I first learned of the Maysles brothers thru Gimme Shelter. I found Salesman to be deeply depressing - which appears to be the stark reality of events.
Absolutely fascinating. Yes, Kroll seems a bit antagonistic--he seems more interested in letting the viewer know how he feels about the brothers' endeavor--but their responses are still illumination. Thank you for the upload.
Thank you so much for uploading this. Its hard to believe this is at the beginning of their career. They have a great dynamic of disagreement, yet still similar ideas. Barbara Kopple worked for them on this film too. Harlan County USA is also a raw slice of American life.
I was never fond of the film when I saw it first as it just made me feel both bored at the humdrum nature of their work and of course I had my own resentments towards door to door salesmen of any kind. However I do find the interview enlightening in terms of how they viewed the making of the film and their own personal observations of what they were filming. Occasionally the interviewer is a little too keen to interrupt and tar them with either his own prejudices or those that he has read elsewhere but that's what he's there for. The least I can say of this film is that judging by this interview, I'd almost have the feeling that Americans didn't like what was staring back at them in the mirror.
This is wonderful. Thanks. Does the interviewer bother me only because he keeps interrupting or because he comes across as such an antagonistic or is he really clever by asking questions that an average viewer might have.
