Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd have been in several comedies over the years, many of which are now considered comedy classics. I've enjoyed many of their movies, including 1984's Ghostbusters.
Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Ray Stantz, and Dr. Egon Spengler worked in the parapsychology department of a university. Right after they saw a ghost in the New York City library, they found out that the university had cut their funding. Peter talked the other two into opening their own business, Ghostbusters. They had equipment to capture and hold ghosts. Things started out slow for them, but then they got extremely busy and had to hire another man, Winston. There was a lot of ghost activity in the city and it seemed like most of it was centered around the building that Dana Barrett lived in. Peter did seem more interested in trying to get her to date him than dealing with her problem. The men also had to deal with an arrogant EPA official, Walter Peck, who wanted to shut them down.
I think that most of the movies I’ve watched that have dealt with ghosts have been at least somewhat serious and scary. Ghostbusters wasn’t either of those things. Some of the characters were scared by what they encountered but I didn’t think the movie was scary. I don’t remember being scared by anything the first time I saw the movie years ago. Certain things might scare younger children, so parents should probably check the movie out first. I thought that the movie was very funny. Some of what was done to add humor was a bit silly without making the movie silly overall. All of the characters said and did things that were funny.
Several ghosts or spirits turned up throughout Ghostbusters. The ghosts had different looks, with some looking more pleasant than others. It seemed like all of the ghosts caused problems, so people were happy to pay to have them dealt with. Obviously ghosts played a very important part in the movie. Peter, Ray, and Egon had used science to develop a way to deal with ghosts. I did think it was interesting how they did that. There really weren’t any explanations for why the ghosts were around like there has been in some other movies. People that enjoy movies that deal with ghosts may also like this movie.
Special effects were used throughout the movie. The different ghosts were created with different types of effects. The beams from the gun like things that the men used to capture ghosts as well as the beam that came out of what they called the trap were also created with special effects. The effects were cutting edge when the movie was released in 1984. They were very well done though certain things do show their age in some scenes. It was very apparent that blue screen work had been used in some of the scenes.
Peter and Dana first met when she went to get help from the Ghostbusters for the strange things that happened in her kitchen. He was extremely interested in her right from the start and didn’t seem to really take her problem as serious as he should have. There were a few minor sexual situations that really didn’t go anywhere. There wasn’t any nudity or sex scenes in the movie. Janine, the receptionist, seemed to have a crush on Egon, who was mostly oblivious. Nothing developed with that. It did seem like Dana’s neighbor Louis might have been interested in her.
Peter, Ray, and Egon had been friends for a long time and were working together at the university. Ray and Egon were very serious about their work and research while Peter was more interested in using his work as a way to meet pretty young college women. Peter tended to crack a lot of jokes but he did take certain things seriously. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis were really good and believable in their parts. Winston turned up looking for a job after the business picked up. Winston didn’t seem to have any kind of scientific training. He was willing to believe anything for a steady paycheck. Ernie Hudson was good in the part.
Dana was a classical musician who was part of an orchestra. She had to deal with some very bizarre things going on in her apartment and she turned to the Ghostbusters for help. She did manage to deal with what was going on fairly well. Sigourney Weaver was really good in the part even though she didn’t have quite as much to do as some of the others. Louis was Dana’s somewhat nerdy neighbor who kept popping up. He was nice enough, but he did seem to annoy Dana at times. Rick Moranis was perfect in the part. Annie Potts turned up in a few scenes as Janine, the somewhat flaky receptionist. William Atherton was wonderful in the few scenes he had as Walter Peck.
Main Cast
William Atherton - Walter Peck Dan Aykroyd - Dr. Ray Stantz Ernie Hudson - Winston Rick Moranis - Louis Bill Murray – Dr. Peter Venkman Annie Potts - Janine Harold Ramis - Dr. Egon Spengler Sigourney Weaver - Dana
Ivan Reitman - Director
DVD Information
Ghostbusters is now available on DVD. The copy I have presents the movie in anamorphic widescreen. I don’t know if there is a full screen version available as well. There were several special features, most of which were featurettes about the making of the movie. A few of the featurettes had been filmed while the movie was still in production. The others were filmed in 1999. The featurettes included cast and crew members talking about making the movie. One on the special effects did provide a lot of details for how the effects for the movie were created. There were also 10 scenes that were either alternate versions of scenes in the movie or scenes that had been deleted. Several production photos and conceptual drawings as well as some of the original storyboards were shared. Some of the storyboards were very detailed. There was also the option to watch a few key sequences and see a comparison between the original storyboards and the final scenes. I did enjoy watching the extras.
Ghostbusters is a very funny movie that has stood up well over the years. It is definitely worth watching, especially for fans of the cast or people that enjoy movies that deal with ghosts.
DVDS. {$Bill Murray}, {$Dan Aykroyd}, {$Harold Ramis} and {$Ernie Hudson} star as a quartet of Manhattan-based "paranormal investigators". When their ...More at DeepDiscount.com
A trio of university parasychologists lose their research grant and decide to open their own business, Ghostbusters, and almost at once are summoned t...More at Buy.com
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