Being There (1979)

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Jerzy Kosinski (novel)
Jerzy Kosinski (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Getting there is half the fun; being there is all of it!

Plot:

Chance, a simple gardener, has never left the estate until his employer dies. His simple TV-informed utterances are mistaken for profundity.

Plot Keywords:

Gardener | Washington D.C. | Political | Television | Businessman

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

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)
Don Jacob	...	David (as Donald Jacob)

Also Known As:

Chance

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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

Filming Locations:

Asheville, North Carolina, USA

Company:

BSB

Trivia:

The inscription "Life is a state of mind" is on Rand's tomb and also serves as the last line in the movie. These words were also inscribed on Peter Sellers' own tomb, when he died a year after the movie was released.

Goofs:

Continuity: While at dinner for the first evening with Ben and Eve, Chauncey's wine glass fills and empties within seconds.

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]

Movie Connections:

References Double Indemnity (1944)

Soundtrack:

Also Sprach Zarathustra

Sellers deserves the Oscar not hanks,

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.