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Special Features
- Audio Commentary with Director Harold Ramis
- A Different Day: An Interview with Harold Ramis
- The Study of Groundhogs: A Real Life Look at Marmots
- The Weight of Time Documentary
- Deleted Scenes
Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Customer Reviews
What's good:
"The weight of time" documentary - What makes this documentary somewhat unique, is that it allows the screenwriter some screen time to convey what his vision of the movie would have been. It's a gutsy move that Ramis allowed this on his film, since the original concept of Groundhog Day was far darker than the final product. It's an interesting watch, although it would have been nicer if Bill Murray made an appearance in the documentary.
Director's commentary: Ramis' approach is to tell small anecdotes about minor characters, how people were cast, how the scenes were filmed, etc. It's interesting and entertaining in its own right. He doesn't just drone on and on like many directors do. I think his acting and comedy background helps make him be more interesting, personable, and accessable for viewers to listen to.
What's lousy:
I'm probably alone on this, but the animated menus are annoying, silly, and slow. You have to wait for the animation to get going before you're allowed to make your choice. It'd be forgivable if there were any easter eggs hidden, but I know of none. So, it's just annoying.
Groundhog Day is a morality piece done in the vein of a classic Rod Serling's Twilight Zone episode. I kind of "what if...?" sort of tale that puts a generally successful and selfish man (played by Murray) into a hopeless situation of never being able to escape a single day in a small town. On the surface the story it looks like a situation comedy with Murray's character living the same Groundhog Day over and over. However the further you go into the movie you get some true and believable character development. The fact Bill pulls it off convincingly as well as with his classic entertaining wit is what makes the movie shine.
Don't think of the movie as just some lesson to learn and take with you. While it does have that they don't preach it to you. You figure the lessons out along with Phil (Murray), and that makes for a rather deep experience. The movie at its core is a comedy, and it's such a good comedy it's rating among the top comedies of all time by various film associations. It's not just a comedy either as it also has a healthy dose of romance in it. So much romance that it can pass off as a "chick flick" for those who are into that. So I guess you can say Groundhog Day is a romantic comedy/Twilight-Zonesque/morality play.... Read more ›
The very simple story is one where Bill Murray plays a self-consumed, hyper-cynical, and arrogant weatherman with a mean streak who finds himself paying out some sort of karmic debt by having to live through the same day (Groundhog Day) again, and again, and again, and....
The phenomenon strikes him with terror (few play "overwhelmed" better than Murray) at first, which is very funny material, but it's when he becomes accustomed to his seeming immortality and liberty from consequence that things really get unbearably funny.
This movie is fantastic in that it can be watched casually, as it's chock full of slapstick style entertainment (no offense to Bill Murray, but just looking at his face makes me laugh, great expressions...); but what really endeared this movie to me was the lesson I think is wrapped up in all the humor. I think the movie is about "appreciation". Appreciation for the value of every days potential (I know that sounds cheesy), appreciation for those around you that so easily fall into the background from all the noise of our environment, but most of all, appreciation for the difference between doing the right thing and the wrong thing. This movie smartly creates a "clean A/B lab". In the first lab, you have a bunch of failed attempts to create the perfect day. And finally, all those attempts are contrasted against the control group...a perfectly lived day, one where all the latent opportunities we don't even see are exploited...
And what a difference a day can make.
I hope you enjoy as much as I did...
That said, though, I would've expected a great deal more from a 'Special Edition' of such a well-loved movie. The main differences between this release and the original DVD release of a few years ago are the addition of a commentary track by Harold Ramis and a half-hour or so behind-the-scenes documentary. The menus are also now animated and there are a few filmographies and trailers for other movies added, but these hardly help with the "Special Edition" status the disc is given. The commentary track gives some interesting info on the movie, but Ramis spends a lot of time talking about the background actors and eventually wears a bit thin on the anecdotes. If they could have gotten Bill Murray or Chris Elliott (or even Stephen Tobolowsky) to do the commentary track with him, it would've covered over a lot of the silences and helped with the narrative style, which Ramis keeps very light. Nonetheless, Ramis's fondness for the movie comes out quite cleary, and he's still fun to listen to. The documentary falls a bit flat in that in covers much of the same ground as the commentary track. Save the few behind-the-scenes photos and outtakes, there's little there that Ramis doesn't discuss in his commentary. Even more disappointing is that both refer to scenes that were shot and not used that do not appear in a 'Deleted Scenes' section.
... Read more ›One of my favorite lines:
Phil: What would you do if you were stuck in... Read more
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