Being There (1979)

[Akijama]

New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team
Excerpts from a 1980 American Film Institute seminar with director Hal Ashby
Author Jerzy Kosinksi in a 1979 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show
Appearances from 1980 by actor Peter Sellers on NBC’s Today and The Don Lane Show
Promo reel featuring Sellers and Ashby
Trailer and TV spots
Deleted scene, outtakes, and an alternate ending
PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

In one of his most finely tuned performances, Peter Sellers plays the pure-hearted Chance, a gardener forced out of moneyed seclusion and into the urban wilds of Washington, D.C., after the death of his employer. Shocked to discover that the real world doesn’t respond to the click of a remote, Chance stumbles haplessly into celebrity after being taken under the wing of a tycoon (Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas), who mistakes his new protégé’s mumbling about horticulture for sagacious pronouncements on life and politics, and whose wife targets Chance as the object of her desire. Adapted from a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, this hilarious, deeply melancholy satire marks the culmination a remarkable string of films by Hal Ashby in the 1970s, and serves as a carefully modulated examination of the ideals, anxieties, and media-fueled delusions that shaped American culture during that decade.

https://www.criterion.com/films/29009-being-there

[Smegma]

After Strangelove, my favorite Peter Sellers movie.

Funny, considering I do enjoy his comedy too, but these are great films.

[tallrichard]

Day one here!

[PowellPressburger]

Love that they were able to use the classic artwork for this release!

I have the old WB BLU and will be buying this Criterion for sure.

[Scottie]

This film isn't close to being my favorite, but I'd go so far as to say that it has the greatest ending of any film.

[PowellPressburger]

If you don't know the ending don't seek it out. Awesome to see without even knowing. It is almost a spoiler in terms of just how amazing it is. IMO

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

If you don't know the ending don't seek it out. Awesome to see without even knowing. It is almost a spoiler in terms of just how amazing it is. IMO

I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy the film strictly for the ending alone.

[Herry Dunston]

I'll be damned.

Admittedly, this is one of those films I have to take in quite a few rewatches to try to understand the true meaning within.

[Mandalorian]

Beautiful. I'd take Chance the gardener in today's political climate. Just kidding, but I'm definitely picking this odd gem up.

[MTRodaba2468]

The Warner Bros. Blu-Ray was one of the first ones I ever picked up. The new transfer on this one certainly has me intrigued...

[LaserKen]

I am doing handstands! My favorite film, and its relevance grows with time.

[Herry Dunston]

For fans of the movie, I have a question.

Is the movie deliberately punishing viewers who try to analyze what's behind its satire?

[LaserKen]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

For fans of the movie, I have a question.

Is the movie deliberately punishing viewers who try to analyze what's behind its satire?

I believe it's a statement about the increasing pervasiveness of media (as cable was starting up and before the internet, of course) and how a bombardment of messaging/marketing was dumbing down the culture.

So, we've gone from 6 channels to 600 (or more) and each of us effectively now have our own individual broadcast towers/printing presses... and there are literally Chances who never leave their mom's basement.

The film also says a lot about a political system that is willing to embrace and not explore such simplistic messages and our need, as a society, for someone to appease us.

And there are many smarter people here that can dig even deeper.

I think it's a great film as pure entertainment, but when you examine what it is saying about broader issues, not the least of which is "chance" (kismet), it's a very compelling piece.

[Herry Dunston]

Originally Posted by LaserKen

I believe it's a statement about the increasing pervasiveness of media (as cable was starting up and before the internet, of course) and how a bombardment of messaging/marketing was dumbing down the culture.

So, we've gone from 6 channels to 600 (or more) and each of us effectively now have our own individual broadcast towers/printing presses... and there are literally Chances who never leave their mom's basement.

The film also says a lot about a political system that is willing to embrace and not explore such simplistic messages and our need, as a society, for someone to appease us.

And there are many smarter people here that can dig even deeper.

I think it's a great film as pure entertainment, but when you examine what it is saying about broader issues, not the least of which is "chance" (kismet), it's a very compelling piece.

I definitely picked up on the expansion of the media homogenizing our culture, and a political system overreaching base ideas for personal gain.

It's the very conceit of the film that I couldn't grasp, and the awareness of other comedies that follow the idea of simpletons perceived as genius or crafty from outsiders in chaotic circumstances. Beavis and Butt-head Go to America, The Stupids, just to name a few examples. There are TERRIBLE or lackluster movies as result of this conceit, yet Being There took this idea and apparently made it brilliant. Just how? Don't ask how I let this movie get to me, but it just does.

[Losey]

I'm extatic. A truly brilliant film. The sociopolitical subtext is very rich, but from a purely comedic standpoint, the "seduction" scene between Peter Sellers and Shirley Maclaine is hilarious; the latter is fearless doing her thing on the floor.

[LaserKen]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

I definitely picked up on the expansion of the media homogenizing our culture, and a political system overreaching base ideas for personal gain.

It's the very conceit of the film that I couldn't grasp, and the awareness of other comedies that follow the idea of simpletons perceived as genius or crafty from outsiders in chaotic circumstances. Beavis and Butt-head Go to America, The Stupids, just to name a few examples. There are TERRIBLE or lackluster movies as result of this conceit, yet Being There took this idea and apparently made it brilliant. Just how? Don't ask how I let this movie get to me, but it just does.

Well stated.

I'd offer 4 words - Peter Sellers Hal Ashby

The performance of Sellers is restrained and Stan Laurel-esque. He never seems to be in on the joke or pushing it. It flows very naturally, to the benefit of the project.

And Ashby clearly kept the overall production restrained and never let it veer into utterly stupid.

It is a sweet film, and that is a word I seldom use for pictures post-1970. There is no anger or need to be over-the-top with humor; it is comfortable with itself and confident that most (not all) of the audience will ponder its points. I credit Hal Ashby for that.

[Shanester]

One of my all time favorites that I re-watch a few times every year. Sellers performance is magical and the supporting cast are fantastic too (especially Melvyn Douglas)

The outtakes at the end still make me laugh out each time.

[LaserKen]

I'd add that I spent 20 yrs in the news biz as a TV anchor/reporter. I saw 'Being There' in the theater when I was in college; my career started in '82. It really says a great deal about the culture that was coming, IMO.... Who'd have guessed that Kato Kaelin/Kim Kardashian, et al, were coming -- celebrities by virtue of essentially "being there"? And Chance's media vocabulary, which seemed silly 36 yrs ago, is now not uncommon. And it goes on.

I'm obviously a fan, but this is, to me, every bit as important to its time as, say, 'The Graduate' was to its period. And I believe that the things it is discussing are becoming more apparent/relevant all the time.

[javi92]

Never seen this, but it looks like a must blind buy.

[Herry Dunston]

Originally Posted by LaserKen

Well stated.

I'd offer 4 words - Peter Sellers Hal Ashby

The performance of Sellers is restrained and Stan Laurel-esque. He never seems to be in on the joke or pushing it. It flows very naturally, to the benefit of the project.

And Ashby clearly kept the overall production restrained and never let it veer into utterly stupid.

It is a sweet film, and that is a word I seldom use for pictures post-1970. There is no anger or need to be over-the-top with humor; it is comfortable with itself and confident that most (not all) of the audience will ponder its points. I credit Hal Ashby for that.

You're likely on point.

That's the thing: I've seen brilliant films that I acknowledge as brilliant, but there are brilliant films that made me feel like an infantile and not in a way that's transparently overtly-intelligent (aka Shane Carruth's Primer). The latter makes a movie like Being There emasculate my apparent wisdom. I feel stupid...is that a bad thing?