Review of Ghostbusters

Introduction

The most successful comedy of all time. At least that`s what it says on the back of the case. I`m not aware of the statistics, but when I first saw this film over 15 years ago now, I instantly fell in love with it. It even engendered the best cartoon series of the eighties, the Real Ghostbusters. There had never been anything like it. The scary genre and the comedy rarely mixed and I never found Abbot and Costello funny, even when they met the Mummy. But in Ghostbusters was something new, a ghost movie with great effects but belly laugh funny as well. You can bet this was a high priority purchase when I got my DVD player. And now I`m going to take this opportunity to tell you why I love this film. Biased? Hell yes.

Three scientists are thrown out of their university when their funding is withdrawn, the problem being their area of research, parapsychology and the paranormal. Yes, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler are fascinated by spooks, spectres and things that go bump in the night. However, before their research was so unceremoniously halted, they had managed to collect enough data to realize that they could capture and indefinitely contain a ghost. Seizing this opportunity with a judicious loan, they set up Ghostbusters, a service designed to eliminate any pesky ghosts that may be plaguing your neighbourhood, for a fee of course. Meanwhile, a big dog in her refrigerator is haunting musician Dana Barrett. A sceptical Dana visits the Ghostbusters for their assistance. Peter, all too willing to assist a beautiful lady, jumps at the chance and Dana Barrett becomes their first job. Before they can solve her problem, all manner of ghouls and wraiths invade New York and suddenly the Ghostbusters are in big demand. Worked off their feet, they hire Winston Zeddemore to be the fourth `buster and the team is complete. By now though, Dana has been possessed by the Helldog from her fridge, Zuul the Gatekeeper and awaits the Keymaster who happens to inhabit her diminutive neighbour, Louis Tully. When the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster meet, the doors to hell will open, and Gozer will come to destroy the city. Only the Ghostbusters can save us now.

Video

Ghostbusters is presented in glorious anamorphic widescreen in a 2.35:1 ratio. The picture is clear and the colours are strong. I can`t fault it. The effects as would be expected are of their time, 1984 and as a result seem a little dated. But the film is so good that I can easily suspend my disbelief and enjoy the film. In fact, the effects have stood up surprisingly well, considering.

Audio

You get the choice of a DD 5.1 English soundtrack or a 2.0 German. The sound is excellent and the action really comes through well. I could really feel the bass when the Helldog growled. The music by Elmer Bernstein is very good, I wouldn`t have though comic and spooky could be combined musically, but here it really works well. Of course there is the brilliant soundtrack featuring, of course Ray Parker Jr.

Features

There is a veritable feast of Ghostbusting extras on this disc accessed through the smartly animated menus. As well as the obligatory trailers and two pages of production notes slipped in the case, you get around 8 minutes of deleted scenes. There is an original featurette that gives 10 minutes of making of. In a special effects section, you can see a recent interview with the special effects team with 16 minutes of how they did it. There is a before and after, multi-angle featurette, and several concept drawings. You also get some storyboards. 3 of them get the split screen treatment with the finished scenes, the other 7 are just the storyboards but 2 of them aren`t in the finished movie. There is a gallery, with loads of production pics and movie stills and finally there is the commentary. You have the option to either watch the movie with just the audio commentary or if you switch to 4:3 mode, you can see the silhouettes of the commentators watching the movie. The commentary is brilliant, one of the best of its ilk and the conversation is sharp and witty. Of course it helps that Ghostbusters is one of my favourite movies.

Conclusion

The cast are a brilliant ensemble. It`s hard to pick out any individual performance so I won`t try. Bill Murray is the sardonic Peter Venkman, Dan Ayckroyd is the eager Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis is the intellectual Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson is the reliable Winston Zeddemore. Sigourney Weaver is brilliant as Dana Barrett and Rick Moranis is her puppy dog like neighbour. Annie Potts is memorable as the receptionist Janine Melnitz. The cast work together very well, and it`s easy to believe that much of the dialogue was improvised. They make the most of a fabulous and witty script.

This is a must have disc. A brilliant film is showcased ideally on DVD. The script is beyond compare and the performances are excellent. It`s a fast paced action comedy that is relentless in its ability to entertain. You know how good a film is in the number of quotes it generates, and who wouldn`t recognise "Back off man, I`m a scientist". One line out of several. On a personal note, I think that when Zuul possesses Dana Barrett, you have the sexiest demon to ever grace the big or small screen. Excuse me, is my adolescence showing? Every time I watch this film, I enjoy it just as much as before, and I will happily sit there, shouting out the lines as the characters speak them. Ivan Reitman`s direction is spot on, the pacing is fast and sharp and best of all, this film is hilarious.