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Beetlejuice (1988)
Starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder. Cinematography by Thomas Ackerman. Edited by Jane Kurson. Produced by Michael Bender, Richard Hashimoto, and Larry Wilson. Written by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson. Directed by Tim Burton.
In a role originally intended for Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Keaton perfectly plays the title role as the strange liaison from "the other side" of life. When the Maitland's (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are killed in a car wreck, they prepare to spend the rest of eternity in their recently acquired New England mansion. But when new residents move in, their everlasting rest is disturbed. Being new to the whole haunting business, they turn to fellow ghost Beetlejuice who specializes in the “exorcism of the living”.
Beetlejuice is a nice little piece of film and a great example of how Burton can inject darker subjects like death and haunting with humor and turn them into a bizarre blend of black comedy. The film was actually initially scripted to be a dark and edgy drama, but when Burton took on the project he saw the potential for laughs and helped morph the project into what it became. Burton confessed to over-doing the cheesy special effects to mask the small budget that the film was limited to, but sections of the film was nearly a live action cartoon anyway so the effect isn’t blatant. All in all it’s a good time and worth a watch or two.
Burton, and the film, earned great successes; the film in dollars and Burton with more incredible offers. The film later inspired a children's cartoon series that was actually pretty good.
Budget: $15,000,000
Total US Gross: $ 73,326,666
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 92 Minutes
US Release Date: 3/30/88
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Awards:
Academy Awards:
Won for best makeup.
American Film Institute’s Top 100 Lists:
100 Years… 100 Laughs (#88).
Tagline: In This House... If You've Seen One Ghost... You Haven't Seen Them All.
Quote: “I’ve seen The Exorcist about a hundred and sixty-seven times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it!”
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