Jump to content

Beetlejuice

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 66.170.204.148 (talk) at 02:10, 15 June 2013 (→‎Plot: Small clarification on why the Maitlands need a case worker, etc.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the film. For other uses, see Beetlejuice (disambiguation). For the star, see Betelgeuse.
Beetlejuice
File:Beetlejuice film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTim Burton
Screenplay byMichael McDowell
Warren Skaaren
Story byMichael McDowell
Larry Wilson
Produced byLarry Wilson
Michael Bender
Richard Hashimoto
StarringMichael Keaton
Alec Baldwin
Geena Davis
Jeffrey Jones
Catherine O'Hara
Winona Ryder
CinematographyThomas E. Ackerman
Edited byJane Kurson
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 30, 1988 (1988-03-30)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$73,707,461

Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror fantasy film[1] directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros. The plot revolves around a recently deceased young couple who become ghosts haunting their former home and an obnoxious, devious "bio-exorcist" named Beetlejuice from the underworld who tries to scare away the new inhabitants permanently. The film stars Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton as the eponymous Beetlejuice.

After the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Burton was sent several scripts and became disheartened by their lack of imagination and originality. When he was sent Michael McDowell's original script for Beetlejuice, Burton agreed to direct, although Larry Wilson and later Warren Skaaren were hired to rewrite it. Beetlejuice was a financial and critical success, grossing $73.7 million from a budget of $15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney, her final award before her death in 1999.

The film spawned an animated television series that Burton produced and a planned unproduced sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.[2] In 2012, new development on a sequel was announced.[3]

Plot

Barbara and Adam Maitland decide to spend their vacation decorating their idyllic New England country home. While the young couple are driving back from town, Barbara swerves to avoid a dog wandering the roadway and crashes through a covered bridge, plunging into the river below. They return home and, based on such subtle clues as their lack of reflection in the mirror and their discovery of a Handbook for the Recently Deceased, begin to suspect they might be dead. Adam attempts to leave the house to retrace his steps but finds himself in a strange, otherworldly dimension referred to as "Saturn", covered in sand and populated by enormous sandworms.

After fleeing back into their home, the Maitlands' peace is soon disrupted when their house is sold and obnoxious new residents, the Deetzes, arrive from New York City. The new family consists of Charles, a former real estate developer; his second wife Delia, an aspiring sculptor; and his goth daughter Lydia from his first marriage. Under the guidance of interior designer Otho, the Deetzes transform the house into a gaudy piece of pastel-toned modern art. After consulting their handbook, the Maitlands travel to a waiting room for deceased souls, where they learn that the afterlife has become a massive bureaucracy. The Maitlands are assigned a case worker, Juno, who informs them that due to a backlog in processing the deceased, they must remain in the house for 125 years. If they want the Deetzes out of the house, it is up to them to scare them away. The Maitlands' attempts at scaring the family away prove utterly ineffective.

Although the Maitlands remain invisible to Charles and Delia, their daughter Lydia can see the ghost couple and befriends them. Against Juno's advice, the Maitlands contact the miscreant Beetlejuice, one of Juno's former assistants turned freelance "bio-exorcist," to scare away the Deetzes. However, Beetlejuice quickly offends the Maitlands with his crude and morbid demeanor, and they reconsider hiring him, though too late to stop him from wreaking havoc on the Deetzes. The small town's charm and the supernatural events inspire Charles to pitch his boss Maxie Dean on transforming the town into a tourist hot spot, but Maxie wants proof of the ghosts. Using the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, Otho conducts a séance and summons Adam and Barbara, but they begin to decay, Otho having unwittingly performed an exorcism. Horrified, Lydia summons Beetlejuice and agrees to marry him if he saves them. Beetlejuice disposes of Maxie, his wife, and Otho, then prepares a wedding before a ghastly minister. The Maitlands intervene before the ceremony is completed, Barbara luring one of the Saturn sandworms into the house to devour Beetlejuice.

In the film's conclusion, the Deetzes and Maitlands live in harmony in the house. Beetlejuice, meanwhile, is seen waiting in the afterlife reception area, where he angers a witch doctor, who shrinks his head.

Cast

Production

The financial success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) meant that Tim Burton was now considered a "bankable" director, and Burton began working on a script for Batman with Sam Hamm. While Warner Bros. was willing to pay for the script's development, they were less willing to green-light Batman.[4] Meanwhile, Burton had begun reading the scripts that had been sent his way, and was disheartened by their lack of imagination and originality, one of them being Hot to Trot. David Geffen handed Burton the script for Beetlejuice, written by Michael McDowell (who wrote the script of The Jar, an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents directed by Burton).[4]

Larry Wilson was brought on board to continue rewriting work with McDowell, though Burton replaced McDowell and Wilson with Warren Skaaren due to creative differences. Burton's original choice for Beetlejuice was Sammy Davis, Jr., but Geffen suggested Michael Keaton. Burton was unfamiliar with Keaton's work, but was quickly convinced.[5] Burton cast Winona Ryder upon seeing her in Lucas. Catherine O'Hara quickly signed on, while Burton claimed it took a lot of time to convince other cast members to sign, as "they didn't know what to think of the weird script."[6]

Beetlejuice's budget was $15 million, with just $1 million given over to visual effects work. Considering the scale and scope of the effects, which included stop motion, replacement animation, prosthetic makeup, puppetry and blue screen, it was always Burton's intention to make the style similar to the B movies he grew up with as a child. "I wanted to make them look cheap and purposely fake-looking," Burton remarked.[7] Burton had wanted to hire Anton Furst as production designer after being impressed with his work on The Company of Wolves (1984) and Full Metal Jacket (1987), though Furst was committed on High Spirits, a choice he later regretted.[8] He hired Bo Welch, his future collaborator on Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Batman Returns (1992). The test screenings were met with positive feedback and prompted Burton to film an epilogue featuring Beetlejuice foolishly angering a witch doctor.[9] Warner Bros. disliked the title Beetlejuice and wanted to call the film House Ghosts. As a joke, Burton suggested the name Scared Sheetless and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it.[10] Exterior shots were filmed in East Corinth, Vermont.[11]

Story development

Michael McDowell's original script is far less comedic and much more violent; the Maitlands' car crash is depicted graphically, with Barbara's arm being crushed and the couple screaming for help as they slowly drown in the river.[12] A reference to this remained in all versions of the script,[citation needed] as Barbara remarks that her arm feels cold upon returning home as a ghost. Instead of possessing the Deetzes and forcing them to dance during dinner, the Maitlands cause a vine-patterned carpet to come to life and attack the Deetzes by tangling them to their chairs. The character of Beetlejuice — envisioned by McDowell as a winged demon who takes on the form of a short Middle Eastern man — is also intent on killing the Deetzes rather than scaring them, and wants to rape Lydia instead of marry her. In this version of the script, Beetlejuice only needs to be exhumed from his grave to be summoned, after which he is free to wreak havoc; he cannot be summoned or controlled by saying his name three times, and wanders the world freely, appearing to torment different characters in different manifestations. McDowell's script also featured a second Deetz child, nine-year-old Cathy, the only person able to see the Maitlands and the subject of Beetlejuice's homicidal wrath in the film's climax, during which he mutilates her while in the form of a rabid squirrel before revealing his true form.[12] The film was to have concluded with the Maitlands, Deetzes, and Otho conducting an exorcism ritual that destroys Beetlejuice, and the Maitlands transforming into miniature versions of themselves and moving into Adam's model of their home, which they refurbish to look like their house before the Deetzes moved in.

Warren Skaaren's rewrite drastically shifted the film's tone, indicating the graphic nature of the Maitlands' deaths while depicting the afterlife as a complex bureaucracy.[13] Skaaren's rewrite also altered McDowell's depiction of the limbo that keeps Barbara and Adam trapped inside of their home; in McDowell's script, it takes the form of a massive, empty void filled with giant clock gears that shred the fabric of time and space as they move. Skaaren had Barbara and Adam encounter different limbos every time they leave their home, including the "clock world", and the Sandworm's world, identified as Saturn's moon Titan. Skaaren also introduced the leitmotif of music accompanying Barbara and Adam's ghostly hijinks, although his script specified Motown tunes instead of Harry Belafonte,[13] and was to have concluded with Lydia dancing to "When a Man Loves a Woman". Skaaren's first draft retained some of the more sinister characteristics of McDowell's Beetlejuice, but toned down the character to make him a troublesome pervert rather than blatantly murderous. Beetlejuice's true form was that of the Middle Eastern man, and much of his dialogue was written in African American Vernacular English. This version concluded with the Deetzes returning to New York and leaving Lydia in the care of the Maitlands, who, with Lydia's help, transform the exterior of their home into a stereotypical haunted house while returning the interior to its previous state. Retrospectively, McDowell was impressed at how many people made the connection between the film's title and the star Betelgeuse.[14] He added that the writers and producers had received a suggestion the sequel be named Sanduleak-69 202 after the former star of SN 1987A.

Soundtrack

Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [15]
Filmtracks [16]

The Beetlejuice soundtrack, first released in 1988 (LP, CD and cassette tape), features most of the score (written and arranged by Danny Elfman) from the film. The soundtrack features two songs which appeared in the film, performed by Harry Belafonte; "Day-O" and "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)". Two other Harry Belafonte songs that appeared in the film are absent from the soundtrack; "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" and "Sweetheart From Venezuela". The soundtrack entered the Billboard 200 albums chart the week ending June 25, 1988 at #145, peaking two weeks later at #118 and spending a total of six weeks on the chart. This was after the film had already fallen out of the top 10 and before the video release later in October. "Day-O" received a fair amount of airplay at the time in support of the soundtrack.

Reception

Beetlejuice opened theatrically in the United States on April 1, 1988, earning $8,030,897 in its opening weekend. The film eventually grossed $73,707,461 in North America. Beetlejuice was a financial success,[17] recouping its $15 million budget, and was the 10th-highest grossing film of 1988.[18][19] Based on 42 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Beetlejuice received an average 81% overall approval rating.[20] By comparison, Metacritic received an average score of 67 from the 13 reviews collected.[21]

Pauline Kael referred to the film as a "comedy classic",[10] while Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader gave a highly positive review. Rosenbaum felt Beetlejuice carried originality and creativity that did not exist in other films.[22] Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a farce for our time" and wished Keaton could have received more screen time.[23] MaryAnn Johanson was impressed with the casting, production design and jokes.[24] Desson Howe of the Washington Post felt Beetlejuice had "the perfect balance of bizarreness, comedy and horror".[25]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, stating that the film "tries anything and everything for effect, and only occasionally manages something marginally funny;" and "is about as funny as a shrunken head."[26] Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, writing that he "would have been more interested if the screenplay had preserved their [Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis] sweet romanticism and cut back on the slapstick." For Keaton's character, Ebert called him "unrecognizable behind pounds of makeup" and stated that "his scenes don't seem to fit with the other action."[27]

Accolades

At the 61st Academy Awards, Beetlejuice won the Academy Award for Best Makeup,[28] while the British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated the film with Best Visual Effects and Makeup at the 42nd British Academy Film Awards.[29][30]

Beetlejuice won Best Horror Film and Best Make-up at The Saturn Awards. Sylvia Sidney also won the Saturn for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Juno, and the film received five other nominations: Direction for Burton, Writing for McDowell and Skaaren, Best Supporting Actor for Keaton, Music for Elfman and Special Effects.[31] Beetlejuice was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[32] Beetlejuice was 88th in the American Film Institute's list of Best Comedies.[33] The film is ranked #88 on American Film Institute's list of 100 Years...100 Laughs.

Animated series

Main article: Beetlejuice (TV series)

Due to the film's financial success, an animated television series of the same name was created for ABC. The show ran for four seasons, lasting from September 9, 1989 to December 6, 1992. Burton served as executive producer.[34]

Sequel

In 1990, Burton hired Jonathan Gems to write a sequel titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.[35] "Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism, because they're totally wrong together", Gems reflected.[36] The story followed the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, where Charles is developing a resort. They soon discover that his company is building on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Beetlejuice becomes a hero by winning a surf contest with magic. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder agreed to do the film, on the condition that Burton directed, but he became distracted with Batman Returns.[36]

Burton was still interested in Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian in early 1991. Impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers, Burton approached him for a rewrite. However, he eventually signed Waters to write the script for Batman Returns.[37] By August 1993, producer David Geffen hired Pamela Norris (Troop Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Live) to rewrite.[38] Warner Bros. approached Kevin Smith in 1996 to rewrite the script, though Smith turned down the offer in favor of Superman Lives. Smith responded with, "Didn't we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?"[39] In March 1997, Gems released a statement saying "The Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script is still owned by The Geffen Film Company and it will likely never get made. You really couldn't do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it."[36]

"I don’t wanna be the guy that destroys the legacy and the memory of the first film; I would rather die. I would rather just not make it, I’d rather just throw the whole thing away than make something that pays no respect and doesn’t live up even close to the legacy of the first film.”
— Writer Seth Grahame-Smith[40]

In September 2011, Warner Bros. hired Seth Grahame-Smith, who collaborated with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, to write and produce a sequel to Beetlejuice.[41] Grahame-Smith signed on with the intention of doing "a story that is worthy of us actually doing this for real, something that is not just about cashing in, is not just about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone's throat." He was also adamant that Keaton would return and that Warner Bros. would not recast the role. Burton and Keaton have not officially signed on but will return if the script is good enough.[42] He met with Keaton in February 2012, "We talked for a couple of hours and talked about big picture stuff. It’s a priority for Warner Bros. It’s a priority for Tim. [Michael]’s been wanting to do it for 20 years and he’ll talk to anybody about it who will listen."[43] The story will be set in a real time frame from 1988; “This will be a true 26 or 27 years later sequel. What’s great is that for Beetlejuice, time means nothing in the afterlife, but the world outside is a different story.”[40]

Theme Park Attractions

Beetlejuice has had several theme park shows at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Japan. At the Florida park, he is not only currently the star of Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue but also the now defunct "Extreme Ghostbusters: The Great Fright Way!". He was also a featured part of Halloween Horror Nights in the early days of the Orlando park.

See also

References

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Beetlejuice (1988)". Allmovie. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  2. ^ Henrik Laine (2012-02-27). "6 Insane Sequels That Almost Ruined Classic Movies". Cracked.com. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  3. ^ Seth Grahame-Smith (2012-05-18). ""Beetlejuice 2" moving forward, says writer". NME. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
  4. ^ a b Mark Salisbury (2006). Burton on Burton. Faber and Faber. p. 54. ISBN 0-571-22926-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 55–7.
  6. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 58–60.
  7. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 61–65.
  8. ^ Hughes, David (2003). Comic Book Movies. Virgin Books. p. 38. ISBN 0-7535-0767-6.
  9. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 64–66.
  10. ^ a b Salisbury, Burton, p. 68–69.
  11. ^ "15 famous fictional New England locales - A&E". Boston.com. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  12. ^ a b McDowell, Michael. "BEETLE JUICE (2nd Draft)". http://www.dailyscript.com. Retrieved 16 February 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ a b Skaaren, Warren. "BEETLE JUICE". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  14. ^ Schaaf, Fred (2008). "Betelgeuse". The Brightest Stars. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley. pp. 175–76. ISBN 978-0-471-70410-2.
  15. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r84187
  16. ^ "Beetlejuice (Danny Elfman)". Filmtracks. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  17. ^ "Beetlejuice". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  18. ^ Easton, Nina J. (1989-01-05). "Roger Rabbit' Hops to Box-Office Top; 'Coming to America' Hits 2nd". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  19. ^ "1988 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  20. ^ "Beetlejuice". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-29. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Beetlejuice (1988): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  22. ^ Jonathan Rosenbaum (1988-04-01). "Beetlejuice". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  23. ^ Vincent Canby (1988-05-08). "Beetle Juice is Pap For The Eyes". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  24. ^ MaryAnn Johanson (2003-10-31). "Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness, Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, and Beetle Juice (review)". Flick Filosopher. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Desson Howe (1988-04-01). "Beetle Juice". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  26. ^ Janet Maslin (1988-03-08). "Beetlejuice (1988)". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  27. ^ Roger Ebert (1988-03-30). "Beetlejuice". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  28. ^ "Hoffman Named Best Actor". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. 1988-03-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  29. ^ "Achievement in Special Effects: 1988". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  30. ^ "Make-Up Artist: 1988". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  31. ^ "Past Saturn Awards". Saturn Awards. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  32. ^ "1989 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ "AFI's 100 YEARS...100 LAUGHS". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  34. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 100.
  35. ^ Salisbury, Burton, p. 145.
  36. ^ a b c Anthony Ferrante (March 1997). "Hidden Gems", Fangoria, pp. 53—56. Retrieved on 2008-09-22.
  37. ^ Judy Sloane (August 1995). "Daniel Waters on Writing", Film Review, pp. 67—69. Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
  38. ^ John Brodie (1993-08-26). "Twentieth, Norris-Clay ink pact". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  39. ^ An Evening With Kevin Smith. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2002. {{cite AV media}}: |format= requires |url= (help)
  40. ^ a b Adam Chitwood (2012-03-17). "Seth Grahame-Smith Gives Update on Beetlejuice Sequel; Says Film Will Be a True Sequel Set 26 or 27 Years After the Original". Collider.com. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  41. ^ Mike Fleming (2011-09-06). "KatzSmith Duo Makes First-Look Warner Bros Deal; Will Bring 'Beetlejuice' Back From Dead". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  42. ^ John Ary (2012-05-17). "John Ary With A Brief Snippet Of Info Re: Beetlejuice 2 Via Writer Seth Grahame-Smith!!". Ain't It Cool News. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  43. ^ Ryan Turek (2012-02-11). "Michael Keaton Meets About Beetlejuice 2, Seth Grahame-Smith Offers Update". ShockTilYouDrop.com. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Beetlejuice.

Template:Link GA

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beetlejuice&oldid=559959694"