Steven-Charles Jaffe, Bruce Joel Rubin & Lauren Ray
WRITTEN BY
Bruce Joel Rubin
COMPOSER
Maurice Jarre (Unchained Melody)
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Greenberg, ASC
EDITING BY
Walter Murch
STUDIO
Paramount Pictures
COUNTRY
United States
LANGUAGE
English
FILMING LOCATIONS
104 Prince Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (Molly and Sam's apartment)
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Crosby Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (death of Sam Wheat)
Federal Hall - 28 Wall Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (ending)
Franklin Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (ghost of Sam Wheat chases his killer)
George Washington Statue, Federal Hall - 28 Wall Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (ending) (donation of money to nuns)
Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Mezzogiorno Restaurant - 195 Spring Street, Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (Molly Jensen meets psychic Oda Mae Brown at Italian restaurant)
Myrtle Avenue & Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (studio)
Soho, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Wall Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
1991 Won Oscar Best Actress in a Supporting Role Whoopi Goldberg. Over the weekend of February 2nd, 2002, the Oscar statuette "disappeared" from a sealed shipping container. Goldberg, via the Academy, had sent it back to the manufacturer of the statuettes, R.S. Owens Co. of Chicago, for cleaning and replating. Allegedly the statuette was found in a trash bin at Ontario, Calif., airport on Tuesday, 5 February. "Oscar will never leave my house again"
1991 Won Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Bruce Joel Rubin
1991 Nominated Oscar Best Film Editing Walter Murch
1991 Nominated Oscar Best Music, Original Score Maurice Jarre
Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) was murdered during a date with his girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore). Sam's spirit remains on the Earth, unseen to normal people. After following his murderer, Sam realizes that his death was not an accident, and that molly is in danger. Sam's ghost try to warn Molly, but she does not know it is really there. Then he meets a spiritualist named Oda Mae Brown, who can hear the dead. Sam speaks to hear and convince her to help him save Molly.
The role of Oda Mae Brown was not written with Whoopi Goldberg in mind, but Patrick Swayze, an admirer of hers, convinced the producers that she would be right for the part.
The horrific sounds made by the "dark shadows" are really the sounds of babies, played at extremely slow speed.
Shortly before production began, Whoopi Goldberg was not sure that she was going to be able to put this movie into her work schedule. The part was then verbally offered to Jackée Harry who accepted. However, at the last minute Goldberg was able to do the film and Harry was dropped.
Molly tells Sam that he "leads a charmed life." This is a line from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Macbeth also claims to lead a charmed life - meaning he cannot be killed. Immediately after making this claim, however, he is killed. Sam is killed after seeing a production of Macbeth.
Bruce Joel Rubin wasn't sure at first if Jerry Zucker should direct his script, what with Zucker coming from a background of screwball comedy.
Demi Moore got the part of Molly Jensen largely because she can cry out of either eye on cue.
Patrick Swayze alleged that Sam Wheat was the hardest role he ever played in his career, mainly because he had to be an observer to the action, and not a participant.
The pottery scene was the sexiest thing Patrick Swayze said he'd ever done on film.
Jerry Zucker's favorite film of his own.
The song Sam sings relentlessly to Oda Mae to get her to agree to help him is "Henry the 8th, I Am". The lyrics, in part, are "She wouldn't have a Willie or a Sam..." Patrick Swayze's character is named Sam, and the man who murdered him is named Willie.
Cameos:
Sondra Rubin: Writer Bruce Joel Rubin's mother plays the nun who faints over the size of the check that Oda Mae endorses.
Charlotte Zucker: Director Jerry Zucker's mother plays the bank officer.
Subway Ghost: Ahh what I wouldn't give for a drag! Just one drag!
Sam: I love you, Molly. I've always loved you.
Molly: Ditto.
Oda Mae Brown: He's stuck, that's what it is. He's in between worlds. You know it happens sometimes that the spirit gets yanked out so fast that the essence still feels it has work to do here.
Sam Wheat: It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya.
Oda Mae Brown: Why don't you go haunt a house? Rattle some chains or something.
Oda Mae Brown: I know you don't think I'm giving this 4 million dollars to a bunch of nuns!
Sam: Think of it this way, you'll go to Heaven.
Oda Mae Brown: I don't want to go to Heaven, I want to go to the bank and cash a GODDAMN CHECK!
When "Oda Mae" and "Molly" are straddling the rafters, they are obviously stunt doubles.
When Willie is fighting with Sam just prior to shooting him you can see that the gun Willie is using (Walther PPK or similar clone) is in the safe position (i.e. manual safety/decocker is vertical rather than horizontal). Such a gun should not fire.
In the closing credits the spelling of "Cemetery Ghost" is wrong. The credits spell it as Cemetary Ghost, the correct spelling should be CEMETERY.
When Carl is preparing the account for "Rita Miller", the camera and operator are reflected in the computer screen.
Camera and TV monitor can be seen in the bottom of the mirror in the move-in scene. Stage light equipment can be seen in the mirror soon after Carl passes in front of it.
In the credits, Bruce Jarchow is credited as Lyle Furgeson, but the scene at his desk has a sign with the spelling of his name changed to Ferguson.
When Carl is being dragged away by the shadows, the wires that are helping him float are visible.
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 Oda Mae's body, surely he should have just been able to dance directly?
'”Ghost,'' which stars Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore as lovers separated by that great, trend-minded screenwriter in the sky, is nothing if not earnest. It's also eccentric enough to remain interesting even when its ghost story isn't easy to believe. Reviewed by: Janet Maslin of The New York Times.
It's an unpredictable, mesmerizing journey nearly every shady second of the way. Reviewed by: Jay Scott of The Globe and Mail (Toronto).
One of the irritations of Ghost is that the Moore character is such a slow study. Reviewed by: Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times.
A big sweet hit, tingly and glycerined in a phony way, but diverting. Reviewed by: TV Guide.
Though saddled with hoary jokes, Goldberg at least pumps some funky life into the bland proceedings. Reviewed by: Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
