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Being There
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Being There (1979) More at IMDbPro »

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Being There (1979) -- One of Peter Sellers finest and final roles as an unassuming gardener who is mistaken for a brilliant philosoper

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   21,998 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Hal Ashby
Writers:
Jerzy Kosinski (novel)
Jerzy Kosinski (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Being There on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 December 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Comedy more
Tagline:
Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it! more
Plot:
Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(22 articles)
DVD Playhouse--July 2009
 (From The Hollywood Interview. 14 July 2009, 12:00 PM, PDT)

Lookin' to Get Out (Extended Version) - DVD Review
 (From Monsters and Critics. 2 July 2009, 7:39 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Sellers deserves the Oscar not hanks, more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter Sellers ... Chance

Shirley MacLaine ... Eve Rand

Melvyn Douglas ... Benjamin Turnbull 'Ben' Rand

Jack Warden ... President 'Bobby'
Richard Dysart ... Dr. Robert Allenby

Richard Basehart ... Vladimir Skrapinov
Ruth Attaway ... Louise

David Clennon ... Thomas Franklin (as Dave Clennon)
Fran Brill ... Sally Hayes

Denise DuBarry ... Johanna Franklin
Oteil Burbridge ... Lolo
Ravenell Keller III ... Abbaz
Brian Corrigan ... Policeman by White House
Alfredine P. Brown ... Old Woman asked for lunch (as Alfredine Brown)
Donald Jacob ... David
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Chance
more
Runtime:
130 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Netherlands:AL | South Africa:PG | Finland:K-11 (2001: new rating) | Finland:K-12 (before new act of 2001) | France:U | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2003) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 (1980) | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:6 | Canada:14A | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L
Company:
BSB more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In different versions, the end credits are either shown over retakes of Chance saying a line that was not in the movie, (the message from Raphael, restored to the home video version) or shown over TV white noise. Peter Sellers was at the film's screening at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival and was furious with director Hal Ashby and the producers for including the 'outtakes' version of the end credits at this performance as well as the audience's reaction to them. This incident may have finally made the producers change their minds. When the film opened soon after in Australia in late May 1980, the entire end credits were removed from all prints (leading to a deafening thud on the soundtrack after the film's final line). These prints were all replaced with versions including the 'white noise' end credits, including the film's main theme by composer Johnny Mandel. more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: When Chance is watching himself on the large screen in the store window display, he uses his home remote control to try and change the channels on that set, but it controls another TV instead. However the remote is of the earlier "ultrasonic" technology, and these sound waves DO NOT pass through glass at the required strength needed to work. Those of us born before the movie can recall that jiggling your keys would make a remote controlled TV unwittingly change channels, or turn off and on. At about this same time the now common "infrared" RCs were coming out, albeit at outrageous prices. These signals CAN in effect pass through glass, despite some losses due to reflection. For the scene to be technically correct they should have used an IR remote, which would not make those "ringing bell" metallic sounds. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Chance the Gardener: Good morning, Louise.
Louise: He's dead, Chance. The old man's dead.
Chance the Gardener: I see.
[Chance goes back to watching TV]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Tropic Thunder (2008) more
Soundtrack:
It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
62 out of 90 people found the following comment useful:-
Sellers deserves the Oscar not hanks,, 9 December 2004
10/10
Author: skippymolloy from United States

When I first saw Being There I was all of 10 years old, and for some reason, I loved it. And yet I could never exactly say why. Several years latter while looking for another movie, I happen across this video and read the review. Chance Gardner played charmingly by Peter Sellers, ( I think that is what the reviewer wrote) stumbles his way into the upper crest where he is mistaken for someone with deep knowledge of the world. Other reviews point out this movie is cynical characterization of self absorbed people in politics and media. As a kid I didn't get that, and now on further reflection what I liked about this movie was how these people where drawn to Chances innocence. In some ways Forrest Gump tried to attempt to tell this story line, but only manages to rehash old stereotypes. Being There depicts in clever, real characters who use a veil of politeness to cover up a cynicisim they have of their world and their own power. But for a kid and maybe why it has a cult following is because the heart of the show, whats addicting about is no matter how self absorbed we become, our best nature is drawn to a simple life, absent of complications. After watching the movie again, the dark comedy is more apparent, but I am happy to say that in the "Life and death of Peter Sellers", Sellers himself interpreted the character as I thought of it when I was kid. Gardner is a man who is sublimely content with no past and no future, and therefore no worries. As a kid I kind of new that as innocence. So if you rent this movie don't just see it as a black comedy, but also see it how a kid might, and for that matter how Peter Sellers saw it.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Question about the pea-eyed lawyer. zurichpoet
Chance's Origins? dekkard8
Cheryl Hines pappasat
what's with females under 18? fernandomassuy
The Bloopers. hallsha-1
Love the fashion comment about trends zurichpoet
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