Review of Ghostbusters

Introduction

Ghostbusters was one of the first films that I went to see at the cinema, a long, long time ago. Since then I`ve seen various bits of the film during one of its numerous appearances on television, but I`m fairly sure that I`ve not seen it from start to finish.

Ghostbusters was a hugely popular film when it was released, becoming one of the most successful films of all time.

For anyone who hasn`t seen the movie, three scientists lose their research funding at a University and set up in business as the Ghostbusters - a service to capture and store ghosts. Bumbling city officials interfere and set off a huge spiritual event - can the Ghostbusters save the day?

Video

The Video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of above average quality. Some scenes suffer from grain, but there`s nothing that detracts from the enjoyment of the film.

The special effects may have looked good in 1984, but in 2001 they are cheesy at best, and atrocious at worst. The ghosts themselves look a bit ropey - but acceptable, however the demonic dogs look dreadful in all shots and are B-movie quality at best.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, however in truth there is very limited use made of the rear channels. This sounds very much like Pro-Logic, with the rears only used for spot effects. Dialog is however clear and understandable throughout the film.

There`s also of course Ray Parker Jnr`s famous theme tune, which earned an Oscar nomination.

Features

There’s quite a generous feature count on the disc, which includes a commentary track, story board comparisons, various featurettes which look behind the scenes and at the special effects, a gallery, drawings, deleted scenes, filmographies and trailers for Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2.

This is all wrapped up in appropriate menus, which are nice enough, but it can be a little difficult to see which option you’ve got selected.

The disc comes in an Amaray case, which contains a folded insert containing some interesting background information on the film.

Conclusion

Overall Ghostbusters was good fun, with a great script and Bill Murray in top form. For the most part the pace is fast enough to hold interest, with only a slightly tedious bit about three quarters of the way through letting it down.

I`ve already mentioned how good Bill Murray is, and he`s backed by good performances from the rest of the cast, which includes Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver.

The effects look pretty ropey nowadays, but the overall image quality is above average. Sound is also good, but there`s not much action from the rear channels. There`s also a good range of extras on the disc.

Overall, the film and DVD are both good, but whether it is worth £20 is debatable - I would like to see a "double-pack" including Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2 for the same price.