There have been a number of time-loop movies in recent years, from Edge of Tomorrow to Happy Death Day. As successful as those movies are, they all owe a lot to the original time-loop gem, Groundhog Day. The comedy stars Bill Murray as a cranky weatherman covering the annual Groundhog Day festival but finds himself waking up on the same day over and over.
The movie was praised for its inventive and original premise as well as Murray's pitch-perfect performance. Just like Murray's Phil Connors trapped in the same day, it's a movie worth revisiting again and again. Here are some behind-the-scenes facts about Groundhog Day.
In The Loop
Part of the fun of the movie is watching Phil's realization of what is happening. As it dawns on him the first time he wakes up in the same day, Phil is torn between whether this is a bad case of déjà vu, if he's going mad, or if something bizarre truly is at work.
Originally, we were never supposed to see Phil discovering he was stuck in a time loop. The original script by Danny Rubin started with Phil already in the loop with the audience wondering how he knew everything that was going to happen. When Harold Ramis came on the project, he considered keeping it the same before deciding to start from the beginning of the loop.
Angry Groundhog
One of the most memorable sequences in the film is when Phil finally snaps, having lived the same day several times over. Out of frustration, he kidnaps the town's famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, and takes the police force on a wild chase through town.
A real groundhog was used for these scenes, which meant that Bill Murray had to work with the animal for extended periods. Unfortunately, while he is a cute animal, he apparently wasn't very friendly and bit Murray on several occasions, requiring the actor to get rabies shots.
Clocks At Diner
One of the locations Phil frequents most is the small town diner. While he is initially snobbish towards the quaint establishment, he ends up spending many hours there, getting to know the patrons inside and out.
With all the time spent at the diner, some eagle-eyed fans might have picked up on a small detail hidden in the background of these scenes. If you look closely, you can see that all the clocks in the diner are stopped at the same time each time Phil visits the diner.
Good Phil, Bad Phil
Part of the brilliance of the film is that its incredibly inventive premise is also used as a way of making Phil Connors a better man. When we meet him, he is an arrogant, rude and selfish person. Getting stuck in the time loop allows him to take a look at himself and gradually improve the person he is.
However, when making the movie, this caused some confusion for Murray. Since so many scenes and locations were repeated but from a different angle, he had a hard time tracking his character's path. Eventually, he just started asking Harold Ramis before each scene, "Good Phil or bad Phil," then play the scene accordingly.
Ned's Corner
One of the most memorable supporting characters in the film is Ned Ryerson, played by Stephen Tobolowsky. Ned is an obnoxious loudmouth insurance salesman who is also a former classmate of Phil's. They run into each other on a street corner as Phil heads to the festival, which means he has to deal with Ned every single day after that.
The scenes between Phil and Ned are among the most famous in the film. In fact, the location in Woodstock, Illinois where the scene was filmed has been renamed Ned's Corner, and there is a plague on the curb where Phil continuously steps in the puddle, which reads "Bill Murray Stepped Here."
Snowball Fight
As Phil continues on his loop, he decides to use this as an opportunity to get close to and seduce his attractive producer, Rita (Andie MacDowell). Phil runs through their day together over and over, learning whatever he can about Rita and using it to charm her. He even gets in a playful snowball fight with some kids as part of his ruse.
You may notice that as Phil laughs and throws snowballs at the kids, he is throwing them with considerable force. This is because Harold Ramis instructed the kids to aim for Murray's head and throw the snowballs as hard as they could. Murray is retaliating with everything he has.
Bedtime Story
Phil gradually begins to see how selfish he is being and stops using the time loop as a way of benefiting himself. He also stops trying to fool Rita into loving him and begins genuinely falling in love with her. He ends up convincing her of what is happening to him and they spend the day together before he reads to her as she falls asleep.
The sweet moment between the two was actually an idea that Murray suggested. It was inspired by his own honeymoon after his wife had too much champagne and fell asleep while he read to her in bed.
Number Of Loops
By the end of the film, Phil has gone through enough days on a loop that he is able to change himself from the miserable grump to a generous and kind person. However, the exact number of days he lived through has long been a subject for debate.
There are 38 days depicted in the film either as a full day or partial moments, but it's clear Phil was around for a lot more than that. On the DVD commentary, Ramis says Phil lived the day for ten thousand years but later amended it to ten years. Some fans have put in heavy research to conclude the total of days to be 12,403.
Cause Of The Loop
The movie does a great job of gradually putting the viewer into its complex premise and allowing them to experience it alongside Phil. Viewers get so caught up in how Phil explores the time loop that they don't even question how it happened in the first place.
There was some discussion about including an explanation. One of the ideas that was tossed around was an ancient curse used on Phil by an angry ex-girlfriend. However, they ultimately decided it was unnecessary.
Original Ending
Just like the explanation for how the time loop started, there is no real information given about how Phil eventually escapes the loop. Once again, it doesn't really matter. Phil becomes a better man, using his knowledge and skills to help people and improve himself which seems to break the loop.
There was a very different and somewhat bleaker ending originally planned. After Phil breaks the loop, he wakes up with Rita to start their new life together. However, she then wakes up the next morning to find herself stuck in a loop.