Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4103 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-02-23
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 124 minutes

Synopsis
BEING THERE is based on Jerzy Kosinski's short comic novel about a simpleton, Chance (Peter Sellers), raised in isolation whose only education came from watching TV. When he's forced out of the house where he worked as a gardener by the death of the wealthy recluse who raised him from infancy, he's fortuitously struck by a limousine carrying Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine), the wife of a wealthy industrialist. He's mistaken, because of his well-tailored suits, for a man of means and taken to dinner with her husband, Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas). There, as Chauncy Gardner, his blank affect is taken for seriousness and his literal pronouncements about gardening for metaphoric economic predictions. Soon he's meeting the president (Jack Warden) and becoming a star on TV--where he's a natural.
Kosinski was well known to be personally fascinated by the power of television. In BEING THERE, which he adapted for the screen himself, he presents a comic fable about a man whose entire sense of reality came from watching television. Sellers is marvelous as the always-deadpan cipher in whom everyone he meets sees whatever it is they need to see. Shirley MacLaine, Jack Warden, and Melvyn Douglas give outstanding performances in this biting satire directed by Hal Ashby.

Customer Reviews

Long Awaited DVD of 'Being There'.
I have waited a long time for a DVD of 'Being There'. It's my belief that this is probably one of the finest performances that Peter Sellers has EVER done. I have no idea how he manages to keep such a straight face for an actor famed for his 'corpsing'. After the death of his wealthy employer, finding himself homeless, Chance the gardener, following a small accident with 'an important limo' becomes Chancey Gardener - a valuable aid to both friends and the president alike. His views appear perceptive and straight to the point for those who hear what they wish to hear, while alluding to his gardens of the heart, one has to wonder, can he walk on water?

A Great Film
I just love this film but unfortunately the sound track is barely audible. Rather disappointing

Deluxe Edition? Bluff Package!
I don't intend to question the movie, which is excellent indeed. My rating is based on the fact, that this so-called "Deluxe Edition" is only a hoax, a bluff package.

The only bonus material are the recollections of Melvyn Douglas' granddaughter (16 minutes runtime, intercut with scenes from the movie) and the trailer.

Sorry, that's not luxurious, but simply ridiculous. Thanks Warner Bros. for another rip-off.