This is the Dustin Hoffman film that aired on CBS in 1985. We just viewed it in my English class.

I dunno. Hoffman is a marvelous actor and one can tell he is thrilled to play Willy Loman, but that is somewhat the problem. In EVERY scene, he seems to try to present to the audience his emotion and passion, which results in an occasionally overwrought performance. I also disagree with his apparent conception of Willy as a loveable schnook; not to be cruel or anything, but he seems to present Willy as having almost some sort of mental disorder. I'm not trying to pick on Hoffman though; in some scenes (most notably the hotel room flashback), he's pitch perfect. I think the direction also hinders him; one of my favorite scenes, the pathetic monologue about Biff scoring a touchdown, is somewhat muted by having Willy walk mumbling in the rain.

John Malkovich is not believable as an All-American football player for a second, but is perfect as Biff. He perfectly understands the character and runs with it. Stephen Lang and Kate Reid have the thankless roles of Hap and Linda respectively. Reid does a wonderful job and is a nice counterpoint to Hoffman's theatrics. I've always felt Hap to be one of the most frustrating parts in theater because to me, the character is incredibly vague. Lang is fine, although he's not really how I visualized the character.

Charles Durning is good as Charley, which is another difficult role (walking the fine line between being an a-hole and a compadre). For fun, check out the cameoes--character sleaze Jon Polito as Willy's boss and Linda Koslowzki of Crocodile Dundee fame as Happy's girl.