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Groundhog Day (1993)
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Synopsis: Once again, for the fifth year in a row, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is forced to cover the Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, an assignment he truly despises. But this year something truly bizarre happens after he finishes the report: When he wakes up the... Once again, for the fifth year in a row, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is forced to cover the Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, an assignment he truly despises. But this year something truly bizarre happens after he finishes the report: When he wakes up the next morning, ready to leave, he discovers it's February 2 all over again. He tries to tell his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), what's happening, but neither she nor anyone else understands; only he remembers that they've already lived through Groundhog Day. When the same thing happens the next morning, he thinks he's going insane and wreaks havoc all through the town. More and more mornings pass, all of them February 2, and all of them with an ever angrier Phil. Desperate to escape, he even tries suicide, but still another February 2 dawns. As he starts realizing that his exploits are not making time march on any quicker, Phil begins to change his behavior, performing a series of lifesaving tasks until he becomes a model citizen, hoping it will be enough to get him out of Punxsutawney forever. Along the way he learns more about the people around him--and himself--than he ever thought possible. The film is extremely well put together by director Harold Ramis, and the script by Danny Rubin and Ramis is sharp and clever. The actors--many of whom have to perform essentially the same scene over and over again, with only subtle differences--is a riot. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle Murray
Screenwriter: Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis
Producer: Trevor Albert, C.O. Erickson, Harold Ramis, Whitney White
Composer: George Fenton
DVD Info
Release:
May 1, 2010
DVD Features:
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, French, Portuguese
- Subtitles - English, French, Portuguese - Optional
- Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Additional Release Materials:
- Audio Commentary - Harold Ramis - Director
- Deleted Scenes
- Featurettes - 1. "The Study of Groundhogs: A Real Life Look at Marmots"
- 2. "The Weight of Time"
- Interviews - Harold Ramis - Director
Reviews
The film endures largely because of the appeal of both its story line and the cast.
The movie deserves its fans, earns our respect, delivers richly on its initial promises if not always on its greater ones, and rewards multiple viewings, even as it carries a built-in joke about the typical shelf-life of repeated experience.
Since arriving as a mild success in 1993, Groundhog Day has gradually achieved the status of beloved. The American Film Institute rates it No.34 on its list of all-time funniest movies, and it's a story that bears frequent repeat viewings.
This is a beautiful film. On the surface, a rolling ball, a silly comedy, a farce even. But a closer look, a closer look, reveals a beauty easily not seen.
A marginal success, but it could have been a complete one if the people behind the camera did as good a job as those in front of it.
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