Being There (1979) (Blu-ray) (UK Import)

In one of his most finely tuned performances, Peter Sellers plays the pure-hearted, childlike Chance, a gardener who is forced into the wilds of Washington, D. C., when his wealthy guardian dies. Shocked to discover that the real world doesn’t respond to the click of a remote, Chance stumbles into celebrity after being taken under the wing of a tycoon (Melvyn Douglas, in an Oscar-winning performance), who mistakes his protégé’s horticultural mumblings for sagacious pronouncements on life and politics, and whose wife (Shirley MacLaine) targets Chance as the object of her desire. Adapted from a novel by Jerzy Kosinski, this satire, both deeply melancholy and hilarious, is the culmination of Hal Ashby’s remarkable string of films in the 1970s, and 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 Kosinski in a 1979 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show
Appearances from 1980 by actor Peter Sellers on NBC’s Today and on The Don Lane Show
Promo reel featuring Sellers and Ashby
Trailer and TV spots
Deleted scene, outtakes, and alternate ending
Essay by critic Mark Harris

Rezensionen

Lexikon des Int.​Films: "Tragikomische, teilweise sarkastische Satire über die Schwächen der modernen Industrie- und Finanzgesellschaft.​ Hervorragend gespielte Unterhaltung mit Substanz.​"