Beetlejuice

Summary

“I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I’ve seen the Exorcist about a hundred and sixty seven times, and it keeps getting funnier every single time I see it…”

Tim Burton’s film Beetlejuice was recently picked by Warner Bros. to receive a 4K UHD upgrade. This was great news for fans of the film and a smart move on Warner’s part considering Halloween is just around the corner. Beetlejuice is a film that I was not allowed to see when I was a kid despite its PG rating. I wanted to see it badly but I think my mom was convinced that the film was inappropriate. It does have a scene where Michael Keaton says the F-word, and some of the jokes are a little risqué, but when I saw the movie as a teenager I found it to be pretty harmless. I have owned it on every format since DVD, and now that I have two boys of my own Beetlejuice has become a film we watch as a family once a year close to Halloween. 

Adam (Alec Baldwin) and his wife Barbara live in an idyllic house in Connecticut. They are spending their vacation at home. Adam is working on his elaborate model of the town in the attic and she is working on decorating their home. Local realtor Jane Butterfield visits their house attempting to convince them to sell their place for sixty thousand dollars to a family from New York. They brush her off. Adam and Barbara drive into the small town to purchase a paint brush for his models. On the way back from the store, a dog walks in front of their car and they swerve off a bridge. They soon realize that they have crossed over. They are the recently deceased. Luckily, there is a handbook, but unfortunately it reads more like an stereo handbook than a normal read. They realize that they are relegated to staying inside the house and leaving their temporal boundaries puts them in another dimension full,of sand worms. They have become ghosts. The issues for them begin when the family from New York moves in. Abstract artist Delia (Catherine O’Hara) brings her interior designer Otho (Glenn Shadix) to help her absolutely change everything about the house that Adam and Barbara love. Delia’s husband Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones) is a former real estate developer unable to stop his wife from receiving what she wants. Charles’ daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) is gothic. Adam and Barbara see a commercial for the after-life’s leading bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton.) Using the instructions in the handbook, Adam and Barbara use chalk to open a door to a unique afterworld where they have three vouchers to use to meet with their case worker Juno for help. Juno informs them that they will stay in the house for one hundred and twenty five years. She tells them that they should get the Dietzes out themselves and she warns them against using Betelgeuse. When they get back from the afterworld, Lydia has read their handbook and now can see them.

Beetlejuice is still a completely unique film. There is nothing that resembles it. For a while, Tim Burton could do no wrong. His run of films from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure to Sleepy Hollow does not have a single mistake. Unfortunately, the director eventually became so enamored of technology and CGI that his later films failed to connect with me on a human level. Beetlejuice is definitely one of Tim Burton’s best film. Written by Michael McDowell, who would also work with Tim Burton on A Nightmare before Christmas, and co-writer Larry Wilson , who would write The Addams Family, the film is a comedy that is just as invested in world building. The art direction by Tom Duffield and production design by Bo Welch helped to bring Tim Burton’s vision to life. They would work together again on both Batman Returns and Edward Scissorhands. The cinematography by Thomas E. Ackerman utilizes lighting schemes that amplify the strange qualities of the film. I watched this movie earlier this year and I can say that the improvement in visuals on this new 4K version is absolutely astounding. The score by Danny Elfman is awesome and fits the film perfectly.

From the first time Michael Keaton walks on screen as Betelgeuse, the film is his. Keaton is a multi-faceted actor that can capably perform in drama as easily as comedy and in Beetlejuice he is allowed to fire on all cylinders. From his lines like, “Sand worms- you hate ‘em right?” or the quote that I used to open this review, Keaton is absolutely fantastic. The film still wouldn’t work without a great cast in the other roles. Catherine O’Hara is great as the demanding Delia and Glenn Shadix is very funny as Otho. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are likewise very good as the recently deceased Adam and Barbara. Winona Ryder was seventeen during the filming and it is one of her best early roles. Dick Cavett and Robert Goulet both have great cameos.

I have watched Beetlejuice numerous times, and in my estimation the film actually improves on every viewing. It is one of Tim Burton’s best films and features one of the greatest Michael Keaton performances.

Video

Beetlejuice was given a 20th Anniversary release on Blu-ray in 2008 that for the time looked pretty good. The new 2160p transfer of the film looks fantastic and is a tremendous leap forward on every metric. The new HDR10 image brings out the unique lighting and colors in the film in ways that can not be understated. Fine detail has improved depth and range. The cinematography by Thomas E. Ackerman springs to life in this presentation in a major way. If you are a fan, you owe it to yourself to experience the film in this new format.

Audio

Warner Bros. has also updated the TrueHD 5.1 track to a Dolby Atmos track. The Atmos track brings out new things in the sound field and makes for a more dynamic experience. The score by Danny Elfman sounds better than ever. There is a lot going on in this film at times, and the Atmos track brings out the very best in the film.

Supplements:

The supplements featured are only found on the Blu-Ray included in the set. They are identical to what came originally on the 20th Anniversary Blu-ray presentation.

• “Beetlejuice” Cartoon Episodes
• Music-Only Audio Track
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 2/5

Overall – 5/5

Beetlejuice remains a completely unique comedy film. There was a time where Tim Burton could truly do no wrong and his strange and wonderful films were celebrated for their originality and the director’s artistic leanings. Beetlejuice finds Tim Burton and Michael Keaton at the top of their game. I watch this film annually and can not understate the achievement visually that the new transfer accomplishes. Warner Bros. have done an absolutely amazing job on the new transfer. It looks even better than I could have hoped. Unfortunately, the supplements can only be found on the included Blu-ray, and they are pretty sparse anyway. Fans of the film will want to upgrade to the new presentation because it is a tremendous leap forward from the prior presentation. Overall, this release earns my highest recommendation due to the quality of the film and the beautiful new HDR10 enhanced 4K image and Atmos track.