 Tagline: He's guaranteed to put some life, in your afterlife What's a yuppies ghost couple to do when their quaint New England home is overrun by trendy New Yorkers? Hire a freelance "bio-exorcist" to spooky the intruders, of course. As director Tim Burton, Michael "Keaton's Beetlejuice is one of the biggest, baddest wolves a ghost movie has ever unleashed, a polter-gas" (The Village Voice). Keaton's work in this and Clean And Sober won him 1988's National Society of Film Critics Best Actor Award. Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones and Sylvia Sidney share starring honors along with wondrous production design, Harry Belafonte soundtrack tunes and Oscar-winning Best Makeup. Storyline: Adam and Barbara are a normal couple...who happen to be dead. They have given their precious time to decorate the house and make it their own, but unfortunately a family is moving in, and not quietly. Adam and Barbara try to scare them out, but ends up becoming the main attraction to the money making family. They call upon Beetlejuice to help, but Beetlejuice has more in mind than just helping. Written by simon Editor's Note: I am a huge Tim Burton fan. His unique and creative mind is never ending, and when combined with a Danny Elfman score, you are sure to have an interesting if not creepy adventure. Add an all star cast (of the time), you have a sure recipe for success. As usual for a Tim Burton film, we are treated with a cast of unusual characters, unusual creatures, and an unusually creative storyline, things that Tim Burton does best. Made in 1988, and now released as a twentieth anniversary edition, its good seeing Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin looking so young, and having fun with this Tim Burton creation. After the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Tim Burton was considered an "A" list director, and as such began receiving many scripts to look over. He found them mostly unimaginative and lacking in creativity. Instead of pursing them, he instead began working on the script for Batman while working on Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice's budget was set for $13 million dollars, with $1 million set aside for effects only. Considering the visual effects included stop motion, replacement animation, prosthetics, puppetry and blue screen backgrounds, $1 million seems rather a rather paltry amount for them. Burton wanted his visual effects to look like the movies he grew up on, so he wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake looking. He was definitely a success, as the movie won an Academy award for its make up in 1988. Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), the ideal couple decides to spend their vacation at home rather than going out of town. Adam needs some supplies from his hardware store, so He and Barbara set out for town. On the way back as they are crossing a bridge, a dog gets in the way and causes them to go over the bridge. When they return home, they are spirits, having died in the crash. Their world is turned over even more when the Deetzes move in. The Deetzes, Charles (Jeffrey Jones) his wife Delia (Catherine O' Hara) and daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) are one of the most dysfunctional families around. Charles has cracked up, Delia is neurotic, and Lydia thinks she is the Princess of Darkness. As the Deetzes settle in, Lydia spots Adam and Barbara in a window, and seek to discover who they are. However Lydia is the only person that can see Adam and Barbara, so when she tries to explain to her parents that they have ghosts, they do not believe her. Delia trying to get used to suburban life invites interior decorator friend Otho (Glen Shadix) to come and fix up the place. This imposition horrifies Adam and Barbara, and they set out to scare the Deetzes away. None of their efforts seem to work, so they end up hiring Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a freelance "bio-exorcist" to scare them away. However Beetlejuice has another plan, that plan excludes marrying Lydia so he can live in the land of the living again. Beetlejuice is out of control though, and pushes his own agenda. The Maitland's and Lydia decide to team up to defeat him, and banish him forever to the afterlife. Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Sir Terrence, November 12, 2008 -- I am a huge Tim Burton fan. His unique and creative mind is never ending, and when combined with a Danny Elfman score, you are sure to have an interesting if not creepy adventure. Add an all star cast (of the time), you have a sure recipe for success. As usual for a Tim Burton film, we are treated with a cast of unusual characters, unusual creatures, and an unusually creative storyline, things that Tim Burton does best. Made in 1988, and now released as a twentieth anniversary edition, its good seeing Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin looking so young, and having fun with this Tim Burton creation. After the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Tim Burton was considered an "A" list director, and as such began receiving many scripts to look over. He found them mostly unimaginative and lacking in creativity. Instead of pursing them, he instead began working on the script for Batman while working on Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice's budget was set for $13 million dollars, with $1 million set aside for effects only. Considering the visual effects included stop motion, replacement animation, prosthetics, puppetry and blue screen backgrounds, $1 million seems rather a rather paltry amount for them. Burton wanted his visual effects to look like the movies he grew up on, so he wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake looking. He was definitely a success, as the movie won an Academy award for its make up in 1988. Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), the ideal couple decides to spend their vacation at home rather than going out of town. Adam needs some supplies from his hardware store, so He and Barbara set out for town. On the way back as they are crossing a bridge, a dog gets in the way and causes them to go over the bridge. When they return home, they are spirits, having died in the crash. Their world is turned over even more when the Deetzes move in. The Deetzes, Charles (Jeffrey Jones) his wife Delia (Catherine O' Hara) and daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) are one of the most dysfunctional families around. Charles has cracked up, Delia is neurotic, and Lydia thinks she is the Princess of Darkness. As the Deetzes settle in, Lydia spots Adam and Barbara in a window, and seek to discover who they are. However Lydia is the only person that can see Adam and Barbara, so when she tries to explain to her parents that they have ghosts, they do not believe her. Delia trying to get used to suburban life invites interior decorator friend Otho (Glen Shadix) to come and fix up the place. This imposition horrifies Adam and Barbara, and they set out to scare the Deetzes away. None of their efforts seem to work, so they end up hiring Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a freelance "bio-exorcist" to scare them away. However Beetlejuice has another plan, that plan excludes marrying Lydia so he can live in the land of the living again. Beetlejuice is out of control though, and pushes his own agenda. The Maitland's and Lydia decide to team up to defeat him, and banish him forever to the afterlife. Danny Elfman and Tim Burton's history extends back to 1985 with the movie Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Elfman has scored all of Burton movies with the exception of three movies. That would be twelve films in total, and when you look back at those films, they are all critically acclaimed movies, with many of them getting either Academy or Grammy recognition. Beetlejuice was only their second film together, but you could see their genus combination quickly evolving. Just like all of the movies they have done together, this one has stood the test of time. It was as enjoyable this viewing as it was sitting in the Ziegfeld Theater in 1988. In my humble opinion this is a must buy for any movie collector, and if you already own the DVD, get the Bluray and sell the DVD. Cast Notes: Alec Baldwin (Adam Maitland), Geena Davis (Barbara Maitland), Annie McEnroe (Jane Butterfield), Maurice Page (Ernie), Hugo Stanger (Old Bill), Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Rachel Mittelman (Little Jane Butterfield), Catherine O'Hara (Delia Deetz), J. Jay Saunders (Moving Man #1), Mark Ettlinger (Moving Man #2), Jeffrey Jones (Charles Deetz), Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz), Glenn Shadix (Otho), Patrice Martinez (Receptionist), Cindy Daly (3-Fingered Typist [as Cynthia Daly]). IMDb Rating (01/07/13): 7.4/10 from 106,840 users
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