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Being John Malkovich

  • 19991999
  • RR
  • 1h 53m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
330K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,354
119
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich (1999)
Home Video Trailer from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Play trailer0:32
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Comedy
  • Drama
  • Fantasy

A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.

IMDb RATING
7.8/10
330K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,354
119
  • Director
    • Spike Jonze
  • Writer
    • Charlie Kaufman
  • Stars
    • John Cusack
    • Cameron Diaz
    • Catherine Keener
Top credits
  • Director
    • Spike Jonze
  • Writer
    • Charlie Kaufman
  • Stars
    • John Cusack
    • Cameron Diaz
    • Catherine Keener
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 923User reviews
    • 254Critic reviews
    • 90Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 48 wins & 79 nominations total

    Videos2

    Being John Malkovich
    Trailer 0:32
    Being John Malkovich
    'Being John Malkovich' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:35
    'Being John Malkovich' | Anniversary Mashup

    Photos115

    Cameron Diaz and Orson Bean in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Malkovich and Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Cusack and Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Cusack in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Malkovich in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    Cameron Diaz and Orson Bean in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Cusack and Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Cusack in Being John Malkovich (1999)
    John Malkovich and Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Cusack
    John Cusack
    • Craig Schwartzas Craig Schwartz
    Cameron Diaz
    Cameron Diaz
    • Lotte Schwartzas Lotte Schwartz
    Catherine Keener
    Catherine Keener
    • Maxine Lundas Maxine Lund
    John Malkovich
    John Malkovich
    • John Horatio Malkovichas John Horatio Malkovich
    Ned Bellamy
    Ned Bellamy
    • Derek Mantinias Derek Mantini
    Eric Weinstein
    Eric Weinstein
    • Father at Puppet Showas Father at Puppet Show
    Madison Lanc
    • Daughter at Puppet Showas Daughter at Puppet Show
    Octavia Spencer
    Octavia Spencer
    • Woman in Elevatoras Woman in Elevator
    • (as Octavia L. Spencer)
    Mary Kay Place
    Mary Kay Place
    • Florisas Floris
    Orson Bean
    Orson Bean
    • Dr. Lesteras Dr. Lester
    K.K. Dodds
    K.K. Dodds
    • Wendyas Wendy
    Reginald C. Hayes
    Reginald C. Hayes
    • Donas Don
    • (as Reggie Hayes)
    Byrne Piven
    Byrne Piven
    • Captain Mertinas Captain Mertin
    Judith Wetzell
    • Tiny Womanas Tiny Woman
    Kevin Carroll
    Kevin Carroll
    • Cab Driveras Cab Driver
    Willie Garson
    Willie Garson
    • Guy in Restaurantas Guy in Restaurant
    W. Earl Brown
    W. Earl Brown
    • First J.M. Inc. Customeras First J.M. Inc. Customer
    Charlie Sheen
    Charlie Sheen
    • Charlieas Charlie
    • Director
      • Spike Jonze
    • Writer
      • Charlie Kaufman
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Puppeteer Craig Schwartz and animal lover and pet store clerk Lotte Schwartz are just going through the motions of their marriage. Despite not being able to earn a living solely through puppeteering, Craig loves his profession as it allows him to inhabit the skin of others. He begins to take the ability to inhabit the skin of others to the next level when he is forced to take a job as a file clerk for the off-kilter LesterCorp, located on the five-foot tall 7½ floor of a Manhattan office building. Behind one of the filing cabinets in his work area, Craig finds a hidden door which he learns is a portal into the mind of John Malkovich, the visit through the portal which lasts fifteen minutes after which the person is spit into a ditch next to the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig is fascinated by the meaning of life associated with this finding. Lotte's trips through the portal make her evaluate her own self. And the confident Maxine Lund, one of Craig's co-workers who he tells about the portal if only because he is attracted to her, thinks that it is a money making opportunity in selling trips into Malkovich's mind after office hours for $200 a visit. Craig, Lotte and Maxine begin to understand that anyone entering the portal has the ability to control Malkovich's mind, which also alters his entire being. This experience makes Maxine fall in love with a composite. This ability to control Malkovich's mind begs the question of the ultimate psychedelic trip for Malkovich himself, who begins to feel that something is not right in the world as he knows it. —Huggo
    • puppeteer
    • portal
    • body swap
    • subjective camera
    • chimpanzee
    • 118 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Ever wanted to be someone else? Now you can.
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for language and sexuality
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John Malkovich was approached about this film several times and loved the script, but he and his production crew felt that another actor would fit the role better. Malkovich offered to help produce the film, and aid Spike Jonze in any way, but refused to star in it. Eventually after a couple of years Malkovich's will was worn down and he agreed to star in the film.
    • Goofs
      When Craig and Dr. Lester are in the restaurant, two orange Los Angeles MTA buses pass by.
    • Quotes

      Craig Schwartz: You don't know how lucky you are being a monkey. Because consciousness is a terrible curse. I think. I feel. I suffer. And all I ask in return is the opportunity to do my work. And they won't allow it... because I raise issues.

    • Crazy credits
      at the end of the cast listing is noted ...and John Malkovich
    • Connections
      Edited from 1998 MTV Video Music Awards (1998)
    • Soundtracks
      Allegro, from Music for Strings
      Written by Béla Bartók

      Performed by The Cleveland Orchestra

      Conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi

      Courtesy of The Decca Record Company Ltd.

      Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

    User reviews923

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    "Meet you in Malkovich in one hour"
    Being John Malkovich (1999), the Spike Jonze's directorial debut, is an amazing film - hip, inventive, delightfully weird, incredibly funny and disturbingly serious with the gleefully absurd plot twists. Let's face it, that was a stroke of genius - to throw together the tragic medieval lovers, Abelard and Heloise in the street show created by a talented puppeteer Craig Scwartzh (John Cusack) with the nimble fingers but out of work in "today's wintry economic climate", Elijah the Chimp with the mental problems that go back to his childhood, the surreal office that is located on the 7 1/2 store of a New York City office building and a floor is four feet high. Add Cameron Diaz (Craig's animals loving wife Lotte), completely unrecognizable, aging and balding Charlie Sheen, cynical and practical Maxine (Catherine Keener), who had an unique experience of having two people looked at her "with complete lust and devotion, through the same pair of eyes", and send them all to the wild ride inside the famous and respectable actor John Malkovich's brain to see what he sees and to feel what he feels, to the trip that would last 15 minutes and end up in a ditch on the side of New Jersey Turnpike.

    This is just the beginning...Oh, and what John Horatio Malkovich feels with all the travelers in his head and what he sees when he enters the portal to his own brain, you have to find out for yourself! What drug were Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze on?! Not even two hours long, the movie never ceases to surprise and entertain. "Being John Malkovich" is a fascinating and truly original film which I love and always enjoy watching even if there were never a connection with any of its characters (with the exception of Abelard and Heloise and Elijah the Chimp).
    helpful•80
    31
    • Galina_movie_fan
    • Apr 19, 2007

    FAQ3

    • Why John Malkovich?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 3, 1999 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Thử Làm John Malkovich
    • Filming locations
      • RMS Queen Mary - 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Astralwerks
      • Gramercy Pictures (I)
      • Propaganda Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $13,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $22,863,596
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $637,721
      • Oct 31, 1999
    • Gross worldwide
      • $23,106,667
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 53 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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