30/12
The spirits of a deceased couple are haunted by an obnoxious family who have moved into their home and hire an evil spirit to chase them away. This is Michael Keaton’s favorite movie. Otho’s shoes as he spray paints the walls of the house change from red elf shoes to white slippers as he walks through the bathroom and back to red elf shoes as he enters the next room. Adam: What are your qualifications? Beetlejuice: Oh. Well… I went to Juilliard… I graduated from Harvard Business School. I travel a lot. I lived through the Black Death and had a blast. I’ve watched THE EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND EVERY TIME I WATCH IT IT GETS FUNNY… NOT TO MENTION YOU’RE TALKING TO A DEAD BOY… NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I’m qualified? The Geffen Company logo is accompanied by a macabre version of the song Banana Boat (sung by the film’s composer, Danny Elfman). A working print of the film has emerged with some added/alternate scenes. This version of the film is about 2 minutes shorter than the theatrical release, has some extra scenes and is missing some, is in black and white, and has a timecode at the bottom. This version has 4 major differences: Alternate Scene: The scene where Adam tries to leave the house after his wife’s death is different. Instead of a desert, he sees an empty darkness filled with moving gears. Additional Scenes: There is an additional scene where Lydia is developing the photos she took of Adam and Barbra. Then, after her mother yells at her and blames her for putting holes in the sheets, Lydia runs upstairs and tries to convince her father that the photos are real. There is more in the scene where the adults search for ghosts in the attic, where we see the Desert Monster trying to eat Adam and Barbra as they hang out of the attic window. Finally, there is an additional 2-minute scene at the end where we see Lydia riding her bike home from school and her parents talking to Jane on the phone telling her that they don’t want to sell the house. Lydia’s prom scene is shorter in this version and there is no scene with Beetlejuice in the waiting room. The film ends with one last exterior shot of the house. Edited for Terror Toons (2002). Day-OTraditional, lyrics by William A. Attaway and Irving Burgie [Incorrectly credited as written by William A. Attaway and Irving Burgie (as Lord Burgess)]Performed by Harry BelafonteCourtesy of RCA Records. With ghosts and dead people, one would normally expect a horror film full of screaming, bloody figures. But in Beetlejuice we see a new dimension of humor being experimented with. Considering that the film was made in 1988 with limited special effects, Beetlejuice could simply be labeled as “pure creativity”. Tim Burton is a pure visionary and with this film you can’t help but appreciate the amount of creativity that he has in his ability to translate it on the screen. The performances are top notch on all fronts. You can’t help but admire the young and promising Winona Ryder, a flower ready to bloom. A couple of viewings would be enough to fully appreciate the film.