Customer Reviews

Being There [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

This is a wonderful film that I saw theatrically some 30 years ago. This blu-ray is sharp and film like, with muted colors appropriate to the story, but still very nice to finally watch in hi def. Don't expect it to look like a modern day film. I saw several subtle things I hadn't noticed before, because of the sharp resolution.

The extras are nice, but brief. One short scene and one 'extension' plus the alternate (original) ending. Also, there's a promo piece for distributors with Peter and Hal Ashby. Nice to have these, but I'm wondering what happened to all those hours of videotapes of alternates of the whole film that I read about before. Were they poor quality or impossible to find? I heard some crumbled into dust when played back so perhaps they're gone for good.

The making of only has Illana Douglas (granddaughter of Melvyn)who was on set as a youngster. (Where is Shirley Maclaine? Most of the others are, of course, no longer with us.)

A no brainer buy for fans and if you haven't seen it - rent it!
A great performance from Peter Sellers and all involved.

This is a comedy classic. It is arguably the best film about television ever made. And it is clearly the best film about "the suit makes the man" to the extreme.

And it looks better than it ever has before.

But it could look better. Black levels are poor, with murky grays everywhere, and noise reduction has been over-used. One professional review notes: "the studio applied some aggressive Digital Noise Reduction. The problem is quite severe in some scenes, especially the opening. Film grain freezes in place while the action of the scene moves around it. Detail is mushy, and objects smear when in motion."

The sound is good. You really get the clear-but-clanky presentation of the TV shows that form the backgroun or foreground of many scenes. But beware, for some bizarre reason, the default soundtrack is not the lossless track, but the DD1.0 track. Whose silly idea was that?

After I finished watching this movie, I thought of the Tao te Ching, which says that that which is low will be raised up, and that softness will outlast hardness. This movie fable shows how that can happen, while having a sense of the larger social structure that mean some benefit and others don't. Chance the gardener is sent out from the house where he's lived his whole life. He's not quite right in the head and only knows what he's seen on TV. A chance encounter with Eve (Shirley McClaine) brings him into the world of the rich and famous and renames him Chauncey Gardiner. Everyone sees in him what they want to see and what they want to be. He is a blank screen for their projections, and by the end of the film he's gone from a nobody to being bandied about as the next president.

There are a lot of funny moments here, but underneath it is a very dark view of human nature. Chance is separate and untouchable, and others feel a connection, but it is mainly through their ego and the pleasure of projecting on him what they want. The clearest example comes when Eve throws herself at Chance, then pleasures herself alone. She thinks he's watching, but he's really watching TV and at one point he withdraws his hand so he can do the yoga he sees on the screen. So even the act of love, which could be a moment of great connection, is emphatically made of two different and completely separate experiences. Here I disagree with Roger Ebert, who says the two sex subplots are unnecessary. They both show the lack of connection between people, but in very different ways. For most people in the film, being there means being alone.

'Being There' has always been my favorite Peter Sellers movie, right next to 'A Shot in the Dark'. I was very excited about finally being able to watch it in wide screen and with much better picture quality than the endless showings I saw on HBO back in the 80's. This review pertains to the actual Blu Ray quality and features, rather the movie itself. Hopefully this will help other fans of Peter Sellers and this film decide if this upgrade is money well spent.

'Being There' arrives on a 50 GB dual layer disc with a 1080p/VC-1 encode. So far, so good. So how does it actually look?

Well, sadly, 'Being There' is not up to the visual quality you would wish for. It appears some idiot at Warner Brother's decided that the natural film grain was BAD and decided to eliminate it with copious amounts of the dreaded DNR, the enemy of all film fans everywhere! I agree DNR has it's place but I prefer to be the one to use it and to decide how MUCH of it I use on problematic source material. The colors are fine, the image is pretty stable (not perfect) and overall it is miles ahead of what I remember from my many HBO screenings of yesteryear. Because of the amount of DNR used, you get motion artifacts including slight blurring at times during motion and that plain out sucks. I did my best to overlook all the shortcomings of the video while watching and at times there are a few shots and scenes here and there that seem untouched and make you wish they left the film alone and just gave us what was there after a bit of cleaning. Honestly, it isn't horrible, but it isn't all that good either. Luckily for me anyway, I find the film is so great that the dip in video quality (by Blu Ray standards) is something I can pretty much ignore and just enjoy the movie.

We are NOT talking about the poor video quality of titles like 'Uncle Buck' or 'National Lampoon's Vacation' here, it is MUCH better than those titles at least. Thank goodness!

For audio you get a choice of the original Mono in Dolby Digital quality encode, or you can opt for the better Dolby TruHD 2.0 track. Be aware that this is NOT a stereo mix , but rather something akin to 'dual mono' but in a nice high resolution format. This film was never presented in anything other than mono during it's theatrical run or subsequent endless showings on cable. I assume the original sound elements (stems) were not available for remixing or that Warner Home Video just decided not to bother as this is a catalog title and an obscure one at that to all but Peter's devoted fans and fans of the film. (not to me though) No matter, it sounds fine. I tried both flavors and and honestly there is only a slight different between the original mono and the Dolby Tru HD with the uncompressed HD soundtrack winning out but just by a nose really.

If you remember watching this on your old tube TV sets back in the day, you will be happy with the audio results, it DOES sound much better than I remember and it is mostly crisp and clear, although some of the TV clips can get a bit screechy at times.
I was not expecting an action movie mix and therefore was not disappointed in the least with the sound provided on this Blu Ray.

There are a few extras. You get the famous outtakes at the end of the film, only more of them. You get a few additional scenes, none which add anything special to the plot but cool to see nevertheless. You get a few rarities including the director Hal Ashby and Peter Sellers goofing around in a little promo skit. You also get the original trailer (in SD) and you get the alternate ending. I am glad they stuck with the ending I have come to know and love! The extras are no great shakes, but for fans of the film they are pure gold.

Bottom line, if you LOVE 'Being There' this purchase is pretty much mandatory. If you are not sure about the film and want to see if you like it or not, rent it or pick up a used copy. As for me, 'Being There' on Blu Ray will be a yearly viewing event and a most pleasurable one at that! For fans, recommended!!

A wonderful, funny, odd, surreal, and sometimes very sad satirical fable.

Sellers plays a man who is a complete blank, seemingly mentally handicapped, having spent his whole life working as a gardener, his only real enjoyment being watching TV. Through a wonderfully creative series of coincidences, he soon has Washington's elite read into his simplistic pronouncements whatever they want to hear, and the next thing you know he's an advisor to the President, and winning over TV audiences.

This could have been a one-joke film, but the terrific writing and directing, and the simply magical performance by Peter Sellers make this deep, complex, and moving. There's great supporting work too by Shirley McLain and Melvyn Douglas. Jack Warden overdoes the doofus bit a little as the president, and there are a couple of moments where the jokes feel forced, but this is as funny and socially incisive a film as has been made in the last 30 years.

Great movie. Peter Sellers delivers an outstanding performance. The comedy is muted; the movie goes from being serious and thoughtful to screamingly funny (the "bear rug" scene with Shirley MacLaine for example).

Regarding the blu-ray -- I found the digital transfer lacking. Specifically contrast, depth and detail (edge sharpness). The picture had a muted, washed out, grainy look to it that was, while better than DVD, not up to the level I've seen with transfers of other movies which are much older. One reviewer here mentioned excessive use of DNR -- I'm wondering if perhaps the master they had to work with was degraded and required serious work to make it presentable. Whatever, I am not an expert, just giving my lay impressions.

Despite the lackluster video quality, still a great movie to own.

I absolutely love this movie. Sellers is completely absorbed into his character, and the story is just beautiful. There are so many layers in this movie in terms of morals, lessons, and so forth that you have to watch it several times to hear them. Just a beautiful movie.

An oldie but goodie. it's been years since I've watched this film and it is still great. Peter Sellers was a genius.

CHANCE the Gardener likes to attend the garden and follows the cycles of nature..."I SHOULD START THE SEEDS FROM THE SPRING AND WORK THE SOIL"...he says, Chance also likes to watch, in fact he is been doing it all his life, except for his garden he has no interaction with anyone else but what ever he sees on TV repeating and mimicking anything that catches his eye. The world of Television is his World

People think he is a Genius but in reality he is an Idiot fooling everyone around..."WITH NO BRAINS
AT ALL, STUFFED WITH RICE PUDDING BETWEEN THE EARS, DUMB AS A JACKASS"...as his custodian Louise once said. Chance has never been driven in an Automobile, but his life will change drastically by one..."THIS IS LIKE TELEVISION ONLY YOU CAN SEE MUCH FURTHER"... says when he finds himself out in the real World

"BEING THERE" is an Amusing Creative Hysterically Funny Black Comedy, cleverly adapted to the screen from a short story, winner of two Golden Glove Awards 1979 Best Actor Peter Sellers final Film and one of his Best Performances, and best supporting Actor Melvyn Douglas, Great performance by Shirley MacLaine (Eve) superbly Directed by Hal Ashby who also Directed "HAROLD AND MAUDE" 1971 another Great Cult Classic.

The wittiness cleverly written dialogue interacted with numerous Clips of Television Shows from our Modern American Culture. Sellers with his undisturbed Aloof presence gives such a credibility to this Nincompoop Character. A Gardener with no judgment or point of view, however, his umbrella has more profoundness than Him!