Ghostbusters [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their government grants run out, the former three go into business as The Ghostbusters, later hiring Hudson on. Armed with electronic paraphernalia, the team is spectacularly successful, ridding The Big Apple of dozens of ghoulies, ghosties and long-legged beasties. Tight-lipped bureaucrat William Atherton regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when New York is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Sigourney Weaver and nerdish Rick Moranis. The climax is a glorious sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made-and we daresay it cost more than a year's worth of Japanese monster flicks combined. Who'd ever dream that the chubby, cheery Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man would turn out to be the most malevolent threat ever faced by New York City? When the script for Ghostbusters was forged by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role; Belushi's death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. The most expensive comedy made up to 1984, Ghostbusters made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series (one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled The Ghost Busters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: ABC
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby TrueHD
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • Slimer mode picture-in-picture and pop-up trivia track
  • Ecto-1: resurrecting the classic car
  • Ghostbusters garage: Ecto-1 photo gallery
  • Making-of Ghostbusters the video game

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Song - 1984 (Ray Parker, Jr.)
•     Nominated Best Visual Effects - 1984 (Mark Vargo, John Bruno, Chuck Gaspar, Richard Edlund)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Original Song - 1984 (Ray Parker, Jr.)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1984 (Bill Murray)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 1984

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Bill Murray - Peter Venkman
       Dan Aykroyd - Raymond Stantz
       Sigourney Weaver - Dana Barrett
       Harold Ramis - Egon Spengler
       Ernie Hudson - Winston Zeddmore
       Rick Moranis - Louis Tully/The Key Master
       Annie Potts - Janine Melnitz
       William Atherton - Walter Peck
       David Margulies - Mayor
       Steven Tash - Student
       Slavitza Jovan - Gozer
       Michael Ensign - Hotel Manager
       Alice Drummond - Librarian
       Bill Couch - Stunt Coordinator

• Director:

  Ivan Reitman

• Producer:

  Ivan Reitman

• Screenwriter:

  Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Peter Torokvei

• Cinematographer:

  Laszlo Kovacs, Herb Wagreitch

• Songwriter:

  Kevin O'Neal

• Composer (Music Score):

  Elmer Bernstein

• Editor:

  David Blewitt, Sheldon Kahn

• Production Designer:

  John De Cuir

• Art Director:

  John F. de Cuir, Jr., John J. Moore

• Associate Producer:

  Joe Medjuck, Michael J. Gross

• Executive Producer:

  Bernie Brillstein

• Set Designer:

  Robert Drumheller, Marvin March, Richard Beggs

• Costume Designer:

  Theoni V. Aldredge

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Gene S. Cantamessa

• Makeup:

  Leonard Engelman

• Special Effects:

  Richard Edlund, Charles Gaspar, John Bruno, Mark Vargo

• First Assistant Director:

  Peter Giuliano, Gary Daigler

• Camera Operator:

  Ted Churchill

• Production Manager:

  Patrick McCormick, John G. Wilson

• Casting:

  Karen Rea

• Musical Performer:

  Ray Parker, Jr.

• Stunts Coordinator:

  Bill Couch

• Additional Editing:

  James Seidelman

• Visual Effects:

  Philip Barberio

REVIEW:

• Ghostbusters is an exuberant, fully realized blockbuster packed with plenty of choice moments for repeat viewing. The cast is pitch-perfect: Bill Murray's easygoing comic gifts are at their sarcastic best; Rick Moranis is hilariously pathetic; and Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis do a wonderful job as the dorky, science-minded members of the crew. Aykroyd and Ramis also wrote the one-liner-packed script; the wacky, scary subject matter made the film understandably popular with children, but there's also sophisticated humor which can only be appreciated by adults. Providing a blueprint for the many copycat summer hits to come, director Ivan Reitman impressively balances the laughs with action and horror. The special effects have held up well with time, though the soundtrack and its catch-phrase theme song may feel a little dated. ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi