Cover Art

Credits

Director: Ivan Reitman Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts Screenplay: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis Country: USA

If you haven't seen Ghostbusters, and are unaware of the plot, then you are probably not old enough to be perusing this website. If you are old enough though and uninformed, do yourself a favour and go and rent it now, because anyone with any self-respect has seen this film, even if they didn't enjoy it (and those who didn't would be in an incredible minority).

Ghostbusters and its sequel have both seen the light of day on DVD before. Ghostbusters' initial release was fantastic, crammed with extras and possibly the best feature commentary to ever grace a DVD. Ghostbusters II was pretty much a barebones release; all it had was a trailer and some cast notes. Now however, with the 21st anniversary of its release (well, last year actually), Columbia Tristar/Sony has put together an anniversary pack worthy of any fan's attention.

It's amazing how well this film has stood up over time. For a 1984 movie, it's pretty timeless. The only real telling signs of its age are a couple of songs heard on the radios in the background and the youth of the cast. The special effects hold up far better and remain far more convincing than a lot of today's CGI work. You never once question the fact that the 125 ft tall Marshmallow Man making it's way down Broadway is real. Ghostbusters II is a little more obvious with some of its fashion choices, but still holds up just as well as the first. The new print is the crispest thing next to the superbit version available in Japan and briefly in the United States, so the special effects really are a treat to see. You'll be surprised to see exactly what Slimer looks like in perfect detail, and the ghoul that comes flying out of the subway is now perfectly visible and a rather frightening creature to behold. Likewise in the sequel every minute detail lost to the previous versions can now be distinguished, such as the pulsating veins throughout the ectoplasm that covers the New York Museum, and the grotesqueness of the murderous Scoleri Brothers during the court hearing.

If you haven't seen it and are still reading this, without divulging any particular plot details, the storytelling is impeccable, and the sequel, thankfully, doesn't follow the same formula used in the first. For such a bizarre idea and one that could have gone either all out in the comedy and wound up rather stupid or all out in the horror and been another monster entirely, everything from the characters to the situations they find themselves in and the otherworldly intruders feel perfectly normal and acceptable in this perfect blend of science fiction, comedy and horror. Dan Aykroyd's penchant for reality based techno and psycho babble combined with Harold Ramis's comedic flair and knack for character based writing works together perfectly and you will likely never see another role so perfectly suited for Bill Murray than Peter Venkman. The film is probably also the best you'll find from Ivan Reitman's catalogue of films too (an interesting note for those who didn't already know, Reitman actually produced a large number of David Cronenberg's earlier works).

There's a great full colour booklet that contains a number of production notes and sketches along with a fun little interview with producer Joe Medjuck.

The first film contains three behind the scenes featurettes, one being a large retrospective interview with the special effects crew, another being a promotional/behind the scenes feature which is both informative and entertaining. The Region 1 set (this one) has one more featurette over the Australian release (which unfortunately also misses out on the cartoon episodes), which is another retrospective piece but focuses more on the stars and key crew members.

You also get a slew of deleted scenes, a storyboard to film comparison feature, behind the scenes photo and art galleries, along with trailers. Unfortunately, and very surprisingly, there is no Ray Parker Jnr music video! However the animated episodes are a real treat. They are as follows:

The Real Ghostbusters: Citizen Ghost – goes over the events immediately following the film, revealing why they all have new costumes in the cartoon, and basically providing a bridge between the movie and the cartoon series. When the remnant psychokinetic energy absorbed by their suits isn't dealt with promptly, the ecto energy creates doppelgangers from the suits and the ghost Ghostbusters face off against the real Ghostbusters. This is a great little episode with some of the best animation of the series (and a far cry better than the shit kids watch these days!) and is considered a classic amidst the rabid fanbase.