Beetlejuice [DVD] [1988]

Excellent film, excellent price

My daughter recently discovered there is a Beetlejuice play in the US and wanted to watch the original film. I saw it when it was first released and to be honest I couldn’t remember thinking it was that good but having rewatched it I love it! It’s crazy but so much fun especially Day-O at the dinner table. Already watched it twice since the DVD arrived and plan to watch it again today.

Love the dvd

As a child this was one of my favourite films- and to be honest it is still up there as a firm favourite. When I saw it had been released as a DVD I was delighted and promptly threw away the dodgy old vhs tape I had recorded as a child and could no longer play anyway!! The story starts with a young couple in their beautiful house having a tragic accident on a trip to the store. They get home- and soon discover they are in fact ghosts, trapped in their own home. A family buys the house and the couple do a terrible job at trying to scare them away- that's when beetle juice comes in- trying to scare the family with underhand tactics being quite a vulgar character. I don't want to go into too much detail about the film, as you should watch it for yourself, but it is a great classic from the 80's and is well worth the watch. I don't know how many times I have watched it but I never get bored. Highly recommended!

A loved-up but unfortunate couple find their cherished former home in the hands of a family of utterly obnoxious yuppies. In a desperate bid to expel them and get their house back they end up hiring a "freelance bio-exorcist" named Betelgeuse – as in the star. In order to summon (or be rid of) the eponymous ‘human buster’, they are required to say his name three times – and this isn’t where the Rumplestiltskin comparisons end. Betelgeuse himself is a revolting zombie-like creature; if zombies could think and act on their thoughts that is. Looking like a malevolent Danny DeVito, this impish knave is just looking for a free lunch, and thinks he’s found one in the shape of Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin as the aforementioned couple. However, none of the trio have reckoned with proto-Goth Lydia (a young Winona Ryder) who can not only see them all due to her profoundly morbid aspect but has a few tricks of her own up her black, lacy sleeve. I think it’s safe to say though, that Michael Keaton exhaustively steals the show here – a whirling dervish of a character, he leers and leches his way through the 88 minutes, giving it everything he’s got, and reminding us of his still-unmatched virtuosity; read it and weep Johnny Depp. Even when Betelgeuse comes unstuck you just know he’s going to bounce right back, and a brilliant ending sight-gag only reinforces this belief. Not since 1984’s Ghostbusters had the movie world seen such paranormal humour par excellence; on top of Keaton’s brilliance there is loads to revel in: Ryder’s dark winsomeness – and Davis’ light likeness; Jeffrey Jones as a hassled but mulish entrepreneur; the late-lamented Glen Shadix as uber-camp interior designer Otho; Catherine O’Hara as a pretentious, tenacious sculptor, and oodles of nutty energy. Seen as a one-off back in 1988, we can now look at it as the blueprint for everything director Tim Burton has done since, and I’d like to think he’ll never top it.

After the sugary fun of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Burton made this ingenious and witty horror comedy. Bristling with imagination, it brilliantly showcases the visual style that Burton would come to call his own with comic-gothic productions like Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Batman Returns. Adam (Alex Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) play the recently deceased homeowners who are desperate to haunt yuppie couple Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and Charles (Jeffrey Jones) off their property. Adam and Barbara find a useful ally in depressive goth kid Lydia (Winona Ryder), before the titular 'Betelgeuse' (Michael Keaton) throws a spanner in the works. In a way, it's a pity the film has been granted a 15 certificate because there's plenty here for kids to enjoy. Adam and Barbara's complete acceptance of their predicament (namely being dead) is a conceit usually reserved for children's films, and their ensuing antics play out like a kind of ghoulish Home Alone. But then Keaton's vile, swearing, swaggering Beetlejuice steps into shot. It's a hilarious performance, perhaps one that Jim Carrey might have a go at these days; and yet I doubt Carrey would be able to create such a magnificently obnoxious hick. The production design and make-up is fantastic. The purgatory-style waiting room scenes, with all their shark attack victims and shrunken heads, perfectly house Burton's love for pantomime black humour. Some of the 'bigger' special effects, particularly in the desert netherworld that awaits Adam and Barbara outside their front door, look dated. But hey, no amount of CGI will look this charming after 20 years.

I bought this DVD as part of my Fiancé's birthday as he absolutely loves it, I've not seen it before, we watched it the other night. Fantastic film, quality was excellent

Good to watch