Beetlejuice (Blu-ray) (1988)

"...[a] hilarious, sardonic comedy about the afterlife of two honeymooners...completely bizarre...perfectly realized...  Desson Howe, The Washington Post
"One of the all-time great ghost movies, and certainly the funniest.  Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald
"Uproarious. There hasn't been anything like it since Ghostbusters.  Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
"Coasts by like a rocket, thanks to Keaton's inspired performance and Burton's dark-carnival lunacy.  Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
"Very clever black comedy full of great characters and situations.  Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
"A surreal, demented delight.  TV Guide
"An excellent, twisted, funny film back when Burton didn't get in the way of his own filmmaking.  Widgett Walls, NeedCoffee.com

Editor's Note In the surreal, wonderfully cartoon-like comedy BEETLEJUICE, a childless couple, Barbara and Adam (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), move to the country only to be killed in a car accident while passing over a quaint covered bridge. Their ghosts return to their beloved Victorian home, and find the HANDBOOK FOR THE RECENTLY DECEASED, which not only lets them know they're dead, but comes in handy when they learn that they can continue to live in their house, even though a new family--from the land of the living--is moving in. The new owners, fresh from the city, are quite a strange group themselves, and include the overpowering hipster mom Delia (Catherine O'Hara), her pompous SoHo interior designer Otho (Glenn Shadix), her meek husband Charles (Jeffrey Jones), and their morose teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), who befriends the ghostly couple. Though the threesome attempt to scare Delia from ruining the house with redecoration and her unpleasant personality, their attempts fail. As a last resort, they call upon the services of the demented, terrifying, but hilarious "bioexorcist," "Beetlejuice" (Michael Keaton). Director Tim Burton scores big with witty site gags, incredible special effects and sets, and a unique ensemble of characters. BEETLEJUICE is a visually inventive and imaginative comedy taken to a uniquely grotesque and funny level by the manic performance of Michael Keaton in the title role.

	Sylvia Sidney
	Adele Lutz
	Rachel Mittelman
	Douglas Turner
	Geena Davis
	Susan Kellerman
	Gary Jochimsen
	J.J. Saunders
	Simmy Bow
	Maurice Page
	Dick Cavett
	Winona Ryder
	Duane Davis
	Alec Baldwin
	Mark Ettlinger
	Annie McEnroe
	Hugo Stanger
	Tony Cox
	Jeffrey Jones
	Robert Goulet
	Michael Keaton
	Glenn Shadix
	Maree Cheatham
	Catherine O'Hara
	Bob Pettersen
	Michael Bender - Producer
	Larry Wilson - Story
	Michael McDowell - Story
	Bo Welch - Production Designer
	Danny Elfman - Composer
	Jane Kurson - Editor
	Thomas Ackerman - Director of Photography
	Aggie Guerard Rodgers - Costume Designer
	Richard Hashimoto - Producer
	Warren Skaaren - Screenwriter
	Tim Burton - Director

Variety
"...BEETLEJUICE springs to life....A hoot..." 03/30/1988

Film Comment
"...[A] mind-boggling, sporran-whirring fantasy-reality teaser..." 11/01/1988 p.6-10

Los Angeles Times
"...An uproarious ghost comedy....The film is a dazzling display of director Tim Burton's unique pop culture sensibility..." 03/30/1988 p.C1

USA Today
"This movie does for Harry Belafonte's 'Banana Boat Song' (aka Day-O) what ADVENTURE did for 'Tequila'." 04/23/2004 p.4E

Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]hat counts here is the outlandish special effects, the genius set-pieces and the now typically Burton view of the afterlife as an extension of the everyday." 12/01/2008 p.200

Wall Street Journal
"Tim Burton's second feature has Michael Keaton doing a sensational star turn in the title role of a self-styled bio-exorcist. After two decades the film remains one of the funniest ghost stories ever made." 05/01/2009

FilmsGraded.com 7 of 10
"Beetlejuice" was a weird comedy horror film, and a major commercial hit. It proved that the success of "Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure" was not a fluke for director Tim Burton. It revived the then-struggling career of Michael Keaton, whose scene-stealing title character was perfectly cast. (Burton and Keaton would have their biggest hit the next year, with "Batman".)...As with most Burton films, the sets, costumes and music are very good. Danny Elfman, who has made eight films (so far) with Burton, is credited with the score. But it was the curious pantomimes to Harry Belafonte's "Day-O" that got all the attention. Three other decades-old Belafonte songs are also in the soundtrack...Like most Burton films, one has to admit that "Beetlejuice" is original. It's also funny, but it relies more on sets than a structured story to deliver laughs. Sometimes the film is more strange than funny, as in the finale with Ryder dancing while levitating on a staircase, or the scene where Davis and Baldwin age into crumbling skeletons...The film improves markedly whenever Keaton is around. He is physically unrecognizable behind the bizarre makeup and costumes, but his familiar manic behavior betrays his presence. With Baldwin, Davis and even Ryder having straight characters, it is up to Keaton and O'Hara to play the eccentrics. - Brian Koller

DVD Times 8 of 10
Beetlejuice represents Tim Burton's big break in the film business. He had already served his apprenticeship directing PeeWee's Big Adventure, Frankenweenie and a number of TV shows. This is also Winona Ryder's big film debut at the tender age of 16. She had made a couple of movies before this, but this turned out to be her most significant step towards the A list. The film was decently budgeted and as I recall, heavily promoted so it was a big deal at the time. Interestingly the film was originally pitched as a much darker piece of melodrama, but Keaton and Burton's influence twisted this into the black comedy we know today...The plot is pure Burton fantasy stuff. The Maitlands are a happily married, childless couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin). They have a beautiful home and an idyllic life. Sadly, they die in unfortunate circumstances (to say the least). This is where their troubles start rather than end. They are to exist as ghosts within their dream home. The home that is subsequently sold to the Deitz's who have very different ideas about home improvements. The Maitlands must try and scare the mortal interlopers away. They call on Beetlejuice (Keaton) to help them haunt the Deitz's. Unlike the Maitlands, Beetlejuice is a nasty piece of work and causes no end of trouble...Well I love this film. It's by no means one of Burton's best, but it is a fun film nonetheless. - Mark Davis