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). Director Tim Burton scores big with witty site gags, incredible special effects and sets, and a unique ensemble of characters. BEETLEJUICE is a visually inventive and imaginative comedy taken to a uniquely grotesque and funny level by the manic performance of Michael Keaton in the title role.
BEETLEJUICE is number 88 on the American Film Institute's list of America's 100 Funniest Movies.
Director Tim Burton cast Michael Keaton in his next film--in the starring role of Batman, a complete departure from the character Beetlejuice.
Burton brought his animator sensibility to the make-up, effects, and sets of BEETLEJUICE, using stop-motion, animation and pixilation effects in some of the scenes.
Dick Cavett, who played fancy New York dinner guest Bernard, is best known as a high-brow talk show host.
Burton repeatedly cast Winona Ryder, Jeffrey Jones, and Catherine O'Hara in several of his other films.
BEETLEJUICE won an Academy Award for Best Makeup.
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - Music Track Only
Dolby Digital 5.1 Q - French
Dolby Digital 5.1 DDP - Japanese
Dolby Digital 5.1 LLP - English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - French, German, Italian
Subtitles - Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Bonus Shorts - Beetlejuice Cartoon Episodes
Featurette 1. A-Ha
2. Skeletons In The Closet
3. Spooky Boo-tique
Music Only Track
Trailer - Theatrical Trailer Beetlejuice
Director of Photography
Thomas Ackerman: Director of Photography, SCARY MOVIE 4 (2006)
Production Designer
Bo Welch:
Story
Larry Wilson:
Story
Michael McDowell: Screenwriter
Costume Designer
Aggie Guerard Rodgers: Costume Designer
Review 1:
"...BEETLEJUICE springs to life....A hoot..."
Source: Variety
03/30/1988
Review 2:
"...[A] mind-boggling, sporran-whirring fantasy-reality teaser..."
Source: Film Comment
p.6-10 11/01/1988
Review 3:
"...An uproarious ghost comedy....The film is a dazzling display of director Tim Burton's unique pop culture sensibility..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C1 03/30/1988
Review 4:
"This movie does for Harry Belafonte's 'Banana Boat Song' (aka Day-O) what ADVENTURE did for 'Tequila'."
Source: USA Today
p.4E 04/23/2004