Ghost (1990)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Jerry Zucker

Writer (WGA):

Bruce Joel Rubin (written by)

Release Date:

13 July 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

A love that will last forever.

Plot:

After being killed during a botched mugging, a man's love for his partner enables him to remain on earth as a ghost.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Bank | Love | Death | Mugging

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Patrick Swayze	...	Sam Wheat
Demi Moore	...	Molly Jensen
Tony Goldwyn	...	Carl Bruner
Stanley Lawrence	...	Elevator Man
Christopher J. Keene	...	Elevator Man
Susan Breslau	...	Susan
Martina Deignan	...	Rose (as Martina Degnan)
Rick Kleber	...	Mover (as Richard Kleber)
Macka Foley	...	Mover
Rick Aviles	...	Willie Lopez
Phil Leeds	...	Emergency Room Ghost
John Hugh	...	Surgeon
Sam Tsoutsouvas	...	Minister
Sharon Breslau	...	Cemetery Ghost (as Sharon Breslau Cornell)
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Subway Ghost

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #30013) | UK:12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

104 Prince Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

When it came time to cast the film, writer Bruce Joel Rubin suggested Patrick Swayze for the role of Sam Wheat. Director Jerry Zucker felt that Swayze was completely wrong for the part. Many actors that included Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Al Pacino, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage, Mickey Rourke, David Duchovny, Johnny Depp, Chevy Chase and Alec Baldwin were all offered the part but all turned it down feeling that playing a ghost would be cheesy. Zucker then decided to audition Swayze though he thought he would blow the audition. To Zucker's surprise, Swayze did a great audition and he was cast immediately in the part.

Goofs:

Continuity: Why, once Sam has learnt to touch things, including humans, can he not dance with Molly? Despite touching Willy in his flat, Sam can only dance with Molly by getting into Ode Mays' body, surely he should have just been able to dance directly?

Quotes:

[When handing the check to the nuns]
Sam: Hand her the check.
Oda Mae Brown: I will!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Player (1992)

Soundtrack:

UNCHAINED MELODY

Beautiful, touching and moving... a tale of a love so strong it defies death itself

I must say this film surprised me. Coming in, I knew nothing about it but the famous clay-forming scene... I didn't know I was in for such a strong experience. This film had me from the first few moments of it. I never lost interest. The plot is so interesting and intriguing, you can't help but watch, often at the very edge of your seat. I will say that I found one twist somewhat predictable, but maybe I've just seen too many later movies before watching this. There is a lot of suspense in this film. When I found that it was directed by a Zucker(yup... Airplane and so forth), I was somewhat doubtful as to any other quality in the film than the humor of it... if you're reading this and you're thinking the same, trust me; he pulls it off. Excellently. There are few, if any, flaws in directing. The writing is solid. At times, there seemed to be a little too much humor and some scenes were maybe a tad long, but apart from that, there was not really anything with this film that was flawed. The score is great. The pacing is incredibly good. The acting is really good all-round. Goldberg provides a lot of comic relief, without being obnoxious. Moore and Swayze have magnificent chemistry, you truly believe them as a couple. The special effects are grand, yet they don't take over the movie. This is driven by the emotions, by how the plot affects these characters. I was completely into this movie all the way. The humor is very good and surprisingly tasteful for the theme. Much of it is derived from the situation of Swayze's character and his interaction with environment and other characters. All in all, just a very impressive film. I recommend this to any fan of drama, romance, comedy, thriller or fantasy, as well as anyone interested in seeing a non-parody Zucker film and fans of the actors. 7/10