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Last updated: 05 Jun 2026 at 09:32 UTC

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Review of by Sean E — 26 Jul 2008

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A few years ago I found that "Being There" was in Roger Ebert's "Greatest Movies" list. So, I decided to rent the DVD...and thoroughly enjoyed it. One of the things Ebert wrote in his review was quite profound:

"The movie's implications are alarming. Is it possible that we are all just clever versions of Chance the gardener? That we are trained from an early age to respond automatically to given words and concepts? That we never really think out much of anything for ourselves, but are content to repeat the works for others in the same situation?

The last words in the movie are, "Life is a state of mind." So no computer will ever be alive. But to the degree that we are limited by our programming, neither will we. The question is not whether a computer will ever think like a human, but whether we choose to free ourselves from thinking like computers.".

A very true statement indeed and a funny, thought-provoking film directed by the late, great Director and Utahn Hal Ashby.

This review of Being There (1979) was written by on 26 Jul 2008.

Being There has generally received very positive reviews.

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