundabout Entertainment in Burbank, California. A 16 mm fine grain and a 35 mm duplicate negative were also used for some sections. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35 mm magnetic track at Audio Mechanics in Burbank. All picture and sound elements are held in the Maysles Collection at the Academy Film Archive.