So, yesterday was Groundhog Day and so we watched Groundhog Day. And since, the last time I searched, I did not come across an obsessive timeline of the sort that I have come to expect from the interwebs in re the likes of Back to the Future and Terminator, this time I took notes on how many days had actually passed.

These are the days actually seen in the movie:

(  --More--(19%)  )

Now, beyond the days we actually see, much time is implied:

(  --More--(61%)  )

So.

Based on evidence presented in the movie, he re-lived February 2 for at least four years.

The Wikipedia entry says ^{[citation needed]} that "director Ramis has stated Phil repeats the day for about 10 years, noting that it would take that long to become as proficient on the piano as Connors does from daily lessons, though the original script had February 2 repeating for ten thousand years."

Which answer, you know, I found insufficient.

Update: We now have as authoritative an answer as we're likely to get: Danny Rubin, the guy who wrote Groundhog Day, wrote on his blog that he had no intended time-frame in mind in his script, but that he meant for it to be "more than one lifetime". The studio hated that, and said, "that's too long, make it two weeks". Harold Ramis, the director, tried to make the time-frame ambiguous, but had in his mind "ten years".

Incidentally, this year the rat saw its shadow.

Please enjoy jwz mixtape 016.

As your attorney in this matter, I advise you to engage in discussion of said mixtape.