Being There

Middle-aged, simple-minded Chance lives in a wealthy old man's townhouse in Washington, D.C., along with the man's African-American maid Louise, who is kind to Chance. He has spent his whole life tending the garden and never left the property. Other than gardening, his knowledge is derived entirely from television. When the old man dies, his estate lawyers order Chance out.

He wanders aimlessly, discovering the outside world for the first time. An African-American youth points a knife at him; Chance ineffectually tries to click him out of existence with a TV remote control. Passing by a TV shop, Chance sees himself captured by a video camera in the shop window. Entranced, he steps backward off the sidewalk and is struck by a limousine chauffeuring Eve Rand, the glamorous and much younger wife of elderly business mogul Ben Rand. When she asks him his name she mishears "Chance, the gardener" as "Chauncey Gardiner".

Eve brings Chance to their palatial estate to be seen by Dr. Allenby, who is resident there caring for Ben, who is slowly dying from a blood disease. After checking Chauncey out, the doctor invites him to stay to keep an eye on him.

Chauncey's manners are old-fashioned and courtly, and he wears expensively-tailored but outmoded 1930s clothes he took from his former employer's attic. When Ben meets him he takes "Chauncey" for an upper-class, highly educated businessman fallen on hard times. Ben admires him, finding him direct, wise and insightful.

Ben is also a confidant and advisor to the President of the United States, whom he introduces to Chauncey. In a discussion about the economy, Chance takes his cue from the words "stimulate growth" and talks about the changing seasons of the garden. The President misinterprets this as optimistic political advice and quotes "Chauncey Gardiner" in a speech.

Chance now rises to national prominence, attends important events, develops a close connection with the Soviet ambassador, and appears on a talk show during which his detailed advice about what a serious gardener should do is misunderstood as his opinion on presidential policy. Louise tells other African Americans as they watch Chance on TV that he has "rice pudding between the ears" and that whiteness is all that is needed to succeed in America. The President is shown as sexually impotent with his wife when watching the show.

Though Chance has now risen to the pinnacle of Washington society, the Secret Service and 16 foreign agencies are unable to find any background information on him. Meanwhile, Allenby becomes increasingly suspicious that Chance is not a wise political expert and that his mysterious identity may have a more mundane explanation. Allenby considers telling Ben, but remains silent when he realizes how happy Chance is making him in his final days.

The dying Ben encourages Eve to become close to "Chauncey". She is already attracted to him and makes a sexual advance. Chance has no interest in or knowledge of sex, but mimics a kissing scene from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, which happens to be on TV. When the scene ends, Chance stops suddenly and Eve is confused. She asks what he likes, meaning sexually; he replies "I like to watch," meaning television. She is momentarily taken aback, but masturbates for his voyeuristic pleasure, not noticing he has turned back to the TV and is imitating Lilias, Yoga and You on another channel.

Chance is present at Ben's death and shows genuine sadness. Questioned by Allenby, he admits that he "loves Eve very much" and also that he is just a gardener. When he leaves to inform Eve of Ben's death, Allenby says to himself, "I understand."

While the President delivers a speech at Ben's funeral, the pallbearers hold a whispered discussion over potential replacements for the President in the next presidential term, and unanimously agree on "Chauncey" as successor. Oblivious, Chance wanders off through Ben's wintry estate. He straightens out a pine sapling flattened by a fallen branch, then walks across the surface of a lake without sinking. He pauses, dips his umbrella deep into the water to the right of his path, then continues on, while the President is heard quoting Ben: "Life is a state of mind."

{{Cast listing|

• Peter Sellers as Chance the gardener (Chauncey Gardiner)
• Shirley MacLaine as Eve Rand
• Jack Warden as the President
• Melvyn Douglas as Ben Rand
• Richard Dysart as Dr. Robert Allenby
• Richard Basehart as Soviet Ambassador Vladimir Skrapinov
• Than Wyenn as Ambassador Gaufridi
• David Clennon as Thomas Franklin
• Fran Brill as Sally Hayes
• Ruth Attaway as Louise
• Denise DuBarry as Johanna
• Richard Venture as Wilson
• Sam Weisman as Colson
• Alice Hirson as the First Lady
• Arthur Rosenberg as Morton Hull
• Jerome Hellman as Gary Burns
• James Noble as Kaufman
• John Harkins as Courtney
• Elya Baskin as Karpatov
• Richard McKenzie as Ron Steigler

}}

Burt Lancaster was Ashby's first choice for the role of Ben Rand.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZGZAAAAQBAJ&q=burt+lancaster+laurence+olivier+being+there+masturbation&pg=PT439|last=Sikov|first=Ed|title=Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers|year=2003|publisher=Hachette Books|isbn=9781401398941}}{{page needed|date=July 2019}}{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=210}} Laurence Olivier was also considered for the role, but turned it down because of the masturbation scene.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SqXAAAAQBAJ&q=laurence%20olivier%20being%20there%20ben%20rand&pg=PA30|last=Mell|first=Eila|title=Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others|year=2005|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476609768}}page 30

Principal filming occurred at the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the United States, located in Asheville, North Carolina.{{cite web|last=Henion|first=Leigh Ann|title=A Behind-the-Scenes Visit to Biltmore|date=March 2011|work=Our State|url=http://www.ourstate.com/biltmore-insiders-tour/|access-date=May 12, 2015}} According to MacLaine, "(Peter) believed he was Chauncey. He never had lunch with me ... He was Chauncey Gardiner the whole shoot, but believing he was having a love affair with me."{{Cite web |date=2013-11-30 |title=Shirley MacLaine On What Peter Sellers Was Really Like |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkdXTaHsSu0 |website=Hudson Union Society |via=YouTube}} The original ending as written in the script was filmed; it shows Eve finding Chance by the lake, they declare they have found each other, and both walk back together.{{YouTube|ZPZrFbpgRt4|Being There (alternate ending)}} However, Ashby was unhappy with this ending so he had a platform submerged in the lake for Sellers to walk on, creating the film's enigmatic final scene.{{cite web|url=https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/great-scene-being-there-1a2246027569|title=Great Scene: 'Being There'|website=gointothestory.blcklst.com|date=2 July 2022}}

Melvyn Douglas's granddaughter, Illeana Douglas, visited the set and met Peter Sellers, who is her favorite actor. She has since credited the film for inspiring her to pursue a career in acting. According to Illeana, Sellers and Douglas had known each other since the 1940s, when they first met in the Burma campaign (1944–1945) during World War II. They often reminisced about their war days while on the set.{{cite web |last=Vigil |first=Delfin |date=February 15, 2009 |title=Illeana Douglas inspired by Melvyn's 'Being There' |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Illeana-Douglas-inspired-by-Melvyn-s-Being-There-3250931.php#photo-2399605 |access-date=September 6, 2015 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}} The making of the film is portrayed in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a biographical film of Sellers's life.

Incidental music is used very sparingly. What little original music is used was composed by Johnny Mandel, and primarily features two recurrent piano themes based on "Gnossiennes" No. 4 and No. 5 by Erik Satie. The other major pieces of music used are the Eumir Deodato jazz/funk arrangement of the opening fanfare from Also Sprach Zarathustra and "Basketball Jones" by Cheech and Chong. These pieces respectively accompany the title credits and Chance's first arrival to the Biltmore Estate.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Vi3vz7qbtwC&q=also%20sprach%20zarathustra%20being%20there&pg=PA9|last=Stoehr|first=Ingo Roland|title=German Literature of the Twentieth Century: From Aestheticism to Postmodernism|year=2001|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|isbn=9781571131577}} Mandel was also assisted by his cousin and fellow composer Miles Goodman with the orchestration of the film.{{cite web|title=Miles Goodman, 47, Composer for Films|date=August 20, 1996|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/20/arts/miles-goodman-47-composer-for-films.html|access-date=March 25, 2015}}{{cite web|last=Jablon|first=Robert|title= Miles Goodman, Film Composer and Jazz Record Producer, Dies |date=August 18, 1996|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/cdd69bf7e9fadd7e532dffd061c48a79|access-date=March 25, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230518091640/https://apnews.com/article/cdd69bf7e9fadd7e532dffd061c48a79 |archive-date=2023-05-18}}{{cite web|last=Oliver|first=Myrna|title=Miles Goodman; Record Producer, Film Composer|date=August 20, 1996|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-20-me-35989-story.html|access-date=March 25, 2015}}{{cite web|title=Miles Goodman: Composer|date=August 22, 1996|work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19960822&id=wD8gAAAAIBAJ&pg=2263,1662626|access-date=March 25, 2015}}{{cite web|title=Record producer, composer Miles Goodman dies at 47|date=August 21, 1996|work=The Daily Gazette|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19960821&id=-r9KAAAAIBAJ&pg=4020,4884243|access-date=March 25, 2015}}{{cite web |last=Saporito |first=Jeff |date=December 7, 2015 |title=Why does "Being There" highlight "Basketball Jones" so prominently |url=http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-being-there-highlight-basketball-jones-so-prominently |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727015336/http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-being-there-highlight-basketball-jones-so-prominently |archive-date=2016-07-27 |website=Screen Prism}}

The film opened to positive reviews and gave Sellers a hit after many failed films outside of the Pink Panther series. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded a full grade of four out of four stars in his original print review.{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/being-there-1980 |title=Being There |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=January 1, 1980 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=November 24, 2018 }} Gene Siskel also gave the film a perfect grade of four stars, calling it "one of those rare films, a work of such electric comedy that you are more likely to watch it in amazement than to break down and laugh".Siskel, Gene (February 8, 1980). "Sellers builds on perfection in 'Being There'". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 3. Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "a stately, beautifully acted satire with a premise that's funny but fragile".{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=December 20, 1979 |title=Film: Ashby-Kosinksi 'Being There' |newspaper=The New York Times |page=C20 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/20/archives/film-ashbykosinksi-being-therewatching-tv.html |access-date=November 21, 2023}} Variety called it "an unusually fine film" that "represents Peter Sellers's most smashing work since the mid-1960s".{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1979 |title=Being There |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/being-there-1200424539/ |access-date=2023-12-16 }} Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a gentle, exquisitely funny film", adding that "Sellers hasn't been so terrific—or had such terrific material—in years."Thomas, Kevin (December 20, 1979). "A Kosinski Novel Comes to Life". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 36.

Vincent Misiano reviewed Being There in Ares Magazine and commented that "the film's humor never flags and yet its delicately bitter irony is never far away. It satirizes politics and politicians, business and businessmen, and, finally, all the rest of us and what we imagine we see when we look at one another."{{cite journal | last=Misiano | first=Vincent | title=Film & Television | journal=Ares Magazine | publisher=Simulations Publications, Inc. | date=July 1980 | issue=3 | page=32}}

In 2006, Roger Ebert mentioned the reaction of his students to the final scene (which is unique to the film, not appearing in the book),{{cite book | year=2006 | title = The Great Movies II | first=Roger | last=Ebert | author-link = Roger Ebert | publisher=Random House | isbn=978-0-7679-1986-9 | page=52 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdv8LRB6a88C&pg=PA52}} stating that they once suggested that Chance may be walking on a submerged pier. But, Ebert writes, "The movie presents us with an image, and while you may discuss the meaning of the image, it is not permitted to devise explanations for it. Since Ashby does not show a pier, there is no pier—a movie is exactly what it shows us, and nothing more."{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=May 25, 1997 |title=Being There {{!}} Great Movies |newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-being-there-1979 |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623115834/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19970525%2FREVIEWS08%2F401010303 |archive-date=June 23, 2011}}

The ending credits roll over the "Rafael outtake". Sellers was displeased that the outtake ran because he believed that it took away from Chauncey's mystique.{{cite magazine|last=Kim|first=Wook|title=After 'The End': 10 Memorable End-Credit Scenes|date=November 26, 2012|magazine=Time|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/27/after-the-end-10-memorable-end-credit-scenes/slide/being-there/|access-date=May 12, 2015}} He also believed that it prevented him from winning the Oscar.{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=226}}

As of 2023, the film holds a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The critical consensus calls it "smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/being_there/ |title=Being There |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=April 16, 2023 }} In 2003, The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] The New York Times via the Internet Archive. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in:

• 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #26{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |url= https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/ |website=American Film Institute |access-date=November 21, 2023}}

A 30th Anniversary Edition was released on DVD and Blu-ray in February 2009. The Criterion Collection issued the film on DVD and Blu-ray in March 2017.{{cite magazine|last=Wilkins|first=Budd|title=Being There|date=29 March 2017|magazine=Slant Magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/being-there-bd|access-date=23 June 2017}}

{{Portal|Film}}

• The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma: Being There is said to bear a strong resemblance to this 1932 Polish novel, and the film's originality became a subject of controversy in 1982. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska wrote "most Polish critics immediately recognized his book as a version of Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy by Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocADDQAAQBAJ | chapter=The Role of Polish Language and Literature | publisher=University of Texas Press | title=The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer | editor-first=Seth L. | editor-last=Wolitz | year=2001 | first=Monika | last=Adamczyk-Grabowska | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ocADDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 137] | isbn=029279147X}}
• {{Annotated link|Dasein|Dasein}}
• Politics in fiction
• Social effects of television

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayGlICMwYD0C&q=burt+lancaster&pg=PA226|last=Dawson|first=Nick|title=Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel|year=2009|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=9780813139197}}
• {{Cite book

| last = Finkelstein

| first = Joanne

| title = The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture

| url = http://www.ibtauris.com/display.asp?ISB=9781845113957

| location = London

| publisher = I. B. Tauris

| year = 2007

| pages = 9, 98–99

| isbn = 978-1-84511-395-7

}}

• {{Cite book

| last1 = Nichols

| first1 = Peter M.

| first2 = A. O.

| last2 = Scott

| first3 = Vincent

| last3 = Canby

| year = 2004

| title = The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made

| location = New York

| publisher = Macmillan

| pages = 93–94

| isbn = 0-312-32611-4

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = Sikov

| first = Ed

| title = Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers

| location = New York

| publisher = Hyperion

| year = 2002

| isbn = 0-7868-8581-5

}}

• {{Cite book

| last = Tichi

| first = Cecelia

| title = Electronic Hearth: Creating an American Television Culture

| location = New York

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| year = 1991

| isbn = 0-19-507914-0

}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/BeingThere.pdf "Being There"] essay by Jerry Dean Roberts at the National Film Registry
• {{AFI film|id=56196|title=Being There}}
• {{IMDb title|0078841}}
• [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/being-there-am4712 Being There at AllMovie]
• {{TCMDb title|id=3994}}
• {{mojo title|beingthere}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|being_there}}
• [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4473-being-there-american-cipher Being There: American Cipher] an essay by Mark Harris at the Criterion Collection
• [https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/01/23/34-best-political-movies-ever-made/ "The 34 best political movies ever made"], Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post, Jan. 23, 2020, ranked No. 24

{{Hal Ashby}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Being There}}

Category:1979 films

Category:1979 comedy-drama films

Category:American black comedy films

Category:American comedy-drama films

Category:American political satire films

Category:1970s American films

Category:1970s English-language films

Category:1970s political satire films

Category:English-language comedy-drama films

Category:Films about disability in the United States

Category:Films about fictional presidents of the United States

Category:Films about television

Category:Films about the mass media in the United States

Category:Films based on American novels

Category:Films directed by Hal Ashby

Category:Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance

Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award–winning performance

Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance

Category:Films scored by Johnny Mandel

Category:Films set in country houses

Category:Films set in Washington, D.C.

Category:Films shot in North Carolina

Category:Films shot in Washington, D.C.

Category:Films whose writer won the Best Screenplay BAFTA Award

Category:United States National Film Registry films