11/29
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an obnoxious family who moves into their house and hires an evil spirit to chase them away. This is Michael Keaton’s favorite movie. Otho’s shoes, when he’s spray-painting the walls of the house, change from bright red elf shoes to white sneakers as he walks into the bathroom and then back to red elf shoes when he enters the next room. Adam: What are your qualifications? Beetlejuice: Oh. Well… I went to Juilliard… I’m a Harvard Business School graduate. I travel a lot. I lived through the Black Death and had a blast. I’ve seen THE EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SEVEN TIMES, AND IT GETS FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT… NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY… NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I’m qualified?. The Geffen Company logo is accompanied by a macabre version of the song Banana Boat (sung by the film’s composer Danny Elfman).. A working print of the film has surfaced with some added/alternate scenes. This version of the film is about 2 minutes shorter than the theatrical release, has some extra scenes and is missing some, is in black and white, and has a timecode at the bottom. This version has 4 major differences: Alternate Scene: The scene where Adam tries to leave the house after he and his wife die is different. Instead of a desert he sees an empty darkness filled with rolling gears. Extra Scenes: There is an added scene where Lydia is developing the photos she took of Adam and Barbra. Then, after her mother yells at her and blames her for putting holes in her sheets, Lydia runs upstairs and tries to convince her father that the photos are real. There is more in the scene where the adults search for ghosts in the attic, where we see the Desert Monster trying to eat Adam and Barbra while they are hanging from the attic window. Finally, there is a 2 minute extra scene at the end where we see Lydia riding her bike home from school and her parents talking to Jane on the phone telling her that they don’t want to sell the house. Lydia’s prom scene is shorter in this version and there is no scene with Beetlejuice in the waiting room. The film ends with one last exterior shot of the house. Edited for Terror Toons (2002). Day-OTraditional, lyrics by William A. Attaway & Irving Burgie[Incorrectly credited as written by William A. Attaway & Irving Burgie (as Lord Burgess)]Starring Harry BelafonteCourtesy of RCA Records. With ghosts and deaths, one would normally expect a horror film full of screams and bloody characters. But in Beetlejuice, we see a new dimension of humor being experimented with. Considering that the film was made in 1988 with limited special effects, Beetlejuice could simply be labeled as “creativity at its finest.” Tim Burton is a pure visionary and with this film, one cannot help but appreciate the amount of creativity he has and his ability to translate it to the screen. The acting is top notch across the board. One cannot help but admire the young and promising Winona Ryder, a flower ready to bloom. It would take a couple of viewings to appreciate the film in its entirety.
