SOURCE: Kauffmann, Stanley. “Deaths of Salesmen.” New Republic 207, no. 18 (26 October 1992): 30-1.

In the following review of Glengarry Glen Ross, Kauffmann studies the structural differences between the film version and the original play.

David Mamet wrote the screenplay of Glengarry Glen Ross, and the difference from his original play underscores one of his attributes: his sensitivity to form. It clearly wasn't enough for him to do the usual rotisserie slicing of a play for film serving, cutting it up and rearranging it differently on the platter, with a garnish of material that was only described in the play and can now be shown. Mamet obviously wanted to reshape the work, to gather it back into himself and give it a new manifestation.

The play is in two acts, designed so that their two differing shapes support the inner action of the piece. Act One has three scenes, each between...