BLU-RAY REVIEW Ghostbusters
Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson
Screenwriters: Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis
Run Time: 105 minutes
Original Release Date: June 8, 1984
The Film:
This Oscar nominated classic manages to be hilarious and scary all at the same time. Even now.... 25 years later.
The three entrepreneurs, Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray), Dr. Ray Stantz (Akroyd) and Dr. Egon Spangler (Ramis), have been working on paranormal science for quite a while and then, upon having a first-hand encounter with one in a New York City library, they found the Ghostbusters.
Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) joins the business as the receptionist and supplies the dry comic relief as the stereotypical female New Yorker.
When Dana Barrett (Sigorney Weaver) visits the old firehouse to become the first customer, Dr. Venkman - in his classic ladies' man ways - takes an interest in her and that relationship develops further as the film progresses. The person wishing they had a relationship with Barrett, however, is Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), her neighbor. Tully, an accountant who outright defines the nerdy stereotype, also becomes a central figure in the plot as well.
Even Winston Zeddemore (Hudson) is brought in to make the Ghostbusters a foursome and represent the blue-collar (read: non-scientist) demographic.
The cast is impressive, the acting is impressive, but the writing is even more impressive. With timeless lines such as "I collect spores, molds and fungus" to the more subtle "the flowers are still standing!", all the dialogue is perfect for each character and is extremely detailed for each actor.
The plot is fun and there's a heavy dose of both comedy, action and suspense. The ghosts don't look cheesy and the audience is happily forced to believe that ecto-plasm (and other quasi-science references) really exist.
If you haven't seen this movie in the last 20-25 years or *gasp* ever... buy it immediately. It's not only a comedy classic but it's also an absolute must-own for anyone who enjoys the comedy genre.
As for how the blu-ray looks, it looks exceptional. You're not going to see 1080p-style depth to each frame or anything - let's not get carried away - but you will notice a marked difference between the DVD release and this hi-def release. And for a moderate $20, it's worth every penny to see this comedy classic in a way you've never seen it before.
Jeremy's grade = A
The Extras:
The blu-ray release of Ghostsbusters features your standard Director's Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Storyboard Comparisons, etc. but it also comes equipped with the blu-ray exclusive "Slimer Mode" picture-in-picture commentary from a host of personnel along with a pop-up trivia track which is pretty entertaining. The only problem I have with the picture-in-picture commentary is that they don't "mute" the movie for the commentary audio which, at times, makes it extremely difficult to hear.
The blu-ray disc also comes with two amazing featurettes in particular: a Making-of Ghostsbusters the Video Game and Ecto-1 Resurrecting the Classic Car. The former was supposed to act as a sequel to Ghostbusters 2 but there's since been talk they'll actually make a third movie (cue collective "YAY!"). The Ecto-1 documentary looks like something straight off of the Discovery Channel and is a very entertaining piece.
On the flip side of the coin though, the deleted scenes are quite obvious as to why they were deleted. They're either not funny or they have absolutely nothing to do with the plot overall... and still aren't funny. One scene that (thankfully) hit the cutting room floor even has the feel of a horror movie scene which, obviously wouldn't have worked at all.
Overall though, the extras are worth seeing and even offer even the die-hard Ghostbusters fan something they've never seen before.
Jeremy's grade = B
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