Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice has been one of those movies that was a favorite of mine as a kid, but haven't watched in ages, and finally saw the whole thing recently. After watching it again, it's still a fun and dark movie that'll cheer you up on a bad day (even if you're having a good day, watching this movie will probably make your day better).STORYIn a quaint small town in New England, newlyweds Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) drown in the river on their way home from the hardware store. The couple soon learns they're dead, but things get worse when the Deetz family, and obnoxious family from New York, buys their house and is changing everything, much to Adam and Barbara's dismay. Their efforts to scare away the Deetz family come to no avail, so they're very tempted to get help from a freelancing bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton), but it could mean serious trouble if they summon him.CHARACTERSThe characters in Beetlejuice are well done. Catherine O'Hara does a really good job as Delia Deetz, whose the most obnoxious in the family as she's constantly demanding that the family's new house be remodeled to her weird artistic tastes, and that she's self-absorbed into her weird artwork (her abstract metal sculptures certainly look like things Tim Burton would make). Winona Ryder does a fantastic job of playing Lydia Deetz, whose a goth girl that's the only one who can see the ghosts of Adam and Barbara. Ryder nails the goth personality in the movie as she has a strong interest in all things "dark and weird" yet has some emotional diversity as to not make her look like a painfully cliche cardboard-cutout of a mopey teenager in black attire. Jeffrey Jones does a good job of playing Charles Deetz, who nails the personality of a man whose lost his nerves and only wants to hide in his special part of the house and relax while he's clipping coupons and bird-watching. Baldwin and Davis do a fine job as well with their roles as Adam and Barbara, as they match the feeling of a newlywed couple, and act believably as ghosts since they act in desperation due to their scare tactics not really working all that well (they'd do better with Betelgeuse's help later on). Of course, it's Betelgeuse that's the center of the show, even though he doesn't create a heavy presence until the latter half of the film. He's delightfully disgusting, perverted, crude, but most of all, hilarious. He certainly masters that rare trait of being antagonistic yet likeable (a similar feat Jack Nicholson would accomplish as the Joker in Batman a year after this movie), as he's doing nasty things to the main characters yet delivers such humorous lines and gags.APPEARANCEWhile not as heavy as visuals as compared to another iconic Tim Burton movie like Batman, Beetlejuice has some really good visuals that have that distinctive Tim Burton feeling to them. The cinematography of New England is quite pretty, and is a good contrast to the weird and dark visuals Burton is best known for (this is also the first Burton film where that style is fully realized). The "weird and dark" visuals are largely restricted to the world of the afterlife. You got charred green corpses smoking cigarettes, deceased poachers with shrunken heads, Barbara hiding in a closet and tearing off her face when Delia and Otho appear (no avail in scaring them), the Deetz family and their guests singing and dancing to "Day-O" before being attacked by haunted shrimp, dead football players confusing an afterlife social worker for their coach, Betelgeuse turning into a snake that peeks up Delia's skirt and drops Charles off a second floor, "sand worms" in a surreal dessert-like dimension similar in spirit to Wackyland (featured in the Porky Pig cartoon "Dough for the Do Do"), and even Delia's metal sculptures come to life towards the end of the film (there's more, but I think that gives you a good idea). Overall, I think the weird visuals in this movie were the prototypes for A Nightmare Before Christmas (and I mean that in a good way).HUMORBetelgeuse is the main source of humor in this movie, and he delivers some really potent laughs throughout. I personally felt the scene where he's hiding in Adam's model of their town and lures a fly to its demise with a Zagnut bar to be one of the funniest, as he grabs the fly and pays homage to The Fly screaming "Help me! Help me!" as he grabs the fly. Another notable funny moment is when Adam and Barbara ask Betelgeuse if he's "qualified" to be scary, he lists all of his accomplishments over the last several hundred years and says "I've seen The Exorcist 167 times, and it only gets funnier every time I watch it!!" Betelgeuse even does some more subtle things that still squeeze some hearty laughs out of me, like when Adam and Barbara shrink him back into the model town, Barbara grabs him and Betelgeuse makes her drop him by making a bunch of spikes pop out of his torso. Even some scenes that aren't centered around Betelgeuse are still pretty darn funny, such as when Juno, Adam and Barbara's afterlife social worker, has a bunch of dead football players swarming her and Juno has to constantly tell them that she's not their coach and to berate them for their overall stupidity.SOUNDTRACKDanny Elfman strikes more musical gold for his soundtrack in this movie. The main score of the film has a very whimsical feel to it, setting the mood for the film very well. There's also some scores that retain the whimsical feel of the main score but add some darker tones to match the darker scenes in the film. The use of the songs "Day-O" and "Jump in the Line (Shake Shake Senora)" also fit very well with the scenes they belong to.MATURE CONTENTDespite being a PG film, there's still some content that parents will be uneasy with in letting their kids see, due to the fact that PG films from the 80's had more leniency in what content was allowed on film. Betelgeuse goes to a small brothel Juno imagined in Adam's model of the town and there's one instance each of him dropping the F-bomb and S-bomb. After watching this movie for the first time in ages, I'm really surprised they made a spinoff cartoon series geared for kids, as they had to change around Betelgeuse's character a lot for the cartoon.PRODUCT PLACEMENTWhile the product placement in this movie isn't nearly as heavy as the Pepsi endorsements featured in the Sylvester Stallone film Cobra, it's clear that the Coca Cola corporation help sponsor the movie as there's clear shots of a Coke can at the dinner table (the "Day-O" scene) and of Minute Made orange juice. I don't know if K-Mart sponsored the film or not, but I did find Betelgeuse saying "Attention K-Mart shoppers" before he torments the Deetz family and their guests near the end to be pretty funny.FINAL WORDBeetlejuice isn't a deep or profound film, and it doesn't try to be. It's a very funny dark comedy that's certainly unique. If you want some classic dark comedy, then Beetlejuice should be in your collection. If anything, seeing Michael Keaton as a hilariously wacky ghoul alone is worth it.

One of my childhood favorites. Watched it in preparation for the new movie.

I rented it so I could show my husband- never disappoints! One of my all-time favorite movies.

It’s a realllllyyyyyy good movieeeeee!!! You should watch it. I would say it’s family friendly and not too scary.

Excellent!!

Classic Awesome movie

Beetlejuice is an outstanding movie performed by a talented cast that creates a sense of suspense and fear. The special effects enhance the level of fright throughout each scene. An especially memorable excerpt is where the new homeowners are walking up the stairs when the stairway railing seemingly comes alive in the form of a snake. The railing turned snake, rises up in a large form and turns its attention to the unsuspecting characters in the scene as they desperately attempt to escape. This special effect delivers a feeling of horror as viewers could never imagine something like that happening in real life.The vivid music creates suspense and tension within and throughout each dramatic scene as the intensity of the music increases and decreases in volume to signify drama. For example, when Lydia (Winona Ryder) finally opened the door to the attic and walked in very slowly, the music increased in volume and dramatic intensity. Another example is when Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) was evolving out of his grave after Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) called his name three times. As he emerged, the music grew louder and took on a more thrilling beat signaling to the viewers that something significant was about to occur.Beetlejuice is a thrilling movie because the characters and setting gave a real-life believable feel that captures the viewer’s attention from the opening scene. The churlish main character Betelgeuse intrigues the audience with this rude and vulgar demeanor as he attempts to assist Adam and Barbara in haunting the new home occupants and force them to leave. Betelgeuse’s presence is discordant to the otherwise capable couple Adam and Barbara as the majority of their interactions involve them pleading with Beetlejuice to leave them alone.A monumental scene in this entertaining thriller involves Lydia’s family and guests that they are entertaining gathered around the fancy modern dinner table. The family is attempting to lavish their guests with stories and reveals that Lydia has encountered a ghost in the house. The guests laugh in disbelief and dismiss the idea that there was any truth to the story. At this moment, Lydia’s mother is overcome with a force unbeknownst to her which causes her to sing and dance to a song (Day O! by Harry Belafonte) she is familiar with but wouldn’t otherwise have been able to recite each lyric. The scene evolves into the entire table of guests participating in an entertaining song and dance when at one point their heads are forced to look down and the shrimp cocktail that had been served as an appetizer seems to come to life and gropes their faces. The shrimp eventually releases its grip and the song and dance ceases leaving the guests unexpectedly joyful and thoroughly entertained. The efforts to haunt, scare and deter them did the exact opposite. Therefore, this thrilling, suspenseful and entertaining movie is highly recommended for viewers entertainment and enjoyment.

Fun, silly movie. It’s under horror but not so much. I guess it could be scary for little kids.

fast and reliable, I will order again

Love this film

love the film

En verdad que es una increíble actualización en la claridad y nitidez de la imagen de esta película. Jamás se vio mejor. La temperatura, la correcta coloración, la hermosa limpieza de grano que no afecta la imagen al verse tan filtrada es de lo mejor. Beetlejuice jamás se vio mejor, además de que posee el audio latino original y una nueva mezcla para el audio en inglés y claro, no podía faltar los subtítulos en español latino. Me súper encanta que llegue con su slipcover ya que le confiere presentación a la película. El código digital es para Movies Anywhere USA. Y sobre todo, recupera la presentación original de cine en formato 1.85:1. Súper recomendable.

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