A great 1990s film (Groundhog Day (DVD))

Member Name: MrTink12

Product:	Groundhog Day (DVD)
Date:	02/09/04 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Genuinely funny, Bill Murray, Really good idea and carried out very impressively indeed

Disadvantages: Not too many special features

--------Introduction--------

This is film directed by Harold Ramis (Analyze This). It is a comedy, and a film which can genuinely be watched by all of the family without a problem. It was initially released in 1993. Here we be looking at the DVD Collector's Edition of the film.

--------Storyline--------

Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is the cynical TV weatherman who gets stuck in a timewarp and subsequently 'Groundhog Day' (2nd February) repeats itself over and over again. The storyline is a simple yet effective idea made into a top quality film which is as watchable today as it was when I first saw it over 10 yeras ago. Bill Murray plays Phil exceptionally well and viewers can really relate to him - this normal, everyday guy who is trapped in time.

Phil hates Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (the setting of the festivities) but he is caught in a blizzard with his producer Rita (Andie Macdowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott) and so has to stay. Obviously he is confused to wake up to find out that the day is February 2nd and not February 3rd. Phil goes through highs and lows whilst living the same day over and over. He uses the information he gathers to sleep with a woman, eats like a horse and also get away with breaking the law by stealing money or driving like a pure maniac on a train track. He tries to use the information he acquires to win over Rita's heart but this does not prove as successful as he genuinely wants and initially expects. He gets slapped numerous days running when he tries to impress her.

The downs for Phil include how he becomes depressed and goes out on suicide missions to end this time warp. For example he drives off a cliff, jumps off a building, electrocutes himself and is even ran over by a lorry. However he lives to tell the tell. When he does tell Rita this she cannot believe it and finds Phil a rather crazy character.

Over the course of the story Phil changes his outlook
on how he should live a recurring day and learns how to play the piano as well as ice sculture for Rita. Eventually Phil is successful and his inner kindness and heart is revealed to Rita who shares his bed and finally he awakens to February 3rd.

--------Critical comments--------

It is strange how the time warp issue is never explained but its not all that important. Nothing whatsoever is taken away from the film. To some maybe the scenes of the film become rather familiar, afterall many scenes are the same with the only difference what Phil says or the actions he chooses to take. Also Andie MacDowell is not the best actress the world has ever seen. Furthermore the DVD quality at the beginning of the film is not the best but the majority of the film is fine.

--------Special Features: on the Collectors Edition DVD--------

-Animated Menus - make it easy to access what you want to see.

-Trailers

(a) Groundhog Day (1993 film)
(b) Ghostbusters (1984 film - stars Bill Murray)
(c) Multiplicity (1996 film - stars Michael Keaton)

-Filmographies - has information on Murray, MacDowell, Chris Elliott and Harold Ramis.

-Director's Commentary - pretty standard 'talk about the film and cast'.

-'The Weight of Time' Documentary - tells us about the making of the movie. There are a couple of outtakes included which is nice.

--------General information relevant to this DVD--------

97 mins approximate running time
Region 2: PAL UK
PG: Parental Guidance
1 Disc
Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles are in many languages: English/French/Italian/German/Spanish/Dutch/Polish /Czech/Hangarian/Hindi/Turkish/D anish/Arabic/Bulgarian/Swedish/Finnish/Icelandic/N orwegian/Portugese/Greek/Hebrew and Croatian

--------Final comments--------

This is a classic film which is clever and is genuinely funny. Based on the fact you can buy it for a
round £6-8 and it is for all the family it comes highly recommended. The extras in this collectors edition are alright - nothing spectacular - but good nonetheless.

Summary: