As I have mentioned before, very similar but not the same. The piece playing in the background is called "The Room Upstairs", heavily inspired by the Gnossiennes, but composed by Johnny Mandel. It's available for purchase if you look around a bit.
It seems so akin to Gnossiennes! I was listening to this one and was certain I'd heard it somewhere before, but where? And the end of "Being There" was my first thought, but I checked and realized there are different pieces but so beautifully similar in style! ua-cam.com/video/aTi9czvLa-4/v-deo.html
Like the little Boy living in Afrka - he was playing with LIzzards and as he lost one Finger - it was growing again !!! He knew it from the Lizzards, He dosen't know others ! True Story !!
My take is: We (the audience) spent the entire film assuming Chance was a simple, naive man who those around took to be a mysterious, almost otherworldly genius. We assumed we were the ones in the know, while all these politicians and people in power were living in delusion. But at the end we find out...he WAS that mysterious otherworldly entity.....
I believe you are close to correct. In the book, it ends with him at utter peace and without a thought in his head. The movie is very true to the book in many respects. Jerzy Kosinski was a genius writer and I think this was his way of letting go of the memories of his childhood under Hitler.
@@JonesCrimson Atheist: Small heart. Smaller brain. No friends. No soul. Still lives in parents basement. Thinks Reddit is a social life. Endangered species. LMAO!!!
@Dalibor Bašlagić He didn't actually witness nor truly knew of the house owners' death. There was just suddenly a moment when he was 'gone' so to speak. So Chance was likely not in any form of compassinate relationship with him. The maids took care of him. With Ben he actually developed a bond and almost saw in him the humanity which was lacking or non existent with the anonymous house owner.
@@TheNorthie He isn't retarded. No one could possess that much knowledge of gardening or be so proficient at it if they were retarded. I tend to believe the 'old man' was his father an extremely wealthy man whom had a simpleton child whom couldn't learn to read or write, so rather than ever show him to the world he decided to simply keep him permanently sheltered in his mansion. Safe well fed, but never acknowledging he was his true father. Perhaps for such a rich man Chance was an embarrassment of sorts to high society. He tends to the garden is allowed to wear his father's clothes and has maids. That's it. Ben Rand was actually his friend, and I think he had enough self awareness to realise Ben genuinely liked respected and loved him, just like he was able to express genuine love for Eve. His character does grow
@@patriceaqa288I think the ‘old man’ referred to here was in reference to Mr Rand…I was thinking about this very thing today and thought of Rand as the old man but immediately corrected myself. The old man was who you, I believe, were referring to. the one who died in bed in the beginning of the movie. As you pointed out, Chance did not cry for him. Chance did cry for the passing of Mr Rand though, and he too was an old man.
Yep. But, SKIP THE CREDITS! Seriously! The blooper reel can ruin the entire movie experience. While it can be funny for some light hearted movies to see the crew snickering and laughing of their silly dialogues, it does not fit it in for this movie.
Disagree it’s underrated. It’s in the film registry, that’s more important than oscars or big bucks at the box, it’s saying “this is a part of our culture and we are saving it for all time”. Those who need to know this piece saw it.
@@ckclarke5336 that's the problem CK so many people don't know this film exist because it was never out there with the "big blockbusters" that's what I mean by underrated (to rate something --to give it a 1 out of 10 )
It is, hands down, my favorite film. Seller's walking on water (with no thought of it) amplifies the last line which, IMO, sums up the meaning of the film: "Life Is A State Of Mind."
I saw it in November of 1980 and arrived at the same conclusion that Life Is A State of Mind. I also arrived at a conclusion [with this ending] about learning to not be a materialist
What's funny is that the ending invites the audience to do exactly what everyone in the movie did to Chance. He was a completely blank piece of paper, basically a non-entity, but everyone assigned deep significance to everything he said and did. He wasn't really "being there", yet people people projected great wisdom and significance onto him, and now we're doing it.
***** Some truly wonderful scenes in "Harold and Maude". Most memorable for me, is the piano scene. There is pure genius written in the character of Chance in 'Being There' too. Chance speaks to us on two, maybe three levels. Whoever wrote Chance "the gardener", understood how the world works, and the people in it tend to be and think; troubled ghetto kids with an already established road to nowhere narrowing ahead of them (ua-cam.com/video/ByxSS_6aMxg/v-deo.html pretty much); corporations - how faketarded - legal "persons" ua-cam.com/video/wkygXc9IM5U/v-deo.html; and the politicians and media cyclops's who sell out/get bought; and so, are affiliated with them. The resigned rich over-bored housewives, with their dead end lives (not knowing how to get out of "it" - "it" being a kind of cancerous mentality of everything being fixed or rigged in society - and the restless uncomfortable feeling growing under the calm surface, masking an urgent need for "it" to somehow be exorcised out of them). The middle range socio-economic mediocre bad guys ua-cam.com/video/ukIo8FEOVBo/v-deo.html, e.g. real estate agents, who run the show, and 'wear the hat, and get worn down inside by their suits, in the end' - FNM again; they keep the world running smoothly, conservatively, and are all for sticking to conventional methods universally sticklers all. And so, each end up being just another brick in the wall. But then, gangster gardeners appearing in the ghetto, like Ron Finley, for instance. Let's take him literally, and grow our own food, organically; without pesticides. That's one way of sticking it to "The Man" or Queen Bee. And then you have people who take gardening, when used by Chance, to be a metaphor for something spiritual; like human beings can be seen as human beans. And our humanity being thus nurtured is encouraged to sprout in us, and so can actually be reclaimed by us; and this is how we take back the power. And he talks about the gardening, to sow a seed and see it multiply and so come to know the harvest. And finally, the gardening terms Chance uses are seen by politicians and business men alike, as metaphors for businesses making way for smaller ones, and more diversity and freedom; otherwise the 99% united, who can never be defeated, might riot with pitchforks into the 1% fortress homes and/or divide up all their land; while they hide in them, peeping out of their windows. And the economy will go down and up, as the seasons do. Don't worry! As long as the people get to create the smaller businesses to replace whichever big ones, all future inhabitants of Our World, would do better without. The way he shakes hands with the president, and talks so slowly and carefully; one can hardly know for sure if Chance Permaculture Gardener really is the genius he appears to be, though. outofordershow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/awolnation.jpg O.U.T. Vs ["y0u just can't win" - The Dead Weather and The Bor>IN
TheNeonRabbit You ARE right save for the walking on water scene. It can't be ignored. Every one assigned deep significance to further their own ends...I believe at their peril. I just throw my opinion in along with all the others.
There is a lot of allusion to Jesus, especially with the ending. The story plot runs in a similar way to the life of Jesus in the Gospels and also Adam. Sellars being Adam/Jesus, Rand the Old Man is God , Eve Rand - being Eve/temptation/Devil . The President and the advisors and the Doctor- disciples with a potential Judas, the sermons about "gardening", non-violent, innocent , removed from "reality" because of his prospective, performing miracles without thought/effort It has been 40 years or so since I watched it, but definitely the last scene makes this point.
It was not a thing at the time, but if you know someone on the autism spectrum the "life is a state of mind" quote can relate very much to that concept. Whatever does not make sense for others, makes sense for someone on the spectrum. Someone being happy, doing what they do, and not what society expects is "life is a state of mind". Most people on the spectrum don't mind making huge amounts of cash, or having their own house, or buying those shiny expensive sneakers, or that super Instagram channel or UA-cam channel. Or having a relationship, marry someone, have kids and a car..... Chance does not give one shit about presidency, or making love, or having a big house. He wants a television and he wants a garden to take care of. That is his "life is a state of mind."
Jesus walked on water. The president's staff, (deciples) are discussing looking for a Savior after the death of their boss who had no use for the masses, especially poor and respected men as quoted in his eulogy ( it's really commical if you listen to it) His staff is quoted "we need someone to awaken (Resurrection) the people. Death is heavily represented in the scene. He leaves death behind and walks away, she shrugs. The Eulogy quotes the deceased, "I have no use for people on welfare and they have no use for me. The deceased was not needed. The world needed a leader and Savior, The chosen one decided upon by his staff was (Chauncey) a layman Gardener like (Jesus) a layman Carpenter. He was chosen to save their party or religion. They say Quote: He is the one, he also had the largest following of people on TV. Life is a state of mind. Religion and political parties have a state of mind (conscience). Life can be guided by a people's conscience individually or collectively.
@@Bram25 good point of view Skitts,I always liked,still.. to think mind has the immense power of deciding what you would love to see,experie nce from your very point of view,either death,life(even in a corporeal way),God,other civilizations,in other words: decision explores,creates everything
The best Peter Sellers film. I think this ending says that he is so ignorant that he even doesn't know that one cannot walk on water. And that is why he can. The movie is an absolute beauty.
My favourite theory that I've read online, is that there is a submerged pier or something in the water. And we the viewer assume Chance has a messianic quality, just like every character he meets in the film.
you are 🤪. they even show the all seeing eye an pyramid at the end. i see it as the filmmaker kinda feels in the shoes of this man an you are the average person trying to make what you can of it but it's all spelled out. "life is a state of mind"
This movie taught me a lot about dealing with people. If one assumes a totally blank facial expression then observes others' reactions, one can know others' intent toward one. For example, people who've done or said something mean behind one's back will become observably antsy, afraid that one knows what was said or done. If someone lies, a blank gaze will cause similar nervousness. Also, if a person reacts to a blank face with mistrust, they are projecting their own untrustworthiness. Conversely, if someone's intent is good, a blank look will induce pleasantness or joviality because they project that onto a blank face from within themselves. A blank face is a mirror or an X-ray machine, depending on the circumstance. Thanks, Pete.
One of my favorite endings. I like to think that end scene is a mere metaphor for the premise of the entire film. Chauncey walking on water is a parallel to his naivety and his nature of unwittingly wandering into the most unlikely and unthinkable situations, without a clue in the world how or why he got there. It's a very whimsical and beautiful representation of his character's innocence and serendipity.
its symbolic of the way people see him, the way people reflect what they want to believe off his silence and seeming innocence. Which is an ideal trait for a man that the masons want to use as their man to control the presidency. He will tell the president whatever they want him to say.
pure cinema - not a word from sellers - life is a state of mind - this has to be one of the most important sequences to appear in a film - why the original closing credits were then replaced with the bloopers credits - how to kill the mood
Fred Fat So right about this being pure cinema, what I like to call the language of film. The scene when Chauncey leaves the "old man's" house and that great shot of Chance in the median advancing on the seat of power as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Deodato version) plays is pure symbolism; Pure Innocence is up for grabs but I don't think those suited schemers know what they are getting themselves in for. That scene, along with the mind bending ending (which I always get emotional upon seeing)-- Chauncey, is he so innocent that he does not know he can't walk on water? OR, is he so innocent that he is touched and guided by a deity? One can chew on this peerless work for a lifetime and not get to the bottom of it.
+Robert Palmer No, and Sellers wanted it removed. He felt it killed the mood, and he also felt it cost him the Oscar. Per: "Being Hal Ashby…" a bio of the director.
Instead of the unbelievably lame decision to attach bloopers at the end of the film, the powerful -- and artistic - approach would have been to fade to black, then sustained silence while the credits rolled.
i think yhe Raphael blooper scene post credits is absolutely brilliant. very much in place for this time as we needed to be reminded, its just a goddamn movie
There may have been a deeper reason for attaching bloopers. The seeming incongruity between the emotional and intellectual depth of the movie and the superficial, spontaneous joy of laughing at the mistakes may have been intentional.
I think the studio made the mistake of trying to sell this movie as a comedy. Whereas - despite its surreal elements - it's actually more of a drama. But up to that point, comedies were what Sellers was most well-known for and they had made a lot of money. In fact, it was only thanks to the success of the Pink Panther series that Sellers was finally able to fulfil his long-held ambition of playing this role. If the filmmakers hadn't tried to push the "comedy angle" so hard, people would have recognised Sellers' range as an actor. And he could have won that Oscar.
My number 1 film recommendation. If people don't watch after I recommend then I refuse to recommend another. My 27yr old daughter just watched it and it's now her favorite movie.
I saw it as a 12 year old and couldn't stop laughing it was so funny, but so utterly profound at the same time. to maintain the same 'inside joke' for the entirety of a two hour plus film but just maintain the intensity of the narrative is something never before or after achieved. In Forrest Gump everyone in the cast is in on the joke. It's not the same. Seller's did so little but so much, my 11 year old step daughter adored it because she kept waiting for but not wanting to happen the funny 'reveal' which never came
When Chance walked across that water i freaked out as a child especially when he stuck that closed umbrella into the water.Freaky. One of the best movie every made.
I remember seeing Being There for the first time when I was seventeen and about to graduate from high school. I remember thinking, 'Man, THIS is what a film can do.' Also led me to wonder for the first time what it means to do something like graduate.
At the beginning of this film clip, watch PS's *totally blank look* toward the coffin, as if to say "What's this all about?" Wonder of wonders! He never once broke character in the entire film, effectively playing a (physically) grown-up with the intelligence of a 2-year old. This takes real skill by any actor, because there's no "coach" to help him through. Everything has to come from the actor's *own* inspiration...and DID!!
This is one of the best movie endings ever. I’ve never seen a movie tie up the whole movie as well as this one did. It’s funny because you don’t really know what you are watching until this very last scene. Brilliant movie and execution.
The end of "Being There" invites the audience to do exactly what everyone in the movie did to Chance. He was a blank canvas, a non-entity that everyone assigned deep significance. While watching we muse how foolish everyone is for not recognizing how foolish Chance was, and yet by the end of the picture, we are doing the very same thing: Searching for significance to what he's doing. During the film, when a person is speaking with Chance, there are always two separate conversations occurring simultaneously. One with Chance and his limited knowledge of television and gardening, and the other person's broader worldly experience. They interpret his words into something meaningful, though never intended. But something that person could relate to and understand. Chance was a mirror in which people reflected their thoughts and found great wisdom. And that's exactly what we do at the end. We project significance to what Chance did based on our experience. Since walking on water is not something we can relate to, we search for another explanation or meaning. If we are religious, we might ponder that Chance is a symbol for Christ. One definite theme of this movie is about our perception of the world and life being a state of mind. Also the banality of television and media in our culture. And the acceptance of a person based on their appearance and color. The film exposes a self-serving and self-deceived society. And through the innocence of Chance, all the schemes and manipulations of the world are laid bare for what they are: Pure Folly. For those who hunger truth in life, this film will satisfy your appetite.
I won't get into how much this looks like a copy/paste job from someone else's review, but I will remark that in real life, the pond he's walking on has stepping stones just barely under the surface of the water. So basically, it's the director deliberately playing the same trick on you that Chance unintentionally plays on everyone else. The significance of him walking on water is that he actually isn't doing it at all, but the audience is too damn brilliant to consider the obvious fact that he's simply crossing the pond on stepping stones.
@@daricdaigle9027 damn I didn't get that. I interpreted it as a joke on the audience that we were all cynically thinking he had no special powers but actually he had Jesus-level magical powers all along.
Chance; the modern name for God. This film has a religious theme which is only revealed at the end. A commentary on the unnecessary hardships created by overly complicated people who have lost the innocence of childhood. He who is like a child is pure of heart and will gain the favour of others without trying. Chance revives the plant and walks on water because he is God, unrecognised and given a different name by the people of the day. The film was a response to increasing Atheism and warns the audience not to forget the teachings of Christ in light of increasing disbelief.
An important point about the ending. After he stops to see how deep the water is with his umbrella, he looks back to the shore to see how far away he is. At this point, we know he is not oblivious to the fact he could drown if he can't keep walking on water. What does he do? He keeps walking further out towards the building. He has no fear, because he is not corrupt like most of the cabal colluding to stay in power.
This was on tv today in the UK, this afternoon. So happy to catch this beautiful film again. Only my second viewing of it but it's a classic without a doubt and Sellers should've got the Oscar for it. Thanks for posting this. :)
+Brian Cornish That's what should have been the ending. Apparently Sellers (rightly so) hated that blooper ending ala Cannonball Run/Smokey and the Bandit.
The water he stands on is shallow, but gives the illusion of great depth. To anyone who watches, it looks like he's walking on water. It encapsulates the metaphor the whole movie is based around. It's a perfect ending.
@@StudentofgossetI read one theory that he could be on a pier which is just below the waters surface, and the place where he pushes the umbrella into the water is just beyond the pier. Thus we are ascribing meaning to him just like everyone else in the movie ascribes meaning to him.
Just watched for the first time. Great film, how did I miss it all these years. It was reminiscent of "Harvey" in some ways, a seemingly simple fellow drifting through life, watching innocently while all the sophisticated people trip over the traps they've created for themselves.
Life is a state of mind: a powerful sentence that has a deep and important meaning, i think. Our life is just a "product" of the mind, so we have to have a good care of it, day by day. We have to feed our mind with positive thoughts, set goals to reach, so the brain will have all the energy it need to reach these goals, to live, not just survive. After all, we are what we think, right? :D so think positive, its all a matter of attitude towards things.. :) Great movie,anyway! :)
Chance didn't really have any goals though, he had no desires. Literally he was just pure survival, almost exactly like an animal. Not that goals are bad, but this movie just demonstrates how the state of mind of "no mind" almost is pretty interesting too.
@@SSladfingers It would sure be helpful if I listen and watch this comedy movie again; so that way I'll know what, each and every single one of the characters had said in the comedy movie.
"I have no use for those on welfare, no patience whatsoever, but if I am to be honest with myself, I must admit that they have no use for me either." Chance had his meals basically spoon fed to him in the beginning of the film, and he was allowed to stay in a very rich man's home. All he did watch watch TV and tend the garden...
Absolutely!! For goodness sake Art Carney won his best Actor Oscar over Al Pacino and Jack Nicolson why couldn't the Academy do the same thing for Peter Sellers???!!!
I love how he stops in the middle of walking and investigates the water with his umbrella and then carries on as if nothing happened. Chance is such a beautiful character. Unlike many people nowadays when they have power in their grasp, he doesn’t try to take advantage of it, he just carries on with life.
I always love the look on peoples faces when I say dead serious that walking on water is just a matter of practice. Then I set my foot on the water and slowly fall into the swimming pool. When I look up after that I say: I guess I did not practice enough yet.
The comparison here to Jesus when Chance Walks on the water like Jesus is that Jesus is innocent while Chance is innocent and naive and the reason chance can walk on the water is that no one ever told him that he couldn't it's like on Gilligan's Island in these scenes that Gilligan can walk on the water and fly with the feathered wings of which he'd attached to himself alike until the Skipper tells him that he can't.---- --- R.I.P.Peter Sellers ; -R.I.P.Jack Warden; R.I.P.Alan Hale Jr.;R.I.P. Bob Denver.----
Exactly like Gilligan's Island. And that notion is a classic one in cartoons. The villain walks off a cliff, and doesn't fall until he first looks down, then at the camera in shock.
Peter Sellers was an absolute genius of the craft of acting. This film in my humble opinion is his crowning acheivement. This ending of this film is amazing and leaves the viewer to make his own mind up which I think is perfect.
I think it's important to note that the films director Hal Ashby was a humanist, an environmentalist and just a bit of a hippy really. So I think perhaps the message is at once an environmental one, but more a warning of the dangers of blindly following people, without consideration for the consequences it may have for the world you live in, simply because it's popular opinion that you should.. Kind of reminds me of a quote from a Charles Bukowski poem, "the masses elevate fools into rich heros" The character of Chance/Chauncey knows only about the garden, he has no agenda or purpose other than the garden. I would argue that the garden represents the earth and Chance at the start of the film represents early man, long before society, when there was no agenda other than survival. Chances very existence itself is intrinsically linked to the garden, just as the gardens is to him. His great purpose is to take care of it or it will die and this would appear to give him all he needs from life. The message being that our relationship with the earth is symbiotic, it can fulfill every need we have, just at it has for thousands of years, but we in turn must maintain it. As the film progresses and we see Chance go out in the real world, thus moving away from the garden. This symbolizes man's evolution from a more solitary creature living off of the earth, to connected beings living in society and being dependent on each other. I think the use of a version of the Strauss composition from 2001 is no coincidence in that, it's also a film that deals with the theme of man's evolution and it's my feeling that it was chosen perhaps as a clue as to Ashby's intentions for the film. Chance speaks well, he dresses well and people interpret what he says in a way that appeals to their own agenda and from there, through word of mouth and then national exposure, he quickly and unknowingly rises throughout the corridors of power to be a man of great influence, who by the end of the film is next in line to be leader of the free world, with however the joke being that we the viewer know he's really a simpleton. The final scene where the king maker/iluminati like figures discuss making him president is a telling one in that they say he's perfect, because little is known about his history, thus insinuating that they can mould him whatever way they see fit. This to me this is Ashby presenting the viewer with a clear warning on the dangers of trusting perception over reality. What makes one man more important than another? Why give others control over the consequences of your life? And finally at the very end when Chance walks on water, I think this meant to symbolize the fact that we as a society create these Christ like figures by our own subservience to the perception of reality with which they present us. The moral being that people like this only gain power and control over our lives, because we've allowed them to through our own blind following. QUESTION YOUR REALITY PEOPLE, IT'S NOT ALWAYS AS IT SEEMS.
I was unaware "Being There" was a Hal Ashby film until I read your comment. I loved his "Harold and Maude", of course. Now I think I need to go watch everything of his I haven't seen yet.
Having seen this many years ago, I knew that I found it most compelling. Since 1979 my life has been visited by many beautiful events, also some very sad and difficult ones as well! Now, I see this film and I am wonderfully aware of what true assension is...rising to that next glorious level. Yes...'life is....a state of mind"
"Life is a state of mind." Last words spoken in the film. Amen. And Chance set that state of mind. We assume busy and complex is best, is the answer. I was blessed a few years ago to have a patient who was in her late 60's and MR/DD. She was a delight, and the closest to enlightened I've ever met. She was simple. She intently listened to whomever was talking to her, without judgement. And she was always honest, even if her words were a bit curt. Chance reminds me of her. My life is better for knowing her.
While he is walking off in the back ground we heard the eulogy for Ben his new found Billionaire friend. This eulogy mostly quotes from Ben, right as Chance steps out on the water we hear, “life is a state of mind”. And in Chances mind, or state of mind he doesn’t know you cant walk on water. The symbolism is amazing therefore he is able to walk on water. For him, walking on water is a possibility because his mind is not influenced by its impossibility.
Beautiful. The whole movie. My father thought it was incredible that Chauncey walks on water. I asked him..."Why do you think him walking on water is incredible?" He replied...."because it defies the laws of nature son....what else??" What else indeed. Those who have eyes...but cannot see. Ashby the genius. Again...Ashby the genius.
I think the end suggest that there is a certain sense of divinity in simplicity. A man unclouded by blind ambition to succeed, arrogance and all other characteristics that can corrupt a person’s soul during their lifetime.
I saw this film in 1979 when I was 17 and it has stayed with me ever since. I’ve watched many other truly magnificent films over the years, but no other was quite like this one. : Understated Perfection.
Why does the triangle with an eye on top go unnoticed? I haven't seen anyone commenting about it. What do you guys make of it? I don't think it was placed there symmetrically without any purpose.
A symbolic reference to Freemasonry, Rand and his unnamed pallbearers seem to be members of it. In truth the meaning of the title "Being There" most likely refers to how Chance, or anyone, could rise to power by "being there" i.e. meeting the rich and political. There are two references to white culture in the film, one the graffiti and the other Louise talking about Chance being on TV. White people lift those among us up even without merit, while blacks general tear eachother down like the "Tell Raphael" scene
Mind blowing. A movie to live by. Today we have Trump for a President. But one day our world will be a paradise filled with Saints. From Vienna. Peace.
The trees we see on the Biltmore Estate are the product of 1890s silviculture. We think we are looking at a natural forest but it's all a man made garden. Then it's not so silly, or maybe heart rending that Chance tidies up a tree limb. It's just one more confounding detail in this great film.
while powerful people talk about their material interests, Sellers walks away looking for or finding a higher and simpler meaning ... The water walk is reminiscent of another elevated one, the Christ figure.
fantastic movie and amazing performance from Peter Sellers. The character Chance was based on John the Gardener who worked in Seller's garden in England. Stephen Stills also immortalized him in the song 'Johnny's Garden'.
The film is fantastic. It's satire, not just of WASP politics, but of all of us. We seek meaning in soundbites, we mistake appearance for substance, form for function. At the end, Chance walks on water and we have no idea how. Does he have divine power? Or is there some submerged pier or flooded dock? He tests the depth in a single place, but never walks there to settle this for us. What if the crowd at the funeral had seen him on the lake? Would Chauncy Gardner be mistaken for not just an aristocratic political genius, but a reincarnation of Christ himself? We see what we expect to see; what something is depends on what we think it is. Everything is, at its root, a state of mind, including life itself.
Movies like Being There only come along just once in a given lifetime. The cast was truly impecable as was the direction. I was sorry to see that someone attempted to make a remake of it. But my question is: "Why would someone in their right mind ever want to try to meddle with perfection?"
People ask about the uncanny ending but I think this over exaggerates, rather fittingly, where he has wriggled himself into a crevice of opportunity beyond chance by chance and is doing the miraculous without even trying. I loved this film when it came out in 1979 and it plays on the incredible with the comedic timing and genius of Sellers last film... Should have won the Oscar even posthumously....
Remember he is a gardener. And a gardener is known for his harvest. And the greatest harvest of all times is on the horizon. It is a harvest of souls. Let the revival begin and let the harvest increase for the day of our Lord Jesus Christ is soon upon us.
Javan Fc It's all seeing eye of God, the one on the Great Seal of the United States. Fitting given Rand's (The man in the coffin) ties to the Government.
I remember seeing this when it first opened in theaters. You just knew he was going to walk on the water, but the audience's reaction was one of total shock when he actually did. Maybe we can find ol' Chance and get him to run for President as planned. It would be better than Biden or Trump in any case!
Dasein (German pronunciation: [ˈdaːzaɪn]) (sometimes spelled as Da-sein) which is often translated into English with the word "existence". It is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger. In German it's a word that means "presence" (German: da "there"; sein "to be") or *"being there"*
The ending, in the context of current events of 2017, even Chance himself couldn't believe people are suckered into his bs. He could do / say anything he wanted and rest of us would buy it. The absurd became real.
I couldn't help but consider at this last scene that Chance was alone, but not quite. WE were watching. He saw himself walking on the lake (perhaps, like Cephas, he walks as long as he believes he can), but what would Eve have seen? A supernatural occurrence? What is the director telling us here? I get the impression that the director does not want to leave us with an easy out. He wants us to think. Eve does not appear and gasp into the camera. We are left hanging. Chance is probably going to be the next President of the United States ... and he walks on water. Chance is a man of Nature. But what does that mean in the context of the film? Who knows. Chance does a lot of walking around all during the film. Jesus did a lot of that too. People also asked Jesus questions and marveled at his banal and ordinary replies, thinking who IS this man who speaks with the authority of God himself? They made Jesus into the Son of God. Now they will make Chance into the president, the most powerful man on earth. If it was the purpose of the director to make us think, he certainly succeeded.
I think that he would wander to the front gate or somewhere else off of the property and resume his mindless walkabout again and get lost, only this time nobody would find him and he would continue being stupid until he starved or got mugged or worse, if nobody had hit him with the car early on he would have starved and been homeless and alone, he was an idiot and had no intelligence to think of, Louise said it best to her friends while watching him on tv, good movie but idiotic character.
Actually, the film was the last film starring Sellers released before his death. He completed the film, and he argued with the producers over the outtakes after the end. The film meant a lot to Sellers as he had to fight to get it made and "Life is a state of mind" is inscribed on his tomb, but he did finish what many call his finest performance.
There’s a dock painted black two inches below the water’s surface and he uses the umbrella to tell where the edge of the dock is so he doesn’t fall in. When he stops walking he simply pokes his umbrella over the side of the submerged dock. Chauncey wasn’t just a gardener, he was a clever carpenter too.
![Being There (1979) [Clip]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zACzE0u2r3Y/mqdefault.jpg)
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As I have mentioned before, very similar but not the same. The piece playing in the background is called "The Room Upstairs", heavily inspired by the Gnossiennes, but composed by Johnny Mandel. It's available for purchase if you look around a bit.
Johnny Mandel was born in the same year as Satie died.
Not particularly significant, but there you go.
It seems so akin to Gnossiennes! I was listening to this one and was certain I'd heard it somewhere before, but where? And the end of "Being There" was my first thought, but I checked and realized there are different pieces but so beautifully similar in style! ua-cam.com/video/aTi9czvLa-4/v-deo.html
its a reinterpretation of Gnossienne #4
I'm here seven years later to ask the same question. Thank you for the answer.
@@drummadave ah I was trying to remember or think why it wasn't pegging exactly
One of top five greatest movie ending of all time.
lucifer2997 I agree. It's stunningly beautiful. Wonderful direction and superb perfomances.
+lucifer2997
I agree.
Bill Patrick Jones yes like Peter the Apostle. Why not?
+lucifer2997 I GUESSED he was going to walk on water before I saw the ending.
+Bill Patrick Jones he knew where all the stones were.
I believe the ending scene represents the idea that Chance walked on the water because he did not know he could not....
Like the little Boy living in Afrka - he was playing with LIzzards and as he lost one Finger - it was growing again !!! He knew it from the Lizzards,
He dosen't know others ! True Story !!
And so it is with us.
We must unlearn.
My take is: We (the audience) spent the entire film assuming Chance was a simple, naive man who those around took to be a mysterious, almost otherworldly genius. We assumed we were the ones in the know, while all these politicians and people in power were living in delusion. But at the end we find out...he WAS that mysterious otherworldly entity.....
I believe you are close to correct. In the book, it ends with him at utter peace and without a thought in his head. The movie is very true to the book in many respects. Jerzy Kosinski was a genius writer and I think this was his way of letting go of the memories of his childhood under Hitler.
@@JonesCrimson Atheist: Small heart. Smaller brain. No friends. No soul. Still lives in parents basement. Thinks Reddit is a social life. Endangered species.
LMAO!!!
Chance cried when the old man passed. Significant because he showed no other emotions throughout the movie. He wasn't empty, he knew.
@Dalibor Bašlagić He didn't actually witness nor truly knew of the house owners' death. There was just suddenly a moment when he was 'gone' so to speak. So Chance was likely not in any form of compassinate relationship with him. The maids took care of him. With Ben he actually developed a bond and almost saw in him the humanity which was lacking or non existent with the anonymous house owner.
RDJ said it best “Peter Sellers, Being There. Slow, yes, simple, sure but not retarded”
@@TheNorthie He isn't retarded. No one could possess that much knowledge of gardening or be so proficient at it if they were retarded. I tend to believe the 'old man' was his father an extremely wealthy man whom had a simpleton child whom couldn't learn to read or write, so rather than ever show him to the world he decided to simply keep him permanently sheltered in his mansion. Safe well fed, but never acknowledging he was his true father. Perhaps for such a rich man Chance was an embarrassment of sorts to high society. He tends to the garden is allowed to wear his father's clothes and has maids. That's it. Ben Rand was actually his friend, and I think he had enough self awareness to realise Ben genuinely liked respected and loved him, just like he was able to express genuine love for Eve. His character does grow
@@TheNorthieHe said "Infatile, yes. Retarded, no."
@@patriceaqa288I think the ‘old man’ referred to here was in reference to Mr Rand…I was thinking about this very thing today and thought of Rand as the old man but immediately corrected myself. The old man was who you, I believe, were referring to. the one who died in bed in the beginning of the movie. As you pointed out, Chance did not cry for him. Chance did cry for the passing of Mr Rand though, and he too was an old man.
one of the most underrated films ever made, an absolute Gem
Maybe Sellers’ greatest performance, and that’s saying the universe.
Yep. But, SKIP THE CREDITS! Seriously! The blooper reel can ruin the entire movie experience. While it can be funny for some light hearted movies to see the crew snickering and laughing of their silly dialogues, it does not fit it in for this movie.
Just like I think the best (and very underrated) Gene Wilder movie is: The Frisco Kid
Disagree it’s underrated.
It’s in the film registry, that’s more important than oscars or big bucks at the box, it’s saying “this is a part of our culture and we are saving it for all time”.
Those who need to know this piece saw it.
@@ckclarke5336 that's the problem CK so many people don't know this film exist because it was never out there with the "big blockbusters" that's what I mean by underrated (to rate something --to give it a 1 out of 10 )
It is, hands down, my favorite film. Seller's walking on water (with no thought of it) amplifies the last line which, IMO, sums up the meaning of the film: "Life Is A State Of Mind."
Yes, an absolute masterpiece and one of the funniest movies of all time as well.
I'm with you 100%
👍
Completely agree a perfect film and definitely a beautiful masterpiece.
I saw it in November of 1980 and arrived at the same conclusion that Life Is A State of Mind. I also arrived at a conclusion [with this ending] about learning to not be a materialist
I like to watch.
Yeah, me too!
chauncey the gardener о чем не жалею что я люблю вас мои хорошие цдорогие в контакте с помощью которых
One of the best films ever made
In that summation you are correct. No matter how often I read the book or watch the movie, I am still moved by it's wonderful simplicity.
a masterpiece.
You couldn't be more right. This film is nothing short of genius
I agree brilliant.
ruined by the outtakes in the credits tho, I always warn people to pause right at the jump to black else the spell is broken.
I think "Forrest Gump" owes this movie something
And "Being There" owes something to "Kariera Nikodema Dyzmy" novel /later movie as well/ by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz
@@gelsen888 RIGHT?! 😂😂 SKJKB&
Forest Gump can’t hold a candle to this masterpiece.
What's funny is that the ending invites the audience to do exactly what everyone in the movie did to Chance. He was a completely blank piece of paper, basically a non-entity, but everyone assigned deep significance to everything he said and did.
He wasn't really "being there", yet people people projected great wisdom and significance onto him, and now we're doing it.
*****
Some truly wonderful scenes in "Harold and Maude". Most memorable for me, is the piano scene.
There is pure genius written in the character of Chance in 'Being There' too. Chance speaks to us on two, maybe three levels. Whoever wrote Chance "the gardener", understood how the world works, and the people in it tend to be and think; troubled ghetto kids with an already established road to nowhere narrowing ahead of them (ua-cam.com/video/ByxSS_6aMxg/v-deo.html pretty much); corporations - how faketarded - legal "persons" ua-cam.com/video/wkygXc9IM5U/v-deo.html; and the politicians and media cyclops's who sell out/get bought; and so, are affiliated with them. The resigned rich over-bored housewives, with their dead end lives (not knowing how to get out of "it" - "it" being a kind of cancerous mentality of everything being fixed or rigged in society - and the restless uncomfortable feeling growing under the calm surface, masking an urgent need for "it" to somehow be exorcised out of them). The middle range socio-economic mediocre bad guys ua-cam.com/video/ukIo8FEOVBo/v-deo.html, e.g. real estate agents, who run the show, and 'wear the hat, and get worn down inside by their suits, in the end' - FNM again; they keep the world running smoothly, conservatively, and are all for sticking to conventional methods universally sticklers all. And so, each end up being just another brick in the wall. But then, gangster gardeners appearing in the ghetto, like Ron Finley, for instance. Let's take him literally, and grow our own food, organically; without pesticides. That's one way of sticking it to "The Man" or Queen Bee. And then you have people who take gardening, when used by Chance, to be a metaphor for something spiritual; like human beings can be seen as human beans. And our humanity being thus nurtured is encouraged to sprout in us, and so can actually be reclaimed by us; and this is how we take back the power. And he talks about the gardening, to sow a seed and see it multiply and so come to know the harvest. And finally, the gardening terms Chance uses are seen by politicians and business men alike, as metaphors for businesses making way for smaller ones, and more diversity and freedom; otherwise the 99% united, who can never be defeated, might riot with pitchforks into the 1% fortress homes and/or divide up all their land; while they hide in them, peeping out of their windows. And the economy will go down and up, as the seasons do. Don't worry! As long as the people get to create the smaller businesses to replace whichever big ones, all future inhabitants of Our World, would do better without. The way he shakes hands with the president, and talks so slowly and carefully; one can hardly know for sure if Chance Permaculture Gardener really is the genius he appears to be, though. outofordershow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/awolnation.jpg O.U.T. Vs ["y0u just can't win" - The Dead Weather and The Bor>IN
Very well said,sir! Your analisys is really true and accurated! :)
***** oh dont be ashamed with me! I can feel you , i am italian and my english isnt so good neither! hehe :)
TheNeonRabbit You ARE right save for the walking on water scene. It can't be ignored. Every one assigned deep significance to further their own ends...I believe at their peril. I just throw my opinion in along with all the others.
+TheNeonRabbit .. I know you posted this two years ago, but I just wanted to say I agree completely.
Chance is riding to accession.
He may even be a God.
The joke is he doesn't know it!
That's his state of mind.
There is a lot of allusion to Jesus, especially with the ending. The story plot runs in a similar way to the life of Jesus in the Gospels and also Adam. Sellars being Adam/Jesus, Rand the Old Man is God , Eve Rand - being Eve/temptation/Devil . The President and the advisors and the Doctor- disciples with a potential Judas, the sermons about "gardening", non-violent, innocent , removed from "reality" because of his prospective, performing miracles without thought/effort
It has been 40 years or so since I watched it, but definitely the last scene makes this point.
It was not a thing at the time, but if you know someone on the autism spectrum the "life is a state of mind" quote can relate very much to that concept. Whatever does not make sense for others, makes sense for someone on the spectrum. Someone being happy, doing what they do, and not what society expects is "life is a state of mind". Most people on the spectrum don't mind making huge amounts of cash, or having their own house, or buying those shiny expensive sneakers, or that super Instagram channel or UA-cam channel. Or having a relationship, marry someone, have kids and a car.....
Chance does not give one shit about presidency, or making love, or having a big house. He wants a television and he wants a garden to take care of. That is his "life is a state of mind."
Jesus walked on water. The president's staff, (deciples) are discussing looking for a Savior after the death of their boss who had no use for the masses, especially poor and respected men as quoted in his eulogy ( it's really commical if you listen to it) His staff is quoted "we need someone to awaken (Resurrection) the people. Death is heavily represented in the scene. He leaves death behind and walks away, she shrugs. The Eulogy quotes the deceased, "I have no use for people on welfare and they have no use for me. The deceased was not needed. The world needed a leader and Savior, The chosen one decided upon by his staff was (Chauncey) a layman Gardener like (Jesus) a layman Carpenter. He was chosen to save their party or religion. They say Quote: He is the one, he also had the largest following of people on TV. Life is a state of mind. Religion and political parties have a state of mind (conscience). Life can be guided by a people's conscience individually or collectively.
@@Bram25 good point of view Skitts,I always liked,still.. to think mind has the immense power of deciding what you would love to see,experie nce from your very point of view,either death,life(even in a corporeal way),God,other civilizations,in other words: decision explores,creates everything
@@Bram25 Absolutely brilliantly put.
The best Peter Sellers film. I think this ending says that he is so ignorant that he even doesn't know that one cannot walk on water. And that is why he can. The movie is an absolute beauty.
I'm with you 100%.
My favourite theory that I've read online, is that there is a submerged pier or something in the water. And we the viewer assume Chance has a messianic quality, just like every character he meets in the film.
I truly believe dr strangelove was his best performance
@@hadiputraw8083 opinions differ but we can agree he was one of the greatest actors :)
you are 🤪.
they even show the all seeing eye an pyramid at the end.
i see it as the filmmaker kinda feels in the shoes of this man an you are the average person trying to make what you can of it but it's all spelled out. "life is a state of mind"
This movie taught me a lot about dealing with people.
If one assumes a totally blank facial expression then observes others' reactions, one can know others' intent toward one. For example, people who've done or said something mean behind one's back will become observably antsy, afraid that one knows what was said or done.
If someone lies, a blank gaze will cause similar nervousness. Also, if a person reacts to a blank face with mistrust, they are projecting their own untrustworthiness.
Conversely, if someone's intent is good, a blank look will induce pleasantness or joviality because they project that onto a blank face from within themselves.
A blank face is a mirror or an X-ray machine, depending on the circumstance.
Thanks, Pete.
Idk fam sounds like bullshit to me.
@@nothankyouUA-cam420 That's right. ydk.
this is exactly the point of the film and the point of him walking on water, people reflect what they want to believe off your silence.
@@spanishjohn420 Wow. Walking on water... reflection in the water. Never thought of that. Thanks.
One of my favorite endings. I like to think that end scene is a mere metaphor for the premise of the entire film. Chauncey walking on water is a parallel to his naivety and his nature of unwittingly wandering into the most unlikely and unthinkable situations, without a clue in the world how or why he got there. It's a very whimsical and beautiful representation of his character's innocence and serendipity.
Well said and exactly my thoughts about the ending. Well you said it in better words. I am going to copy your text :)
Agreed. Perfectly said.
its symbolic of the way people see him, the way people reflect what they want to believe off his silence and seeming innocence. Which is an ideal trait for a man that the masons want to use as their man to control the presidency. He will tell the president whatever they want him to say.
Hammer, head, nail!
Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. - G. K. Chesterton
pure cinema - not a word from sellers - life is a state of mind - this has to be one of the most important sequences to appear in a film - why the original closing credits were then replaced with the bloopers credits - how to kill the mood
Fred Fat So right about this being pure cinema, what I like to call the language of film. The scene when Chauncey leaves the "old man's" house and that great shot of Chance in the median advancing on the seat of power as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Deodato version) plays is pure symbolism; Pure Innocence is up for grabs but I don't think those suited schemers know what they are getting themselves in for. That scene, along with the mind bending ending (which I always get emotional upon seeing)-- Chauncey, is he so innocent that he does not know he can't walk on water? OR, is he so innocent that he is touched and guided by a deity? One can chew on this peerless work for a lifetime and not get to the bottom of it.
+Fred Fat maybe they added it as a tribute after Sellers' passing?
+Robert Palmer No, and Sellers wanted it removed. He felt it killed the mood, and he also felt it cost him the Oscar. Per: "Being Hal Ashby…" a bio of the director.
Yeah those credits are funny. But you're right in saying they completely spoil the mood.
Dang, Shirley MacLaine was a good-looking woman in 1979 ...
she was beautiful
Alan DeMoss I fucking know right I though the same thing and Im fucking 20
She was sexy, for sure.
She was 45 at this time, and i would go for her
Instead of the unbelievably lame decision to attach bloopers at the end of the film, the powerful -- and artistic - approach would have been to fade to black, then sustained silence while the credits rolled.
I'll never forgive that decision. I dont thing Sellers ever did either. This isnt Smokey And The Bandit!!
i think yhe Raphael blooper scene post credits is absolutely brilliant. very much in place for this time as we needed to be reminded, its just a goddamn movie
There may have been a deeper reason for attaching bloopers. The seeming incongruity between the emotional and intellectual depth of the movie and the superficial, spontaneous joy of laughing at the mistakes may have been intentional.
I think the studio made the mistake of trying to sell this movie as a comedy. Whereas - despite its surreal elements - it's actually more of a drama. But up to that point, comedies were what Sellers was most well-known for and they had made a lot of money. In fact, it was only thanks to the success of the Pink Panther series that Sellers was finally able to fulfil his long-held ambition of playing this role. If the filmmakers hadn't tried to push the "comedy angle" so hard, people would have recognised Sellers' range as an actor. And he could have won that Oscar.
@@kirinrex This.
This is one of the best films ever made.
My number 1 film recommendation. If people don't watch after I recommend then I refuse to recommend another. My 27yr old daughter just watched it and it's now her favorite movie.
I'm with you 100% Clyde, it's a masterwork of cinema.
I saw it as a 12 year old and couldn't stop laughing it was so funny, but so utterly profound at the same time. to maintain the same 'inside joke' for the entirety of a two hour plus film but just maintain the intensity of the narrative is something never before or after achieved. In Forrest Gump everyone in the cast is in on the joke. It's not the same. Seller's did so little but so much, my 11 year old step daughter adored it because she kept waiting for but not wanting to happen the funny 'reveal' which never came
Certainly one of the most enigmatic films in the history of cinema
Brilliant film and Peter Sellers left us too soon.
When Chance walked across that water i freaked out as a child especially when he stuck that closed umbrella into the water.Freaky. One of the best movie every made.
I remember seeing Being There for the first time when I was seventeen and about to graduate from high school. I remember thinking, 'Man, THIS is what a film can do.' Also led me to wonder for the first time what it means to do something like graduate.
At the beginning of this film clip, watch PS's *totally blank look* toward the coffin, as if to say "What's this all about?" Wonder of wonders! He never once broke character in the entire film, effectively playing a (physically) grown-up with the intelligence of a 2-year old. This takes real skill by any actor, because there's no "coach" to help him through. Everything has to come from the actor's *own* inspiration...and DID!!
Ah, what's the big deal? I mean, it's only one of the greatest endings in the history of cinema.
This is one of the best movie endings ever. I’ve never seen a movie tie up the whole movie as well as this one did. It’s funny because you don’t really know what you are watching until this very last scene. Brilliant movie and execution.
yeah well Shawshank has the best ending but this one comes close
Impressive ending to a nice movie, think that end has different meaning for each watcher.
The end of "Being There" invites the audience to do exactly what everyone in the movie did to Chance. He was a blank canvas, a non-entity that everyone assigned deep significance. While watching we muse how foolish everyone is for not recognizing how foolish Chance was, and yet by the end of the picture, we are doing the very same thing: Searching for significance to what he's doing.
During the film, when a person is speaking with Chance, there are always two separate conversations occurring simultaneously. One with Chance and his limited knowledge of television and gardening, and the other person's broader worldly experience. They interpret his words into something meaningful, though never intended. But something that person could relate to and understand. Chance was a mirror in which people reflected their thoughts and found great wisdom. And that's exactly what we do at the end. We project significance to what Chance did based on our experience. Since walking on water is not something we can relate to, we search for another explanation or meaning. If we are religious, we might ponder that Chance is a symbol for Christ.
One definite theme of this movie is about our perception of the world and life being a state of mind. Also the banality of television and media in our culture. And the acceptance of a person based on their appearance and color. The film exposes a self-serving and self-deceived society. And through the innocence of Chance, all the schemes and manipulations of the world are laid bare for what they are: Pure Folly. For those who hunger truth in life, this film will satisfy your appetite.
I won't get into how much this looks like a copy/paste job from someone else's review, but I will remark that in real life, the pond he's walking on has stepping stones just barely under the surface of the water. So basically, it's the director deliberately playing the same trick on you that Chance unintentionally plays on everyone else. The significance of him walking on water is that he actually isn't doing it at all, but the audience is too damn brilliant to consider the obvious fact that he's simply crossing the pond on stepping stones.
@@daricdaigle9027 damn I didn't get that. I interpreted it as a joke on the audience that we were all cynically thinking he had no special powers but actually he had Jesus-level magical powers all along.
Chance; the modern name for God.
This film has a religious theme which is only revealed at the end. A commentary on the unnecessary hardships created by overly complicated people who have lost the innocence of childhood. He who is like a child is pure of heart and will gain the favour of others without trying.
Chance revives the plant and walks on water because he is God, unrecognised and given a different name by the people of the day. The film was a response to increasing Atheism and warns the audience not to forget the teachings of Christ in light of increasing disbelief.
Such a beautiful scene and ending. Absolutely perfect film.
This movie is all about innocence.
My absolute favourite movie ending right since I saw this movie first time as a child.
I was born in 1979, but I came here for Peter Sellers and the beautiful piano score during the end. We all miss you Peter.
and the old man surname is RAND, funny huh? (a reference to RAND Corp.?)
An important point about the ending. After he stops to see how deep the water is with his umbrella, he looks back to the shore to see how far away he is. At this point, we know he is not oblivious to the fact he could drown if he can't keep walking on water. What does he do? He keeps walking further out towards the building. He has no fear, because he is not corrupt like most of the cabal colluding to stay in power.
He never walks where he checks the depth.
Boy, that masonic imagery at the end is a freak-out. I didn't notice that when I watched the movie when it was first released.
It's complete power vs complete innocence. The system vs the individual.
creepy for sure
I saw that too. It is a powerful scene.
@@ricarleite Only the individual has a "chance" of overcoming the system, the masses are brainwashed.
masonic imagery, gnostic almost a-tonal, music.
I recently watched this movie for the first time about 6 months ago. When I got to this part, all I said was "Wow!"
This was on tv today in the UK, this afternoon. So happy to catch this beautiful film again. Only my second viewing of it but it's a classic without a doubt and Sellers should've got the Oscar for it.
Thanks for posting this. :)
When I saw it there were no bloopers at the end just TV static which was entirely appropriate. The bloopers must have been added by idiots.
+Brian Cornish That's what should have been the ending. Apparently Sellers (rightly so) hated that blooper ending ala Cannonball Run/Smokey and the Bandit.
The water he stands on is shallow, but gives the illusion of great depth. To anyone who watches, it looks like he's walking on water. It encapsulates the metaphor the whole movie is based around. It's a perfect ending.
Like a dichotomy? It really is deep but also can be shallow at the same time,depending of your state of mind
Except he pushes his umbrella into the water to illustrate to the audience that it is deep, so there is that.
indeed its perfect...the best movie ending ever....".Life is a state of mind"....love it
@@StudentofgossetI read one theory that he could be on a pier which is just below the waters surface, and the place where he pushes the umbrella into the water is just beyond the pier. Thus we are ascribing meaning to him just like everyone else in the movie ascribes meaning to him.
Just watched for the first time. Great film, how did I miss it all these years. It was reminiscent of "Harvey" in some ways, a seemingly simple fellow drifting through life, watching innocently while all the sophisticated people trip over the traps they've created for themselves.
Life is a state of mind: a powerful sentence that has a deep and important meaning, i think. Our life is just a "product" of the mind, so we have to have a good care of it, day by day. We have to feed our mind with positive thoughts, set goals to reach, so the brain will have all the energy it need to reach these goals, to live, not just survive. After all, we are what we think, right? :D so think positive, its all a matter of attitude towards things.. :)
Great movie,anyway! :)
Chance didn't really have any goals though, he had no desires. Literally he was just pure survival, almost exactly like an animal.
Not that goals are bad, but this movie just demonstrates how the state of mind of "no mind" almost is pretty interesting too.
@@SSladfingers It would sure be helpful if I listen and watch this comedy movie again; so that way I'll know what, each and every single one of the characters had said in the comedy movie.
"Make America Garden Again".
"I have no use for those on welfare, no patience whatsoever, but if I am to be honest with myself, I must admit that they have no use for me either." Chance had his meals basically spoon fed to him in the beginning of the film, and he was allowed to stay in a very rich man's home. All he did watch watch TV and tend the garden...
I think Peter should have won the Academy Award over Dustin Hoffman
Absolutely!! For goodness sake Art Carney won his best Actor Oscar over Al Pacino and Jack Nicolson why couldn't the Academy do the same thing for Peter Sellers???!!!
one of the best ever made--I have been under this spell from the first time I viewed it--so many moons ago --
I love how he stops in the middle of walking and investigates the water with his umbrella and then carries on as if nothing happened. Chance is such a beautiful character.
Unlike many people nowadays when they have power in their grasp, he doesn’t try to take advantage of it, he just carries on with life.
I always love the look on peoples faces when I say dead serious that walking on water is just a matter of practice. Then I set my foot on the water and slowly fall into the swimming pool. When I look up after that I say: I guess I did not practice enough yet.
The comparison here to Jesus when Chance Walks on the water like Jesus is that Jesus is innocent while Chance is innocent and naive and the reason chance can walk on the water is that no one ever told him that he couldn't it's like on Gilligan's Island in these scenes that Gilligan can walk on the water and fly with the feathered wings of which he'd attached to himself alike until the Skipper tells him that he can't.---- --- R.I.P.Peter Sellers ; -R.I.P.Jack Warden; R.I.P.Alan Hale Jr.;R.I.P. Bob Denver.----
Stephen Baer rip biggie
Exactly like Gilligan's Island. And that notion is a classic one in cartoons. The villain walks off a cliff, and doesn't fall until he first looks down, then at the camera in shock.
What a movie!! One of my favorites... I like it when he walks on water at the end...and the final words, "Life... is a state of mind"
One of my absolute, all-time favourite films!!! Perfectly executed!!
“life is a state of mind”
Peter Sellers was an absolute genius of the craft of acting. This film in my humble opinion is his crowning acheivement. This ending of this film is amazing and leaves the viewer to make his own mind up which I think is perfect.
It is a shame Peter Sellers did not win for the Best Actor Oscar for this movie. He was outstanding.
I love the imitation Sati music which goes with the fact that sellers appearance and umbrella are visually reminiscent of a Rene Magritte character.
I always find myself going back to this film.
I have goosebumps every time I see this scene.
Sellers should have won Best Actor for this.
I think it's important to note that the films director Hal Ashby was a humanist, an environmentalist and just a bit of a hippy really. So I think perhaps the message is at once an environmental one, but more a warning of the dangers of blindly following people, without consideration for the consequences it may have for the world you live in, simply because it's popular opinion that you should.. Kind of reminds me of a quote from a Charles Bukowski poem, "the masses elevate fools into rich heros"
The character of Chance/Chauncey knows only about the garden, he has no agenda or purpose other than the garden. I would argue that the garden represents the earth and Chance at the start of the film represents early man, long before society, when there was no agenda other than survival. Chances very existence itself is intrinsically linked to the garden, just as the gardens is to him. His great purpose is to take care of it or it will die and this would appear to give him all he needs from life. The message being that our relationship with the earth is symbiotic, it can fulfill every need we have, just at it has for thousands of years, but we in turn must maintain it.
As the film progresses and we see Chance go out in the real world, thus moving away from the garden. This symbolizes man's evolution from a more solitary creature living off of the earth, to connected beings living in society and being dependent on each other. I think the use of a version of the Strauss composition from 2001 is no coincidence in that, it's also a film that deals with the theme of man's evolution and it's my feeling that it was chosen perhaps as a clue as to Ashby's intentions for the film.
Chance speaks well, he dresses well and people interpret what he says in a way that appeals to their own agenda and from there, through word of mouth and then national exposure, he quickly and unknowingly rises throughout the corridors of power to be a man of great influence, who by the end of the film is next in line to be leader of the free world, with however the joke being that we the viewer know he's really a simpleton.
The final scene where the king maker/iluminati like figures discuss making him president is a telling one in that they say he's perfect, because little is known about his history, thus insinuating that they can mould him whatever way they see fit. This to me this is Ashby presenting the viewer with a clear warning on the dangers of trusting perception over reality. What makes one man more important than another? Why give others control over the consequences of your life? And finally at the very end when Chance walks on water, I think this meant to symbolize the fact that we as a society create these Christ like figures by our own subservience to the perception of reality with which they present us. The moral being that people like this only gain power and control over our lives, because we've allowed them to through our own blind following. QUESTION YOUR REALITY PEOPLE, IT'S NOT ALWAYS AS IT SEEMS.
I was unaware "Being There" was a Hal Ashby film until I read your comment. I loved his "Harold and Maude", of course. Now I think I need to go watch everything of his I haven't seen yet.
Now in some of third world country they have leader which have an eerie similarities like the Chance guy
Ignorance is bliss.
Thank you so much for putting this up~ I love the ending of this movie. It's honestly one of the best I've ever seen.
Thank you.
such a dear film. i wish everyone could understand it. lovely, brilliant ending.
Having seen this many years ago, I knew that I found it most compelling.
Since 1979 my life has been visited by many beautiful events, also some very sad and difficult ones as well! Now, I see this film and I am wonderfully aware of what true assension is...rising to that next glorious level. Yes...'life is....a state of mind"
"Life is a state of mind." Last words spoken in the film. Amen. And Chance set that state of mind. We assume busy and complex is best, is the answer.
I was blessed a few years ago to have a patient who was in her late 60's and MR/DD. She was a delight, and the closest to enlightened I've ever met. She was simple. She intently listened to whomever was talking to her, without judgement. And she was always honest, even if her words were a bit curt. Chance reminds me of her. My life is better for knowing her.
While he is walking off in the back ground we heard the eulogy for Ben his new found Billionaire friend. This eulogy mostly quotes from Ben, right as Chance steps out on the water we hear, “life is a state of mind”. And in Chances mind, or state of mind he doesn’t know you cant walk on water. The symbolism is amazing therefore he is able to walk on water. For him, walking on water is a possibility because his mind is not influenced by its impossibility.
"Life is a state of mind" is also on Peter Sellers memorium and very aptly said.
@@zamiadams4343 oh wow thanks for sharing.....he is the best -Evelyn Tremble.
Beautiful. The whole movie. My father thought it was incredible that Chauncey walks on water. I asked him..."Why do you think him walking on water is incredible?" He replied...."because it defies the laws of nature son....what else??" What else indeed. Those who have eyes...but cannot see. Ashby the genius. Again...Ashby the genius.
I think the end suggest that there is a certain sense of divinity in simplicity. A man unclouded by blind ambition to succeed, arrogance and all other characteristics that can corrupt a person’s soul during their lifetime.
I saw this film in 1979 when I was 17 and it has stayed with me ever since. I’ve watched many other truly magnificent films over the years, but no other was quite like this one. : Understated Perfection.
Why does the triangle with an eye on top go unnoticed? I haven't seen anyone commenting about it. What do you guys make of it? I don't think it was placed there symmetrically without any purpose.
A symbolic reference to Freemasonry, Rand and his unnamed pallbearers seem to be members of it. In truth the meaning of the title "Being There" most likely refers to how Chance, or anyone, could rise to power by "being there" i.e. meeting the rich and political. There are two references to white culture in the film, one the graffiti and the other Louise talking about Chance being on TV. White people lift those among us up even without merit, while blacks general tear eachother down like the "Tell Raphael" scene
Mind blowing. A movie to live by. Today we have Trump for a President. But one day our world will be a paradise filled with Saints.
From Vienna. Peace.
The trees we see on the Biltmore Estate are the product of 1890s silviculture. We think we are looking at a natural forest but it's all a man made garden. Then it's not so silly, or maybe heart rending that Chance tidies up a tree limb. It's just one more confounding detail in this great film.
while powerful people talk about their material interests, Sellers walks away looking for or finding a higher and simpler meaning ... The water walk is reminiscent of another elevated one, the Christ figure.
Just cannot understand the 10 thumbs down--perhaps they don't know the importance of Being There.
fantastic movie and amazing performance from Peter Sellers. The character Chance was based on John the Gardener who worked in Seller's garden in England. Stephen Stills also immortalized him in the song 'Johnny's Garden'.
The film is fantastic. It's satire, not just of WASP politics, but of all of us. We seek meaning in soundbites, we mistake appearance for substance, form for function. At the end, Chance walks on water and we have no idea how. Does he have divine power? Or is there some submerged pier or flooded dock? He tests the depth in a single place, but never walks there to settle this for us. What if the crowd at the funeral had seen him on the lake? Would Chauncy Gardner be mistaken for not just an aristocratic political genius, but a reincarnation of Christ himself? We see what we expect to see; what something is depends on what we think it is. Everything is, at its root, a state of mind, including life itself.
Movies like Being There only come along just once in a given lifetime. The cast was truly impecable as was the direction. I was sorry to see that someone attempted to make a remake of it.
But my question is: "Why would someone in their right mind ever want to try to meddle with perfection?"
People ask about the uncanny ending but I think this over exaggerates, rather fittingly, where he has wriggled himself into a crevice of opportunity beyond chance by chance and is doing the miraculous without even trying. I loved this film when it came out in 1979 and it plays on the incredible with the comedic timing and genius of Sellers last film... Should have won the Oscar even posthumously....
This is one of the best movies of all time. It’s an absolute masterpiece. Just brilliant beyond brilliant
Remember he is a gardener. And a gardener is known for his harvest. And the greatest harvest of all times is on the horizon. It is a harvest of souls. Let the revival begin and let the harvest increase for the day of our Lord Jesus Christ is soon upon us.
2:05 That Illuminati pyramid in front of them though....
Javan Fc It's all seeing eye of God, the one on the Great Seal of the United States. Fitting given Rand's (The man in the coffin) ties to the Government.
+DukesideoftheMOON
You don't know God..only ideas and concepts
I remember seeing this when it first opened in theaters. You just knew he was going to walk on the water, but the audience's reaction was one of total shock when he actually did. Maybe we can find ol' Chance and get him to run for President as planned. It would be better than Biden or Trump in any case!
Dasein (German pronunciation: [ˈdaːzaɪn]) (sometimes spelled as Da-sein) which is often translated into English with the word "existence". It is a fundamental concept in the existential philosophy of Martin Heidegger. In German it's a word that means "presence" (German: da "there"; sein "to be") or *"being there"*
The last musical piece is Gnossiennes #4 & #5
by Erik Satie... absolutely beautiful! ♡
Thank you, there has been a resurgence for Satie lately altho most confuse gnossiennes for gymnopedie
Actually...it is not. It is an imitation of Satie's #4 and #5...written by Johnny Mandel called The Room Upstairs.
The ending, in the context of current events of 2017, even Chance himself couldn't believe people are suckered into his bs. He could do / say anything he wanted and rest of us would buy it. The absurd became real.
Very succinctly put. It´s not enough to see, we must see through.
I have no doubt in my mind the pier went clear across the lake, with Chauncey walking back up to the estate on top of the hill.
My favorite non-fiction movie.
I couldn't help but consider at this last scene that Chance was alone, but not quite. WE were watching. He saw himself walking on the lake (perhaps, like Cephas, he walks as long as he believes he can), but what would Eve have seen? A supernatural occurrence? What is the director telling us here? I get the impression that the director does not want to leave us with an easy out. He wants us to think. Eve does not appear and gasp into the camera. We are left hanging. Chance is probably going to be the next President of the United States ... and he walks on water. Chance is a man of Nature. But what does that mean in the context of the film? Who knows. Chance does a lot of walking around all during the film. Jesus did a lot of that too. People also asked Jesus questions and marveled at his banal and ordinary replies, thinking who IS this man who speaks with the authority of God himself? They made Jesus into the Son of God. Now they will make Chance into the president, the most powerful man on earth. If it was the purpose of the director to make us think, he certainly succeeded.
Jesus Christ was not banal, He was the son of God and that is why He was crucified.
I think that he would wander to the front gate or somewhere else off of the property and resume his mindless walkabout again and get lost, only this time nobody would find him and he would continue being stupid until he starved or got mugged or worse, if nobody had hit him with the car early on he would have starved and been homeless and alone, he was an idiot and had no intelligence to think of, Louise said it best to her friends while watching him on tv, good movie but idiotic character.
The walk on the water,
The stroll on the lake,
The apostles watch from the shore with the fullness of life on the stage.
♡ :) and the life,thats just a state of mind!
Actually, the film was the last film starring Sellers released before his death. He completed the film, and he argued with the producers over the outtakes after the end. The film meant a lot to Sellers as he had to fight to get it made and "Life is a state of mind" is inscribed on his tomb, but he did finish what many call his finest performance.
illuminati
The composer of the score, what's his name...? He's SO good. )
There’s a dock painted black two inches below the water’s surface and he uses the umbrella to tell where the edge of the dock is so he doesn’t fall in. When he stops walking he simply pokes his umbrella over the side of the submerged dock. Chauncey wasn’t just a gardener, he was a clever carpenter too.
A master piece of art and spirituality.
So profound......
Life is a state of mind ♡
Very cool statement. Your words reveal a person who has learned the art of life surfing. You have sharpened another. Thanks.
This is just a rip off of that scene in Arrested Development
Life is a state of mind..