Being There | | Cast : | Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine | | Director : | Hal Ashby | | Studio : | Warner Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound | | Released Date : | December 19, 1979 | | DVD Released Date : | February 05, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | May 31, 2005 | | Summary | "Bye Louise." | Content
 | Having recently seen The Life and Death of Peter Sellers starring Geoffrey Rush, I was compelled to see Being There. In the ending of his biopic, they did an reenactment of a scene from Being There in which the maid Louise said goodbye to Chauncy Gardener(Sellers) for the last time. It was a very touching scene. He's a kind, non-judgemental, compassionate, and loving man. He's lived in the Old Man's house, and worked as the gardener. For the first time he has to embark a life outside the house. He has no real experience of the outside world, and had only seen life on TV.
Chauncy's life is changed completely when he met Eve(Shirley MacLaine) and her wealthy politician husband. His unusually down-to-earthness and fondness for gardening instantly impressed the couple, and they took him to live with them. Eventually, he's introduced to other powerful figures in the political world and managed to inspired the president, as well he attracted the mass media to interview him and go on TV. Chauncy Gardener instantly became a sensation and influence to the citizens who saw his interviews. Meanwhile, Eve was falling in love with Chauncy when her ailing husband was bed-ridden, and encouraged her to go on a date with Chauncy.....
Peter Sellers gave the performance of his career that garnered him an Oscar nomination, and this is a very different role compared to his snapstick comedies. It's an isntant comparison to Forrest Gump, but this film doesn't rely on so much unrealistic fantasy storyline or special effects to make it a captivating expeience. Shirley MacLaine was wonderful together with Sellers in the love scenes. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 02, 2005 | | Summary | Life is a state of mind | Content
| I would rather think of this movie not as dark comedy, though I am sure that would be the correct genre, but as enlightening comedy. "Life is a state of mind." So what kind of mind have you? We as the audience are invited in to see "Chance" as he is and then observe how everyone interprets him from their own perspective. On a practical level, knowing estimates of the mentally ill in my state range around 25%, it suggests how we may wrongly interpret those around us by universalizing our sense of everything and presupposing it is the sense of others too - without ever really finding out what they understand and how they intend what they say. It is clear to me from observing mentally ill people in conversation with those that do not understand the mental illness of the person they are speaking to just how accurately the movie depicts the results. In this sense, the movie is a training film for those who would work with the mentally ill and that should cover everyone! On another level the movie points out that as we see the world so it is. Life is a state of mind. But you can change your state of mind. When you change your state of mind you change your world. As invited guests into the mind of "Chance" we are offered the opportunity to elevate our mind to another level of perception. This level enables us to perceive the perspective of others and remove us from the box that was our own previous limit. This is a great teaching device for those who are attempting to show this to someone who is not aware of the technique - having never done it before. The movie shows them they can do it and should.
Further, the movie is commentary and suggestion. I fail to see that the interpretation is forced. Interpret the last scene as you will - it still drives home the thesis just blatantly depicted on the Rand Memorial "Life is a state of mind" also repeated for emphasis by the presidential remarks. The movie leaves it up to the viewer to interpret the depth of this thesis.
This is a great movie and very useful.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 28, 2005 | | Summary | A Sellers Masterpiece | Content
| "Being There" (1979) remains one of the all-time great films, with a brilliant portrayal by Peter Sellers that should have won an Academy Award. Director Hal Ashby has done justice to Jerzy Kosinski's perceptive satire on the media age, dominated by Sellers' unique performance as the simple-minded gardener Chance. Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas lend excellent support to Sellers' finest screen role. In retrospect, "Forrest Gump" is a pale imitation of this timeless classic. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 17, 2005 | | Summary | Brilliant...Except for the Ending | Content
| Reading the reviews about the great ending is absolutely baffling to me. This would be my second favorite movie of all time (right after Harold and Maude) if it wasn't for the obsurd ending that attempted to explain everything. Leaving everyone to make their own interpretations would have made it so much better. Otherwise, a superb film. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 15, 2005 | | Summary | No One Reads | Content
| In an age where we are seemingly governed by what flickers on the idiot box (reality tv anyone?) this movie is sadly still extremely relevant today. So what if everything you know was learned through watching television; what kind of person would you be? That is the lure of Being There (although by no means is it the entire movie). Peter Sellers (in a performance proving yet again how invalid the Academy Awards are in judging the "best" of anything) plays "Chance", a quiet gardener put out of work and home when his elderly employer dies. Not really all that harrowing until you realize "Chance" has no understanding of a world without commercial interruption or the convenience of changing the channel with a remote control.
The ability of mankind to see and hear what it wants is definitely the underlying theme to this film. When befriended by an ailing millionaire with extreme political influence "Chance's" every word is viewed by the media (and subsequently the world) as that of a philosophical genius. Everything "Chance" says is relevant to gardening which gives him the appearance of being steadfast in his philosophy.
It's very rare that a movie comes along with such amazing acting, writing, and direction. Peter Sellers gives the performance of a lifetime and I can't imagine anyone else ever playing "Chance" with more conviction or nuanced aplomb.
The script is amazing, providing a thought provoking introspection of our own assumptions of the everyday. The ending of this film is one of the best I've ever seen, as it makes you rethink every interaction and smile, because it all makes sense.
Being There is a must see film for anyone who is fed up with the vice grip television has on the world mindset and how we are more often than not misinformed and deluded with it's freely provided misconceptions.
"This is just like television, only you can see much further." |
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