Chance seems very simpleminded and has lived in the house his entire life, tending the garden, with virtually no contact with the outside world. Being there is a film about a simple and mildly retarded gardener, played by peter sellers whos entire adult life was gardening for an elderly gentleman and watching television. With peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden. A simpleminded gardener named chance has spent all his life in the washington d. Peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden a simpleminded gardener named chance has spent all his life in the washington d. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. Being there, released 40 years ago, seems weirdly relevant today as the heros traits mirror those of donald trump, peter bart writes. This is reprinted with permission from reflections on being there by stuart fernie.
Being there is not for all tastesespecially not for those who dont appreciate comedic subtlety. A number of schools of thought exist on the subject, as is the nature of film. The film being there has some brilliant acting from multiple people all around. Smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle, being there soars behind sensitive direction from hal ashby and a stellar peter sellers performance. In uttering that line in the 1979 movie being there, chauncey gardiner peter sellers was confessing his addiction to television. The movies twist ending, whopper that it is, tends to be spoiled. In the following years, peter sellers acted in some of the best movies of his career. One of peter sellers finest and final roles as an unassuming gardener who is mistaken for a brilliant philosoper.
All actors peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden, richard dysart, richard basehart. Peter sellers in being there 1979 shirley maclaine and peter sellers in being there 1979 peter sellers and melvyn douglas. Hal ashbys being there is a movie that inspires those feelings. The film stars peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden, richard a. For its entire running length, being there successfully holds a delicate combination of two moods, humor and sadness. The film stars peter sellers and shirley maclaine, and features jack warden, melvyn douglas, richard dysart, and richard basehart. This is just like television, only you can see much further. The very best of peter sellers 1 episode 2014 the greats 1 episode. The best movie quotes, movie lines and film phrases by movie quotes. Buy being there movie posters from movie poster shop. Met peter sellers, shirley maclaine en melvyn douglas. Peter sellers full list of movies and tv shows in theaters, in production and upcoming films. On the day that kasparov was defeated by deep blue, i found myself thinking of the film being there 1979. Aimless gardener chance peter sellers fascinated by a washington, d.
What started as a fable ends up being a satire and that is precisely where the story becomes tedious and long, at the same time that it. In 2004, the book was turned into an hbo film with the same title, starring geoffrey rush. The great script, deliberate pacing, direction, cinematography, music and excellent acting by entire cast, especially peter sellers, are all simply outstanding. In late december 1979, united artists unveiled being there, starring peter sellers. Strangelove on nbcs today show interview 1980 duration. In 1979, peter sellers played a fictional character, chance the gardener chauncey gardiner in the bestselling movie, being there. The final scene of being there 1979 has sparked years of discussion. Repeated lines, initially referring simply to his lifelong habit of watching television. Its screenplay was adapted by jerzy kosinski and the uncredited robert c. The play later transferred to new york in december 2010.
The minute comedy was nominated for two honors at the. Being there movie trailer starring peter sellers and shirley maclaine. I raised that boy since he was the size of a pissant. The filming locations for hal ashbys oscar winning satire are around washington d. Find highquality peter sellers stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. The viewer is getting a glimpse into chances persona when a coworker tells him of his employers passing. It begins with a cockamamie notion, its basically one joke told for two hours, and it requires peter sellers to maintain an excruciatingly narrow tone of behavior in a role that has him onscreen almost constantly. But as a showcase for the daring genius of peter sellers, this is a classic movie in a category all its own.
The 1979 film is a semiserious comedy starring peter sellers as chance, a tveducated gardener, whose simplemindedness and lack of protocol is mistaken for deep wisdom. Peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden en richard dysart. A lifetime of comedies behind him, sellers ended his career as an actor and a comic legend with this classic. Were your movie poster source for new releases and vintage movie posters. What is the meaning behind the movie being there 1979. Hard to believe that this was made over 20 years ago, it is still as funny as ever. What are the interpretations of chance walking on water at. Being there should have been peter sellers last movie, instead, his final credit was the cringe worthy the fiendish plot of dr. In 2015, ben carson, a brain surgeon portraying himself is a candidate for president of the united states of america in being here. The film stars peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, richard a. Peter sellers should have taken home the academy award for his role in being there. Being there movie trailer starring peter sellers and shirley.
Peter sellers, shirley maclaine, melvyn douglas, jack warden, richard dysart. His parents worked in an acting company run by his grandmother. Being there is een amerikaanse dramafilm uit 1979 onder regie van hal ashby. Being there critics consensus smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle, being there soars behind sensitive direction from hal ashby and a stellar peter sellers performance. The stage play being sellers premiered in australia in 1998, three years after the release of the biography by roger lewis, the life and death of peter sellers. Adapted from the 1970 novella by jerzy kosinski, the screenplay was written by kosinski and the uncredited robert c. The wideeyed look of being there a stately satire of modern media consumption and american politics, hal ashbys 1979 film being there follows the fortunes of a childlike gardener named chance peter sellers, who becomes an unlikely celebrity of d. Ive included it here because i believe that being there is a deeply philosophical film that is misunderstood by film critics, who are not trained in philosophy. Chance peter sellers is a middleaged gardener who lives in the townhouse of a wealthy man in washington d. Peter sellers plays an innocent and illiterate gardener who ends up the most influential man in washington, d. Upon the death of his employer, a confused chance is cast out into the big world. He was the son of agnes doreen peg marks and william bill sellers.
Being there is a 1979 american comedydrama film directed by hal ashby. The chess champion said there was something about the computer he did not understand, and it frightened him. On the day that kasparov was defeated by deep blue, i found myself. In retrospect, the same could be said of director hal ashby. Chance, who has spent his life working as a rich mans gardener. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by jerzy kosinski, it was adapted for the screen by kosinski and the uncredited robert c. How i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb 1964, and being there 1979. Peter sellers looks for a garden in a being there scene.
Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at. Peter sellers list of movies and tv shows tv guide. In being there, the character of chauncey gardiner, a. Often credited as the greatest comedian of all time, peter sellers was born richard henry sellers to a welloff acting family in 1925 in southsea, a suburb of portsmouth. Though illiterate, a bit slow, and obsessed with television, he possesses a unique passion for plants. This was his last, and possibly, best out of a string of critical and commercial successes through the 70s. Criticus roger ebert schreef in zijn boek 100 great movies dat veel mensen. Is his apparent lack of intellect actually the supreme wisdom everyone thinks it is.
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