Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice was released in 1988 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The fantasy comedy was directed by the famous Tim Burton. Starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and Michael Keaton.
Beetlejuice was a box office success, generating $74 million on a budget of #15 million. Outdoor scenes were filmed in the town of Corinth, Vermont, while indoor scenes were shot at the Culver Studios, California.
The script of the film was based on was much darker and violent. One example is the car crash at the beginning of the film. The script grimly describes how the Maitlands slowly drown in their sinking car.
The Movie
The plot revolves around a couple that dies in a car accident. Adam (Baldwin) and Barbara (Davis) Maitland. They return to their country house after the accident to discover they are actually dead.
The movie spawned an animated tv series, video games, and a stage musical. The television cartoon was created by ABC, and consisted of four seasons, from September 1989 to December 1991.
A stage musical was debuted at the National Theatre in Washington. Video games based on the movie began to reach the shelves as early as 1990 for MS-DOS. In 1991 Nintendo released their console version.
The Soundtrack
A soundtrack was subsequently released in 1988 on LP, CD, and Cassette.
The Cast
- Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice)
- Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland
- Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland
- Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz
- Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz
- Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz
- Sylvia Sidney as Juno
- Robert Goulet as Maxie Dean
- Dick Cavett as Bernard
- Glenn Shadix as Otho
- Annie McEnroe as Jane Butterfield
- Maree Cheatham as Sarah Dean
- Tony Cox as Preacher
- Susan Kellermann as Grace, the glamorous house guest
- Jack Angel (voice)
Conclusion
Beetlejuice was a commercial success, ranking as the tenth highest-grossing. film of 1988. Michael Keaton was superb. The film won the Oscar for Best Make-Up at the 67th Academy Awards. A sequel was planned by Burton in 1990 only to be shelved in 2019 by Warner Bros. It has since become an eighties cult classic.