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Ghostbusters: Collector's Series
review by Ren C.
Rated PG
Studio: Columbia/Tri-Star
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney
Weaver
Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Retail Price: $27.95 (also available as part of a
two-pack with Ghostbusters II)
Features: Video Commentary, Storyboards, Production
Photos, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Production Notes,
Trailers
Specs: 2.35:1 Widescreen Anamorphic, Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English Subtitles
"Ghostbusters" is without question one of the most
long-lasting and recognized movies of the '80s, with good
reason. Even today almost twenty years after its original
release, the movie stands up as funny and doesn't seem
nearly as dated as it could be. The movie begins with Doctor
Peter Venkman (Bill Murray, in arguably his best role)
performing "experiments" at Columbia University. The
validity of these experiments is questionable to say the
least, so Venkman is soon thrown out of the university,
along with his colleagues, Drs. Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and
Spengler (Harold Ramis). With no job, and nowhere to go, the
group decides to pursue an idea that they have had for quite
some time, to try and combat the growing number of
paranormal sightings in New York city.
Investing their last few dollars, the Ghostbusters
organization is born. They take out a TV ad, which in turn
brings them to the attention of Dana Barrett (Sigourney
Weaver), who is having the slightly out of the ordinary
problem of having ghosts inhabiting her apartment. The
Ghostbusters decide to take the case, and realize that they
are just scratching the tip of the iceberg in terms of the
paranormal activity. New York is in very real danger of
being overrun by ghosts, and the Ghostbusters are the only
thing that can stop it.
More a comedy than a sci-fi or horror movie,
"Ghostbusters" stands up as a very funny movie, especially
with the talents of Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis. In fact, the
movie was recently voted number twenty-eight on the list of
the hundred funniest movies of all time, according to the
American Film Institute. That is a very elite position to
hold, and "Ghostbusters" definitely deserves the ranking.
Sigourney Weaver is also a pleasant surprise in the movie,
more than holding her own next to the comic heavyweights. It
is a great movie that stands up to many repeat viewings, and
holds something new and enjoyable with every visit.
The movie has been remastered for this DVD release, and
it definitely looks it. Comparing this to the original 1984
release is like night and day. Especially impressive are the
effects, which have been touched up to look more realistic
than the technology which was available when the movie was
first released. The movie shows very little grain, and
surprisingly little wear for a movie with the relative age
that "Ghostbusters" has. Overall, a very attractive and
appealing transfer.
The audio on "Ghostbusters" is also very impressive, with
a Dolby Digital 5.1 track. While there are only a few
effects-laden sequences, the overall movie comes across very
well, with the dialogue and effects sounding very crisp and
clear with no distortion, and sounds like it was just made,
as opposed to sixteen years ago.
This is a Collector's Series disc, and the features are
where the disc really shines. First of all, there are the
fantastic menus, which depict a New York city street, with
all of the appropriate landmarks from the movie. First up is
the first ever video commentary track with Harold Ramis,
Ivan Reitman, and Joe Medjuck, the associate producer for
the movie. The commentary track is very engaging, with
Ramis, Reitman, and Medjuck being very informative and
entertaining at the same time. The video works much like
"Mystery Science Theater 3000" with the three men being
silhouetted over the movie and occasionally pointing things
out. A novel idea, but not exactly revolutionary in
execution.
Next is the "Tricks & Trivia" feature, which has the
original production notes being flashed on-screen
simultaneously with the movie through the use of the
subtitle track. This was even more informative than the
commentary, with the only drawback being that there were
long stretches where there was nothing on-screen. Aside from
that a very interesting and informative track.
The "Scene Cemetery" features ten fairly brief scenes
that were deleted from the final version of the film. The
majority of the scenes are extensions of scenes that were in
the movie, while a few are original. The quality of the
scenes are fairly consistent with a few-decades old
print-grainy but watchable. The scenes are all fairly
entertaining, although nothing was really lost by not
including them in the movie.
The original featurette, most likely used for promotion
of the movie in 1984 is very entertaining, mainly for its
nostalgia value. It is more promotional than informational,
but there is a counterbalance to that included in the
newly-made featurette created specifically for the disc.
This featurette takes an almost wistful look back at the
making of the movie, how it was conceived, and its success.
There is a special effects featurette included, detailing
how the advanced effects were created with the fairly
limited technology that was available. The featurette isn't
as interesting as it could be, mainly because it is
primarily a roundtable discussion with the special effects
supervisors as opposed to showing how the effects were made.
There is also an SFX before and after featurette, which
shows just how much work the actors had to do in terms of
compensating for special effects that had to be dubbed in
later. The before is also very interesting in that it showed
how much work had to be done in order to get the effects in
place. There is an extensive gallery of production photos
showing the construction of the major effects sequences.
There is also an extensive set of conceptual drawings,
elaborating further on the effects sequences, and some early
logo concepts which were better left unused. In addition,
there are storyboards for some of the shots in the movie,
including at least one that was dropped from the final
version.
Wrapping up the extensive features for the movie are the
original "Ghostbusters" trailer, along with trailers from
"Ghostbusters II", "Groundhog Day" and "Stripes".
This is a must-buy disc. The movie is a modern classic
with a great transfer, and the features are enough to keep
anyone occupied for days. I have no reservations about
giving this movie my highest possible recommendation.
 (4.5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
(4/5)
(4.5/5)
 (5/5,
NOT an average)
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