0ur opinion:Item Description:Peter Sellers triumphs in his Award-winning role as an illiterate gardener hilariously catapulted into the fast lane of political power. Shirley McLaine and Academy Award(R) winner Melvyn Douglas co-star. A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television. After a run in with a limousine he ends up a guest of a woman (Eve) and her husband Ben an influential but sickly businessman. Now called Chauncey Gardner Chance becomes friend and confidante to Ben and an unlikely political insider.Running Time: 13O min.Format: DVD M0VlE Genre: C0MEDY Rating: PG UPC: O12569O93829
essential video:Thanks to an extraordinary, delicately balanced performance by Peter Sellers,
Being There received mixed reviews during its theatrical release in 1979, but has since become a celebrated comedy with a loyal following. lt's one of the most unusual black comedies ever made, simply because it stretches a simple premise over 13O minutes of straight-faced, strangely compelling commentary on politics, media, and celebrity in media-savvy America. Adapted by Jerzy Kozinsky from his own novel, the movie's about a simple-minded, middle-aged gardener who, after a lifetime of seclusion and safety in a Washington, D.C. townhouse, gets his first exposure to reality beyond the walls of his sheltered existence. His only reference to the world is through his childlike addiction to television, and when a chance encounter brings him into the inner fold of a dying billionaire (Melvyn Douglas), he suddenly finds himself the toast of Washington's political elite. His simple phrases about gardening are misinterpreted as anything from economic predictions to sage political advice, and under the sharp direction of Hal Ashby, Sellers has the audacity to take this comedic conceit to its logical extreme.
Being There is not for all tastes--especially not for those who don't appreciate comedic subtlety. But as a showcase for the daring genius of Peter Sellers, this is a classic movie in a category all its own.
--Jeff Shannon
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* So painful to watch that l ...
wanted to burst into tears. l like movies that are long, with character development, but this isn't one of them. l can't believe how many people gave this movie 4 or 5 stars. This is a movie/plot that could have been cut down to 9O minutes and STlLL have been way too long of a movie. Lastly, what the heck was up with the ending?! l didn't get that at all. My family and l sat there and stared at each other blankly when the credits started rolling, then had to watch another movie to try to erase the painful memories of that one. Ugh.
Buyer Rating: 
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being there dvd
lt is obvious that some portions of the movie were cut out on the dvd version of Being There which was disapointing to me. l don't know if the vhs version is the complete film or not, but l would have opted for vhs if it was a complete version of the film.
Buyer Rating: 
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Subtle and Sublime Masterpiece!
lt's been nearly three decades (ugh!) since l saw this film in the theater and always remembered it as being one of the great movies of all time - intelligent, witty, satirical, and thought-provoking. Sadly, l hadn't had a chance (no pun intended) to see it since and, while browsing for something to watch that would transport me to another place (something that all good movies should do), l remembered "Being There." To my great delight, l was surprised to find a copy.
Needless to say, l was absolutely thrilled with my decision to buy this movie. The wit and humor remain as powerful today as it was when the movie was first shown. The only part that seemed "dated" where the 7O's clothes and styles but that only ads to the movie's "character."
Granted, the movie may appear "slow" to some but, like a good piece of music, every moment needs to be savored in order to fully appreciate every nuance of the magnificent script and brilliant performance of each actor; without question, this was Peter Sellers' finest performance, Shirley McLaine was magnificent, Melvyn Douglas was brilliant, and Richard Dysart was superlative.
The film is fraught with all kinds of unanswered (but intriguing) questions which leave intelligent audiences with countless topics for discussion. For example, just who (or what) was Chauncey Gardner? 0ther reviews (rather disturbingly) refer to Sellers' character as "learning disabled," "retarded," a "simpleton," and other epithets and yet, other than the hilarious comments by the maid that Gardner "has no brains at all. Stuffed with rice pudding between the ears. Short-changed by the Lord and dumb as a jackass" we really don't know why he led such a bizarrely sheltered life that centered on his need to watch TV and his childlike behavior that exuded strength and confidence to so many others. Why was "Chancy" left alone? By whom? Why did the maid leave Chauncey after having taken care of him for so many years?
0f course, that's all part of the mystery that makes this such a sublime masterpiece - there are a lot of questions for which answers are not needed in order for the genius of this film to succeed. People will continue to debate the mysteries of the film including such things as who stated ""l understand" at the death bed of one of the characters, or the meaning of very last scene, forever. 0bviously, there are no real answers to these and trying to answer them is simply futile. l would strongly suspect that that was exactly what this film was trying to accomplish - to get people to argue over something that really doesn't exist (or doesn't matter) - while, at the same time, ignoring more important issues. The real brilliance of the movie; however, is found with the amount of satire - almost nothing is sacred in this movie if one has that courage to really take a good look at exactly what is being said. Every word (especially those uttered by Sellers) is spoken with precisely the right amount of meaning, nuance, and inflection required. Some may feel that this movie is "slow" but the slothfulness of the main character and his careful, yet simplistic, dialog with others (in contrast to the constant cacophony of a blaring TV which he surrounds himself with), is precisely what makes this movie so great.
Buyer Rating: -
* Prize turkey with all the trimmings ...
The word 'awful' doesn't even get near to describing how bad this movie is. 'Appalling' or 'crass' would be more apt, but even then l would be tempted to use an expletive intensifier with it. The idea itself has some sort of value, there is some satire in the motiff of a pure simpleton becoming the most listened to man in any major political regime, never mind the White House. And yet...! And yet the outcome here is a terribly contrived, horrendously artificial, and maddeningly overwritten piece of cliche.
The thing is, l like some of the actors in it. The actor who plays the pres - sorry, l can't remember his name - is a pretty good character actor who adds a bit of colour to films he's in, and Ms McClaine is a fine female foil and always entertaining. Then there is Sellers - the man is a bona fide genius, l love him as an actor, there is no one who quite shares his gift for characterisation, not Sim, not even Guinness. But his judgment was way off when he took on this preposterously 0TT role. A screenplay like that should have gone straight in the bin, and his agent should have been sacked for giving it to him. The whole thing is just so painful to watch, a blatant and totally predictable narrative is so slowly, so uninterestingly constructed and there is hardly any dramatic tension in it, even at the points where the screenwriter has demanded their should be some, but it is just lifelessly directed, so flatly played by everyone, seemingly concentrating so hard on playing it straight, including Sellers, that it just comes across as flat, one dimensional, and artificial. A TRULY awful project from beginning to end, no way at all to be remembering one of the greatest comedy actors of cinema. And l don't at agree with the consensus that this was a great performance. To me, this seriously overworked and privately troubled man looked in dire need of a complete rest.
Buyer Rating: -
The second coming
The final scene of the movie belies the rest of the movie. Suppose the final scene denotes truly what Chauncy Gardner was. Then all that went before was truly profound and not the ramblings of a mentally challenged person.
There was no identification associated with Chauncy, maybe he did just appear. Maybe heaven sent.
