Jump to content

Ghost (1990 film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
MH441967 (talk | contribs)
111 edits
Del supporting actors from list of stars
MH441967 (talk | contribs)
111 edits
No edit summary
Line 20: Line 20:
| gross = $505,702,588
| gross = $505,702,588
}}
}}
'''''Ghost''''' is a 1990 romantic drama film starring [[Patrick Swayze]], [[Demi Moore]], [[Tony Goldwyn]] and [[Whoopi Goldberg]]. It was written by [[Bruce Joel Rubin]] and directed by [[Jerry Zucker (film director)|Jerry Zucker]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Director Leaves Laughs Behind to Capture Spirit of 'Ghost' : Movies: A suspense drama about the afterlife is the last film you'd expect from Jerry Zucker, one of the crazy guys who dreamed up 'Airplane!'|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-13/entertainment/ca-321_1_jerry-zucker|accessdate=2010-11-08}}</ref>
'''''Ghost''''' is a 1990 romantic drama film starring [[Patrick Swayze]], [[Demi Moore]] and [[Whoopi Goldberg]]. It was written by [[Bruce Joel Rubin]] and directed by [[Jerry Zucker (film director)|Jerry Zucker]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Director Leaves Laughs Behind to Capture Spirit of 'Ghost' : Movies: A suspense drama about the afterlife is the last film you'd expect from Jerry Zucker, one of the crazy guys who dreamed up 'Airplane!'|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=|url= http://articles.latimes.com/1990-07-13/entertainment/ca-321_1_jerry-zucker|accessdate=2010-11-08}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==

Revision as of 00:28, 28 September 2011

This article is about the 1990 film. For the 2010 film known in the UK as The Ghost, see The Ghost Writer (film).
For the musical adaptation of this film, see Ghost The Musical
Ghost
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJerry Zucker
Written byBruce Joel Rubin
Produced bySteven-Charles Jaffe
Bruce Joel Rubin
Howard W. Koch
Lisa Weinstein
Lauren Ray
StarringPatrick Swayze
Demi Moore
Whoopi Goldberg
CinematographyAdam Greenberg, ASC
Edited byWalter Murch
Music byMaurice Jarre (score)
Alex North (Unchained Melody)
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release date
  • July 13, 1990 (1990-07-13)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$21 million
Box office$505,702,588

Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.[2]

Plot

Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze), a banker, and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore), a talented potter, are a loving couple who move into a New York City apartment. At work, Sam discovers discrepancies in some bank accounts and confides in his good friend and colleague, Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn). Carl offers to investigate the matter, but Sam decides to investigate himself. Soon afterward, Sam and Molly are attacked by armed thug Willy Lopez (Rick Aviles), after leaving a theater and Sam is killed by a gunshot in an ensuing fight with Willy. Sam's ghost arises from the dead body next to the distraught Molly and he gradually realizes that he is a ghost whose presence cannot be seen or heard.

Sam meets Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), a con-artist posing as a medium and realizes she can hear him, although Oda Mae had been faking her abilities until then. Oda Mae is persuaded by Sam to tell Molly that she is in danger because Willy still has his wallet containing their address, but Molly is still in shock and will not believe Oda Mae. Carl convinces Molly that Oda Mae is a fraud. Sam discovers that Carl was involved in a money laundering scheme at the bank and that the attack was an attempt by Carl to acquire Sam's security codes.

Molly remains unconvinced by Oda Mae's messages and even talks to the Police, but they inform her that Oda Mae is a known confidence trickster.

Sam learns from an aggressive New York City subway poltergeist (Vincent Schiavelli) how to master the skill of moving solid objects by his mental powers alone. He persuades Oda Mae to thwart Carl's money laundering scheme by impersonating the owner of Carl's fake bank account. With Sam sitting next to her unseen, she withdraws the balance and closes the account, donating the amount ($4 million) to a homeless shelter.

Carl is desperate when he cannot access the fake bank account which is now closed. He learns that Oda Mae closed the account and declares that if the money is not returned, he will kill Molly. Sam catches Willy in Oda Mae's apartment and physically attacks him. Terror-stricken, Willy attempts to escape from Sam but is killed in a traffic accident. Willy's ghost arises, only to be grabbed by a group of howling demons and pulled into the shadows, presumably to Hell.

Afterwards, Sam and Oda Mae return to Molly's apartment to warn her about Carl, but she refuses to let her in and breaks down in grief. Sam enters the apartment and tells Ode Mae to push a penny under the front door, which Sam lifts into the air in front of Molly. Astonished, she finally realizes the truth and lets Ode Mae inside. After calling the Police about Carl, Ode Mae allows Sam to possess her body, allowing him and Molly to share a dance one final time.

Carl arrives, prepared to murder Molly and Oda Mae, but they flee. Sam is left momentarily weakened by the possession, leaving Molly and Oda Mae to fend for themselves against Carl. After evading him for a brief time, he seizes Ode Mae and threatens her at gunpoint for the money. Molly comes to Oda Mae's rescue and is knocked aside just as a fully recovered Sam arrives to help them. Finally, Carl attempts to flee through a nearby window, but not before flinging a scaffolding hook in Sam's direction. The hook swings back and partially shatters the glass in the upper part of the window, which plummets down on Carl as he is climbing through, impaling him through the chest. Carl becomes a ghost himself much to his astonishment and to Sam's grief. Sam then watches in silence as the shadowy demons arrive and drag a screaming Carl away into the darkness.

As Sam goes to Oda Mae and Molly and asks if they are all right, Molly suddenly realizes that she can hear him. As a heavenly light begins to fill the room, Sam becomes fully visible to both Molly and Oda Mae. Sam looks behind him and sees hundreds of people, presumably angels. Now realizing that his task is completed, he can finally move on. After thanking Oda Mae for everything she has done to help him, Sam says an emotional farewell to Molly and departs to the after life.

Cast

Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze, in one of the most famous scenes from the movie[3]

Soundtrack

The music for Ghost was written by veteran composer Maurice Jarre. The soundtrack also contained use of the 1955 song "Unchained Melody", composed by Alex North with lyrics by Hy Zaret, which appears in both instrumental form and the 1965 recording by The Righteous Brothers. Jarre's score was nominated for the 1990 Academy Award for Best Original Score, though it lost to John Barry's work for Dances with Wolves.[4]

Reception

Ghost has received generally favorable reviews and has a rating of "81% fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes.[5][6][7]

Box Office

The film was a box-office success, grossing $505,702,588 on a budget of $21,000,000.[8][9][10][11]

Awards

Ghost was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score. It won for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg.

American Film Institute Lists

Musical adaptation and parodies

The film has inspired a musical stage version, Ghost The Musical, which had its world premiere at Manchester Opera House in March 2011[15] before transferring to the West End in June 2011.[16] The show stars Richard Fleeshman as Sam, Caissie Levy as Molly and Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown.

The pottery wheel scene is very well known[3] and often parodied, most notably in Saturday Night Live, Family Guy ("The Story on Page One"), All's Well, Ends Well, Naked Gun 2½, Loaded Weapon 1, The Penguins of Madagascar, Futurama ("Bendless Love" and "Bender's Game"), Community ("Beginner Pottery"), Victorious ("Survival of the Hottest"), Wallace & Gromit ("A Matter of Loaf and Death"), 6teen ("Unhappy Anniversary") and Ellen ("Alone Again... Naturally").

Remake

Main article: Ghost: In Your Arms Again

In November 13, 2010, Paramount and Shochiku released a Japanese remake of Ghost, titled Ghost: In Your Arms Again (ゴースト もういちど抱きしめたい, Gōsuto Mouichido Dakishimetai).[17] The remake stars Nanako Matsushima and South Korean actor Song Seung-heon, along with veteran actress Kirin Kiki.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Paramount Reels in Power Struggle After Hits, Misses". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  2. ^ "Director Leaves Laughs Behind to Capture Spirit of 'Ghost' : Movies: A suspense drama about the afterlife is the last film you'd expect from Jerry Zucker, one of the crazy guys who dreamed up 'Airplane!'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  3. ^ a b "'Ghost' getting musical treatment". Variety. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  4. ^ Clemmensen, Christian. "Ghost soundtrack review". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Ghost". Variety. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  6. ^ "Ghost". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  7. ^ "Immaterial Affections". Newsweek. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  8. ^ "'Ghost' Performing Solidly at the Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  9. ^ "'Ghost': Sentimental Choice as Summer Hit". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  10. ^ "'Ghost' Tops Box Office Again". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  11. ^ "Hollywood's Summer of Love : Romantic 'Ghost' Outguns Macho Movies to Become Season's Biggest Hit". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  12. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
  13. ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers Nominees
  14. ^ AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot
  15. ^ "GHOST The Musical". www.ghostthemusical.com. Retrieved 2011-01-09. {{cite web}}: Text "About - Opening in Manchester 28 March 2011" ignored (help)
  16. ^ "Ghost The Musical announces Manchester dates pre-West End". The Stage. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
  17. ^ Shiso (2010-11-14). "Japanese Remake of Ghost to Be Released in 5 Different Countries". Tokyohive. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  18. ^ Fischer, Russ (2010-06-09). "Paramount to Remake Ghost in Japan". Slashfilm. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghost_(1990_film)&oldid=452790272"