Groundhog Day [DVD] [2002]

This is a film that ought to be compulsory for everyone to watch - there are a lot of those - but the mixture of philosophical drama, slapstick comedy and the romantic feel-good factor is just right. Although Murray plays his character with comic gusto and there is never a dull moment when he's on-screen, the poignant, terrifying and lengthy process of his redemption shocks the viewer into the realisation that this is not, strictly speaking, a comedy film. It is, however, a testament to the cast and the directors that it manages to keep its pace and sense of humour and doesn't turn into a leaden moralising mass. Although Americans can't make a war film about another country's war, they can do this kind of magical fiction about their own society. What is good about the setting and the people in it is that it is so believable - despite "Hairdo" at the beginning, the cast is full of the misfits and weirdos very rarely seen in American productions. Murray is not a clean-cut kid, and in his very smugness at the beginning is ten times the character that Andie Macdowell is, and since her Rita too is flesh and blood, that is saying an awful lot. Too many ordinary heroines would fall for Phil Connors' womanising and his too-hasty attempts to gratify her, both while he is still manipulating various townswomen into sleeping with him and after he has begun to realise that he should start to treat women (in particular) better. Although Rita is a liitle saccharine-sweet at the beginning, she knows herself and Phil enough by the end to come across in a better light. Eventually you begin waiting with baited breath for 6am, to see whether Phil has made it out or whether he must live yet another day. And the final scene does keep you in suspense just a moment longer as the clock ticks over one last time from 5.59 to 6.00... The director calculates in the commentary that to become as good a piano/synth player as Phil Connors ends up, he'd need to spend at least ten years in his loop cycle - and that's not including what has gone before he takes his first piano lesson. That's the scariest part about it, and when you watch the included documentary and listen to the commentary (which is essentially watching the film over again, as the director takes care not to speak over the dialogue) you begin to realise the enormous amount of thought that went into the production of this. One frame does cut to a shot of the "Woodstock Jewellers" - showing up the fact that this was actually filmed in a small town in Illinois, as the real Punxatawney is not as picturesque as the film requires the town to be - but otherwise the illusion is firmly implanted in th e viewers' minds. Sadly the problem with the car chase scenes is that - if the roads are so good after a blizzard strong enough to close the freeway out of town, couldn't he just try to leave? Although it raised a question in my mind, the effect is only slight and if you are fully absorbed in what must be the most gripping film I've ever watched, then you'll hardly notice. The DVD (my Collector's Edition at any rate) comes with a lovely set of extras, including a full range of dub languages and subtitles. I watched it through in English with Polish subtitles (I speak this fluently and find it good to learn more colloquialisms by this method) but heck, if you wanted to try, say Italian with Hungarian or French with Czech, you could end up watching the film a hundred times - which really would be a Groundhog Day experience. Also when you click on a menu item the cursor changes from 5.59 to 6.00, which is a classic touch and which more DVDs should have.

How many films do you know start with a premise that is outrageously impossible, undoubtedly reducing the cast to hysterics, let alone the audience, and yet have such a deep, no, forget that, DEEP message. This film wants to teach us so many things. I can't believe that it made me laugh so much, while in a way, slapping me hard around the face in doing so... I bear tribute to the skills of the madman that brought this into being. Essentially, what happens, is that a bored weatherman drops inot a provincial (real) town called Puxatawny, not realising that his life, as he knows it, is about to be turned upside down. He slowly realises, to his horror, that he somehow cannot help but re-live this one day over and over... and over again. Boring? Forget it. Bill Murray is hysterical; after seeing this the fifth time or so I ached all over; I needed a hankerchief, I laughed so much. Bill is like me so badly that I can't look at this straight without getting at least six sevenths paranoid. So how does the director KNOW ME SO WELL? Well, I think that he knew Bill Murray, who plays the part amazingly well, veering from smart and savvy, impossibly funny, to lost and scared, to cynical (the incident with the police car just cracks my eldest son up totally). Then it gets dark; Phil gets lonely and morbid, and it is odd to see just how far this is played by Murray, seemingly prepared to follow a dark path with a very bad destiny. But no, it isn't to be that way; he finds, or is shown... a way out. This is frankly when I get a bit shaky. When bill/phil finds that the way out of misery and despair is ... to truly love ... then my knees start to knock a bit and I need the tissues again. Because this is truly the touch from heaven, whether it is mentioned or not; certainly the touch of the Almighty (who does not appear on the credits especially. But he's there). This is where the film gets epic, and the miraculous is right there in front of you; Everything bill / phil touches suddenly is set alight; people live better lives, or simply don't die that day; one old man is saved a lonely death; quite a lot of amazing things in fact. I have to say that the film at this point is truly transcendent, and unlike almost anything else; it becomes simply astonishing, and lights up with tremendous power and beauty. The ending is, of course when Bill/phil is no longer thinking about himself. It ends unapologetically on a truly happy note that perhaps never could happen in real life. Or could it? It's too good to be true - it's ridiculous, but by then you don't care because the better half of you knew that it was impossible from the beginning, but that is no excuse - who cares? What matters about the impossible if no one else is watching? It's brilliant - more than it should be - almost like being in love? I need a run around the block now. That's quite enough...

I'm not sure if this is THE best of Bill Murray's films but it definitely is ONE of the best, while Scrooged was a fantastic film which I like to try and watch around Christmas (or at least new year) it is not remembered by many and if it is then its merely as a clone or revamp of the Christmas Carol story (it may be the case but I think the film has some merit of its own even if it was not entirely original). Groundhog Day is an original movie, although ostensibly about a holiday in the US when a groundhog's emerging is said to portend the weather (a little like the weather on St Patrick's day portending the weather for thirty days thereafter), which Murray and his team are there to report on, the film has become a literal byword for living life on repeat or one day being like the next. The reason for this is simple as that is the plot of the show, Murray wakes up each morning to discover he is reliving the same day over and over. That considered it could make for an uninteresting or short movie but they cover pretty much every imaginable angle to that kind of experience, the pluses, the minuses and Murray delivers as good a performance as I've seen him deliver. I wont spoil the feature, in case you have not seen it, although it has been in circulation for a long time, what I will say is more than once I've heard it described as a good depiction of what is believed by some who believe in reincarnation, also that there is some funny talk about an earlier cut of the film (I think James Rolfe referenced it when he discussed this movie on a resurrected movies clip on Cinemassacre) in which Murray has been cursed by an ex-partner and that is the source of his "living life on repeat". I am so, so glad that this was deleted from the final cut and they do not ever provide any explanation as to why this is taking place. That I think is a strength of this feature that they do not do that and instead just concentrate on the character going through it. Its what makes the difference between a classic film and a really mediocre romcom flick.

I had seen bits and pieces of this film for the first time on TV one day, and had been hoping to see the whole thing ever since. I finally decided to stop waiting for a re-run and buy it. I'm sure I'll want to see it again anyway. The plot is unique, about living the same day over and over again. There are some things that are a little hard to believe, but all in all it is well-done and portrays the important changes that occur in a person when he is given a second (and third, fourth, fifth) chance to live one day of his life. We would all be better people if we tried to do all the good that we could every day. At the same time, there is plenty of humour to keep one smiling throughout. I would have given it five stars if it hadn't been for the scene where he takes advantage of a woman knowing there will be no consequences; it could have been a great family movie for all ages if it hadn't been for that.

I always forget how much I love this film, then I go back and watch it and fall in love with the film all over again. No - don't stop reading, I'm not going to gush like an idiot :) Much has been written about Bill Murray's comic brilliance, and if you don't know him for anything else except Ghostbusters, you could be forgiven for thinking that his talents end there. Without giving too much away, this film is a showcase for his versatility. He appears to take such pleasure in playing selfish, egotistical, arrogant, TV weatherman Phil Connors that it's difficult to see how you could ever like or sympathise with such a character. But Groundhog Day is more about his personal journey than the strange phenomenon that occurs. We live his life as events leave him exasperated, and as he begins to feel increasingly trapped. Connors spends so long trying to find a way out that he, at first, fails to see the flip-side of things - of course, this is his self-centred character's only concern to begin with. Needless to say, once this side of his character runs out of steam, possibilities open up. The journey that follows gives Bill Murray the chance to show us that he can portray a spectrum of emotions with engaging authenticity; it does not feel at all contrived. After a while your perspective begins to shift, at first, you will surprise yourself as you begin to care, and by the end, you will be cheering for Phil Connors. There is plenty of mystery to the situation, but the lack of explanation for this situation is subtly clever. You could spend the whole film waiting for something supernatural to happen and be disappointed, or you could notice that this mystery helps you to sympathise with Connors and shifts the focus of the film squarely to his character and his experiences. It is this device that makes for a satisfying film experience. This is why it is brilliant, but in an unassuming way. Not a large-scale, loud, special-effects laden sci-fi mystery, but a small, thoughtful "what if" comedy with a heart.

One of Bill Murray’s all-time classics. What starts as a simple comedy turns into a clever and surprisingly thoughtful story about change, growth and making the most of every day. Murray’s dry humour carries the film, but it’s the emotional depth underneath that makes it truly memorable. Funny, smart and endlessly rewatchable. Groundhog Day is one of those rare films where the concept is simple but the execution is razor sharp. Comedy with philosophy baked in. A time loop that becomes a character study. Not bad for a movie about a grumpy weatherman and a rodent. Some films age. This one just resets the clock.

Perfect

Groundhog Day is one of those films you can watch again and again — clever, funny and surprisingly heartwarming. A true feel-good classic that never gets old. The DVD quality is great too.

Mais qui n'aime pas ce film? ;)

Le tenía cierto recelo por ser una película de romance, pero me tragué mis palabras al verla, es una gran película que resuelve muy bien sus primicias, no es pretenciosa y la trama se desenvuelve de forma magistral, un clásico que no tiene desperdicio.

Il video e buono e anche il sonoro la storia e stupenda con una sua morale lo consiglio

Dvd arrived early and was in perfect condition! this movie is classic Bill Murray...many chuckles throughout... Thank you

I got this for Christmas because I had not seen it before. There are so many references to this movie in popular culture that it is important to see it. Of course, there have been a number of other movies since that employ the time loop gimmick, but this is the one everyone refers to. The movie itself is enjoyable. A cute reluctant romance. All in all it’s a must see.