Being John Malkovich

John Cusack Director: Spike Jonze Spike Jonze

Overview

Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and the Breeders, among others.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/15/2012
UPC:	0715515095310
Original Release:	1999
Source:	Criterion Collection
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	4,730

Special Features

New selected-scene audio commentary featuring Jonze's friend and competitor the filmmaker Michel Gondry; New behind-the-scenes documentary by filmmaker Lance Bangs; New conversation between actor John Malkovich and humorist John Hodgman; New interview with Jonze in which he discusses his on-set photos; Two films within the film: 71/2 Floor Orientation and "American Arts & Culture" Presents John Horatio Malkovich: "Dance of Despair and Disillusionment"; An Intimate Portrait of the Art of Puppeteering, a documentary by Bangs; Trailer and TV Spots; Plus: a Booklet featuring a conversation between Jonze and pop-culture critic Perkus Tooth

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Cusack	Craig Schwartz
Cameron Diaz	Lotte Schwartz
Catherine Keener	Maxine Lund
John Malkovich	John Malkovich
Orson Bean	Dr. Lester
Mary Kay Place	Floris
Charlie Sheen	Charlie Sheen
Carlos Jacott	Larry the Agent
W. Earl Brown	Erroll
Willie Garson	Guy In Restaurant
Byrne Piven	Captain Mertin
Gregory Sporleder	Drunk At Bar
Ned Bellamy	Derek Mantini
Eric Weinstein	Father at Puppet Show
Madison Lanc	Daugher at Puppet Show
Octavia Spencer	Woman In Elevator
Reggie Hayes	Don
K.K. Dodds	Wendy
Judith Wetzell	Tiny Woman
Kevin Carroll	Cab Driver
Gerald Emerick	Sad Man In Line
Bill M. Ryusaki	Mr. Hiroshi
James Murray	Student Puppeteer
Richard Fancy	Johnson Heyward
Dan Hansen	Boy John Malkovich
Patti Tippo	John Malovich's Mother
Mariah O'Brien	Girl Creeped Out By John Malkovich
Kelly Teacher	Emily
Jacqueline Benoit	Doctor Lester's Friend
Audrey Gelfand	Doctor Lester's Friend
Eddie J. Low	Doctor Lester's Friend
William Nichols Buck	Doctor Lester's Friend
Yetta Ginsburg	Doctor Lester's Friend
Ralph W. Spaulding	Doctor Lester's Friend
Christine Coleman	Doctor Lester's Friend
Sylvester Jenkins	Doctor Lester's Friend
David Wyler	Doctor Lester's Friend
Jeanne Diehl	Doctor Lester's Friend
Roy C. Johnson	Doctor Lester's Friend
Flori Wyler	Doctor Lester's Friend
Kevin Lee	Ballet Dancer
Marlowe Bassett	Ballet Dancer
Kristin D'Andrea	Ballet Dancer
Jessica Neuberger	Ballet Dancer
Jennifer Canzoneri	Ballet Dancer
Charlene Grimsley	Ballet Dancer
Sara Rifkin	Ballet Dancer
Kristie Cordle	Ballet Dancer
Christine Krejer	Ballet Dancer
Elizabeth Rivera	Ballet Dancer
Denise Dabrowski	Ballet Dancer
Erica Long	Ballet Dancer
Chelsa Sjostrom	Ballet Dancer
Yvonne Montelius	Ballet Dancer
Pamela Hayden	Featured Character Voices
Michelle Madden	Featured Character Voices
Neil Ross	Featured Character Voices
Jayne Hess	Featured Character Voices
Greg O'Neill	Featured Character Voices
Bill Wittman	Featured Character Voices
Christopher Bing	Himself [uncredited]

Technical Credits

Charlie Kaufman

Spike Jonze	Director
Fanee Aaron	Set Decoration/Design
Lance Acord	Cinematographer
Peter Andrus	Art Director
Justine Baddeley	Casting
California Ballet	Choreography
KK Barrett	Production Designer
Lynn Barron	Makeup
Björk	Songwriter
Forrest Brakeman	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Carter Burwell	Score Composer
Elisa Bussetti	Set Decoration/Design
Mark S. Constance	Asst. Director
Kimberly Davis-Wagner	Casting
Debra L. Ferullo	Makeup
Steve Golin	Producer
Peter Gulla	Camera Operator
Charlie Kaufman	Executive Producer,Screenwriter
Ren Klyce	Sound/Sound Designer
Michael Kuhn	Executive Producer
Vincent Landay	Producer
Maxine Mahon	Choreography
Malcolm Fife	Sound/Sound Designer
Tony Maxwell	Choreography
Optic Nerve Studios	Makeup Special Effects
Nick Peck	Sound/Sound Designer
Thomas Patrick Smith	Asst. Director
Dawn Solér	Musical Direction/Supervision
Mit Out Sound	Sound/Sound Designer
Sandy Stern	Producer
Michael Stipe	Producer
Casey Storm	Costumes/Costume Designer
Sloane U'ren	Set Decoration/Design
John Vulich	Makeup Special Effects
Eric Zumbrunnen	Editor

Editorial Reviews

This hilarious, breathtakingly original feature debut by music video director Spike Jonze is Alice in Wonderland for the age of celebrity: the rabbit hole that the characters fall into is actor John Malkovich's head. On the seventh and a half floor of a Manhattan office building (yes, half floor -- that's why everyone's stooping), a nebbishy puppeteer (John Cusack) discovers a door that delivers him straight into the mind of Malkovich. The ride is thrilling, but the portal turns out to be a Pandora's box: opening it sets hearts afire and desires running amuck. Cameron Diaz, sporting seriously bad hair, gamely turns her babe wattage way down to play Cusack's plain Jane wife, while Catherine Keener (Your Friends and Neighbors) plays Cusack's seductive office colleague and the object of everyone's obsession. Malkovich, playing himself, does a delicious satire on his own celebrity lifestyle. Watching this film, filled with mistaken identities and dizzying plot twists that never let up, is a bit like being in a car with a crazy but brilliant driver -- unnerving but an awful lot of fun.

Barnes & Noble - John Guida

Surrealist cinema at its most inventive and edifying, this feature debut by music video maestro Spike Jonze poses questions of existentialism and celebrity without the pretension of feeling like you're in a philosophy symposium. Armed with Charlie Kaufman's devilishly clever and narratively sound script, the director creates a funhouse of the mind, but never strays from its originating premise, which involves the fascination and consequences of living as someone else, even for a brief period. Filled with offbeat humor and surprisingly free of empty flash (unusual for a director whose only previous experience is in music video), Being John Malkovich finds a genre niche that seems relatively untapped, similar to a film like David Lynch's Blue Velvet, which created a world all its own even in the midst of familiar surroundings. A mid-level success upon release, the film was honored on several critics' Ten Best lists of 1999, and garnered first-time Oscar nominations for Jonze, Kaufman, and co-star Catherine Keener, who is ruthlessly funny as the object of John Cusack's affections.

All Movie Guide - Jason Clark

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