

Being There
A story of chance.
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
TMDB
7.6/10
1,175 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- $30.2M
- Language
- English
- usa president
- washington dc, usa
- based on novel or book
- identity
- autism
- impotence
- botanist
- philosophical
- ambivalent
- baffled
- dignified
Top billed cast

















Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalPG19 Dec 1979
- PhysicalPGCriterion21 Mar 2017
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1220 Dec 1979
ArgentinaAR
- Theatrical8 Jul 1980
BrazilBR
- Theatricale 1210 Aug 1981
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-1212 Sept 1980
FranceFR
- TheatricalU9 May 1980
HungaryHU
- Theatrical1219 Feb 1981
IrelandIE
- Theatrical1515 Aug 1980
ItalyIT
- Theatrical15 Oct 1980
JapanJP
- TheatricalG31 Jan 1981
MexicoMX
- Theatrical30 Jul 1980
NetherlandsNL
- TheatricalAL2 Oct 1980
- PhysicalALDVD15 Jan 2003
Frequently asked questions
Being There was released on 19 December 1979.
Audience reviews
2- F9/10
Filipe Manuel Neto
11/22/2023
**Peter Sellers' big farewell in a film that highlights his more chivalrous side.** There are films that, even though they're good, cannot be consensual, and this is one of them. It's a film that conquers admirers as easily as it accumulates people who didn't understand it or didn't like it for whatever reason. I confess that I liked it, but I can understand both sides. The film has qualities, but it also presents…
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
4/30/2026
When the "Old Man" who has provided "Chauncey" (Peter Sellers) with an home for most of his life dies, this erstwhile gardener finds himself homeless. Dressed in his finest handed-down suit and carrying his home in his suitcase, he emerges into the outside world without a clue. He has no money; he has nowhere to say, nothing to eat - he has no friends. He's like a full-sized infant whose only exposure to reality has …
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