EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE? NOW YOU CAN.Bringing new meaning to the term identity crisis , this instant cult comedy classic boldly launched the feature film careers of its director, music video visionary Spike Jonze (nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Director), and its screenwriter, master of existentialist surrealism Charlie Kaufman (also nominated for Best Original Screenplay).Failed street puppeteer Craig Schwarz (John Cusack) reluctantly gets a day job to financially support his wife Lotte (Cameron Diaz) and their ever-expanding menagerie of pets crammed in their small, dimly-lit New York apartment. Working as a file clerk at LesterCorp (hidden away on Floor 7½ of the Mertin-Flemmer Building), and spending most of his time lusting after aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener), one day Craig makes an incredible discovery: a hidden door that leads to a portal inside the mind of legendary actor John Malkovich (John Malkovich), seeing life through his eyes for fifteen minutes before being spat back out on the New Jersey Turnpike. Craig shares his find with Lotte and Maxine, leading to an explosive chain of events that will irrevocably alter the lives of all three... and of course, the unwitting Malkovich.Jonze and Kaufman s unforgettably bizarre comic fantasia is as hilarious and innovative now as it was two decades ago, and is presented here in a director-approved transfer with bonus features never released in the UK before.MALKOVICH MALKOVICH MALKOVICHRestored from a 4K scan of the original camera negative and approved by director Spike JonzeHigh Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentationOriginal 5.1 DTS-HD master audioOptional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearingSelect scene audio commentary by Jonze s friend and competitor, the filmmaker Michel GondryJohn Malkovich and John Hodgman, a conversation between the film s star and the actor, writer and humouristStrung Along, a new featurette exploring the marionettes made for the film, featuring newly shot interviews with puppeteer Phillip Huber and puppeteer/designer/fabricators Kamela Portuges and Lee ArmstrongThe 7½ Floor, the full corporate orientation video seen in the filmJohn Horatio Malkovich: Dance of Despair and Disillusionment, the full pseudo-documentary seen in the filmAn Interview with Director Spike Jonze, a brief chat with the director filmed under duress by Lance BangsAn Intimate Portrait of the Art of Puppeteering, an archival interview with Phillip Huber filmed on set by Lance BangsAn Intimate Portrait of the Art of Background Driving, an on-set look at filming the New Jersey Turnpike sequence by Lance BangsDon t Enter Here, There Is Nothing HereTheatrical trailer and TV spotsImage galleryReversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Vero NavarroFIRST PRESSING ONLY: Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Roger Keen and archive publicity materials
T**E
Speedy delivery
Quality dvd. Wasn't so keen on the content.
A**X
Hilarious and very strange film
This film takes a concept that almost everyone has thought about and explores it hilariously. I would highly recommend watching with friends and enjoying it together.
W**D
Great value double pack - but one film is definitely stronger than the other
I'd seen Being John Malkovich when it originally came out, and knew that I loved the film as a quirky, unique story, with brilliant visual work, fantastic script and excellent acting - so seeing it again on DVD, I was pleasantly suprised to find that none of my memories were falsely exaggerated - this is a great film, through and through!As a double pack, this film comes with Adaptation - touted as connected to the first film due to the protaganist of Adaptation being the screenwriter of Being John Malkovich - it's based on a true story, but changed so that it is actually a work of fiction... and is surreal, but in a different way to Malkovich. Meryl Streep is, as always, brilliant; but Nic Cage (though he tries his best) leaves me feeling a little let down by how he handles the central protagonist - although I can't quite put my finger on why. It just feels like the film is building up to something, but never quite gets there. A little disappointing in parts, but overall it is worth a watch and there are some rather good moments throughout.If nothing else - it'll leave you wanting to pick up a copy of The Orchid Thief to read afterwards...
J**H
Brilliantly original with a slight hint of madness
The concept of the film is a strange and wonderful one. After watching it for the first time a few weeks ago, I didn't know what to expect when I first removed the packaging and placed it in the DVD player. After watching the film, I was genuinely entertained and quite confused at the same time, Its very rare to have that combo within one film but, somehow, Being John Malkovich did it perfectly. The cast worked well together, with some surprisingly good performances from Cameron Diaz and John Malkovich himself.The film, without giving too much away for the people who haven't watched it, follows the life of a puppeteer Craig Schwartz (played by John Cusacks) who ends up getting a new job at the Lester Corporation on Floor 7½ where he discovers a hidden door that leads into the mind of John Malkovich. If you reading this, then yes the film is crazier than it sounds! I would strongly recommend this film to anyone. It is funny, weird, disturbing, slightly wrong in some areas and all in all a great watch.It is brilliantly original with a slight hint of madness!!
A**R
Profound, clever, philosophical.
In my top five films of all time.Having read the negative reviews it seems they fall into two categories "difficulty in understanding a plot", and "unlikeable characters". Indeed none of the characters are your typical hollywood heros, but that's because this isn't a typical hollywood film. The characters have depth in multiple dimensions of human nature, and so they are not clearly definable as good or bad, as most people are used to in hollywood.As for plot, again it doesn't follow a straightforward hollywood plot line, the narrative, point and symbology is complex and intricate.The philosophical points being made are probably far too deep and confusing for the average person of our idiocracy. Concepts such as shared consciousness, the notion of self, life after death, self direction, free will, etc.
D**B
Bonkers movie
Not for everyone as its an intentionally weird movie, but of a mind bender. A geeky puppeteer takes an office job at a building that bizarrely has a floor between floors (think the station in harry potter). It's what is discovered and used within this subfloor behind filing cabinets that sets the madnesd off. Unfortunately I don't want to give the rest away, but good performance by those involved
B**S
Leftfield film
Mad story by Charlie Kaufman. Well directed by Spike Jonze. I watched 'Being John Malkovich' in the cinema 18 years ago with my ex-girlfriend. I remembered that I loved the film as a quirky, unique story, with brilliant visual work, fantastic script and excellent acting - so seeing it again on DVD, I was suprised to find that none of my memories were falsely exaggerated - this is a great film.9/10PS. My ex-girlfriend did not enjoy the film.
J**M
Not as advertised
The disc (sold as new) arrived promptly, but I was dismayed to find the disc had scratches, fingerprints and various debris on it. I haven't watched it yet, but have skipped through it, and found the sections I did watch seemed fine. Hopefully that will prove the case throughout.Sold as new, clearly not new, but hopefully functional.Disappointed.
D**N
Eine herrlich schräge Komödie, die sich das Anderssein traut
Es gibt Filme, die sind einfach anders als die anderen - und das im absolut positiven Sinne. Zu diesen gehört Being John Malkovich von Regisseur Spike Jonze und Drehbuchautor Charlie Kaufman aus dem Jahr 1999, für beide war es das Spielfilm-Debüt. Es geht um den erfolglosen Puppenspieler Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), der mit Lotte (Cameron Diaz) verheiratet ist, die sich in der gemeinsamen Wohnung um allerlei Tiere kümmert. Da es mit der Karriere als Puppenspieler nichts wird, nimmt Craig auf Drängen seiner Frau einen Bürojob in Manhattan an. Die Firma hat ihre Räume im siebeneinhalbten Stock, in dem die Decke gerade einmal gut eineinhalb Meter hoch ist, weswegen alle gebückt gehen müssen. Bei der Arbeit lernt Craig seine Kollegin Maxine (Catherine Keener) kennen, von der er ganz hingerissen ist, umgekehrt ist das aber nicht der Fall. Eines Tages entdeckt Craig hinter einem Schrank in seinem Büro eine seltsame Tür, hinter der sich ein langer Tunnel befindet. Wer diesen durchquert, landet auf unerklärtliche Weise für kurze Zeit im Bewusstsein des Schauspielers John Malkovich (als er selbst). Bald darauf machen Craig und Maxine daraus ein Geschäftsmodell, auch Lotte probiert es aus. Ihr gefällt es aber ein bisschen zu gut, John Malkovich zu sein, mit dem Maxine noch dazu ein Techtelmechtel anfängt. Craig hingegen gelingt es mit der Zeit, nicht nur als Besucher in Malkovichs Verstand zu sein, sondern ihn sogar zu kontrollieren - allerdings hat Craigs Boss Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) seine ganz eigenen Pläne mit John Malkovich.Das klingt jetzt vielleicht mehr als ein bisschen wirr, aber die Story funktioniert tatsächlich. Being John Malkovich ist eine wunderbar schräge Komödie voll mit originellen Ideen und gut geschriebenen, herrlich schrulligen Figuren. Schon allein die Idee, John Malkovich sich selbst spielen zu lassen, der aber von einer anderen Person kontrolliert wird, ist grandios. Regie, Drehbuch und schauspielerische Leistungen sind allesamt auf Top-Niveau. Wäre das auch nur bei einem der Punkte nicht der Fall gewesen, hätte Being John Malkovich wahrscheinlich nicht funktioniert. Doch zum Glück tut er das. Weil diese Komödie so anders ist, wird sie sicherlich nicht jedem gefallen. Ich aber liebe diesen Film, ich sehe ihn mir immer wieder gerne an und kann ihn nur wärmstens empfehlen. Dafür gibt's auch volle fünf Sterne.
S**M
pas accessible à tous
pour ceux qui aiment les curiosités.ofni!!? objet filmique non identifiable !?? mais quel originalité !!
F**K
GENIAL!!!
EXCELENTE VENDEDOR, TODO PERFECTO, Y ADEMÁS ÉSTA EDICIÓN UK, ESTÁ EN CASTELLANO.
N**C
Film bellissimo. Un vero capolavoro.
Conoscevo già questo film, per averlo visto anni fa in versione DVD. Mi aveva particolarmente colpito per l'originalità della sceneggiatura, scritta dal geniale Charlie Kaufman ("Il ladro di orchidee", "Confessioni di una mente pericolosa", etc.), e in generale per l'alta qualità artistica e produttiva. Avevo voglia di rivederlo e ne ho quindi approfittato per acquistare la versione Blu-ray. La mia impressione di anni fa è stata pienamente confermata: sceneggiatura bellissima, ottima regia (Spike Jonze), attori eccellenti... il vero punto di forza di questo film è però, appunto, l'incredibile architettura ideata da Kaufman a livello di soggetto e sceneggiatura: un burattinaio fallito, che diventa burattinaio di un uomo che a sua volta è burattinaio di un burattino. Incredibile. Per non parlare di tutti i testi, sottotesti, rimandi tipici di Kaufman, che sfociano in letture psicanalitiche. E mi fermo qui, perché non voglio svelarvi troppo della trama, dato che DOVETE assolutamente guardare questo film. Ottima l'edizione Blu-ray.
T**H
Dans la peau de J Malkovich
Craig Schwartz est marionnettiste de rue, mais ne parvient pas à vivre de son art. Lotte, son épouse, s'intéresse beaucoup plus à ses animaux qu'à lui. Devant leurs difficultes financières, le jeune homme trouve un emploi au septième étage du building de l'entreprise Lester. En classant des dossiers, Craig découvre une porte dérobée et l'emprunte. Celle-ci le conduit pour quinze minutes à l'intérieur de John Malkovich. Cette prodigieuse découverte va lui permettre de changer de vie.
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