It's a Wonderful Life (1946) or, The Big, Marvelous, Sappy Christmas Miracle for George Bailey

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Images of family and rapturous love make up this bright, uplifting poster for Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life

George Bailey has been a good person, who put his own ambitions aside in order to run a little town's loan's bank, when his father passed away, but now, due to a kind of accident, he is falling on his heels and considers ending things. Guardian angel Clarence must attempt to salvage him.

 

It's a Wonderful Life is written by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett  (A Certain Smile (1958), both) and Italian-American master filmmaker Frank Capra (The Strong Man (1926)), whose 32th feature it was. Jo Swerling (Thunder in the East (1952)) and Michael Wilson (Friendly Persuasion (1956)) made screenplay contributions. It is based on the short story The Greatest Gift (1943) by Philip Von Doren Stern (They Were There (1959)), in turn inspired by Charles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol (1843).

Capra's grand Christmas narrative quickly conquers one's heart and plays American football with it until its end. There are wonderful performances from James Stewart (Rope (1948)) and Lionel Barrymore (The Tender Hearted Boy (1913)) as the dastardly Potter. Stewart's Bailey is a matter of taste. I actually find him fairly intolerable both at his peak of positivity and when he hits bottom, as well as after this.

But It's a Wonderful Life is also a very funny picture, which always elects 'the high road': More is better here in the thick tale; Bailey does not get romance; all the townspeople bring buckets of cash to help out their fellow man etc. It is childishly sentimental in the extreme, yet also inventive and highly memorable. There are continuity issues and a high count of jump cuts. But a bona fide classic it is.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 3.18 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 16.4 mil. $ (projected original release and post 2000 re-releases only)

= Initial flop, later hit (projected original return of 2.10 times its cost; later grown to more than 5.15 times its cost)

[It's a Wonderful Life premiered 20 December (New York) and runs 131 minutes. Capra claimed to have paid 50k $ for the rights to the story from RKO Pictures, who claimed it was 10k $, the same amount they had paid for it before also paying for screenplays written. Husband and wife writing team Goodrich and Hackett soured over Capra's involvement with the script, and Hackett summed up that the filmmaker was "a very arrogant son of a bitch." Shooting took place from April - July 1946 in New York and California, including in Los Angeles. The fictional Bedford Falls town was a massive movie set. Composer Dmitri Tiomkin also fell out with Capra over the film, as his work was left out or cut needlessly, in his opinion. Capra also had issues with the cinematographer Victor Milner, and once he fell ill had him replaced, until the replacement also needed to be replaced. The film was the year's 26th highest-grossing domestically of the year (out of +400 released pictures) but reportedly resulted in a 525k $ loss for distributor RKO. We may from this presume a total original gross around 6.7 mil. $. Box Office Mojo records post 2000 re-release earnings of 9.7 mil. $, especially from North America and the UK, where the film is extremely popular. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actor (Stewart) to Fredric March for The Best Years of Our Lives, Director to William Wyler for the same film, Editing and Picture also to The Best Years of Our Lives, and Sound, Recording to The Jolson Story. It won a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. It was Capra's favorite of all his films, and he was thrilled to experience how its popularity blossomed, as it became grew into a Christmas stable on TV decades after its release. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #21 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Se7en (1995) and Seven Samurai (1954). Capra returned with State of the Union (1948). Stewart returned in Magic Town (1947). It's a Wonderful Life is certified fresh at 94 % with a 9.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of It's a Wonderful Life? 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow/Ieri, Oggi, Domani (1963) - De Sica and stars triumph with sexy smash

♥♥♥♥♥

 

Gorgeously painted and colored situations from the film are highlighted on this delightful poster for Vittorio De Sica's Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

A three-story anthology: A Neapolitan mother is to be imprisoned, if she won't stop birthing children. A rich and superficial star. And a passionate couple nearly steer a young man into decline.

 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is written by Eduardo De Filippo (Frisky/Pane, Amore e Gelosia (1954)), Isabella Quarantotti (Kiss the Other Sheek/Oggi, Domani, Dopodomani (1965)), Billa Billa (Ragazze d'Oggi (1955, actor)) and Cesare Zavattini (Woman Times Seven (1967)), with one segment adapting a novel by Alberto Moravia (Il Disprezzo/Contempt (1954)), and directed by Italian master filmmaker Vittorio De Sica (Rose Scarlatte (1940)), whose 18th feature it was. The title is a literal translation of the original Italian title.

Giuseppe Rotunno's (Red Sonja (1985)) photography dwells on the Italian beauty in three stories that are a perfect combination of sweetness, bittersweetness and desire. Sophia Loren (Io Sono il Capataz (1951)) and Marcello Mastroianni (I Grandi Peccatori (L'Eterna Catena) (1952)) are ravishing and seem as divinely meant for each other. - The film is a far cry from the corset of neorealism that De Sica championed in his earlier masterworks such as Bicycle Thieves/Ladri di Biciclette (1948), the ultimate one.

Armando Trovajoli's (Mario, Maria e Mario (1993)) music is beautiful and flirtatious. Is the film a bit dated? Perhaps. And a non-Catholic may also object to the salvaging of the young man in the third story, through his joining the cloth and thereby (stifling, potentially dangerous) celibacy. But these are minor reservations to a glorious film.

 

Related posts:

 

Vittorio De Sica: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis/Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini (1970) - An exquisite, painful De Sica WWII love drama

A Farewell to Arms (1957) or, Love in Spite! (co-star)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown, projected 1.5 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 21.75 mil. $ (North America, France, Germany and Italy alone)

= Uncertain but likely a mega-hit (projected return of at least 16.66 times its cost)

[Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow was released 21 December (Italy) and runs 118 minutes. Loren was reportedly paid 500k $ for her performance. Shooting took place in Italy, including in Rome. It is listed as having sold 13.39 mil. tickets across France, Germany and Italy, coming to approximately 12.45 mil. $. Together with its impressive North-American gross of 9.3 mil. $, it should have cleared 21.75 mil. $ in these markets alone. Likely its total gross exceeds 25 and perhaps even 30 mil. $. The film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, a BAFTA, 3 David di Donatello award, 1/2 Golden Globe nominations and a National Board of Review award, among other honors. De Sica returned with Marriage Italian Style/Matrimonio all'Italiana (1964). Loren returned first in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and then with Mastroianni in his return also, Marriage Italian Style. 10k+ IMDb users have given Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow a 7.2/10 average rating.]

 

What do you think of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?

I Confess (1953) - Hitch's great drama of a Father caught by the confessional vow

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A very dramatic rendering on a firetruck red background of a man seemingly assaulting a woman makes up most of this extremely text-heavy poster for Alfred Hitchcock's I Confess

In Quebec, Canada, the German Keller confesses to murder to a the young father Logan, who since himself becomes the main suspect in the case. And while Logan's life is ruined by this, he cannot break his confessional vow of silence.

 

I Confess is written by William Archibald (The Innocents (1961)) and George Tabori (No Exit (1962)), adapting the 1902 play Nos Deux Consciences by Paul Anthelme Bourde (La Fin de Veux Temps (1892)), and directed by English master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock (The Pleasure Garden (1925)), whose 39th feature it was.

It is a very typical Hitchcock film about a wrongly accused man, who gets trapped in the judicial system. Thematically and religiously it is similar to Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956), of which nevertheless my preference probably goes to the latter film (due to its atmospheric New York setting and the score.)

The acting is formidable: Montgomery Clift (Wild River (1960)) across from the human scum in the guise of the German Keller, played by O.E. Hasse (Geliebter Lügner (1963, TV movie)). Anne Baxter (Columbo (1973, TV-series)) and Karl Malden (Nuts (1987)) also lend fine performances to the film. Technically also I Confess is a joy, as, among other finesses, it has some fine dreamy flashbacks.

 

Related posts:

Alfred Hitchcock: Frenzy (1972) - Hitchcock's great, morbid tie killer thriller 

The Birds (1963) - Hitchcock spearheads horror sub-genre and innovative special effects in great, odd film
Dial M for Murder (1954) - Hitchcock's 3D thriller is hindered by theatrics
The 39 Steps (1935) or, Murder and High Jinx!  

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 2 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain

[I Confess premiered 12 February (Quebec) and runs 95 minutes. Controversial elements from the play had to be eliminated before production. Shooting took place from August - October 1952 in California and Quebec. Hitch had great difficulty catering to Clift's method acting technique, which he saw as inability to take direction. The film suffered many bad reviews domestically, but Variety reported it among 1953's biggest hits in a 1954 article, listing a 2 mil. $ domestic gross. Hitchcock returned with Dial M for Murder (1954). Clift returned in Terminal Station (1953); Baxter in The Blue Gardenia (1953). I Confess is fresh at 81 % with a 7.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Confess?

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior/องค์บาก (2003) - The acrobatic martial arts breakthrough

♥♥♥

 

+ Best $ Return of the Year: 18.3 times its cost + Best Martial Arts Movie of the Year + Best Thai Movie of the Year

 

Star Tony Jaa's muscular back in warm, earthy tones makes up this poster for Prachya Pinkaew's Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

When a Thai village have the head of their protective Ong-Bak Buddha statue stolen, a young, virile man gets chosen to head out on the dangerous journey to the big city (Bangkok) to repossess the holy artifact.

 

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is written by Suphachai Sittiaumponpan (Thai Theeb (2006)), with Panna Rittikrai (Black Goblins (1990)) and co-writer/co-producer/director Prachya Pinkaew (Rawng tah laep plaep (1992)) contributing story elements.

Young Ting (Tony Jaa (Monster Hunter (2020))), the brave young man in question, beats up and suffers beatings from a fantastic amount of people, and the fighting scenes take up most of the film's running time. And here are very cool and acrobatic choreography to admire.

Aside from this significant quality, Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is overlong and, outside of its action, amateurish.

 

Related post:

 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 1.1 mil. $

Box office: 20.2 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 18.3 times its cost)

[Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior premiered 21 January (Bangkok International Film Festival) and runs 108-105 minutes (Thai version/international version). Shooting took place in Thailand, including in Bangkok. The film opened #17 to a 1.3 mil. $ first weekend in 387 theaters in North America, its 2nd biggest market, where it grossed 4.5 mil. $ (22.3 of the total gross). The biggest market was France with 6.4 mil. $ (31.7 %), and 3rd biggest was Thailand with 2.5 mil. $ (12.4 %). The success resulted in 2 sequels; Ong-Bak 2 (2008) and Ong-Bak 3 (2010), with Jaa and Pinkaew returning. Pinkaew first returned with The Protector/Tom yum goong (2005), which was also Jaa's next movie. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior?

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) - Wonderful, thematically vivid and compelling Disney animation

♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Big Hit Movie of the Year + Best Family Movie of the Year + Best Paris Movie of the Year + Best Religious Movie of the Year  

 

A splendid, packed, wonderfully vivid poster for Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

As a child Quasimodo is nearly killed by judge Claude Frollo, but instead of suffering death, Quasimodo grows to become the hunchbacked resident of Paris' Notre Dame cathedral, with Frollo his master. But he is a hypocritical tyrant, and Quasimodo's urge to be free is undeniable.

 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is written by Tab Murphy (Brother Bear (2003)), Irene Mecchi (Fantasia 2000 (1999, segment)), Bob Tzudiker (Anastasia (1997)), Noni White (102 Dalmatians (2000)) and Jonathan Roberts (The Lion King (1994)), with 19 (!) more individuals contributing story elements, and directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise (Beauty and the Beast (1991), both). It is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's (Bug-Jargal (1826)) classic novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831).

A strong plot and compelling story, - one also unusual for a Disney animation, featuring quite a bit of Christian themes, - make The Hunchback of Notre Dame very worthwhile. CGI is blended seamlessly with the delightful animation. The songs are not among the best from Disney musicals, but The Hunchback of Notre Dame is still a mighty fine film.

Related post:

1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 70 mil. $

Box office: 325.3 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.64 times its cost)

[The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered 19 June (New Orleans) and runs 91 minutes. The idea to adapt Hugo's old novel came to Disney development executive David Stainton in 1993. Production took place in California from June 1993 - November 1995. The novel's controversial elements presented many challenges for the filmmakers, and the film is considered one of the darkest and most adult in themes and nature, among the Disney films. (Themes include infanticide, racism, genocide, Christianity, lust, damnation and sin.) The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Eraser, to a 21 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weekends (#3-#4) and grossed 100.1 mil. $ (30.8 % of the total gross). It was the 5th highest-grossing film of the year. Disney spent 40 mil. $ marketing the film, and spin-off marketing products reportedly racked in 500 mil. $ for the Mouse House. The VHS was also wildly profitable: By 1998 it had made more than 200 mil. $ on North-American video sales and rentals alone. The film was nominated for the Best Score (Comedy/Musical) Oscar (Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz), lost to Rachel Portman for Emma. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Direct-to-video sequel The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2: The Secret of the Bell (2002) was produced, along with video games and a stage musical version, and a live-action remake is now in the works. Trousdale and Wise returned with Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). Tom Hulce (Slam Dance (1987)), who voices Quasimodo, returned in The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2: The Secret of the Bell (2002); Tony Jay (Beauty and the Beast (1991)), who voices Frollo, in Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996, TV movie)). The Hunchback of Notre Dame is fresh at 71 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Pi/π (1998) - Aronofsky's mystical thriller shows wild promise

♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best B/W Movie of the Year + Best Debut of the Year + Best Low-Budget Movie of the Year + Best Thriller of the Year

 

A mysterious poster that seems to promise a demanding watch here for Darren Aronofsky's Pi

Max Cohen is a mathematical genius and a pill addict. He is working on mapping out the mathematical pattern that may lie behind everything in the world but instead uncovers a number with 216 ciphers, which may be God.

 

Pi is written and directed by debuting New-Yorker master filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler (2008)) with co-writer/star Sean Gullette (Traitors (2013)) and Eric Watson (It Snows All the Time (2016)) contributing story elements.

Cohen, acted truly incredibly by the unknown Gullette, gets hunted by Jewish mystics and capitalists and by his own nightmares.

Pi is an extraordinary film in more ways than one, preceding Aronofsky's horrifying drug movie masterpiece Requiem for a Dream. His unique visual talent is already wide awake here with cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Chi-Raq (2015)) handling the film's gritty B/W images, which finds patterns in everything. Pi is a beautiful film.

 

Related posts:

Darren Aronofsky: mother! (2017) - Bring a flask with you to this one!
Black Swan (2010) or, Manic Dance 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Fountain (2006) - Aronofsky's sensorial meditation on mortality 

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 134k $

Box office: 3.2 mil. $ (North America alone)

= Mega-hit (returned at least 23.88 times its cost)

[Pi premiered in January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 84 minutes. The film's tiny budget was reportedly collected through donations from family and friends. Shooting took place in New York from October - November 1996. The actors were paid 75$ a day, locations, the camera and costumes were loaned, and the production shot without permits in New York and instead used a crew member as a lookout in case police was coming. Post-production costs eventually totaled more than the production costs at 68k $ against 60k $ for the production. The film opened #20 to a 31k $ first weekend in 1 theater in North America. It was also released in several foreign markets and screened at festivals, but regrettably the foreign grosses are not made public. It won 1/3 Independent Spirit award nominations, a National Board of Review award and a prize at Sundance, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Aronofsky returned with Requiem for a Dream (2000). Gullette returned in Joe's Day (1998). Pi is certified fresh at 88 % with a 7.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Pi?

Going My Way (1944) or, Benign Father O'Malley

♥♥♥

 

A very red-dressed woman and a man in a black frock amid different other elements make up this disheveled poster for Leo McCarey's Going My Way    

 

A Catholic priest from Illinois gets sent to a New York parish in financial troubles, but his modern, fresh attitudes give rise to difficulties with the church's aging father, who built it.

Going My Way is written by Frank Butler (Untamed (1940)) and Frank Cavett (Rulers of the Sea (1939)), from a story by co-writer/producer/director Leo McCarey (Society Secrets (1921)).

Bing Crosby (Variety Girl (1947)) is appealing with his gleaming eyes and boyish manners, but it is Barry Fitzgerald (The Sea Wolf (1941)) as the aging Father Fitzgibbon who is the heart of the film and its ace, giving a warm-hearted and deeply funny, awards-worthy supporting performance.

Going My Way is troubled by labored length and two sub-plots that don't really work: Best is the one about the young girl who marries a young janitor; worse is the more central one about Father O'Malley's (Crosby) old friend and sort-of love interest Linden (Risë Stevens (Carnegie Hall (1947)). - Despite Stevens being a real-life opera singer, her opera-miming in Going My Way comes off as highly unbelievable.

Going My Way is edifying and full of warm optimism more than anything else, obviously greatly sought after in its day, when it became a sensational smash hit.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 16.3 mil. $ gross/6.5 mil. $ rentals (North America only)

= Uncertain - but likely a mega-hit

[Going My Way premiered 3 May (New York) and runs 126 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, from August - October 1943. IMDb lists a 16.3 mil. $ US gross for the film, and Variety listed a 6.5 mil. $ North-American rental for the film in 1950. It was the highest-grossing film of 1944. The 1945 sequel was reportedly made for 1.3 mil. $, and so the cost for Going My Way was likely not more than 1 mil. $, making it a mega-hit. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 7; for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor (Fitzgerald), Director, Original Story, Screenplay, Original Song (Swinging on a Star by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke). It lost Best Actor (Fitzgerald - nominated both as Actor and Supporting Actor, a unique feat that would be made impossible soon after by a change in the rules), Cinematography - black/white (Lionel Lindon (The Final Hour (1965))) to Joseph LaShelle for Laura and Editing to Wilson. It also won 3 Golden Globes and 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. McCarey returned with Crosby for mega-hit sequel The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). McCarey returned with The Bells of St. Mary's (1945). Crosby returned in The Road to Victory (1944, short) and theatrically in The Princess and the Pirate (1944). Going My Way is fresh at 81 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Going My Way?

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013) - Mikkelsen simmers in stern historical drama

♥♥♥

 

Mads Mikkelsen with silvery hair, a sword and a sheepskin in a dramatic landscape on the poster for Arnaud des Pallières' Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas

 

Kohlhaas is a merchant in France in the 16th century, who is dealt an injustice by the court and then rejected redress by the legal system, which makes him go his own way and hire a smaller army.

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is written by Christelle Berthevas (Orpheline (2016)) and co-writer/director/co-editor Arnaud de Pallières (Drancy Avenir (1997)), adapting Heinrich von Kleist's (The Broken Jug/Der Zerbrochne Krug (1808)) novella Michael Kohlhaas (1808), based on the real Michael Kohlhase.

How much should one risk to get satisfaction, and are there limits to what can be forgiven? What is the Christian's relationship to justice in general? These are some of the large themes that this very European film raises. - Very European in that it is littered with long silences, has almost no music and only observes bloodshed from a far away distance. It attracts with a peculiar combination of beautiful nature-set photography and a strong cast led forcefully by good and very photogenic Mads Mikkelsen (Doctor Strange (2016)). His scenes with Denis Lavant (Journey to the West/Xi you (2014)) are the film's best: Here Kohlhaas (Mikkelsen) is questioned spiritually; are you only out for revenge?

Even still the mysterious reality in Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is very distant from ours, and the film is hard to fully warm up to. SPOILER There is also the matter of the ending, in which the now otherwise satisfied Kohlhaas has his head removed, which seems inscrutable, and makes one leave the film with a 'why?' feeling.

Watch a trailer for the film here with English subtitles

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 813k $

= Uncertain - but certainly a box office disaster

[Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas premiered 24 May (Cannes Film Festival, in competition) and runs 122 minutes. No less than 18 companies and support organs were involved with the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in France. The film opened #90 to a 3k $ (0.3 % of the total gross) first and only week in 4 theaters in North America, where it was pulled directly from distribution. The 3 biggest markets were France with 371k $ (45.6 %), Germany with 303k $ (37.3 %) and Austria with 54k $ (6.6 %). If made on a scant 5 mil. $ budget, the film the film would have returned 0.16 times its cost. The film won 2/6 César award nominations, among other honors. Pallières returned with Orpheline (2016). Mikkelsen returned in The Salvation (2014). Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is rotten at 47 % with a 5.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas?

Ghost (1990) - Zucker's highly gratifying, cathartic movie experience

♥♥♥♥♥

This bright and persuasive poster for Jerry Zucker's Ghost promises eroticism between two of its time's hottest stars, who meet in orgiastic ecstasy under the word; BELIEVE

When the man in a young, beautiful New-Yorker couple get brutally shot to death in the city, his soul is not finished on earth: As a ghost he then fights to save his loved one from suffering the same violent fate that he did.

Ghost is written by Bruce Joel Rubin (Deep Impact (1998)) and directed by great Wisconsinite filmmaker Jerry Zucker (Airplane! (1980)).
It has a good many cheesy moments, - like the legendary clay pot-making scene in the beginning. But once it gets clear that Rubin's script seriously wants to establish a ghost movie universe, it also becomes increasingly evident that he succeeds with flying colors, and not least due to the film's terrific cast:
Demi Moore (Bunraku (2010)) is outstanding; Patrick Swayze (11:14 (2003)) radiates sincerity; Whoopi Goldberg (Homie Spumoni (2006)) is amusing as the psychic helper character, and Tony Goldwyn (Reckless (1995)) is a great villain. SPOILER The ending, in which Swayze's character lets go and ascends to heaven, is very very beautiful.
There is real movie magic in Ghost, which joins sensual romanticism with a religious crime drama with great success.

Related posts:

Jerry Zucker: Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Airplane! (1980) - The deadpan/spoof/crazy-comedy classic! 

Watch a VHS trailer for the film here

Cost: 22 mil. $
Box office: 505.8 mil. $
= Blockbuster (returned 22.99 times its cost)
[Ghost was released 13 July (North America) and runs 128 minutes. Zucker reportedly increased the pacing in Rubin's script. Swayze was paid 2 mil. $; Moore 750k $. Shooting took place in New York and Los Angeles from July - December 1989. The film opened #2, behind hold-over hit Die Hard 2, to a 12.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it took the #1 spot in its 2nd week, which it held for another 3 weeks; it was in the top 5 for 18 weekends in total and grossed 217.6 mil. $ (43 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 52.3 mil. $ (10.3 %) and Japan with 48.4 mil. $ (9.6 %). It was the highest-grossing film of the year and reportedly sold incredible 51.46 mil. tickets in the US. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning 2; for Best Supporting Actress (Goldberg) and Original Script. It lost Best Editing to Dances with Wolves, Score (Maurice Jarre) to John Barry for Dances with Wolves and Picture to Dances with Wolves. It also won 1/4 Golden Globe nominations, 1/4 BAFTA noms and several other awards. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches harder than this one. The film additionally made more than 40 mil. $ on video rentals and 25 mil. $ on video sales domestically alone. The film was remade in India in 1991 and in Japan in 2010. A musical stage adaptation was made in England in 2011. A TV-series adaptation was announced by Paramount Television in 2013 which hasn't come to fruition. Zucker returned with First Knight (1995). Swayze returned in Point Break (1991); Moore in Nothing But Trouble (1991). Ghost is certified fresh at 73 % with a 6.86/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ghost?