Plot: An examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.

The single largest cost on the movie was for the rain effects throughout the first half of the film.

During filming, members of the cast who weren't required to be on the set certain days would show up anyway to watch the other actors' performances.

Co-star Jack Lemmon said the cast was the greatest acting ensemble he had ever been part of. This is also both director James Foley's and Alec Baldwin's favorite film of their own.

During the production, the actors referred to this film as "Death of a Fuckin' Salesman".

David Mamet based his original play on his own experience working in a real estate office in the 1970s, when he was a struggling playwright. He was the office manager who gave out sales leads and handled the paperwork.

After Al Pacino saw Kevin Spacey perform onstage on Broadway in "Lost in Yonkers", he brought director James Foley along to see the actor for himself. This led to Spacey landing his role in the film.

The film had three weeks of rehearsals and was shot over 39 days. Most scenes were shot in single takes and then cut up in editing to try to replicate the theatrical flow and cadence of the dialogue. The film was also shot almost entirely in sequence.

Playwright David Mamet also wrote the screenplay using the same style of precision dialogue he uses in his plays, also known as "Mamet Speak". Characters speak in quick rapid-fire succession, frequently cutting each other off, finishing each other's sentences, and repeating themselves whilst the other speaks. Most notably, every word the character speaks (or doesn't speak) is actually scripted including stammers, pauses, repeated words, half utterances, etc. Ad libbing or improvised dialogue is never permitted. Mamet's writing style is also highly imitated by other writers.

Alec Baldwin based the tone and delivery of his famous monologue on George C. Scott's "Wars are won..." speech from Patton (1970).

None of the major roles in the film were auditioned - the actors playing the parts were all offered their roles, although Jack Lemmon has said he would have been glad to audition for such a good role.

David Mamet's screenplay considerably expanded his script for the play, providing more context for the pressure placed on the salesmen. Notably, Alec Baldwin's introductory speech was added as well as Jack Lemmon's phone calls to clients and the hospital, plus his sales call to the man with the fishing rod. Many consider the screenplay to be superior to the text for his Pultizer-winning stage play. The film version is often transcribed to stage now.

Years later, in different play revivals of the production, two actors from the cast swapped parts on the stage. Al Pacino played Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon's character) and Sir Jonathan Pryce played Ricky Roma (Al Pacino's character).

When approached about the movie, David Mamet asked for $500,000 for the movie rights and another $500,000 to write the screenplay. Zupnik agreed, planning to bankroll the movie by cutting a deal with a cable company. However, no major company was interested in financing it because of the subject matter and abrasive language. It was ultimately financed by multiple small cable and video companies, a German television station, an Australian movie theater chain, several banks, and New Line Cinema.

Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris purposely gave Alec Baldwin the cold shoulder on set as they hung out in their trailers. This was done not because they had a problem with Baldwin but in a way it was to separate their characters from this guy who basically comes in and belittles them with a tirade. To get back at them, Baldwin put a lot more effort into making them feel like crap and when he yells at Lemmon at his desk, his was reaction to him was completely genuine according to James Foley.

Alan Arkin turned down the film twice because he thought Aaronow was a stupid, inherently unlikable character. Upon reconsideration, Arkin created a backstory for Aaronow; he hadn't been a salesman very long, he was a teacher by trade, but the school in which he worked was shut down, and he needed to support his family. Arkin says that he played Aaronow as an innocent, rather that his usual stage depiction as a weak-willed bumbler.

The Coat Check Girl is the only female character to appear in the movie.

The title refers to Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms, two properties mentioned in the movie.

The word "fuck" and its derivatives are uttered 138 times.