Very sad news: Director/writer/producer/actor Harold Ramis has passed away at the age of 69.
Of all of the films that have come out during my lifetime, all the huge important Oscar-winning serious films, all the weighty masterpieces, all the films about important topics, all of the “instant classics”, the beloved movies, the camp classics, the game-changers, the films draped in awards … of all of them, if I had to choose one film to be the #1 contender for “Film That Will Be Watched Regularly 150 Years From Now”, it would be Groundhog Day.
Rest in peace, Harold Ramis. You have contributed so much to show business, to comedy, to our entire cultural landscape.
I just appalled my coworker with this news. A life well lived.
Sheila, not sure if you saw the lovely Bill Murray retrospective on the Dissolve the other day, but I’ll link to it below. As you’d imagine, Ramis’ name comes up a lot. When I read it, I wondered, “Where is he?” Sounds like he’d been seriously ill for a while.
http://thedissolve.com/features/career-view/419-the-broken-down-grace-of-bill-murray/
I did read that Bill Murray piece! One of my favorite actors – I wrote a guest-post about him in Lost in Translation: http://mooninthegutter.blogspot.com/2013/05/guest-post-sheila-omalley-on-bill.html
Such a bummer. Ramis was a very nice man and very encouraging to young comedians just starting out (which isn’t always the case). He was amazing, so talented.
Just came across Bill Murray’s statement to Time mag about Ramis passing: “Harold Ramis and I together did the ‘National Lampoon Show off Broadway,’ ‘Meatballs,’ ‘Stripes,’ ‘Caddyshack,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Groundhog Day.’ He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
For some reason the phrase “He earned his keep on this planet” is seriously moving me right now.
Amen to Groundhog Day. It’s not genius; its greater than that. Humor and gravitas – is there anything more formidable? – interlaced into a work of universal art. No embrocation had ever so soothed the fear and anguish of the thought of Purgatory as this. RIP indeed, and God’s own generous grace upon him for one of the greatest sermons – ever.
// for one of the greatest sermons – ever //
Bah, George, you made me tear up with that!!
I’ve always had a fondness for the chaotic revelry of Stripes, so I think I’ll watch that tonight. And I’ll feel that brush of melancholy, at the same time I’m laughing myself silly. RIP.
Groundhog Day is a perennial, like one of the great Christmas songs. It’s a success because you don’t get sick of it! It’s always satisfying. It holds up. That’s not an easy thing to do, or you’d see it done more often. RIP.
Totally true – I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen it.
Cashel and I were talking about Groundhog Day and how it was so great in spite of a very traditional, borderline mundane shooting style…it looks fine but it doesn’t scream “great film”…the IDEAS do that. Cashel said, “It’s better than itself.”
Cashel is amazing!!
What a kid. I agree.
The ideas, the ways it make you think, the different things I see in it (it seems very different to me now at my age than when I first saw it) … it is an amazing philosophical treatise!!
I hope the great sketch work from the old SCTV doesn’t get overlooked. He was always my favorite in those sketches… Something very disarmingly goofballish about him in those skits but very funny.
Yes! I love his SCTV stuff!!
I hope you caught the news about the Twinkie shrine (at the Ghostbusters firehouse). Of all the tributes, I somehow think that one would have meant the most, though the Second City tribute on YouTube is a close second.
Leah – Yes, I did hear that news. So so touching and awesome.