I can’t imagine it ever seeming irrelevant, either as a social document or as one of the best examples of what’s called cinema vérité or direct cinema.
Famed New York Times film critic Vincent Camby used those words to describe “Salesman,” a 1968 documentary following four Bible salesmen coaxing consumers into buying their expensive goods. Created by the Maysles brothers, legends in documentary circles, the film is both thoroughly dated and modern in its depiction of human behavior.
And it’s available right now for free – you’ll have to endure some modest commercial interruptions – at Hulu.com.
Yes, the salesmen here look like they stepped off the “Mad Men” set. They smoke furiously, are rarely seen out of their suit and tie uniform and wear those cool hats that once upon a time were commonplace in America.
But it’s fascinating to watch them in action. They’re smoother than a baby’s bum and more tenacious than a pit bull with its teeth clenched on, well, anything. Listening to them discuss their work ethic is also a throwback to another generation, a time when people didn’t kevetch about long hours or working conditions. They just grinded out one day after the next to make a living.
The number of door to door salesmen criss-crossing the country in 2011 is likely far less than in the late 1960s, but the interactions between salesman and customer reveal attitudes and behaviors which are still part of our collective behavior.
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