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Being There



In one of his most finely tuned performances, Peter Sellers plays the pure-hearted Chance, a gardener forced out of moneyed seclusion and into the urban wilds of Washington, D.C., after the death of his employer. Shocked to discover that the real world doesn't respond to the click of a remote, Chance stumbles haplessly into celebrity after being taken under the wing of a tycoon (Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas), who mistakes his new protégé's mumbling about horticulture for sagacious pronouncements on life and politics, and whose wife targets Chance as the object of her desire. Adapted from a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, this hilarious, deeply melancholy satire marks the culmination a remarkable string of films by Hal Ashby in the 1970s, and serves as a carefully modulated examination of the ideals, anxieties, and media-fueled delusions that shaped American culture during that decade.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team
• Excerpts from a 1980 American Film Institute seminar with director Hal Ashby
• Author Jerzy Kosinksi in a 1979 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show
• Appearances from 1980 by actor Peter Sellers on NBC's Today and The Don Lane Show
• Promo reel featuring Sellers and Ashby
• Trailer and TV spots
• Deleted scene, outtakes, and an alternate ending
• PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

I'm in for any Ashby on BD and this is may be his best but this still seems like a mildly perplexing release. Just seems like, of *all* the Warner titles to upgrade from a subpar early BD release, this wouldn't top the list. But everything here looks fantastic, the cover art's amazing, and they couldn't choose a better film writer for the essay, so I'm not complaining.

Although I'm certain Criterion won't do it, I wish they would honor Sellers' wish to remove the outtakes from under the credits. Sellers pleaded with Ashby to do this, saying that it destroyed the mood of the ending - I agree. Due to the language used, the outtakes were removed from the version that aired on broadcast television in the 80s. For that version, a montage of slow-motion television static and interference patterns played under the credits which worked beautifully.

What a worthless double dip

Old folks LOVE this movie, though. It'll sell.

This release will likely spawn several terrible thinkpieces about how this movie predicted Donald Trump, at least mostly missing the point

Roger Ryan wrote:For that version, a montage of slow-motion television static and interference patterns played under the credits which worked beautifully.

Maybe that will be the alternate ending included here?

Can anyone go to bat for this? I do not know anyone who is really that fond of the movie, and it seems like a title that has established classic status despite not being a particular favourite of very many people. Then again, I don't generally hold Ashby in very high esteem, so maybe my frame of reference is just off for this one, but it seems only slightly less perplexing to me than The In-Laws as a Warner title Criterion would want to handle. And it is definitely a shame that Mark Romanek diary alluded to elsewhere by Jeff is not included in some way.

Reminder of what bonus features were on the previous Blu-ray, per Blu-ray.com:

Memories from Being There (SD, 15 minutes): Actress Illena Douglas (granddaughter of actor Melvyn Douglas, who portrays Benjamin Rand in the film) recounts her visits to the set as a child, his relationship with Peter Sellers, and the overall impact the film made when it was released. While she isn't the wealth of knowledge some may be looking for, her quaint observations and nostalgic feelings make for some unique and interesting recollections. It certainly doesn't dig into the meat of the film, but it's worth watching all the same.

Deleted Scenes (SD, 2 minutes): While it seems far too contrived and convenient that Warner Brothers "recently discovered" a pair of deleted scenes just in time to drop them on the film's anniversary edition release, I'm happy to see them included. Sellers takes center stage and, while neither scene provides any sort of insight into his character or the story, it's still a nice addition. I just wish the studio had presented the missing scene that resulted in the outtakes that roll during the film's end credits.

Alternate Ending (SD, 2 minutes): The original ending put a curiously fitting cap on the film, but this alternate denouement is shallow and aimless. While I'm not going to complain about its inclusion, director Hal Ashby made the right decision.

Gag Reel (SD, 6 minutes): Easily my favorite feature on the disc, this collection of outtakes are a joy to watch. Maybe I'm just enamored by Sellers' indomitable spirit and comic timing, but I had a great time with this reel.

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3 minutes)

I just saw this on HBO last month. I could see a little of how it was the forerunner for films like Rain Man or Forrest Gump. Although neither of those were in spitting distance of satire as this was, so needless to say my expectation going in that it would turn maudlin at some point towards the end was dashed. I think some of it holds up to what we're seeing now but not too terribly so that any thinkpieces about comparing this to the current political situation would be something worth reading.

Hey, I love this movie too and I'm not that old! This is my favourite Hal Ashby film, and favourite Peter Sellers performance (it has also been a bit embarassingly inspirational to my own approach to life, for better or worse. Though I think I'm rather silly to hope that such an approach based on pure sedendipity would work in real life!). I always find those opening scenes of the death of the 'old man' employer (soon to be mirrored by Melvyn Douglas's capitalist character) and loss of a way of life, being forced out into the urban jungle of late 70s New York almost physically painful to watch, and its perhaps only made easier to experience by the good fortune that Chancey experiences soon afterwards!

I think its almost anti-Trump though in that while both characters are wildly detached from any form of reality going on around them, Chancey Gardner is less a belligerent capitalist bluntly barging through any objections than a beatific, distracted innocent (almost an alien being, complete with funky 2001: A Space Odyssey music riff!) drifting through the world, and its more chance than calculation that everything syncs up for him. Its perhaps an indictment of something that only seems more prevalent these days: people hearing only what they want to hear. But its not a brutal indictment, more one that suggests the way that naive homilies can contain a grain of truth within them (but can be twisted to fit anyone's agenda), that simplicity can cut through all the bluster (though it all anticipates the rise of soundbites over more in-depth conversations or interviews), and perhaps that 'profound statements' are only that in the eye (or ear) of the beholder. In a world so based on people hiding their true intentions behind honeyed words, maybe pure simplicity cannot be taken at face value any more. And maybe that doesn't matter if it provides some comfort, or defuses a crisis! (I guess that we're kind of living through the inverse of that situation currently!)

Chancey Gardner is sort of the blank centre of the film that inspires all the other characters to explore themselves through him, and do things they never thought they could, or had given up all hope of ever achieving. That's also part of the reason why I think, despite superficial similarities, Being There stands in stark contrast to Forrest Gump too, where Forrest's journey is the most important thing and the people he meets along the way just supporting characters in his life, no more or less important than the stock-footaged Presidents or celebrities he meets; or used, as in the horribly manipulative journey of Forrest's love interest, to illustrate the dangers of straying from the path, which only leads to destruction. Whereas Chancey is barely a character at all, more a conduit, and rather it is the people around him who we see get inspired by his presence.

I agree on the outtake situation, which rather undercuts one of the best 'magical realist' endings in all cinema, though I've never found it a total deal breaker. Aside from that I think the best scene is the one at the prestigious function which sort of encapsulates all the themes of the film in the way that it balances beautifully between that sense of niavety and knowing irony without overbalancing too much into one area or the other.

Cronenfly wrote:Can anyone go to bat for this? I do not know anyone who is really that fond of the movie, and it seems like a title that has established classic status despite not being a particular favourite of very many people. Then again, I don't generally hold Ashby in very high esteem, so maybe my frame of reference is just off for this one, but it seems only slightly less perplexing to me than The In-Laws as a Warner title Criterion would want to handle. And it is definitely a shame that Mark Romanek diary alluded to elsewhere by Jeff is not included in some way.

I'm an Ashby nut but I think it's still very well regarded by most, and I don't feel there's been a backlash or anything like there has been against (for instance) Harold and Maude in some more recent years. Just consulting They Shoot Pictures' companion list, it's rated as a favorite by names as eclectic as David Fincher, Brett Ratner, M. Night Shyamalan, and Judd Apatow. Certainly this is a more significant title than the In-Laws, and whilst I'd be willing to make the case of this being "Criterion-worthy" it really is an unnecessary double dip that I for one will happily latch onto.

There's a backlash against Harold & Maude? Both of these were probably among the first 100 films I watched when I was first getting into movies.

Ribs wrote:I'm in for any Ashby on BD and this is may be his best but this still seems like a mildly perplexing release. Just seems like, of *all* the Warner titles to upgrade from a subpar early BD release, this wouldn't top the list. But everything here looks fantastic, the cover art's amazing, and they couldn't choose a better film writer for the essay, so I'm not complaining.

Definitely. Second-Hand Hearts deserves some love (and could have possibly been paired with the NBC Experiment in Television episode it was remade from, as the Criterion of 8 1/2 also features an episode from that incredible series) and the original, superior cut of Lookin' to Get Out has never been released on DVD. Twilight Time's Blu-Ray of Bound for Glory is ridiculously threadbare considering its significance.

At least Kino is releasing 8 Million Ways to Die, which makes me very happy.

swo17 wrote:There's a backlash against Harold & Maude? Both of these were probably among the first 100 films I watched when I was first getting into movies.

I don't recall specific individuals but some prominent newer film critic types were tweeting the usual kind of business about how it's ridiculous people liked it a while back. But maybe I'm misremembering. And, just from my experience watching it with other people, I think the age difference thing is something that's just added to people's dislike, even though that's basically the central idea of the film, as it's an issue people have gotten very sensitive towards in recent years. I think a lot of people still find individual ideas and sequences moving, but I can kind of understand why it's reputation may have cooled a bit. They're wrong, but I get it.

Love the film and glad to see it entering the collection. I do wish we could be rid of the outtakes at the end, though.

It's actually one of my favourite films, though part of it may be nostalgia as I grew up being a big Sellers fan and I watched this a lot. I'm not sure what it is about this film that appealed to my much younger self as I obviously didn't get the satirical elements then. Might have been just the way he floated through everything and that remote. I'm also confused as to why my parents let me watch this because of that one Shirley MacLaine scene.

I'm happy to get a new restoration and I did jump with joy when this was hinted at earlier, but I am a little let down this isn't a splashier edition.

What a nice surprise. I would not have expected this WB selection so soon. Definitely one of my favorite films. I hope the gag reel is included in the outtakes. The only other thing I can think that would have been nice to include is the complete "Basketball Jones" as an extra.

Cronenfly wrote:Can anyone go to bat for this? I do not know anyone who is really that fond of the movie, and it seems like a title that has established classic status despite not being a particular favourite of very many people. Then again, I don't generally hold Ashby in very high esteem, so maybe my frame of reference is just off for this one, but it seems only slightly less perplexing to me than The In-Laws as a Warner title Criterion would want to handle. And it is definitely a shame that Mark Romanek diary alluded to elsewhere by Jeff is not included in some way.

This is one of my favorites, probably top twenty, though I'm not sure f I can muster a defense since my love for it is basically for none of the story elements which are enjoyable enough, but rather for Chance and Sellers' performance of him.

This is somewhere among my favorites, too, and I think what appeals to me most about it is the melancholy mood that somehow goes so well with the satirical humor. It's a very funny film, but it's enshrouded in death (both in the film and surrounding it) -- the soundtrack's use of Satie and the gorgeously distant, magisterial photography of Caleb Deschanel (which reminds me very much of Kubrick) gives the whole thing a surprising poignancy.

Top 5 film for me, watch it every couple of months. I grew up in D.C. at exactly that time, and the setting is certainly dead on. The more I watch it, the more amazed I am at how Sellers intuitively created and performed such a blank canvas of a human.

Apart from amazing performances, the inserted television clips I think are part of what makes this a timeless classic that pushed ground. I remember that washington post disco ad!

And there is the fascinating back story on the novelist that provides a potential circular mystery of a sort as well....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerzy_Kos ... #Criticism" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cronenfly wrote:I do not know anyone who is really that fond of the movie, and it seems like a title that has established classic status despite not being a particular favourite of very many people.

Good to know I'm not alone. Unlike several people that have chimed in here, I'm really not crazy about the film. I liked it plenty growing up, saw it often, but having watched it again recently I thought that, despite the strong performances by Sellers and MacLaine (and their scenes together are the film’s best), it's based on a dubious conceit that gets extended farther than it should. Entertaining, but it felt pseudo-profound to me, and I don't feel compelled to watch it again.

It does nothing for me either. Not a bad film, but pretty forgettable (and as much as I love Melvyn Douglas, his Oscar win here is beyond bizarre)

Why is it bizarre? They reward older actors (who arguably deserved awards for better peformances) for lesser roles all the time.

He already had an Oscar, for one