User:Darkwarriorblake/Groundhog Day
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Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. It stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott. Murray portrays Phil Connors, a cynical TV weatherman covering an annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who becomes trapped in a time loop forcing him to endlessly repeat the day of February 2nd. The film also stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Marita Geraghty, Angela Paton, Rick Ducommun, Rick Overton, and Robin Duke.
Groundhog Day | |
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Directed by | Harold Ramis |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Danny Rubin |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | John Bailey |
Edited by | Pembroke J. Herring |
Music by | George Fenton |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $14.6 million–$30 million |
Box office | $70.9 million (North America) |
Rubin conceived the outline of Groundhog Day in the early 1990s. He wrote it as a spec script to gain meetings with producers for other work. It eventually came to the attention of Ramis who worked with Rubin to make his original idea less dark in tone and more palatable to a general audience by enhancing the comedy. After Murray's casting, he clashed with Ramis over the script; Murray wanted to focus on the philosophical elements, where Ramis focused on the comedy. Principal photography took place from March to June 1992 almost entirely in Woodstock, Illinois. Filming was difficult, in part because of bitterly cold weather, but also because of the ongoing conflict between Ramis and Murray, who was dealing with his own personal issues.
Groundhog Day was considered a box office hit on its release, if a modest one, earning over $70.9 million to become one of the highest-grossing films of 1993. It also received generally positive reviews. It was seen as a showcase for Murray's acting talents which were previously seen as only comedic. Reviewers were consistent in praise for the film's successful melding of overly sentimental and deeply cynical moments. It went on to receive multiple award nominations, and won a BAFTA award for Best Original Screenplay. For all its success, the film marked the end of Ramis' and Murray's long collaborative partnership that had produced films like Caddyshack (1980) and Ghostbusters (1984). The pair would not speak after filming until shortly before Ramis' death in 2014. The film is considered a turning point for Murray, who became considered as a more serious lead actor in critically acclaimed roles.
In the years since its release, the film has grown in esteem and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest films of the 1990s and one of the greatest comedy films of all time. It also had a significant cultural impact; the term "Groundhog Day" is part of the English lexicon used to describe a monotonous, unpleasant, and repetitive situation. It has been analyzed and presented as a religious allegory by Buddhists, Christians, and Jews who each see a deeper philosophical meaning behind the film's repetitive narrative and the redemption of Murray's character. Groundhog Day is credited with the mainstream acceptance of mixing Fantasy genre elements into comedy. In 2006, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Groundhog Dayhas been adapted into a musical, a Jeep commercial, and a video game sequel, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son.