Being There

( 9 )

Overview

Having lived his life as the gardener on a millionaire's estate, Chance Peter Sellers knows of the real world only what he has seen on TV. When his benefactor dies, Chance walks aimlessly into the streets of Washington D.C., where he is struck by a car owned by wealthy Eve Rand Shirley MacLaine. Identifying himself, the confused man mutters "Chance...gardener," which Eve takes to be "Chauncey Gardiner." Eve takes him to her home to convalesce, and because Chance is so well-dressed and well-groomed, and because he...
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More About This Product

Overview

Having lived his life as the gardener on a millionaire's estate, Chance Peter Sellers knows of the real world only what he has seen on TV. When his benefactor dies, Chance walks aimlessly into the streets of Washington D.C., where he is struck by a car owned by wealthy Eve Rand Shirley MacLaine. Identifying himself, the confused man mutters "Chance...gardener," which Eve takes to be "Chauncey Gardiner." Eve takes him to her home to convalesce, and because Chance is so well-dressed and well-groomed, and because he speaks in such a cultured tone, everyone in her orbit assumes that "Chauncey Gardiner" must be a man of profound intelligence. No matter what he says, it is interpreted as a pearl of wisdom and insight. He rises to the top of Washington society, where his simplistic responses to the most difficult questions responses usually related to his gardening experience are highly prized by the town's movers and shakers. In fact, there is serious consideration given to running Chance as a presidential candidate. Both a modern fable and a political satire, Being There was based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski and costars Melvyn Douglas, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as Eve's aging power-broker husband.
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Special Features

New featurette - ; Memories From Being There; Theatrical trailer
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse
A generally faithful adaptation of Jerzy N. Kosinski's quirky comic novel that is blessed with a devastatingly hilarious deadpan performance by top-billed Peter Sellers, Being There examines contemporary America's cultural life and finds it wanting in many ways. Sellers plays Chauncey Gardner, a middle-aged, sheltered illiterate who spends most of his waking hours watching TV, from which he gleans what little he knows of life. A bizarre series of events catapults him into the inner circle of a politically active industrialist veteran actor Melvyn Douglas in an Oscar-winning turn, who mistakes Chauncey's childlike rejoinders for profundity and proposes that he run for president. Kosinski's script, rife with absurdities but savagely witty and unsparing in its digs at the intelligentsia and the political elite, is visualized with elan by director Hal Ashby Harold and Maude, who keeps a tight rein on the normally irrepressible Sellers. Among the supporting players, Shirley MacLaine is deliciously subtle as the smitten woman whose amorous advances go right over Chauncey's head, and Jack Warden appears to advantage in one of his customarily blustery characterizations. Being There occasionally drags, and its humor isn't the type to provoke sustained belly laughs. But it's a thoughtful, substantive comedy that rewards patient viewers and yields additional treasure with repeated viewings. The DVD includes cast/director highlights.
All Movie Guide
Perhaps the most potent film satire of the television age and postmodern politics, Being There, released in 1979, foreshadowed a generation of films that critiqued the shallowness of mass culture. But none did so with as much economy as this profoundly simple fable. No one could have played the lead role of the moronic gardener with more nuanced efficacy than Peter Sellers. When his plain-speaking character, who has done nothing all his life except watch TV, is thrust into political notoriety, Sellers displays an uncanny adeptness for mimicking the rote movements and empty phrases of a latter-day political leader. Directed expertly by the politically astute Hal Ashby, the story was adapted by screenwriter Jerzy Kosinski from his own novel. It won an Oscar nomination for Sellers and a best supporting Oscar for Melvyn Douglas; and it marked the last great part for Sellers and the end of a run of major 1970s efforts from Ashby.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/3/2009
  • UPC: 883929037094
  • Original Release: 1979

    • Rating:

  • Source: Warner Home Video
  • Region Code: 1
  • Presentation: Remastered / Special Edition / Wide Screen
  • Time: 2:10:00
  • Format: DVD
  • Sales rank: 4,177

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Peter Sellers Chance the Gardener
Shirley MacLaine Eve Rand
Melvyn Douglas Benjamin Rand
Jack Warden President Bobby
Richard Basehart Vladimir Skrapinov
Richard Dysart Dr. Robert Allenby
Ruth Attaway Louise
David Clennon Thomas Franklin
Fran Brill Sally Hayes
Denise DuBarry Johanna Franklin
Elya Baskin Karpatov
Melendy Britt Sophie
Alfredine Brown Old Woman
Oteil Burbridge Lolo
Wendell Burton
Maurice Copeland Pallbearer
Brian Corrigan Policeman
Terrence Currier Pallbearer
Katherine de Hetre Kinney, News Researcher
Stanley Grover Baldwin
Arthur Grundy Arthur
Georgine Hall Mrs. Aubrey
Mark Hammer Pallbearer
Danna Hansen Mrs. Slipshod
John Harkins Courtney
Austin Hay Pallbearer
Jerome Hellman Gary Burns
Hanna Hertelendy Natasha Skrapinov
Alice Hirson First Lady
Gwen Humble TV Guest
Donald Jacob David, chauffeur
Ravenell Keller III Abbaz
Mitch Kreindel Dennis Watson
William Larsen Lyman Stuart
Fredric Lehne TV Page
Paul Marin Reporter
Ernest McClure Jeffery
John Miller Ron Steigler
James Noble Kaufman, Presidential Advisor
Kenneth Patterson Perkins
Arthur Rosenberg Morton Hull
Richard Venture Wilson
Sandy Ward Sen. Slipshod
Sam Weisman Colson
Allen Williams Reporter
Ned Wilson Honeycutt
Than Wyenn Ambassador Gaufridi
Technical Credits
Hal Ashby Director
Robert R. Benton Set Decoration/Design
Andrew Braunsberg Producer
Caleb Deschanel Cinematographer
Michael Haller Production Designer
David Shamroy Hamburger Asst. Director
Jerzy Kosinski Screenwriter
Johnny Mandel Score Composer
Charles B. Mulvehill Associate Producer, Producer, Production Manager
Robert Jones Screenwriter
May Routh Costumes/Costume Designer
James L. Schoppe Art Director
Charles Schram Makeup
Jack Schwartzman Executive Producer, Producer
Frank Westmore Makeup
Jeff Wexler Sound/Sound Designer
Don Zimmerman Editor
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Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Being There
1. TV Wakeup [4:16]
2. Death and Eggs [4:19]
3. Goodbye, Little Boy [2:17]
4. Visitors [3:32]
5. Move Out [4:28]
6. Street Life [3:52]
7. Message for Rafael [3:00]
8. Chance Meeting [5:34]
9. The Rand Home [3:52]
10. Claim Unclaimed [1:56]
11. Wanted: Fresh Blood [2:26]
12. Rand Memorial Hospital [3:07]
13. The Room Upstairs [3:59]
14. Cigars and No Ideas [3:14]
15. A Car for the Asking [:02]
16. A Very Peaceful Man [3:18]
17. My Very Dear Friend [5:37]
18. Presidential Garden Tips [2:38]
19. Just the Man [3:55]
20. Among the Young Plants [1:50]
21. Hold the Phone [2:14]
22. Zilch on the Guy [4:54]
23. The Gary Burns Show [2:37]
24. A White Man's World [3:24]
25. It's a Gift [2:54]
26. Chauncey's Dossier [4:21]
27. Breakfast (And More) In Bed [2:41]
28. The Toast of Washington [4:51]
29. On Everyone's Mind [3:51]
30. Only One Capable [4:56]
31. In Chauncey We Trust [3:05]
32. "I Like to Watch." [2:04]
33. Goodbye, Old Man [6:02]
34. Our One and Only Chance [6:02]
35. Walking on Water [3:33]
36. Outtake End Credits [1:12]
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Menu

Disc #1 -- Being There
   Play Movie
   Scene Selections
   Special Features
      Memories From Being There
      Theatrical Trailer
   Languages
      Spoken Languages: English
      Spoken Languages: Français
      Spoken Languages: Español
      Subtitles: English (For the Hearing Impaired)
      Subtitles: Français
      Subtitles: Español
      Subtitles: Off
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 9 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

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3 Star

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2 Star

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1 Star

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Sort by: Showing all of 9 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Excellent

    This movie was very interesting. Most of the main characters were wealthy or politicians, but the movie didn't get into politics and big business in all their complexities. This movie was made in simpler times. A good bit of the movie took place in a beautiful mansion, so you get a sense of what it might be like to be wealthy. Humorous at times. The pervading theme was how everyone related to the Peter Sellers character and what they believed him to be. If you are interested in human behavior, watch this movie. No fluff, gratuitous violence, continuous action, and very little sexual content. In other words, a lot of today's audience might not fully appreciate it.

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  • Posted October 1, 2010

    Timely - Again

    Don't remember who was President when this first came out, but it doesn't really matter. It's a thought-provoking look at power and politics in the USA, from a very unusual perspective. Peter Sellers really did save his best performance for last.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    GREAT MOVIE

    PETER SELLERS GIVES THE PEFORMANCE OF A LIFETIME. AND AN ENDING THAT WILL SUPRISE YOU

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    My Second favorite movie of all time - First is Windwalker

    I love this movie. it is a true example of how we view the world through our own personality ''filers' and see only what we reflect.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    One of my favorites of all time

    This movie is so wonderful, right up to the very last line. I saw this movie as a young boy and just recently again on cable as an adult in my late twenties. I'm so glad to see this on DVD and can't wait to share it with my friends and family...

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Great Movie

    Excellent performance by Peter Sellers.. His character Chauncey reminds me a lot of George W. Bush.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Must own!

    One of Peter Sellers' best film's. Watching his lovable characther Chauncy Gardner is a comedic adventure. Unique characters and story events intermingle to create a film that stands the test of time.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 8, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 14, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 9 Customer Reviews