Beetle Juice (1988)

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers:

Michael McDowell (screenplay)
Michael McDowell (story)

Release Date:

30 March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

Say it once... Say it twice... But we dare you to say it THREE TIMES

Plot:

A couple of recently deceased ghosts contract the services of a "bio-exorcist" in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house.

Plot Keywords:

Eaten Alive | Appointment Meeting | Graveyard | Polaroid | Skeleton

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Alec Baldwin	...	Adam
Geena Davis	...	Barbara
Annie McEnroe	...	Jane Butterfield
Maurice Page	...	Ernie
Hugo Stanger	...	Old Bill
Michael Keaton	...	Beetlejuice
Rachel Mittelman	...	Little Jane
Catherine O'Hara	...	Delia
J. Jay Saunders	...	Moving Man #1
Mark Ettlinger	...	Moving Man #2
Jeffrey Jones	...	Charles
Winona Ryder	...	Lydia
Glenn Shadix	...	Otho
Patrice Martinez	...	Receptionist
Cindy Daly	...	3 Fingered Typist (as Cynthia Daly)

Also Known As:

Beetlejuice (USA) (alternative spelling)
The Maitlands (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:All | France:Unrated | Germany:12 | Spain:T | Ireland:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | Israel:PG | New Zealand:PG | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Canada:PG | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Geffen Pictures

Trivia:

In the wedding scene, Lydia's dress is a bright red. According to the old rhyme about wedding dress colors, it's "Married in red, better off dead."

Goofs:

Factual errors: The photograph Lydia takes of the Maitlands would not develop that quickly; they take at least 45 seconds.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Adam: [about a spider on his hand] Now that's a big fella! Whoa!

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

The Light Cavalry

Unique Characters & Story, To Say The Least

This movie always was: 1 - very popular; 2 - very different; 3 - very entertaining; 4 - a very fast-moving hour-and-a-half of a film.

Several characters in here - mainly Michael Keaton's unique and sometimes- revolting title character "Beetlejuice"- are always fascinating to watch. With him - and the whole movie - you also get a lot of humor and scary special-effects..

It was odd to see Alec Baldwin in such a low-key role. In the '90s, he played very few of these type of guys. Davis looks and acts like...well, Davis, who has almost always played nice, cute people that viewers like. It took me four viewings before I finally appreciated Catharine O'Hara's comedic talents in this movie. Now, she's my favorite and someone I find absolutely hilarious as the messed-up wife/mother of a family who moves into a "haunted house" inhabited by Baldwin and Davis.

Keaton made himself a name as an actor with this whacked-out Robin Williams-type role, although he never really followed up with anything that was as popular as this film. Winona Rider is cute as the teenage daughter and we get other fun supporting roles from diverse people as talk show host Dick Cavett, singer Robert Goulet and actor Jeffrey Jones. All of them are good.

Tim Burton directed the film and so I wasn't surprised there were the typical occult themes with ghosts and the like, and no heaven or hell but some other strange existence being touted where dead people go....a ridiculous picture of the afterlife. However, I just chalk it up to someone just trying to make a fun, entertaining picture and on that, it succeeds.

Overall, a unique and entertaining film. It's different, to say the least!