National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Beetlejuice was released by Warner Bros. in March 1988, directed by Tim Burton in only his second feature film. Working with a modest budget, Burton established the gothic-comic visual language that would define much of his career. The film was a significant commercial and cultural success, earning Michael Keaton an enduring cult following in the title role and cementing Burton as a major Hollywood voice.

This cell captures Beetlejuice, Lydia, and Adam together in what appears to be the film's memorable dinner party sequence, where the living and the dead share an increasingly chaotic domestic space. The striped costume, dark dress, and warm practical lighting place these consecutive frames squarely within that collision of worlds — a quiet, telling moment from one of the film's most celebrated scenes.