Beetlejuice – 20th Anniversary Deluxe
Edition (Warner Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Film: A-
Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!
Beetlejuice! He’s back and just
as gruesomely awesome as ever! The ‘ghost
with the most’ returns to home video over 20 years after his original
theatrical debut in 1988 with the same power and entertainment that was always
there.
In one of
top performances to be snubbed by the Academy Awards (Oscars); Michael Keaton
is brilliant as Beetlejuice… or is it Beetleguise? People can say what they want of the film or
even Tim Burton’s writing/directing style; but Keaton brought the character to
life (literally) with such emotion, character, and depth that this reviewer is
very surprised that Keaton’s performance was never more highly recognized. The film is a genius blend of comedy, drama,
and Burton’s own dark interpretation of German Expressionism. Beetlejuice
utilizes a wonderfully talented cast, an intriguing set design, and an overall
plot that remains as interesting and captivating as the day it hit the big
screen. This reviewer does not have one
bad thing to say about the film. Perhaps
the special effects have not aged as well as one have hoped (blue screen
anyone), but that is just a minuscule gripe.
Beetlejuice is one of this
reviewer’s favorites and begs the question, what happened to the old creative
Tim Burton?
The plot
is complicated to an extent, but the basic premise is that a recently deceased
(and newly ghosted) couple named the Maintlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis)
are trying to cope with being dead, all while trying to dispose of a group of
yuppie Metropolitan, city folk who have moved into their house. Prior to dying the Maintlands were content in
living their quiet New England life, with Adam building models of their small
town and Barbra cleaning around the house; but dying changes everything. The Maintlands can’t just have the obnoxious
city folk tearing down their house and transforming it into some Art Deco
nightmare; so they travel to the Netherworld with “Handbook for the Recently
Deceased” in hand and seek out someone to help them with their problem. Traveling into the depths of the Netherworld
(basically a waiting room for the dead), where suicide victims are sentenced to
do bureaucratic work for all eternity, the Maintlands run into a “bio-exorcist”
named Beetleguise who promises to get rid of their “living situation.” Soon Beetlejuice is reaping obnoxious havoc
(big jerk) all over the house, to the point where neither new owner nor old
owner can stand him. The problem shifts
from getting rid of the city folk, to getting rid of that darn Beetlejuice!
On a
similar, yet different, level than Ghostbusters
this supernaturally scary comedy is filled to the brim with site gags and
little nuances that you will notice more and more with each viewing. If you have not seen this film before, now is
the time to experience the old ghost with the most in all new Blu-ray.
Digging
through the technical features there isn’t much to scream about, good or
bad. The picture is presented in
1080p/VC-1 1.85 X 1Widescreen that has bright colors as well as a crisp image
with adequate contrast, but the low budget 1988 film does have certain
downfalls. The image is colorful but the
blacks are a bit weak for such a dark film and the film shows its age with
obvious blue-screen special effects and a degree of grain throughout the film’s
photography. Whereas the film is by no
means a stunning High Definition presentation, it does look much better than
any previous release and in the end suits the fan favorite well.
For the
sound Warner used a lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound track that just
does not get the job done, though the original theatrical release sound was old
Dolby analog A-type sound, so it is an older soundtrack. Sliding by as merely adequate the soundtrack
on this Blu-ray does not make good use of Danny Elfman’s original score and
overall the sound quality is poorly balanced and sounds dated. Some more detailed remastering would have
helped, including tracking down sound stems.
The dialogue isn’t bad and the ambient noises pop-up every now and then
to give a little something extra to the surround sound, but in the end the
whole presentation (picture included) could have been better.
The extras
include nothing new and feature the same extras that are contained in the
Deluxe Edition DVD release. The special
features include three episodes from the Beetlejuice
Animated Series; which are A-Ha!,
Skeletons in the Closet, and Spooky
B00-Tique. The episodes are fun and
well done, but the image and sound quality are that of an analog VHS; Warner
seemingly putting no effort into restoring or even slightly fixing up the dated
animated transfers. There is also a
‘Music Only’ track that allows the viewer to listen to Danny Elfman’s original
scores and the Calypso Songs in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround isolated from the
film; in the end not all too impressive.
Finally for good measure the original theatrical trailer is thrown into
the extras sections as well.
The
Blu-ray does have one exclusive feature and that is an extra CD disc containing
some of the film’s music. The CD
contains five of Elfman’s scores and the ‘Banana Boat Song.’
Daylight
come and me wanna go home…Blu-light come and me wanna watch…
- Michael P. Dougherty II
