“Well, what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today.”
Hey, didn’t I see this movie before? Bill Murray finds himself repeating the same day over and over again as he is stuck in a time warp on Groundhog Day, but he learns a thing of two about himself. Hey, didn’t I see thing movie before?
Snarky weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is taking his hated pilgrimage to Punxsutawney, Philadelphia to cover a rival weather predictor – Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog that looks at his shadow and prognosticates how long winter will be around. He goes with chipper producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot).
He awakens at 6 a.m. on the fabled day, February 2nd, to “I Got You Babe,” leaves his B&B, covers the event in workmanlike fashion, and is ready to high-tail it out of town. A blizzard forces our party back to Punxsutawney, one that Connors said wasn’t going to happen mind you – outsmarted by a groundhog it would appear. Phil turns in for the night and awakens the next day to… Snarky weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is taking his hated pilgrimage to Punxsutawney, Philadelphia to cover a rival weather predictor – Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog that looks at his shadow and prognosticates how long winter will be around.
He goes with chipper producer Rita (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman Larry (Chris Elliot). He awakens at 6 a.m. on the fabled day, February 2nd, to “I Got You Babe,” leaves his B&B, covers the event in workmanlike fashion, and is ready to high-tail it out of town. Got you… babe. Phil finds himself in a time loop and is forced to repeat that fateful February 2nd for what appears to be eternity that is until eternity forces him to reexamine his life and perhaps even find someone to love.
Director Harold Ramis knew that he had something on his hands when Hasidic Jews were picketing his film in Times Square. They weren’t protesting the film being released, but were carrying signs using the film’s message of self improvement to proselytize to the crowds. The film has been used by many religious groups, of varying faiths, to accentuate the spiritual transformation that occurs to Connors and have adapted it to use in their teachings.
Bill Murray does what he does best and uses his dry sense of humor to great effect and adds an everyman quality to his devilish weatherman as he at first thinks that he has no consequences in this time loop, is driven insane by the repetition, and then finally accepts his fate and decides to change all of the wrongs that occur on Groundhog Day and make himself a better human being.
Groundhog Day is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a mix of old and new, with the new not exactly being too worthwhile. The first old special features are a commentary from director Harold Ramis and the 24 minute “Weight of Time” making of documentary.
New to this edition is a new 10-minute interview with Ramis called “A Different Day,” but it covers ground that’s already been hogged.
Next is a 6-minute “Study of Groundhogs” which tells you about the little beasties, 5 minutes of deleted scenes (not really adding up to much), and previews of other Sony discs (but no trailer for Groundhog Day).
Snarky weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is taking his hated pilgrimage to Punxsutawney, Philadelphia to cover a rival weather… thought you were stuck in time again didn’t you? This new addition does add some special features to the mix but they feel rather light.
The movie is excellent and features decent, but if you have the other release then you’ve got it all but some minor additions. Even though I rate this one rather highly, I’d probably only consider this one if you don’t have the film in your collection.
Groundhog Day: 15th Anniversary Special Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information. Click Here to enter to win a copy of the DVD! Visit the official site & PLAY the game SquashShooter!
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