Throwback Thursday: Beetlejuice (1988)

Day-OH!

Thirty years ago in March of 1988, a wonderfully bizarre film was released that featured established comedic actor Michael Keaton in one of his defining roles.  The film also featured early cinematic performances from Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis (Both had been in quite a few television shows prior to this movie.  Davis had been in a few popular films as well).  Comedic character actors Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara provided wonderful support and young Winona Ryder was at the beginning of a wildly successful string of hit films including this one.

That film is Beetlejuice.

The film’s director, Tim Burton, was also at the beginning of a successful run of films for himself.  Prior to the release of Beetlejuice, Burton was best known for Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.  That film’s mainstream success introduced film goers to Burton’s unique style, but Beetlejuice would set the tone for the rest of his career.

For those of you who haven’t seen the film, I won’t spoil it.  It’s basic plot, though, is that a recently deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland (Baldwin, Davis) do not like the new tenants, Charles and Delia Deetz (Jones, O’Hara), that have taken over their quiet little home.  The new residents want to transform the home into modern art.  The Maitlands decide that they have to scare the Deetz family away and after multiple failed attempts, they get help from a shady “bio-exorcist” named Betelgeuse (Keaton).  Along the way they befriend the Deetz’ daughter, Lydia (Ryder), and she becomes involved in a scheme dreamed up by Beetlejuice in order for him to have free reign over terrifying the living.

The film was a success and as stated before, the cast, Burton, and composer Danny Elfman would go on to bigger and better things.  The film spawned everything from a cartoon to video games and a musical play.

I still watch Beetlejuice every once in awhile.  It’s not my favorite Tim Burton film (that would be a tie between 1989’s Batman and 1999’s Sleepy Hollow), but it’s definitely one of his best movies in my opinion. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend checking it out.

As always, thanks for reading.  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be revisiting some more of Burton’s work in the near future, as he’s one of my favorite directors.