Ghost World (film)
Ghost World | |
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Directed by | Terry Zwigoff |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | Ghost World by Daniel Clowes |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Affonso Beato |
Edited by |
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Music by | David Kitay |
Production companies |
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Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes[2] |
Countries | |
Language | English |
Budget | $7 million |
Box office | $8.8 million |
Ghost World is a 2001
Ghost World debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2001. It had little box office impact but received positive reviews. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and has become a cult film.
Plot
Best friends Enid and Rebecca face the summer after their high school graduation, with no plans for their future, other than to find jobs and live together. The girls are cynical social outcasts, but Rebecca is more popular with boys than Enid. Enid's diploma is withheld on the condition that she attend a remedial art class. Even though she is a talented artist, her art teacher, Roberta, believes that art must be socially meaningful and dismisses Enid's sketches as nothing more than "light entertainment".
The girls see a
Enid has meanwhile been attending her remedial art class, and she persuades Seymour to lend her an old poster depicting a grotesquely caricatured black man, which was once used as a promotional tool by Coon Chicken Inn, the fried chicken franchise now known as Cook's Chicken, where Seymour works in corporate. Enid presents the poster in class as a social comment about racism, and Roberta is so impressed with the concept that she offers Enid a scholarship to an art college.
Seymour receives a phone call from Dana, the intended recipient of his personal ad. Enid encourages him to pursue a relationship with Dana, but she becomes unexpectedly jealous when he does so.
Enid's and Rebecca's lives start to diverge. While Enid has been spending time with Seymour, Rebecca starts working at a coffee shop. Enid gets a job at a movie theater, so she can afford to rent an apartment with Rebecca, but her cynical attitude and reluctance to
When Enid's poster is displayed in an art show, school officials find it so offensive they force Roberta to give her a failing grade and revoke the scholarship. Enid turns to Seymour for solace, resulting in a drunken one-night stand. Seymour breaks up with Dana and is called to account at work when the Coon Chicken poster is publicized in a local newspaper. He unsuccessfully tries to contact Enid, only for Rebecca to tell him about Enid's prank phone call, describing the way they mocked him at the diner. Seymour is upset and goes to the convenience store where Josh works. Another customer ends up in a violent confrontation with Seymour, resulting in his being injured and hospitalized. Enid visits him in the hospital to apologize.
After everything that has occurred, Enid gives in to her childhood fantasy of running away from home and disappearing. She has seen an old man, Norman, continually waiting at an out-of-service bus stop for a bus that will never come. Finally, as Enid watches from across the street, Norman boards an out-of-service bus. The next day, while Seymour discusses the summer's events with his therapist, Enid returns to the bus stop and boards the out-of-service bus when it arrives.
A post-credits scene shows an alternate version of Seymour's scene in the convenience store, in which he wins the fight and is not injured.
Cast
- Thora Birch as Enid
- Scarlett Johansson as Rebecca
- Steve Buscemi as Seymour
- Brad Renfro as Josh
- Illeana Douglas as Roberta Allsworth
- Bob Balaban as Enid's Father
- Stacey Travis as Dana
- Dave Sheridan as Doug
- Tom McGowan as Joe
- Debra Azar as Melorra
- Brian George as The Convenience Store Owner
- Pat Healy as John Ellis
- Rini Bell as The Graduation Speaker
- Teri Garr as Maxine (uncredited)
- David Cross as Gerrold
- Ezra Buzzington as Al "Weird Al"
- Bruce Glover as Feldman, The Wheelchair Guy
- Ashley Peldon as Margaret
- Patrick Fischler as The Video Store Cashier
Production and technique
The film was directed by
Zwigoff and Clowes presented Beato with the task of making a comic book look to the movie. They asked for a fresh technique: earlier examples of the form such as X-Men and Dick Tracy were dismissed as literal-minded and "insulting" to the art form.[4] According to Clowes, cameraman Beato "really took it to heart," carefully studying the style and color of the original comics.[4] The final cut is just slightly oversaturated, purposefully redolent of "the way the modern world looks where everything is trying to get your attention at once".[4]
Zwigoff also added his individual vision to the adaptation, particularly in his capture and
Themes
Ending and suicide theory
In a 2002 interview,[5] Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff were asked if the ending of the film adaptation was a metaphor for suicide. Clowes replied, "Yeah, it could be. It's hard to figure out why people have that response. The first time I heard that I said, 'What? You're out of your mind. What are you talking about?' But I've heard that hundreds of times". Zwigoff expanded on his views in a 2021 interview, saying: "Many interpreted it to mean Enid died by suicide [...] I personally thought of the ending as more positive: that she’s moving on with her life, that she had faith in herself".[6]
Birch, on the other hand, stated: "Honestly, it’s a sad film, to me... I have a very dark view of where that story is leading, unfortunately".[6]
Soundtrack
Ghost World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Length | 62:58 |
Label | Shanachie |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [7] |
Music in the film includes "
There are songs by other artists mentioned in the film, including
Referenced in the film is R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders, a band that Zwigoff played in. Enid asks Seymour about the band's second album, Chasin' Rainbows, and Seymour replies, "Nah, that one's not so great."[11]
Missing from the soundtrack album are "What Do I Get?" by Buzzcocks, which can be heard when Enid dresses up like a punk, and the song "A Smile and a Ribbon" by Patience and Prudence.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | " Joe "King" Oliver | Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks | 2:59 | |
5. | "Miranda" (1933) | Thomas Pasatleri, Louis Phillips | Lionel Belasco | 3:02 |
6. | "Pickin' Cotton Blues" | Terry Zwigoff, Steve Pierson, Guy Thomas | Blueshammer | 3:35 |
7. | "Let's Go Riding" (1935[12]) | Freddie Spruell | Mr. Freddie | 2:55 |
8. | "Georgia on My Mind" | Hoagy Carmichael (music) Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) | Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks | 3:11 |
9. | "Las Palmas de Maracaibo" (1930) | Belasco | Lionel Belasco | 3:15 |
10. | "Clarice" (cover of Tiny Parham, 1928) | Tiny Parham | Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks | 3:29 |
11. | "Scalding Hot Coffee Rag" | Ventresco | Craig Ventresco | 3:02 |
12. | "You're Just My Type" (cover of King Oliver, 1930) | Nelson, Oliver | Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks | 2:33 |
13. | "Venezuela" (1931) | Victor Colon | Lionel Belasco | 3:15 |
14. | "Fare Thee Well Blues" (1930) | Calicott | Joe Calicott | 3:12 |
15. | "C. C. & O. Blues" (1928) | Anderson, Brownie McGhee | Pink Anderson and Simmie Dooley | 3:08 |
16. | "C-h-i-c-k-e-n Spells Chicken" (1927) | Sidney L. Perrin, Bob Slater | McGee Brothers | 2:59 |
17. | "That's No Way to Get Along" (1929) | Wilkins | Robert Wilkins | 2:55 |
18. | "So Tired" (1928) | Lonnie Johnson | Dallas String Band | 3:20 |
19. | "Bye Bye Baby Blues" (1930) | Jones | Little Hat Jones | 3:10 |
20. | "Theme from Ghost World" | Kitay | David Kitay | 3:58 |
Release
Ghost World
Following the film's theatrical exhibition in the United States, Ghost World was released on VHS and DVD format via MGM Home Entertainment in early 2002. Additional features include deleted and alternative scenes, "Making of Ghost World" featurette, Gumnaam music video "Jaan Pehechaan Ho", and the original theatrical trailer.[15] The film was released on Blu-ray on May 30, 2017, by The Criterion Collection, with a 4K transfer, interviews with the performers, and audio commentary.[16][17]
Box office
With a
Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 164 reviews, with an average score of 7.80/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With acerbic wit, Terry Zwigoff fashions Daniel Clowes' graphic novel into an intelligent, comedic trip through deadpan teen angst."[19] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 90 based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]
Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and wrote:
I wanted to hug this movie. It takes such a risky journey and never steps wrong. It creates specific, original, believable, lovable characters, and meanders with them through their inconsolable days, never losing its sense of humor.[21]
In his review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott praised Thora Birch's performance as Enid:
Thora Birch, whose performance as Lester Burnham's alienated daughter was the best thing about American Beauty, plays a similar character here, with even more intelligence and restraint.[22]
In his Chicago Reader review, Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote:
Birch makes the character an uncanny encapsulation of adolescent agonies without ever romanticizing or sentimentalizing her attitudes, and Clowes and Zwigoff never allow us to patronize her.[23]
However, Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer disliked the character of Enid:
I found Enid smug, complacent, cruel, deceitful, thoughtless, malicious and disloyal... Enid's favorite targets are people who are older, poorer or dumber than she is.[24]
Kevin Thomas, in his review for the Los Angeles Times, praised Steve Buscemi's portrayal of Seymour:
Buscemi rarely has had so full and challenging a role, that of a mature, reflective man, unhandsome yet not unattractive, thanks to a witty sensitivity and clear intelligence.[25]
Time magazine's Andrew D. Arnold wrote:
Unlike those shrill, hard-sell teen comedies on the other screens, Ghost World never becomes the kind of empty, defensive snark-fest that it targets. Clowes and Zwigoff keep the organic pace of the original, and its empathic exploration of painfully changing relationships.[26]
Michael Dean of The Comics Journal addressed the concerns of comics fans head-on:
Those with higher expectations—and, certainly, Ghost World purists —are likely to experience at least a degree of disappointment. Some of the comic's air of aimless mystery has been paved over with the semblance of a Hollywood plot, and to that extent, the movie is a lesser work than the comic. But it's still a far better movie than we had a right to expect.... The injection of a relatively trite plot situation into Ghost World's more enigmatic stream of events is perhaps forgivable, since the film might otherwise never have been produced. Its greatest sin, the misappropriation of Enid's longing, is not so forgivable, though the overlap between Zwigoff's distaste for modernity and Enid's distrust of social acceptability makes it almost palatable. In any case, we want to forgive it, because so much is right about the movie.[27]
Accolades
Legacy
Ghost World topped
References
- ^ a b c d e "Ghost World (2001)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ "Ghost World (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 20, 2001. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- ^ McKittrick, Christopher (March 23, 2017). "Wilson: A Walking Id". Creative Screenwriting. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Hall, Emily (July 19, 2001). "The Humanity of Failure". The Stranger. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Clowes, Daniel (February 20, 2002). "Question and answer session with Dan Clowes and Terry Zwigoff following a screening of Ghost World at the 2002 Comics and Graphic Novels Conference".
- ^ a b Ghost World at 20: ‘In an era of teen comedies and American Pie, this was an antidote’ 3-17-2021, The Independent
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- Rogerebert.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1137516800.
- ISBN 978-0822340416.
- ISBN 0813533848.
- ^ "Freddie Spruell discography". wirz.de. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
rec. April 12, 1935 in Chicago; Freddie Spruell, voc, g; Carl Martin, g; Bluebird B6261
- ^ Truitt, Eliza (July 2001). "A Ghost World Preview". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Head, Steve (July 26, 2001). "GHOST WORLD COMETH". IGN. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Ghost World". DVD Talk. January 31, 2002. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Thompson, Luke Y. (May 26, 2017). "Blu-ray Review: The Ground-Breaking, Post-Ironic 'Ghost World' Comes To Criterion, As It Deserves". Forbes. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Ghost World". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ a b Ghost World at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Ghost World at Rotten Tomatoes Accessed January 27, 2023.
- ^ Ghost World at Metacritic Accessed July 18, 2023.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (August 3, 2001). "Ghost World". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (July 20, 2001). "Teenagers' Sad World In a Comic Dimension". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (August 10, 2001). "Women of Substance". Chicago Reader. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Sarris, Andrew (August 5, 2001). "So You Wanna Be a Country-and-Western Star: More Like 'Ghastly World'". The New York Observer. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (July 20, 2001). "Lives Stifled by Mediocrity in 'Ghost World'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Arnold, Andrew D (July 20, 2001). "Anticipating a Ghost World". Time. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Dean, Michael (2001). "Ghost Story". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 27, 2001). "Devoutcast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- L.A. Weekly. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- Sight & Sound. Archived from the originalon July 29, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (August 13, 2001). "Ghost World". The Guardian. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ Carney, Ray (2006). "Selected Masterworks of Film Art: Viewing Recommendations Submitted By Site Readers (Under Construction—Please Send Suggestions/Corrections to the Mailbag)". About Ray Carney. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
- ISBN 9781604738094. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Ghost World['s] [...] economics of production [...] [is] art-house [...] [T]he idiom of the text [Ghost World] is strictly that of the postmodern arthouse movie familiar since at least the early 1980s [...] [I]nhibiting an arthouse idiom similar to Ghost World.
- ISBN 9781107108790. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Ghost World [...] was reimagined as an art film in 2001.
- ISBN 9780791485811. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Ghost World [...] [presents] teenage resistance within the narrow confines of an art film.
- ISBN 9780802099327. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Ghost World [...] positioned the art comic as akin to the contemporary art film.
- ^ Price, Matthew (September 14, 2001). "Ghost World Creator Finds Success in Film, Graphic Novel". The Oklahoman. The Oklahoman Media Company. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Ghost World the movie, starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johannson and Steve Buscemi, is one of the summer's biggest art-house hits and opens today in Oklahoma City.
- Salon. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
They treated Ghost World like it was this outrageous art film that nobody would get.
- ^ Savlov, Marc (August 17, 2001). "Teen Angst Turns a Page". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
Apparently, the critics, who have sanctified Zwigoff's dark gem with a four-star geek-chic seal of approval since its New York/Los Angeles opening a month ago, not to mention the audience members who have -- to the shock of MGM -- created some serious (for an "art" film, anyway) box-office numbers.
- ISBN 9780820488776. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
[A]cclaimed art-house film Ghost World.
- ISBN 9781496809810. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
[Cinema is] defined by two modes of filmmaking, the art house indie and the blockbuster [...] Ghost World [belongs to the former].
- ^ "The 74th Academy Awards - 2002". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "AFI Announces Nominations for AFI Awards 2001" (PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ King, Loren (December 17, 2001). "BOSTON CRITICS GIVE THUMBS UP TO 'MULHOLLAND DRIVE'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Chicago Film Critics Association Announce Their Nominees!". PR Newswire. January 16, 2002. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ Elder, Rob (February 26, 2002). "Chicago critics pick 'Mulholland Drive'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Empire Awards: Nominations Announced". Empire. January 25, 2002. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ "Ghost World". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Hernandez, Eugene; Kaufman, Anthony (June 18, 2001). "DAILY NEWS: Moretti at Miramax; Atlanta Fest Wrap; Seattle Winners; NY Film/Video Fest". IndieWire. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Munoz, Lorenza (January 9, 2002). "Spirit Awards tilt toward true independence". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Gumbel, Andrew (March 25, 2002). "Oscar alternative gives better idea of lasting success". The Independent. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ King, Susan (December 16, 2001). "'Bedroom' Is Top Pick of L.A. Film Critics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics. December 19, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Taylor, Charles (January 7, 2002). "'Mulholland Drive' takes best picture in critics' awards". Salon.com. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ Lyons, Charles (January 6, 2002). "Nat'l Crix shift into 'Drive'". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Critics Group Names 'Mulholland' Best Film". The New York Times. December 14, 2001. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- Advocate. December 19, 2001. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- ^ "PAST AWARD WINNERS". Toronto Film Critics Association. May 29, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^ "Writers Guild nominations tip A Beautiful Mind". The Guardian. February 8, 2002. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- Young Artist Awards. Archived from the originalon April 4, 2016.
- ^ Morgan, Kim. "Top 10 Comic Book Movies". MSN. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ Giles, Jeff. "Comix Worst to Best". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
- ^ Goldstein, Hilar. "Best & Worst Comic-Book Movies". IGN. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- Empire. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
- ^ "Scarlett Johansson again named 'sexiest woman alive' by Esquire". Reuters. October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0810874596.
External links
- Official page on Facebook
- Ghost World at IMDb
- Ghost World at AllMovie
- Ghost World at Box Office Mojo
- Ghost World at Rotten Tomatoes
- Ghost World: Séance in Wowsville – an essay by Howard Hampton at The Criterion Collection