Groundhog Day [WS] [Blu-ray]

Director: Harold Ramis Harold Ramis

Overview

Bill Murray plays Phil, a TV weatherman working for a local station in Pennsylvania but convinced that national news stardom is in his grasp. Phil displays a charm and wit on camera that evaporates the moment the red light goes off; he is bitter, appallingly self-centered, and treats his co-workers with contempt, especially his producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot). On February 2, 1992, Phil, Rita, and Larry are sent on an assignment that Phil especially loathes: the annual Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, PA, where the citizens await the appearance of Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog who will supposedly determine the length of winter by his ability to see his own shadow. Phil is eager to beat a hasty retreat, but when a freak snowstorm strands him in Punxsutawney, he wakes up the next morning with the strangest sense of déjà vu: he seems to be living the same day over again. The next morning it happens again, and then again. Soon, no matter what he does, he's stuck in February 2, 1992; not imprisonment nor attempted suicide nor kidnapping the groundhog gets him out of the loop. But the more Phil relives the same day, the more he's forced to look at other people's lives, and something unusual happens: he begins to care about others. He starts to respect people, he tries to save the life of a homeless man, and he discovers that he's falling in love with Rita and therefore wants to be someone that she could love in return.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/27/2009
UPC:	0043396226463
Original Release:	1993
Rating:	PG
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	3,250

Special Features

"Needle Nose Ned's Picture-in-Picture Track"; Audio commentary with director Harold Ramis; "A Different Day: An Interview with Harold Ramis"; "The Weight of Time" documentary; "The Study of Groundhogs: A Real Life Look at Marmots"; Deleted scenes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bill Murray	Phil Connors,Actor
Andie MacDowell	Rita Hanson
Chris Elliott	Larry
Stephen Tobolowsky	Ned Ryerson
Brian Doyle-Murray	Buster Greene
Marita Geraghty	Nancy
Angela Paton	Mrs. Lancaster
Rick Ducommun	Gus
Rick Overton	Ralph
Robin Duke	Doris the Waitress
Carol Bivins	Anchorwoman
Willie Garson	Kenny, Phil's Assistant
Ken Hudson Campbell	Man in Hallway
Les Podewell	Old Man
Red Sell	Groundhog Official,Groundhog Official
Tom Milanovich	State Trooper
John M. Watson Sr.	Bartender
Peggy Roeder	Piano Teacher
Harold Ramis	Neurologist
David Pasquesi	Psychiatrist
Lee R. Sellars	Cop
Chet Dubowski	Felix, Bank Guard
Doc Erickson	Herman, Bank Guard,Actor
Sandy Maschmeyer	Phil's Movie Date
Leighanne O'Neil	Fan on Street
Evangeline Binkley	`Jeopardy!' Viewer
Samuel Mages	`Jeopardy!' Viewer
Ben Zwick	`Jeopardy!' Viewer
Hynden Walsh	Debbie
Michael Shannon	Fred
Timothy Hendrickson	Waiter Bill
Martha Webster	Waitress Alice
Angela Gollan	Piano Student
Shaun Chaiyabhat	Boy in Tree
Dianne B. Shaw	E.R. Nurse
Barbara Ann Grimes	Flat Tire Lady
Ann Heekin	Flat Tire Lady
Lucina Paquet	Flat Tire Lady
Brenda Pickleman	Buster's Wife
Amy Murdoch	Buster's Daughter
Eric Saiet	Buster's Son
Lindsay Reinsch	Woman with Cigarette
Roger Adler	Guitar Player
Ben A. Fish	Bass Player
Don Rio McNichols	Drum Player
Brian Willig	Saxophone Player
Terry Fryer	Piano Hand Double
John Bailey	Actor
Art Anthony	Actor
George Fenton	Actor,Composer
Trevor Albert	Actor
Steve Boyum	Actor
Danny Rubin	Actor
Whitney White	Actor
Bill W. Benton	Actor
Ed Callahan	Actor
Richard Henzel	DJ Voice
Bob Riley	Voices,Voices
Reni Santoni	Voices
Peggy Röder	Actor
Andie McDowell	Actor
Chris Elliot	Actor
Rom Milanovich	State Trooper

Technical Credits

Harold Ramis

Danny Rubin

Harold Ramis	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Danny Rubin	Screenwriter
C.O. Erickson	Executive Producer,Producer
Trevor Albert	Producer,Director
George H. Anderson	Sound Effects
Howard Feuer	Casting
Kevin Barlia	Sound Effects
Rick LeFevour	Stunts
Tom Ryba	Special Effects
Mary Andrews	Sound Effects
Steve Boyum	Stunts
Bill W. Benton	Sound Effects
Ed Callahan	Sound Effects
Whitney White	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The modern comedy classic Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray as a rude, temperamental television weatherman on assignment in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the town's quaint Groundhog Day festivities. When an unexpected blizzard forces him to spend the night in a local hotel, Murray awakens to find that some unexplained, supernatural powers have sentenced him to re-live the same day over and over again -- until something inside him changes for the better. Fueled by cleverly appropriated themes from various Christmas classics, Groundhog's simplicity is its strength. Writer/director Harold Ramis shows a deft hand, gracefully orchestrating a story that might otherwise have dissolved into maddening repetition. The script is subtle, consistently funny and true to it's own strange logic. And Bill Murray brings a sharp comic edge to what is essentially a sweet tale of personal redemption, made all the sweeter by the grace of Andie McDowell as the woman worth waiting an eternity for.

Barnes & Noble - Donald Gray

A charming and well-crafted comedy, Groundhog Day is that rare Bill Murray vehicle in which the material (and its execution) are every bit as good as the star's performance. Murray gives a top-shelf performance that covers a surprisingly broad emotional spectrum, and Andie MacDowell is luminous as Rita. Danny Rubin's screenplay and Harold Ramis's direction take a frankly unbelievable situation and treat it with enough realism to allow the audience to suspend disbelief; although the almost science-fiction premise resembles that of such serious experimental movies as Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and La jetée (1962), Groundhog Day grounds its high concept in romantic comedy, in the classic journey of a grump reformed, and in the details of ordinary life. The result is one of the richest and most dimensional comedies of the 1990s.

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming