Groundhog Day is a rare film, managing to balance the weight of its central conceit with actual character development and laughs. (Bill Murray as weatherman Phil Connors takes the lion’s share of the credit there.) But, unless you’re a fan of repeat-repeat viewings, you might not have appreciated just how well the movie manages to replicate that single day that Connors is trapped in. Today on Groundhog Day itself, you can take a moment to take it all in, with the YouTube video “Groundhog Day - Every Day in One Day.”
It’s a little confusing*, of course, but the video shows fantastically well how the film pays attention to the detail in each repeated scene, right down to people strolling by in the background. Plus, by watching all the days at once you can see how Connors’ response to his situation develops: from bafflement, to irritation, to hedonism, then suicide, altruism, and beyond. And, not coincidentally, you’ll probably feel like watching the film again.
edit by Ethan Anderton
*If you’re confused by how the editor determined the numbers of the day, it’s because there are 37 distinct days displayed in the movie. That doesn’t mean that Phil Connors (Murray) only experiences 37 days. In fact, those who have attempted to figure out just how many days Phil was stuck in this loop have ended up with a number that equals several years. One calculation estimates that Phil spends 8 years, 8 months and 16 days while another shoots much higher with 12,403 days, or just under 34 years.
No matter how many days Phil actually spends stuck in this loop, we’re thankful that we get to relive Groundhog Day (the movie) as many times as we want to, especially on this particular day.