Ghost (1990)

After a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.

Director:

Jerry Zucker

Writer:

Bruce Joel Rubin

Stars:

Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg

Won 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Sam Wheat is a banker, Molly Jensen is an artist, and the two are madly in love. However, when Sam is murdered by friend and corrupt business partner Carl Bruner over a shady business deal, he is left to roam the Earth as a powerless spirit. When he learns of Carl's betrayal, Sam must seek the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown to set things right and protect Molly from Carl and his goons.

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Plot Keywords:

pottery | death | blood | film blanc | invisibility | 

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Taglines:

A love that will last forever.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

"I cried," says Bruce Joel Rubin on the commentary about the time he first discovered that his serious script about ghosts and love was going to be directed by one of the guys behind Airplane! (1980). There's a slim chance he was joking, but he was being sincere as he mentions that he expected Zucker and the studio to turn it into a Beetlejuice (1988) inspired romp. His view changed after sharing some deep conversations with Zucker about the script in which the director shared criticisms -- something no one at the studio had done.

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Goofs

We are told that Willie Lopez lives in Prospect Place. But when we see him go home when Sam follows, he gets off the J train in Bushwick. Also there is no J train at Franklin St in downtown Manhattan. You would have to take the 1 train.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Molly Jensen: [when Sam was making a hole when Carl and Molly appear] Oh, this is great!
Sam Wheat: Wow!
Molly Jensen: Oh, that's incredible. There's got to be seven or eight feet up there.
Sam Wheat: And eighty years of dust. We could put our bedroom upstairs, and get all this space.
Molly Jensen: Oh, look at all this height.
Sam Wheat: For what?
[coughs]
Molly Jensen: Just space.
Molly Jensen: [they started smashing on the walls] One! Two! Three!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are half transparent like a ghost.

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Alternate Versions

German VHS version was cut for violence (the man with the broken window in his chest) to get a "Not under 12" rating. Some TV stations aired the complete version.

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Connections

Referenced in Jack Frost (1998)

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Soundtracks

Since I Fell for You
Written by Buddy Johnson
Performed by The Righteous Brothers
Courtesy of PolyGram Special Products, A division of PolyGram Records, Inc.

User Reviews

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 July 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghost

Filming Locations:

Spring Street Towers - 650 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,191,540, 15 July 1990

Gross USA:

$217,631,306

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$505,703,557

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Howard W. Koch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1