So here we go with a very special entry in My Odds & Ends on this day of Groundhog Day and how apropos that this entry will be the focus of the movie that is about that Holiday As I speak they are getting ready for the festivities right now this very second in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania and Punxsutawney Phil is going to get out of his slumber whether he wants to or but will he see his shadow and us have six more weeks of Winter or will we have an early Spring If you celebrate it, it's one of the last ones of the Holiday Season (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, (My Birthday & WWE Royal Rumble as well for Me) Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's & Easter & (WWE Wrestlemania for Me) and it's one of the funnest ones as well. You have to be a person of nature & fun. First I want to explain I how I got into this day was actually because of the film itself, I saw the previews way back 30 years ago THIS YEAR in 1993 which is one of the reasons why I'm making such a showcase like this (I'm one of the only people if not the only person that does this special stuff) and it just caught My attention and I wanted to see it really bad. So My Mom was going with her boyfriend Jerry (I called him Skinnyhead Jerry cause it seemed to Me his head was thinner than usual, I picked on people then sadly) at the time and We did a lot together so We all three went to the show and saw it. When this showcase is over I will have a really big remarkable bonus as I tell how Our wonderful night went in DETAIL & VISUALLY which is something I have always wanted to do for the longest time. For now here is what I have show from My very small Groundhog Day collection but it will be quite the visual presentation like you possibly never seen before
Here is My Groundhog Day VHS that I got with My Mom not to long after the film came out (We rented the film from Star Video, Blockbuster (in this topic check out My Glory days of Video Rentals for more on this history!) or the like first cause I told My Grandparents how great the film was which they really liked it then I owned it soon after. I have watched this tape countless times as it became a tradition for Us on Groundhog Day for many, many years. Here is the Box's Front & Back Cover, the pictures are quite nice that chose for the standard poster
Here is the VHS Tape itself and the lovely (though I loved the ones in the 80s much more) Columbia-Tristar 1993 Copyright and yes the late Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler from Ghostbusters directed the film and even had a small cameo in it, at the time when I first saw him I couldn't believe how different he looked
So I got this at Our Best Buy in South County, it was Our usual Best Buy to go to, it's the same one I talked about before that is down the street where Toy Chest & TRU was and drove the TRU neighbor Circuit City out of business. I have had many, many good times here at this location and got many other Movies, Video Games & Music CDs there. It was phenomenal when Metallica's 1996 Album Load first came out, it was quite the event Also I saw the very last days of the SNES & Sega Genesis and the rise of Sega Saturn & Sony Playstation as well as briefly Konami's TurboGrafx-16 here as well. It was really cool getting PC Video Games for the first time also. It was really fun back then in the 90s let Me tell ya and while I miss those times so much, I am quite grateful that I had the chance to experience it all
So here is My Groundhog Day CD Soundtrack. I got this back in the 2000s on the web at Amazon as I never could find it at the stores in person. being the outlier that I am, back in the day I usually got a movie on VHS and/orDVD that I liked (sometimes I risked it without ever seeing a film as well which was darn fun in it's own right) and if it was released/available I would get the Soundtrack/Score to go with it. It's a very fun hobby and truly one of the most exciting that you could get into besides collecting Action Figures, Video Games, Comics & Trading Cards. Thanks to this androgynous digital age it seems like this hobby is nothing anymore and today's society has been conditioned not to care but I'm not part of that nor will I ever be cause it was a passion when I was a youngster and it will always be with Me I could teach a ton of people a lot of this superbly fun hobby but would they listen cause I have never found anybody out of everybody I have ever known and really that is quite pitiful of all the homogenizing that has happen If your actually reading this and thinking otherwise then you may be the first So with that really sad fact out of the way here is My Soundtrack to Groundhog Day. The Jewel Case is cracked a bit but I never wanted to replace it because of the The Nice Price Sticker on there
Here is the Jewel Case's Back with the whole Track Listing
Here is the opening of the Jewel Case. I have always loved the look of Compact Discs/CDs. I remember the big bang of'em way back when when they were making Vinyl Records obsolete...now the latter has returned and it's really become the opposite now yet this generation really has no idea how cool it was to get your first Record, Cassette Tape & CD at an actual store like Peaches/Sound Warehouse/Blockbuster Music (I showcased them greatly within this topic only a few short months ago) and put them in the player and hear them on your big stereo or boom box, this age is missing so much but that's what TPTB wants but again I am quite thankful that I know and I will always be the collector & admirer that I am about this super fun stuff
The Cover/Booklet is in color with some nice pictures from the movie.
Now a typical release such as this will only have a single page Booklet will be black & white with very little about the film but will have a lot of info of the tracks/cues & credits. The CD is a rare mixture of score + soundtrack meaning it has some song tracks and some score cues. I love it when a company gives the consumer the best of two worlds. There is the iconic song here by Sonny & Cher but the majority is by George Fenton whom is the composer. While companies never include every cue within a film there is a good number here with 18 tracks
Notice the special asterisk symbols here, I always pay attention to this as it is indicators to a special note towards a track. With limited editions & complete releases it is really important to check the notes because many cues that is included was never released, rejected, not used or be an alternate version and sometimes you'd like to know this so you can compare the alternate versions and to know the differences of what makes a special edition just that. Like I always to include, here is also the 1993 Copyright as well from the Booklet
As I said before I love the look of CDs how shiny they are and so forth...
and one thing that I always check out is I gently turn the disc over to the light. By doing this I can tell how long the CD or rather the run-time of it is. This Soundtrack is about 45 minutes long which is standard for releases back then. I can tell because the lighter circle around the rim where the eye reader reads. I don't know how many people knows or even pays attention to things like this cause I never read anybody ever talk about it I have many Scores especially Star Wars that where the lighter circle is near the end of the edge of the Disc, when it's near the end which now we're talking cause these babies are around the 70+ Minute mark which I love cause you get a lot of music for your buck and I've always been a person that wants more for less and more time to enjoy what I love I even have some special bootlegs that used "Super CDs" that is 80 minutes which still really amazes Me how they pulled a feat like this cause for a time, an 80 minute CD was stuff of legends so oh I love that kind of thing and it never ever get's old either
Here is the 1993 Copyright of the Disc
Here is My Groundhog Day Movie VHS & Soundtrack/Score CD together Front & Back, gosh looking at that classic Vintage 90s goodness is so fun and it makes such a great looking display too, take a gander at that
So before I go about My journey, I must say this. I noted that I went a lot with My Mom & her boyfriend Jerry but before him she was with Kevin whom i talked about before. I had many trips to Crestwood Bowl. I loved Bowling, I got My own Bowling Shoes & Balls at The Sports Authority which i showcased them a while back within this topic. Believe it or not, with all of the destruction of Crestwood (its such a shame about it especially if you shopped there for decades and knew how great & wonderful it was Crestwood Bowl is still there
At Crestwood Bowl, I had a very special moment. I spoke about Redbird Lanes and the great Arcades I played over there in My Main Video Game Topic, well Crestwood Bowl had Arcades too but most of the time they only had one and it was near the Bar and Entryway/Exit. This was on a cold January night over 30 years ago in very early 1992. They had the original Capcom Street Fighter II: The World Warrior there and I played it a lot I played Capcom's Final Fight countless times over at Our nice Pizza Hut but little did I know their connections with each other much less know I would have both of'em for My SNES during the later part of 92 I believe if I never would have been there and played that Street Fighter II Arcade, I would never have become the big Capcom & Street Fighter gamer & fan that I am today at this very moment Here is a pic, you can see the Arcade next to the entryway door
So moving forward to about a year or so later in very early January 1993 I'm with My Mom & Jerry. When he'd come to the house he was greeted by Our sweet female Chihuahua SiSi that I spoke of previously, he loved her. He was a wrestling fan, I don't think he had a passion for it like Me as he was just a casual fan and knew who was who which was good to know for a 12 year old Brandon During one of these trips as usual I was in the back seat of his Mercury Thunderbird (My Mom had a Ford Cougar that she just got months prior) which was cool they had this in common. I was talking to him about the WWF Royal Rumble 93 (one of the best ones ever!) and I was asking him who does he think that Bobby "The Brain" Heenan is going to reveal as "The Narcissist. I really don't recall his answer but I believe he said he doesn't know and all that. Only a short time later I would know it would be WCW's "The Total Package" Lex Luger I really should have known because of his unexpected Wrestlemania 8 appearance via live satellite and how he was supposed to be the face of the WBF. After his motorcycle accident and the unfortunate demise of WBF there was a major change and boy was it exciting
So here is My visual journey of Me, My Mom & her boyfriend Jerry. These are recent pics via Instant Street View, this is as close as possible that I can get to make it like it was that special night when We saw Groundhog Day. Oh first I gotta mention a while later at the Crestwood AMC Theater We saw National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 as well which was great and it was also a memorable night too
Here We are on Gravois at River des Peres. It was very cold yet a fun snowy night at around 9:00 PM or so (I love doing things late at night!). There was hardly anybody on the road. When Jerry turned to the left he skidded and We went 360 and hit the light post. Thank goodness We were ok, that his car was too and that there was no cops around...oh I recall that great night like it was last week Look at the pics there, that light post is still there even though it's 30 years later
Here is where We saw Groundhog Day, it was at the AMC in Crestwood Plaza. I loved it almost as much as the Wehrehberg Kenrick I showcased in My Part 5 of My Vintage Kenner Star Wars Showcase. I have very fond memories here. This is what the Structure of the Building looked like but We usually went around the back area near Sears as it was easier & quicker to go to. See where the people are getting their tickets, I recall Me & My Grandparents going two days in a row to see The Planet of the Apes & Jurassic Park /// in 2001 but that's for another time to talk about See how clean and fun it looked, it was so cool to be at
Look at the area, this was the huge Crestwood Plaza Mall where many restaurants & stores were like The Pasta House, Dillard's, K-B and K&K Toys and especially where Sears was that My Grandpa & Mom worked at for a long time which one day I gotta showcase all of this cause it was all so fun and special to Me Today Crestwood Mall no longer exists, it's all leveled down to open landscape being completely wasted, things like this just make Me despise this modern era even more and surely I'm not alone here
So after going to the show during the snowy night and having a great time seeing Groundhog Day, Our night wasn't over as We were going to Steak'n Shake for a late dinner and wow that was fun. They were arguably My favorite. They really became stupid closing most of their locations Nationwide due to the PlamDemic! Oh We sometimes went to the McDonald's too and I usually got a couple Double Cheeseburgers & Fries because I craved'em and this was so good This is how the McD's looks now, before the PlamDemic! happen this location was regarded as THE MOST business McDonald's in the whole state of Missouri, it was a big deal then Notice the big building right there in the foreground, that's Our other great Schnucks on Gravois & Hampton that we shopped at so much, it used to be open 24/7 but with these current pathetic times and like most stores now, they woke and now close early Would you look at that, there's Walgreens were Redbird Lanes used to be Across the street was where Steak 'n Shake used to be now it's demolished due to such dense circumstances
One final note and it's a big one. I loved the scene in Groundhog Day when the young couple talks about Wrestlemania at the party, that one would be WM 9 @ Cesar's Palace which is one of the most underrated of all as it was in 1993, 30 years ago this year and the one that Jim Ross made his WWF debut
I have more in PB's Movie Trailer topic as as well My own Groundhog Day topic as well. So that is all for this update and whether you were expecting it or not I hope you enjoyed My special Groundhog Day showcase actually on Groundhog Day I have always loved the film & music, it's one of the last classic comedies and movies ever made. I have a lot in store for My great Odds & Ends topic, next will be a presentation that was delayed for a while but I'm gonna make it, until then I'll see you around
SPECIAL UPDATE
Look at the HISTORY As of 6:45 AM on Groundhog Day 2023, Punxsutawney Phil just saw his shadow, We're gonna have 6 more weeks on Winter Until next time
Update on 12/28/23:
BrandonDaCollector wrote:One of My local McDonald's just went out of business It was a very memorable one. It was regarded as the busiest one in the entire state of Missouri. It was on Gravois near the entrance of Hampton. I found this out a couple of weeks ago when Me & My Mom was out. She had told Me the story before then I saw it for Myself in person The bagger over at Schnucks next door to it told her they went out due to a homeless people situation there So when I was out with her I saw the place and it's all empty, the logos are gone and the place is nearly unrecognizable now. I advise everybody to savior every-bite of fast food not only because of the higher prices of inflation but also because you never know when that restaurant might have it's last customer, it's nothing to take for granted or least it isn't for Me IMO I have had many memories there. My first memories EVER there was with My Mom and her friend Jerry after We either saw Groundhog Day or Loaded Weapon 1 at the AMC Crestwood Theater in 1993, 30 years ago this year that I talked about in My very special Groundhog Day showcase in My Odds & Ends that I made for Groundhog Day this year. We ate there and I got two Double Cheeseburgers, Large Fries & Large Drink. My other memories was many times Me, My Grandma MiMi & Auntie Wanda would eat there before I went to the Batting Cages at Tower Tee. Auntie Wanda would always get their McFish. Also many, many times when Me & My Grandma was doing Our rounds and be at Schnucks I'd want to go there next door and get either breakfast or regular menu food in the morning plus there was times that We'd just eat there Many times also I would see employees at Schnucks such as the janitor have bags of McDonald's there. Here's a look at what it looked like only about a month ago as here's a special picture I made...Pic #1 - There you can see the building with the American Flag. Pic #2 - There's the front of it where you pull in & out. Also you can see Schnucks right there on the left. Pic #3 is of the Schnucks & McDonald's lot and My Grandma would wait for Me right there while I was getting that yummy hot McDonald's
That's it, despite this bummer news, I am quite grateful that I had all those memories there