Editing Being There (section)

==Reception==
The film opened to positive reviews and gave Sellers a hit after many failed films outside of the ''Pink Panther'' series. Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] awarded a grade of four out of four stars in his original print review.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/being-there-1980 |title=Being There |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |date=January 1, 1980 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=November 24, 2018 }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] also gave the film a perfect grade of four stars, calling it "one of those rare films, a work of such electric comedy that you are more likely to watch it in amazement than to break down and laugh".<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (February 8, 1980). "Sellers builds on perfection in 'Being There'". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 3.</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "a stately, beautifully acted satire with a premise that's funny but fragile".<ref>{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=December 20, 1979 |title=Film: Ashby-Kosinksi 'Being There' |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=C20 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/20/archives/film-ashbykosinksi-being-therewatching-tv.html |access-date=November 21, 2023}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' called it "an unusually fine film" that "represents Peter Sellers's most smashing work since the mid-1960s".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1979 |title=Being There |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/1978/film/reviews/being-there-1200424539/ |access-date=2023-12-16 }}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "a gentle, exquisitely funny film", adding that "Sellers hasn't been so terrific—or had such terrific material—in years."<ref>[[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Thomas, Kevin]] (December 20, 1979). "A Kosinski Novel Comes to Life". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part IV, p. 36.</ref>

Vincent Misiano reviewed ''Being There'' in ''[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]]'' and commented that "the film's humor never flags and yet its delicately bitter irony is never far away. It satirizes politics and politicians, business and businessmen, and, finally, all the rest of us and what we imagine we see when we look at one another."<ref name="Ares">{{cite journal | last=Misiano | first=Vincent | title=Film & Television | journal=[[Ares (magazine)|Ares Magazine]] | publisher=[[Simulations Publications, Inc.]] | date=July 1980 | issue=3 | page=32}}</ref>

In 2006, Roger Ebert mentioned the reaction of his students to the final scene (which is unique to the film, not appearing in the book),<ref>{{cite book | year=2006 | title = The Great Movies II | first=Roger | last=Ebert | author-link = Roger Ebert | publisher=Random House | isbn=978-0-7679-1986-9 | page=52 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdv8LRB6a88C&pg=PA52}}</ref> stating that they once suggested that Chance may be walking on a submerged pier. But, Ebert writes, "The movie presents us with an image, and while you may discuss the meaning of the image, it is not permitted to devise explanations for it. Since Ashby does not show a pier, there is no pier—a movie is exactly what it shows us, and nothing more."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=May 25, 1997 |title=Being There {{!}} Great Movies |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-being-there-1979 |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623115834/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F19970525%2FREVIEWS08%2F401010303 |archive-date=June 23, 2011}}</ref>

The ending credits roll over the "Rafael [[outtake]]". Sellers was displeased that the outtake ran because he believed that it took away from Chauncey's mystique.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Kim|first=Wook|title=After 'The End': 10 Memorable End-Credit Scenes|date=November 26, 2012|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/27/after-the-end-10-memorable-end-credit-scenes/slide/being-there/|access-date=May 12, 2015}}</ref> He also believed that it prevented him from winning the Oscar.<ref name=francisco/>{{sfn|Dawson|2009|p=226}}

As of 2023, the film holds a score of 95% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 8.60/10. The critical consensus calls it "smart, sophisticated, and refreshingly subtle."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/being_there/ |title=Being There |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 16, 2023 }}</ref> In 2003, ''The New York Times'' placed the film on its ''Best 1000 Movies Ever'' list.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612032429/https://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/1000best.html The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.] ''[[The New York Times]]'' via the [[Internet Archive]]. Published April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref>