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Features: DVD, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Subtitled
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 send 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 Magazine)
"...a comic time warp anyone should be happy to get stuck in." Richard Corliss, Time Magazine
"...Bill Murray's best screen performance." Gene Shalit, NBC Today Show
"...brilliantly imaginative, wild funny..." Hal Hinson, Washington Post
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 | Audio Commentary By Director Harold Ramis | | Audio: English 5.1 DTS & Dolby Digital; French, Spanish, Portuguese | | Documentary "The Weight Of Time" | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English. French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai | | Digitally Mastered Audio & Anamorphic Video | | Widescreen Presentation | | Audio: English 5.1 (DTS and Dolby Digital), French, Spanish, Portuguese | | Filmographies | | Animated Menus | | Production Notes | | Audio Commentary from Director Harold Ramis | | Documentary: The Weight of Time | | Theatrical Trailers |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Columbia Tri-Star |
| Release Date: 1/24/2006 |
| Running Time: 101 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1993 | | Catalog ID: 05816 | | UPC: 00043396058163 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Portuguese Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Chinese | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
British Academy Awards (1994) | | | Harold Ramis, Danny Rubin, Nominee, Best Original Screenplay | |
MTV Award (1993) | | | Bill Murray, Nominee, 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 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
...This movie has all the qualities necessary to be a crowd-pleaser: likable characters, charismatic
Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
...Clever comedy-fantasy keeps coming up with new twists and turns, even when you're sure there's no
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