| | | "He's Having the Worst Day of His Life...Over, and Over..."
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Subtitled, French
Do you ever have deja vu? Didn't you just ask me that? Bill Murray is at his wry, wisecracking best in this riotous romantic comedy about a weatherman caught in a personal time warp on the worst day of his life. Teamed with a relentlessly cheerful producer (Andie MacDowell) and a smart-aleck cameraman (Chris Elliott), TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities. But on his way out of town, Phil is caught in a giant blizzard, which he failed to predict, and finds himself stuck in small-town hell. Just when things couldn't get worse, they get worse; Phil wakes the next morning to find it's Groundhog Day all over again...and again...and again. Cheered by critics as Bill Murray's best movie ever, Groundhog Day is "a comic time warp anyone should be happy to get stuck in" (Richard Corliss, Time).
"Brilliant, quirky, good-natured, and smart are just some of the adjectives that we film critics don't get to use often enough, but all of them apply to Groundhog Day." David Bezanson, FilmCritic.com
"...Murray's best screen performance." Gene Shalit, Today
"...brilliantly imaginative, wild funny..." Hal Hinson, The Washington Post
"Clever comedy-fantasy keeps coming up with new twists and turns...An ideal vehicle for Murray..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...a comic time warp anyone should be happy to get stuck in." Richard Corliss, Time
Editor's Note
Once again, for the fifth year in a row, TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is forced to cover the Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, an assignment he truly despises. But this year something truly bizarre happens after he finishes the report: When he wakes up the next morning, ready to leave, he discovers it's February 2 all over again. He tries to tell his producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell), what's happening, but neither she nor anyone else understands; only he remembers that they've already lived through Groundhog Day. When the same thing happens the next morning, he thinks he's going insane and wreaks havoc all through the town. More and more mornings pass, all of them February 2, and all of them with an ever angrier Phil. Desperate to escape, he even tries suicide, but still another February 2 dawns. As he starts realizing that his exploits are not making time march on any quicker, Phil begins to change his behavior, performing a series of lifesaving tasks until he becomes a model citizen, hoping it will be enough to get him out of Punxsutawney forever. Along the way he learns more about the people around him--and himself--than he ever thought possible. The film is extremely well put together by director Harold Ramis, and the script by Danny Rubin and Ramis is sharp and clever. The actors--many of whom have to perform essentially the same scene over and over again, with only subtle differences--are a riot.
Plot Summary
Frank Capra meets Rod Serling in this high-concept comedy that thoroughly follows through on its premise. As a cynical weatherman, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) finds himself trapped by a blizzard he failed to predict and doomed to repeat the worst day of his life over and over again. At first he is horrified at the prospect of living forever in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, home of the groundhog, but eventually he must discover the key to moving his life forward.
| Features | A Different Day: An Interview With Harold Ramis | | Audio Commentary With Director Harold Ramis | | Audio: English, French, Portugese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Deleted Scenes | | Documentary: The Weight Of Time | | Dubbed: French, Portugese | | Featurette: The Study Of Groundhogs - A Real Life Look At Marmots | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Portugese |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Sony Pictures |
| Release Date: 10/7/2008 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1993 | | Catalog ID: 22645 | | UPC: 00043396226456 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Portuguese Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1994) | | | British Academy Awards, Harold Ramis, Danny Rubin, Best Screenplay - Original | |
Nominee (1993) | | | MTV Award, Bill Murray, Best Comedic Performance |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...A particularly witty and resonant comedy....A perfect character for [Murray]..." 02/12/1993 p.C3USA Today
"...A wickedly yummy smarm-alade..." 02/12/1993 p.8D Entertainment Weekly
"...[Elliott] steals the laughs whenever he's in the frame..." -- Rating: A- 07/22/1994 p.59 Variety
"...Murray's weatherman is tailor-made for his smug screen persona....Stephen Tobolowsky is hilarious..." 02/08/1993 Chicago Sun-Times
"...The movie is lovable and sweet..." 02/12/1993 p.35 Sight and Sound
"...This remains one of the most adventurous studio films of its era..." 05/01/2002 p.60 ReelViews 9 of 10
It's deja vu gone mad. Groundhog Day is one of the most original comedies to grace the screen in months. With as much repetition as there is, it would be easy for the film to get bogged down. Solid directing, combined with judicious editing, eliminate the problem. The only time we see a scene repeated is when there's something new added, and even then we are re-shown little more than what's necessary for the effect...Groundhog Day isn't a science fiction or fantasy film, so it's not interested in answering the technical questions of how the time loop came about, or what might happen if Phil stayed up all night. Instead, it presents the situation to the audience on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. I'll wager that there are few who will choose the latter option...With all of the formula-driven, painfully unfunny comedies available today, it's a pleasure to uncover something as unique as Groundhog Day, especially in the month of February, which isn't known for strong releases. This movie has all the qualities necessary to be a crowd-pleaser: likable characters, charismatic performers, a strong, capably-executed premise, and lots of laughs. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
"Groundhog Day" is a film that finds its note and purpose so precisely that its genius may not be immediately noticeable. It unfolds so inevitably, is so entertaining, so apparently effortless, that you have to stand back and slap yourself before you see how good it really is...Certainly I underrated it in my original review; I enjoyed it so easily that I was seduced into cheerful moderation. But there are a few films, and this is one of them, that burrow into our memories and become reference points. When you find yourself needing the phrase This is like "Groundhog Day" to explain how you feel, a movie has accomplished something...What amazes me about the movie is that Murray and Ramis get away with it. They never lose their nerve. Phil undergoes his transformation but never loses his edge. He becomes a better Phil, not a different Phil. The movie doesn't get all soppy at the end. There is the dark period when he tries to kill himself, the reckless period when he crashes his car because he knows it doesn't matter, the times of despair. - Roger Ebert
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