Being There was my favourite film when I was a youngster. Marvellous fillum.
Peter Sellers - 30th anniversary of death Page 5
Sorry but I'm another of those niggly Being There haters, it was appallingly unrealistic, excrutiatingly slow, the satire was plastered on with a trowel and Sellers was wobbly in his performance. Not at all the best way to remember the great man.
But let's not be negative on his anniversary. My own private remembrance started with the excellent Only Two Can Play last night and is about to continue with the best film he did, I'm Alright Jack.
For slapstick larfs it will then have to be A Shot In The Dark and then for the curtain call this evening it will be the dark and different Hoffman.
Cheers Mr Sellers! 
I have a fondness for Murder by death.
"Room filled with...empty people"
Quote: bamalamafizzvaj @ July 26 2010, 12:08 PM BSTI have a fondness for Murder by death.
An excellent film, Peter Falk is brilliant as a closet gay Humphrey Bogart/Sam Spade type detective. Sadly it's as under-rated as the equally excellent Clue.
Clue is brilliant, not seen it in an age though. Might look for the DVD...
Two Way Stretch and Wrong Arm of the Law were great. Pity he always thought of those as "shitty little English films".
What does everyone think of The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (film, not book)?
The script to the never-filmed Panther flick 'Romance of the Pink Panther' has floated around the web on script-buying sites.
Quote: chipolata @ July 19 2010, 6:32 PM BSTI think in later years, as Sellers became a star, his films became a little show-offy as he raided the dressing up box to show us how many characters he could do. The later Pink Panther films were the worst offenders.
Probably the worst offender for that was Soft Beds, Hard Battles, in which Sellers plays six roles. The film is often traduced, but I like it. For Doctor Who fans, there are appearances by Nick Courtney and Philip Madoc (and even Rula Lenska as one of the brothel girls). Windsor Davies and Thorley Walters are also present.
Quote: Dave @ July 26 2010, 10:05 PM BSTWhat does everyone think of The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (film, not book)?
Really liked the book. Liked the film too - it was much better than I had anticipated.
An enjoyable, well made and entertaining film but fans of his may take issue with some sensationalised bits. I know he was an unusual man and I believe it was all worthy of a film definitely, but it did go to town on the most lurid aspects. And you see have to see it as only half the picture, this was about the private life of Sellers mostly, and the inner Sellers.
This is the main thing I didn't like about it because non fans of his will simply think 'What a jerk', while fans of his or even just knowledgable film lovers will know what a special talent he was, what a dedicated entertainer he was and how driven he was. This was not the full story, this film, not a true biopic but a more of film about the nagative, strange and difficult side of PS only. At the cinema not really a problem, not too many non fans would have went. But when the Beeb aired it on TV it was on its own, it needed to be followed by a great piece of his work, of which there are many - then the casual viewers would have got a truer perspective of the man and his genius and maybe why he was so unusual in real life.
I liked that fact that because Sellers was 5' 8" whereas Geoffrey Rush (who portrayed Sellers so well) is 6' 1", some of the major supporting roles were given to very tall actors, such as John Lithgow, Stephen Fry and Charlize Theron.
Being There is a wonderful film. Fact.
Being There is a terrible film. Opinion.
Alfred is wrong. Fact. 
Now his 40th, two days ago marked by at least a couple of films on TV. The one I caught was a very welcome There's a Girl In My Soup. Possibly the first full watch I've given it from the start and it's gone and shot into my PS Top Ten, probably. (Gets notebook out).
Although light, it's a coherent story with a decent script and great support from Tony Brittan and Nicky Henson. 1970 was a golden year for Sellers films, after some dreadful stuff. He met Hawn on her US show and an unlikely chemistry was born. It's one of his best pairings imo, and definitely one of his best mid career works. Morning.
Consummate performer but I prefer his earlier British stuff when he's working with some familiar faces.