Beetlejuice
Directed by:
Tim BurtonCinematography:
Thomas E. AckermanComposer:
Danny ElfmanCast:
Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Sylvia Sidney, Annie McEnroe, Tony Cox, Glenn Shadix, Robert Goulet (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
In the surreal, wonderfully cartoon-like comedy BEETLEJUICE, a childless couple, Barbara and Adam (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), move to the country only to be killed in a car accident while passing over a quaint covered bridge. Their ghosts return to their beloved Victorian home, and find the HANDBOOK FOR THE RECENTLY DECEASED, which not only lets them know they're dead, but comes in handy when they learn that they can continue to live in their house, even though a new family--from the land of the living--is moving in. The new owners, fresh from the city, are quite a strange group themselves, and include the overpowering hipster mom Delia (Catherine O'Hara), her pompous SoHo interior designer Otho (Glenn Shadix), her meek husband Charles (Jeffrey Jones), and their morose teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), who befriends the ghostly couple. Though the threesome attempt to scare Delia from ruining the house with redecoration and her unpleasant personality, their attempts fail. As a last resort, they call upon the services of the demented, terrifying, but hilarious "bioexorcist," "Beetlejuice" (Michael Keaton). (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (5)
I don’t like Tim Burton. I don’t like Tim Burton. I don’t like Tim Burton.
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Burton's playful supernatural flick, which, thanks to the lead actor, belongs to the worse part of his body of work. I can't help it, but Keaton is an average actor who won't create an atmospheric effect with his overspoken appearance and tons of overacting. Fortunately, the gems of the film are the scenes of the miniature city, the traditionally Elfman-composed music, and the perfect gothic-depressive Winona Ryder. However, the childhood impressions were several classes above.
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Beetlejuice is a beautiful classic ghost story that remains popular thanks to Burton's other great films (and animated series). The old-school special effects are magical, the cast is wonderful: Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as the dead husbands, Michael Keaton in a perfect mask, Winona Ryder as the ideal goth teenager, and Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O'Hara as caricatures of modern businessmen. And last but certainly not least the legendary Sylvia Sidney, who shone in the 1930s... A joy to behold. In its time, there was genre competition in the form of the similarly successful High Spirits, but there is no need to choose between them. Both ghost stories are evergreens.
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I wasn’t able to enjoy the film as much as I did before. What I still liked was Michael Keaton's performance, but I was disappointed with the level of special effects. What annoyed me were the badly executed sand snakes. Had they been better, I would have kept my original rating, but I take it down to a 3*+.
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This is a legendary film by Tim Burton, which is legendary at least for me. I saw it once when I was a little boy and I remember only one thing - that I was completely captivated by it. Not so much because I was scared, but mainly because it enchanted me with the world of the dead, which was absolutely beautiful. And that still holds true. The worlds of the dead are simply more interesting in Burton's works than the worlds of the living. Although, the house where most of the film takes place is simply magnificent. The film, shot in places as a grotesque with great actors led by a completely unrecognizable Keaton, still gets to me.
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