Groundhog Day (Blu-ray)

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"Groundhog Day" is rated PG "for thematic elements," and parents should be warned that those elements include Murray's repeated attempts to use his situation for personal (sleeping with as many women as he can) gain. There's no nudity or any language to speak of, but there are plenty of sexual situations. Hey, it's like the old locker-room fantasy. Would you run into a locker room of the opposing sex if you knew that, while you may get into trouble that day, everything would be gone and forgotten by morning? But even in this, "Groundhog Day" displays some of the restraint that characterizes Murray's performance. It's not the wild-and-crazy film it could have been in different hands, and that only makes it better, in my book.

Video:
This is the Special 15th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray, and the film looks wonderful in 1080p. Though it's 15 years old, it looks just as good as "The Pink Panther," which came out just three years ago. The colors aren't as washed-out as on the DVD, and there's significantly more detail. Don't look for much in the way of 3-dimensionality, because it's just not here. But this title looks better than it ever has. There were no apparent problems with the AVC/MPEG-4 transfer to a BD-50, and no visible artifacts. Just a very impressive picture for a title whose video quality has always seemed so soft to me as to be even hazy at times. Not so with the Blu-ray. "Groundhog Day

Audio:
Sony has been going with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (in this case, English, French and Portuguese options), and it's no secret that I personally prefer PCM. But aside from the strike-up-the-band scenes and a few accident-related effects this is an all-dialogue movie, and so the rear speakers don't get that much of a workout to where you'd notice a difference. I wouldn't call the soundtrack dynamic, or even rich, but there's a nice clarity and precision that extends to highs as well as lows, with a dominant mid-range that has a nice timbre. There are a ton of subtitles for this one, no doubt because the karmic interest spans cultures: English, English SDH, French, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Thai, Indonesian, Dutch, and Arabic.

Extras:
For collector's, the good news is that nothing is lost. A decent commentary track by Ramis is included, along with an on-camera brief interview with the director. Repeating as well from the DVD is "The Weight of Time," a 25-minute making-of feature in which we learn (among other things) that the town square was really Woodstock, Ill. Added for nature fans is a "Study of Groundhogs: A Real Life Look at Marmots" which is as fascinating as the credits that affirm a real groundhog was used for the car scene with Murray. Also included are six deleted scenes which are worth a one-time look.

"Groundhog Day" is BD-Live (Profile 2.0) enabled, but the real Blu-ray exclusive treat is an engaging picture-in-picture trivia track narrated by Stephen Tobolowsky ("Heroes," "Wild Hogs") and combines factoids with a game format. To experience "Bonus View," though, you'll need a Profile 1.1 equipped player.

Bottom Line:
"Groundhog Day" remains an entertaining film, but it's also one that can subtly, obliquely inspire you to get out of your rut, do the right things, and move on with your life--whether you believe in karma or not. And in 1080p, this film has never looked better.