GHOSTBUSTERS

By: Iggy Michniacki on 6.xx.2009

The Movie Itself:
It is safe to say that Ghostbusters is loved by many and hated by few (very few). Why is this? I’d like to think that it was one of the very few movies of its time that took smart, dialogue based comedy mashed it with some groundbreaking special effects and tackled a concept that made all of it work together. All that mixed with some of the better comedic actors of the 80’s (and possibly all time) obviously would lead to a great movie.

Ghostbusters tells the story of three parapsychology scientists who lose their grant from Columbia University. Peter Venkman (Billy Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) all out of work, decide what better to do than stay in the business of paranormal. With the help of a dry yet quick secretary, Janine (Annie Potts) and a fourth member of the ‘team’, Winston (Ernie Hudson), the group soon becomes the ‘Ghostbusters’. The Ghostbusters are a team of four, well-equipped men who investigate the paranormal and ‘wrangle’ the ghosts they find. Restoring an old fire station and an old ambulance, named the ‘Ecto-1’, the Ghostbusters quickly become a busy team. Things turn more problematic when Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) comes calling about some paranormal activity taking place in her apartment. With the help of Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), against anybody’s will, the Ghostbusters end up taking on a paranormal foe that is much greater than they would ever expect while at the same time their credibility is put on trial by certain city officials.

Plain and simple, Ghostbusters is a timeless classic filled with hilarious and quirky dialogue exchanges and one-liners as well as cutting edge (well, at its time) special effects and a topic that isn’t present in every other Hollywood comedy. Ghostbusters is one of those ‘rare’ 80s movies that has stood the test of time and pleased the audience of today as well as the audience of yesterday.

Where does Ghostbusters owe its success? Well, I can start by saying the acting wasn’t half bad. OK, who am I kidding; the acting is the success story of the movie. This is the case thanks to memorable performances from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson. It seemed that everybody worked together well enough to make everybody’s role in the movie great and memorable. Ivan Reitman (Director) contributed to the success as well, as it seemed any comedy he directed prior to 1995 was a work of art. Every character meshes so well from beginning to end and each actor fits their role perfectly.

Another success story is how well Ghostbusters has seemed to hold up throughout the years. As previously mentioned, Ghostbusters seems to please the audience of this generation as much as it pleased the generation that saw it in theaters in 1984. Although the directing and acting are memorable, I believe that the success of Ghostbusters goes beyond those points and falls heavily on the writing. Both Ramis and Aykroyd did a fantastic job putting together a movie that has enough ghost blasting and memorable quotes to keep everybody happy for even generations to come. The movie’s combination of comedy and science-fiction works perfectly, and the mix of those two genres had not been played with, at least not in this manner, at that point making Ghostbusters incredibly original as well.

Ghostbusters is the type of movie where I have a hard time finding anything negative to say about it, as it is a movie that can be watched over and over again. For fans and newcomers alike, Ghostbusters is a comedic giant that will forever stay that way.
Rating: 9/10

The Presentation:
Ghostbusters has seen a variety of ‘home video’ releases including the more recent 2005 Special Edition DVD. There has been much debate around this release as the ‘screen cropping’ has been slightly edited as well as the special effects being ‘remastered’ thus changing the original look of some of the scenes. The Blu-ray seems to be from the same master of that 2005 DVD release but a bit more cleaned up.

Boasting a Mpeg-4 1080p codec, this Blu-ray version of Ghostbusters looks better than ever before. There is a fair amount of grain, after all this is the 25th anniversary of the film but it isn’t a nuisance and isn’t anymore than on previous releases. Dirt, dust, and noise is noticeable at times as the source material is far from spotless, and of course the picture is not as three-dimensional as many new(er) releases. But yeah, I said this is an impressive transfer as detail that I have never noticed in this movie is front an center as well as in many backgrounds. Colors are magnificent as well, as greens, blues and reds jump from the screen. The special effects look more dated due to the added clarity but they do look amazing as well. There is a bit of depth, and contrast is nice, much nicer than this weekend’s presentation of Ghostbusters on AMC. Overall, fans should be impressed as this movie looks fantastic and full of life.

The audio track is really awesome as well, with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that utilizes all of the speakers far better than any standard release of this film. Although the movie can feel front heavy at times the surround speakers do get some work. Noise does a descent job of engulfing you and all speakers are loud enough to make the experience ‘high-def’. The subwoofer is active when needed as well, with large explosions rocking and intense scenes getting a rumble as well. The center channel is crisp and clear with every conversation coming over nice and detailed. No interruption from noise or music as each word spoken comes out loud and clear. There are the occasional pops of noise and awkward ‘hums’, but the audio on Ghostbusters is more than impressive.
Rating: 8/10 (video 8/10, audio 8/10)

The Extras:
Ghostbusters comes to Blu-ray filled with extras. Not only does the Blu-ray contain many of the extras that the Special Edition DVD had, it also has a number of exclusive extras including BD-Live and ‘Slimer Mode’.

Cinechat: One of the new(er) features Blu-ray is offering is the online chat feature. Chat with friends or family as they too watch Ghostbusters through your Blu-ray player’s internet connection.
Blu-Wizard: Pick your own extras throughout the movie. Select the features that are right for you and an alert will trigger at the appropriate time in the movie.
Slimer Mode: The Picture in Picture feature that not only gives the cool Ghostbusters border, it also has a cool PiP track that has cast and crew commentary as well as pop up trivia and facts about the movie.
BD-Live: Access extra features to not only Ghostbusters but also other Sony Pictures movies. Also, join the Sony Pictures Movie Club as well as download other cool content such as ringtones and movie cash for the new movie, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.
Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car (HD): The 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance is restored just in time for the debut of Ghostbusters: The Video Game. This featurette looks at the car and has interviews with those involved with restoring it.
Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery (HD): Pretty much a slideshow of the above featurette, ‘Resurrecting the Classic Car’ and doesn’t contain any of the interviews.
Making of Ghostbusters: The Video Game (HD): Take a look at the making of the new game, Ghostbusters: The Video Game. With interviews from the creative staff as well as much of the original cast due to them starring in the new game.
Preview - Ghostbusters: The Video Game (HD): A high definition trailer for the new video game, Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Audio Commentary: Director Ivan Reitman, co-writer/actor Harold Ramis, and associate producer Joe Medjuck are all present for information on the movie and ideas behind the movie.
Scene Cemetery (SD): Basically the deleted scenes, 10 of them to be exact, which wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the movie but aren’t bad at all.
On the Scene with the Ghostbusters (SD): This featurette contains crew and cast discussing the making of the film as well as the ground breaking special effects that were used to make the movie.
Cast and Crew Featurette (SD): A more recent collection of interviews with Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis discussing the film and working together.
SFX Team Featurette (SD): The special effects team sits down in a panel discussion and talks about the special effects while the audience is treated to pictures along with the interviews.
Multi-Angle Featurettes (SD): “Spook Central Exploding," "She's A Dog," and "Crossing the Streams" examines three scenes from rough filming to the addition of animation and special effects.
Storyboard Comparisons (SD): "Slimer," "Dogs Drag Dana," and "Atop Spook Central" compares three scenes to their hand-drawn storyboards.
Theatrical Trailers (HD): Includes many trailers from other Sony releases on Blu-ray.
Rating: 9/10

Overall:
As mentioned a few times over, Ghostbusters has stood the test of time and is incredibly entertaining in each and every way. Ghostbusters on Blu-ray is pure genius in every manner. Comedy, science-fiction, great video transfer, wonderful audio, and twenty-five years of extras make this movie a must for all who own Blu-ray players.
Rating: 9/10