National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Warner Bros. released Beetlejuice in March 1988, with Tim Burton directing from a script by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren. The film arrived as Burton was establishing his singular visual language, blending dark comedy with practical effects and a genuinely strange sensibility that set it apart from mainstream studio fare of the period. It became a substantial commercial success and remains a defining work of late-1980s American fantasy filmmaking.

This cell, titled Beetlejuice, Barbara and Adam, captures two consecutive frames from the same shot, showing Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in his iconic black-and-white striped suit alongside Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland and Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland. The dark interior setting is warmed by firelight visible in the background, preserving a characteristic moment of the three central figures sharing the frame.