Groundhog Day (1993)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers (WGA):

Danny Rubin (screenplay) and
Harold Ramis (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Every dog has his day.

Plot:

A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Plot Keywords:

Groundhog | Groundhog Day | Weather Forecasting | Weatherman | Shovel

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 6	10:00 AM	FX
Tue. July 7	8:00 AM	FX

Cast

Bill Murray	...	Phil
Andie MacDowell	...	Rita
Chris Elliott	...	Larry
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Ned
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Buster
Marita Geraghty	...	Nancy
Angela Paton	...	Mrs. Lancaster
Rick Ducommun	...	Gus
Rick Overton	...	Ralph
Robin Duke	...	Doris the Waitress
Carol Bivins	...	Anchorwoman
Willie Garson	...	Phil's Assistnat Kenny
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Man in Hallway
Les Podewell	...	Old Man
Rod Sell	...	Groundhog Official
Tom Milanovich	...	State Trooper
John M. Watson Sr.	...	Bartender (as John Watson Sr.)
Peggy Roeder	...	Piano Teacher
Harold Ramis	...	Neurologist
David Pasquesi	...	Psychiatrist
Lee R. Sellars	...	Cop
Chet Dubowski	...	Bank Guard Felix
C.O. Erickson	...	Bank Guard Herman (as Doc Erickson)
Sandy Maschmeyer	...	Phil's Movie Date
Leighanne O'Neil	...	Fan on Street
Evangeline Binkley	...	Jeopardy! Viewer
Samuel Mages	...	Jeopardy! Viewer
Ben Zwick	...	Jeopardy! Viewer
Hynden Walch	...	Debbie (as Hynden Walsh)
Michael Shannon	...	Fred
Timothy Hendrickson	...	Waiter Bill
Martha Webster	...	Waitress Alice
Angela Dezen	...	Piano Student (as Angela Gollan)
Shaun Chaiyabhat	...	Boy in Tree
Dianne B. Shaw	...	E.R. Nurse
Barbara Ann Grimes	...	Flat Tire Lady
Ann Heekin	...	Flat Tire Lady
Lucina Paquet	...	Flat Tire Lady
Brenda Pickleman	...	Buster's Wife
Amy Murdoch	...	Buster's Daughter
Eric Saiet	...	Buster's Son
Lindsay Albert	...	Woman with Cigarette (as Lindsay Reinsch)
Roger Adler	...	Guitar Player
Ben A. Fish	...	Bass Player
Don Riozz McNichols	...	Drum Player (as Don Rio McNichols)
Brian Willig	...	Saxophon Player
Richard Henzel	...	D.J. (voice)
Rob Riley	...	D.J. (voice)
Scooter	...	The Groundhog
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Douglas Blakeslee	...	Man with Snow Shovel (uncredited)
Tony DeGuide	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Leslie Frates	...	Herself - 'Jeopardy!' Contestant (uncredited)
Simon Harvey	...	News Reporter (uncredited)
Grady Hutt	...	(uncredited)
Regina Prokop	...	Polka Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Harold Ramis

Writing credits (WGA)
Danny Rubin		(screenplay) and
Harold Ramis		(screenplay)
Danny Rubin		(story)

Produced by
Trevor Albert	....	producer
C.O. Erickson	....	executive producer
Harold Ramis	....	producer
Whitney White	....	associate producer

Original Music by
George Fenton		(music by)

Cinematography by
John Bailey		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Pembroke J. Herring

Casting by
Howard Feuer		(casting)

Production Design by
David Nichols

Art Direction by
Peter Landsdown Smith

Set Decoration by
Lisa Fischer

Costume Design by
Jennifer Butler

Makeup Department
Art Anthony	....	special prosthetic makeup
Deborah K. Dee	....	makeup artist
Emanuel Millar	....	key hair stylist (as Emanuel 'Manny' Millar)
Dorothy J. Pearl	....	key makeup artist (as Dorothy Pearl)
Gunnar Swanson	....	hair stylist
James Lacey	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cyd Adams	....	second second assistant director
Brian W. Boyd	....	second assistant director: second unit
Steve Boyum	....	second unit director
Michael Haley	....	first assistant director
Sam Hoffman	....	second second assistant director
Alan Hopkins	....	first assistant director: second unit (as J. Alan Hopkins)
Gaetano Lisi	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Gaetano 'Tom' Lisi)
John L. Roman	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Gary Baugh	....	assistant art director
Amy Berk	....	art department coordinator
Ron Bolanowski	....	assistant property master
Karen Fletcher Trujillo	....	set designer (as Karen Fletcher-Trujillo)
Amie McCarthy	....	property master (as Amie Frances McCarthy)
James J. Murakami	....	assistant art director
Joel Prihoda	....	leadman
Phil Read	....	construction coordinator
Anthony Joseph Fatigato	....	painter (uncredited)
Michael Anthony Jackson	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Mike Monckton	....	signwriter (uncredited)

Sound Department
George H. Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Mary Andrews	....	adr editor
Kevin Barlia	....	sound editor
Bill W. Benton	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ed Callahan	....	sound editor
Ann Ducommun	....	assistant sound editor
David Giammarco	....	sound editor
John A. Larsen	....	sound editor
Les Lazarowitz	....	production sound mixer
Linda Martin	....	assistant sound editor
Cindy Marty	....	sound editor
Sergio Reyes	....	sound re-recording mixer
B. Tennyson Sebastian III	....	sound re-recording mixer
Scott R. Thomson	....	cable person
Jeffrey A. Williams	....	boom operator (as Jeff Williams)
Harry E. Snodgrass	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tom Ryba	....	special effects

Stunts
Steve Boyum	....	stunts
Frank P. Calzavara	....	stunts
Rudy J. Calzavara	....	stunts (as Rudy Calzavara)
Eddie J. Fernandez	....	stunts (as Ed Fernandez)
James Fierro	....	stunts
Glory Fioramonti	....	stunts
Mark Harper	....	stunts
Maryann Kelman	....	stunts
Rick Le Fevour	....	stunt coordinator (as Rick LeFevour)
Stacy Logan	....	stunts
James R. Mammoser	....	stunts
Jim McCarthy	....	stunts
Linda Perlin	....	stunts
Randy Popplewell	....	stunts
Gina Reale	....	stunts
Rich Wilkie	....	stunts
Jeff Williams	....	stunts (as Jeffrey Martin Williams)
Daniel Maldonado	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Blanford	....	director of photography: second unit
Beth Cotter	....	second assistant camera
Dennis De La Mata	....	key grip: second unit (as Dennis E. de la Mata)
Linda Gacsko	....	loader
Louis Goldman	....	still photographer
Michael Kohnhorst	....	camera operator: second unit
George Kohut	....	director of photography: second unit
Peter Kuttner	....	first assistant camera
Morgan Michael Lewis	....	key grip
Thomas Lewis	....	chief lighting technician: second unit (as Tom Lewis)
Mark R. Lindberg	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Ann Lukacs	....	camera operator: second unit
Bradley T. Matthys	....	dolly grip
Mark E. Matthys	....	best boy grip
Mike Moyer	....	chief lighting technician (as Mike G. Moyer)
Michael Stone	....	camera operator
Paolo Cascio	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Nicole Arbusto	....	casting assistant
Jane Brody	....	casting: Chicago
Catherine Holzer-Ballowe	....	extras casting
Barbara L. Roche	....	extras casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Michael Butler	....	costume supervisor (as Mike Butler)
Patrick Caulfield	....	costumer
Julie Glick	....	costumer (as Julie Lynn Glick)

Editorial Department
Tony Ciccone	....	first assistant editor
Lin Coleman	....	first assistant editor
James Durante	....	apprentice editor (as Jim Durante)
Sandy French	....	second assistant editor (as Sandra French)
Craig Herring	....	additional editing
Kimberly Lord	....	apprentice editor
Scot Deer	....	telecine colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Jeff Atmajian	....	orchestrator
Sally Boldt	....	music editor
Sharon Boyle	....	music supervisor
John Richards	....	score mixer
Jeffrey Pollack	....	music consultant (uncredited)
Dana Sano	....	music coordinator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
George DiLeonardi	....	transportation captain (as George J. DiLeonardi)
Danny Maxwell	....	transportation co-captain (as Dan Maxwell)

Other crew
Jennifer Bird	....	production office assistant
Rafe Blasi	....	unit publicist
Mary J. Carlson	....	script supervisor: second unit (as Mary Carlson)
Julie Chandler	....	script supervisor: second unit
Ritchie Copenhaver	....	location manager: second unit
Dawn Erickson	....	assistant: Mr. Albert
Valerie Flueger	....	set production assistant
Suzanne Herrington	....	assistant: Mr. Ramis
Bill Hoffman	....	animal trainer/handler
Craig Hosking	....	helicopter pilot: second unit
Bob Hudgins	....	location manager
Jim Kindelon	....	stand-in: Bill Murray
Alecia LaRue	....	production coordinator
Susan B. Mencke	....	craft service
Kimberly K. Miller	....	assistant location manager
Kim Miller	....	animal trainer/handler
Margaret Mitchell	....	production accountant (as Margaret A. Mitchell)
Judd Nissen	....	production office assistant
Margaret J. Orlando	....	production secretary
Brian M. Schwartz	....	set production assistant
Christina Stauffer	....	set production assistant (as Christina J. Stauffer)
Judi Townsend	....	script supervisor
Jim Weis	....	key set production assistant (as James Richard Weis)
Nancy Willen	....	unit publicist
Natalie Alexander	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Kay Lyn Byrne	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
Michelle Landes	....	extras wrangler (uncredited)
Billy Pittard	....	title designer (uncredited)
Cliff T.E. Roseman	....	location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1993) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1995) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (1994) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (1993) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España (1993) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (????) (Italy) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (199?) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LK-TEL (199?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (15th anniversary special edition)

Special Effects

• Character Shop

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  opticals
• D. Bassett & Associates  negative cutting
• Holzer Roche Ridge Casting  extras casting
• Pittard Sullivan Fitzgerald  titles
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound services
• Tomkats Catering  catering

Also Known As:

...und täglich grüßt das Murmeltier (Germany) [de]
Atrapado en el tiempo (Spain) [es]
Atrapat en el temps (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Bugün aslinda dündü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Dan mrmota (Serbia) [sr]
Dzien Swistaka (Poland) [pl]
En ny dag truer (Denmark) [da]
En ny dag truer (Norway) [no]
Feitiço do Tempo (Brazil) [pt]
Hechizo del tiempo (Argentina) [es]
I mera tis marmotas (Greece) [el]
Idétlen idõkig (Hungary) [hu]
Lõputu küünlapäev (Estonia) [et]
Lakoom Etmol B'Babokker (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Le jour de la marmotte (Canada: French title) [fr]
Måndag hela veckan (Sweden) [sv]
Na Hromnice o den více (Czech Republic) [cs]
Neskoncen dan (Slovenia) [sl]
O Feitiço do Tempo (Portugal) [pt]
Päiväni murmelina (Finland) [fi]
Ricomincio da capo (Italy) [it]
Un jour sans fin (France) (dubbed version) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Germany:6 | Ireland:15 | Norway:10 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis both said that they avoided exploring the truly dark side of Phil's time lapsing in which he could do truly horrible things without consequence (i.e. murder, torture, etc.).

Goofs:

Continuity: When the three ladies with the flat tire are rolling to a stop, the pavement and tire are wet. In the wide shot and while changing the tire, the pavement is dry.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Phil: Somebody asked me today, "Phil, if you could be anywhere in the world, where would you like to be?" And I said to him, "Prob'ly right here - Elko, Nevada, our nation's high at 79 today." Out in California, they're gonna have some warm weather tomorrow, gang wars, and some *very* overpriced real estate. Up in the Pacific Northwest, as you can see, they're gonna have some very, very tall trees.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE

Much, much more than just a comedy

Taken as a light comedy, this movie would rate perhaps eight stars out of ten. But it's much, much more than just a light comedy. It is, in fact, utterly unique. The character of Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, is, quite literally, a man without a future.

What do we gain from watching this movie? Different people will take away different things from it. I discovered two very important truths in Groundhog Day.

One was the importance of concentrating on the things that last. Phil Connors must live the same day over and over again, and is forced to realize that the only real change that will ever be possible must happen within himself. (From this it is a short leap to the realization that this is the only kind of change that really matters; for in his case, it is literally true.) It is at this point that he takes up piano, begins reading, learns to ice-sculpt. But if it weren't for his unique predicament, he never would have realized this; in his routine at the TV studio back in Pittsburgh, we surmise, there was always something changing...and not changing. (It is interesting that Phil is a weatherman: the weather is a perfect metaphor for something that changes constantly...without, in the long term, changing at all.) We can be distracted by the superficial changes in the world around us, and forget that real change in our lives must come from within. This was the great gift of Groundhog Day for Phil Connors: the chance to discover this truth for himself.

The other thing I noticed, while reflecting on this movie, is how uncertainty can keep us from charitable acts. We use our ignorance like a crutch: we don't give to charity because it may be a scam, we don't offer to help someone because they may not need help anyway, and so on. But Phil doesn't have the luxury of ignorance. He knows...he knows with absolute certainty that if he doesn't buy the old man a bowl of soup, that man will die in the streets within a few hours. He knows that if he isn't on hand at the right time, a boy will fall from a tree and break his neck. Faced with such knowledge, even Phil, self-absorbed as he is, cannot stand by idly. Nor could we, in his position. This is a powerful argument for knowledge as the most reliable foundation for generous behavior. What other movie can offer an insight half so profound?

Many more truths can be mined from this movie. As others have said, this is a thought experiment that went very well indeed--better than anything I've ever seen on the Big Screen. As such, I'd vote for it as one of the greatest movies ever made, and very likely the most underrated movie ever made.