Being John Malkovich [Criterion Collection] [2 Discs]

Director: Spike Jonze Spike Jonze

Overview

Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and the Breeders, among others.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/15/2012
UPC:	0715515095419
Original Release:	1999
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00

Special Features

Disc One - New selected-scene Audio Commentary featuring Jonze's friend and competitor the filmmaker Michel Gondry; Disc Two - New behind-the-scenes documentary by filmmaker Lance Bangs; New conversation between actor John Malkovich and humorist John Hodgman; New Interview with Jonze in which he discusses his on-set photos; Two films within the film: 71/2 Floor Orientation and "American Arts & Culture" Presents John Horatio Malkovich: "Dance of Despair and Disillusionment"; An Intimate Portrait of the Art of Puppeteering, a documentary by Bangs; Trailer and TV spots; ; Plus: A Booklet featuring a conversation between Jonze and pop-culture critic Perkus Tooth

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Cusack	Craig Schwartz
Cameron Diaz	Lotte Schwartz
Ned Bellamy	Derek Mantini
Eric Weinstein	Father at Puppet Show
Madison Lanc	Daughter at Puppet Show
Octavia Spencer	Woman in Elevator(as Octavia L. Spencer)
Mary Kay Place	Floris
Orson Bean	Dr. Lester
Catherine Keener	Maxine Lund
K.K. Dodds	Wendy
Reggie Hayes	Don(as Reggie Hayes)
Byrne Piven	Captain Mertin
Judith Wetzell	Tiny Woman
John Malkovich	John Horatio Malkovich
Kevin Carroll	Cab Driver
Willie Garson	Guy in Restaurant
W. Earl Brown	First J.M. Inc. Customer
Charlie Sheen	Charlie
Gerald Emerick	Sad Man in Line
Bill M. Ryusaki	Mr. Hiroshi
Carlos Jacott	Larry the Agent
Richard Fancy	Johnson Heyward
Patti Tippo	Malkovich's Mother
Daniel Hansen	Boy Malkovich,Boy John Malkovich
Mariah O'Brien	Girl Creeped Out by Malkovich
Pamela Hayden	Featured Character Voice,Featured Character Voices
Jayne Hess	Featured Character Voice
Michelle Madden	Featured Character Voice,Featured Character Voices
Greg O'Neill	Featured Character Voice,Featured Character Voices
Neil Ross	Featured Character Voice
Bill Wittman	Featured Character Voice,Featured Character Voices
Gregory Sporleder	Drunk At Bar
James Murray	Student Puppeteer
Kelly Teacher	Emily
Jacqueline Benoit	Doctor Lester's Friend
Audrey Gelfand	Doctor Lester's Friend
Eddie Low	Doctor Lester's Friend
William Buck	Doctor Lester's Friend
Yetta Ginsburg	Doctor Lester's Friend
Ralph Spaulding	Doctor Lester's Friend
Christine Coleman	Doctor Lester's Friend
Sylvester Jenkins	Doctor Lester's Friend
David Wyler	Doctor Lester's Friend,Doctor Lester's Friend
Jeanne Diehl	Doctor Lester's Friend
Roy Johnson	Doctor Lester's Friend
Kevin Lee	Ballet Dancer
Marlowe Bassett	Ballet Dancer
Kristin D'Andrea	Ballet Dancer
Jessica Neuberger	Ballet Dancer
Jennifer Canzoneri	Ballet Dancer
Charlene Grimsley	Ballet Dancer
Sara Rifkin	Ballet Dancer
Kristie Cordle	Ballet Dancer
Christine Krejer	Ballet Dancer
Elizabeth Rivera	Ballet Dancer
Denise Dabrowski	Ballet Dancer
Erica Long	Ballet Dancer
Chelsa Sjostrom	Ballet Dancer
Yvonne Montelius	Ballet Dancer
Jayne Hess	Featured Character Voices
Christopher Bing	Himself [uncredited]
Sean Penn	Actor
Brad Pitt	Actor
Carter Burwell	Composer

Technical Credits

Charlie Kaufman

Spike Jonze	Director
Charlie Kaufman	Executive Producer,Screenwriter
Michael Kuhn	Executive Producer
Steve Golin	Producer
Vincent Landay	Producer
Sandy Stern	Producer
Michael Stipe	Producer
Justine Baddeley	Casting
Forrest Brakeman	Sound/Sound Designer,Sound Mixer
Mit Out Sound	Sound/Sound Designer
Nick Peck	Sound/Sound Designer
Ren Klyce	Sound/Sound Designer
Malcolm Fife	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Being John Malkovich
1. Dance of Despair and Disillusionment [3:10]
2. "Wintry economic climate" [1:57]
3. Abelard & Heloise [1:38]
4. Lester Corp., 7 1/2 Floor [6:02]
5. Orientation [2:49]
6. "Yeah, that's adorable" [1:26]
7. Maxine [:33]
8. "Don't Toy with Floris" [1:48]
9. "Are You Married?" [3:37]
10. A New Puppet [3:58]
11. The Portal [5:43]
12. "We'll Sell Tickets" [6:23]
13. Dinner at Dr. Lester's [2:45]
14. Lotte and Maxine Meet [2:41]
15. Maxine, Lotte, and Malkovich Have Dinner [4:41]
16. The First Customer [2:12]
17. Maxine, Lotte, and Craig Have Dinner [2:52]
18. "Do You Mind?" [3:30]
19. "Tell Her You Need To See Her" [8:24]
20. "Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich" [5:57]
21. Elijah's Memory [3:32]
22. Vessels [7:20]
23. "I'd Love To See Your Work" [3:54]
24. Malkovich's Career Change [1:29]
25. American Arts & Culture Presents John Horatio Malkovich [6:53]
26. A Hostage Taken [1:42]
27. Through Malkovich's Subconsious [3:39]
28. Release [3:40]
29. Seven Years Later [2:20]
30. End Credits [6:15]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Being John Malkovich
   Play
   Chapters
      Color Bars
   Selected-Scene Commentary
      Play
Disc #2 -- Being John Malkovich
   All Noncombatants Please Clear The Set
      Play
   John Malkovich And John Hodgman
      Play
   Spike's Photos
      Play
   71/2 Floor Orientation
   "American Arts & Culture" Presents John Horatio Malkovich: "Dance Of Despair and Disillusionment"
   An Intimate Portrait Of The Art Of Puppeteering
   TV Spots
      JM Inc
      Tunnel
      Spithead
      Vesselis Humanus
   Trailer

Editorial Reviews

This hilarious, breathtakingly original feature debut by music video director Spike Jonze is Alice in Wonderland for the age of celebrity: the rabbit hole that the characters fall into is actor John Malkovich's head. On the seventh and a half floor of a Manhattan office building (yes, half floor -- that's why everyone's stooping), a nebbishy puppeteer (John Cusack) discovers a door that delivers him straight into the mind of Malkovich. The ride is thrilling, but the portal turns out to be a Pandora's box: opening it sets hearts afire and desires running amuck. Cameron Diaz, sporting seriously bad hair, gamely turns her babe wattage way down to play Cusack's plain Jane wife, while Catherine Keener (Your Friends and Neighbors) plays Cusack's seductive office colleague and the object of everyone's obsession. Malkovich, playing himself, does a delicious satire on his own celebrity lifestyle. Watching this film, filled with mistaken identities and dizzying plot twists that never let up, is a bit like being in a car with a crazy but brilliant driver -- unnerving but an awful lot of fun.

Barnes & Noble - John Guida

Surrealist cinema at its most inventive and edifying, this feature debut by music video maestro Spike Jonze poses questions of existentialism and celebrity without the pretension of feeling like you're in a philosophy symposium. Armed with Charlie Kaufman's devilishly clever and narratively sound script, the director creates a funhouse of the mind, but never strays from its originating premise, which involves the fascination and consequences of living as someone else, even for a brief period. Filled with offbeat humor and surprisingly free of empty flash (unusual for a director whose only previous experience is in music video), Being John Malkovich finds a genre niche that seems relatively untapped, similar to a film like David Lynch's Blue Velvet, which created a world all its own even in the midst of familiar surroundings. A mid-level success upon release, the film was honored on several critics' Ten Best lists of 1999, and garnered first-time Oscar nominations for Jonze, Kaufman, and co-star Catherine Keener, who is ruthlessly funny as the object of John Cusack's affections.

All Movie Guide - Jason Clark