| | | Ever Want to Be Someone Else? Now You Can.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, French, Dolby, Digital Audio, Dolby Digital (5.1)
Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is a struggling street puppeteer. In order to make some money, Craig takes a job as a filing clerk. One day he accidentally discovers a door...a portal into the mind of John Malkovich (played by John Malkovich)! For 15 minutes, he experiences the ultimate head trip - HE is John Malkovich! Then he's dumped out onto the New Jersey turnpike! With his beautiful office mate Maxine (Catherine Keener) and his pet-obsessed wife (Cameron Diaz), they hatch a plan to let others into John's brain for just $200 a trip.
"...[a] smart, fanciful and brilliantly staged comedy...a weirdly profound meditation on consciousness, identity, fame, gender and reality." Ann Hornaday, Baltimore Sun
"Devilishly inventive and so far out there it's almost off the scale." David Rooney, Variety
"Breathlessly imaginative." John Hartl, Film.com
"...a clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable and more than a little strange." Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"...more than a must-see movie: It's a must-see-more-than-once event." Lou Lumenick, New York Post
"A wildly inventive, unrelenting thrill that amazes us with its visual and intellectual treats and dazzles us with its ongoing ingenuity." Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
"...an endlessly inventive movie..." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Editor's Note
Original is far too understated a term to describe this picture, brought to you by the surreal, twisted minds of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and actor-director Jonze. The story concerns a puppeteer, Craig Schwartz (John Cusack), who discovers his office has a secret portal that leads directly into the brain of one of America's most popular actors, John Malkovich (Malkovich himself, in a hilariously self-mocking appearance). When the journey ends fifteen minutes later, the participant is spewed onto the side of the New Jersey Turnpike. Schwartz uses his discovery as a way to get closer to fellow co-worker Maxine (the always sexy Catherine Keener). Together, the pair form JM, INC., which allows ordinary citizens to join in on the fun for $200 a pop. But when Craig's wife Lotte (a homely Cameron Diaz), as Malkovich, is seduced by Maxine, things begin to unfurl at an even more outrageous pace. Sound confusing? Thanks to Spike Jonze's grounded direction, it isn't. The result is one of the decade's most original films.
| Features | An Interview With Director Spike Jonze | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: French | | Featurettes: American Arts & Culture Presents - John Horatio Malkovich, Dance Of Despair & Disillusionment, An Intimate Portrait Of The Art Of Puppeteering, A Page With Nothing On It, 7 1/2 Floor Orientation, An Intimate Portrait Of The Art Of Background Driving, & Don't Enter Here, There Is Nothing Here | | Interactive Menus | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Spike's Photo Album | | Subtitles: English, French | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound | | TV Spots |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 6/26/2007 |
| Running Time: 113 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1999 | | Catalog ID: 62101263 | | UPC: 00025195010191 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (2000) | | | British Academy Awards, Charlie Kaufman, Best Screenplay - Original | |
Nominee (2000) | | | Golden Globe, Being John Malkovich, Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical | | | Golden Globe, Cameron Diaz, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | | | Golden Globe, Catherine Keener, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | | | Golden Globe, Charlie Kaufman, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | |
Winner (2000) | | | Independent Spirit, Spike Jonze, et. al., Best First Feature - Over $500,000 | | | Independent Spirit, Charlie Kaufman, Best First Screenplay | | | MTV Award, Spike Jonze, Best New Filmmaker | |
Nominee (2000) | | | Oscar, Catherine Keener, Best Actress in a Supporting Role | | | Oscar, Spike Jonze, Best Director | | | Oscar, Charlie Kaufman, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | | | Screen Actors Guild, John Cusack, et. al., Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture | | | Screen Actors Guild, Cameron Diaz, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | | | Screen Actors Guild, Catherine Keener, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | |
Winner (1999) | | | Venice Film Festival, Spike Jonze, FIPRESCI Prize - Parallel Sections | | | Venice Film Festival, Spike Jonze, Future Film Festival Digital Award - Special Mention |
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...Devilishly inventive....Spike Jonze and scripter Charlie Kaufman take outlandishness to dizzying heights, and the ideas never let up..." 9/6-12/1999 p.61-3Rolling Stone
Ranked #3 in Rolling Stone's "Ten Best Movies of 1999" -- "...A blast of pure oxygen....This movie of constant astonishments will make you laugh hard and long..." 11/11/1999 p.145-6 Film Comment
"...As paradoxically cerebral and patently ridiculous as its title implies..." 09/01/1999 p.6-9 Premiere
"...Visionary....[Malkovich] steals the show..." 11/01/1999 p.29 Los Angeles Times
"...BEING JOHN MALKOVICH is a clever and outrageous piece of whimsical fantasy that is unique, unpredictable and more than a little strange..." 10/29/1999 p.C1 Chicago Sun-Times
"...BEING JOHN MALKOVICH supplies a stream of dazzling inventions, twists and wicked paradoxes..." 10/29/1999 p.29 Premiere
"Malkovich, lampooning his own reputation, is brilliant." 09/01/2005 p.131 ReelViews 9 of 10
"Every time I thought I recognized where Being John Malkovich was headed, the movie surprised me. The screenplay is as funny as it is clever. Some of the jokes are of the ""big laugh"" variety, but few are representative of the cheap shots and dumb humor that have become commonplace in '90s offerings. Being John Malkovich revels in smart comedy instead of wallowing in the opposite. And, alongside the laughter, there's plenty of material for contemplation. Cinematically speaking, this is a well-balanced, multi-course meal...The movie is surreal precisely because Jonze plays everything straight. The characters are not aware that they're in some kind of distorted reality, gazing through the looking glass darkly...Being John Malkovich is one of those rare cinematic experiences that works on one level or another for nearly everyone who sees it. It is a triumphant debut for Spike Jonze." - James Berardinelli
Reel.com 9 of 10
"Given the chance to be another person, it's unlikely that most people would opt for John Malkovich, the actor whose edgy energy lends itself as easily to portrayals of mental midgets (Of Mice and Men, The Ogre) as it does to malevolent masterminds (Dangerous Liaisons, Con Air). But in director Spike Jonze's unique comedy Being John Malkovich, numerous folks discover that inhabiting the offbeat star's skin is a deeply rewarding and meaningful experience...In some strange way, Being John Malkovich is the dizzy flip side of Fight Club; both films involve people going to extremes to change their lives amidst the absurdity of the late-'90s urban existence. But instead of the end-of-the-millennium chic of Fight Club's savage humor, Jones' farce offers up a delightfully un-trendy dose of loopy wit. If this becomes the hit that it deserves to be, the year 2000 is bound to be full of surreal comedies trying to be Being John Malkovich." - Mike Gregory
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