As I write this, we are mere days away from the 20th anniversary of Ghostbusters, which premiered June 8th, 1984. It's spectacular opening weekend brought in $23 million dollars, solidifying it as one of the top comedies of all times. The DVD release was one of the early discs to really take advantage of the format, though the horrible menus ruin the experience.
Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) play scientists, kicked out of Columbia University since their "science" didn't sit well with school. Tossed out on the streets, they decide to become the "Ghostbusters." Overnight the group becomes a huge success and hires another member, Winston Zedmore (Ernie Hudson). Soon, the EPA orders a shut down of their entire system causing a disaster and the city to be overrun by an evil force. It's up to the group to save the city and defeat Gozer.
This is a movie that you will enjoy more if you watch a few times. There is so much entertainment here that you'll likely miss most of it the first time around. This is a wild sci-fi movie, one that would likely inspire more recent films like "Men in Black." This mix will only work if the performances are strong. Here, they are just outstanding. Bill Murray leads most of the movie but the scene-stealer here is Rick Moranis, a close neighbor to Dana Barrett, played by the also excellent Sigourney Weaver. Moranis puts on a great show as the "keymaster," and the movies later segments are better because of it.
The special effects, now at least, are hit or miss. The commentary track (more on that later) mentions a few shots that should have probably been cut, but for 1984, these are just amazing. In fact, they would go on to win an Academy Award along with another one for best song. If by some chance you have never seen it or it's been a while, now you have a reason to re-visit it. (**** out of *****)
Ghostbusters is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. There is no pan and scan version available. This is a decent transfer with great color, solid black levels, and superb clarity. What knocks this one down a bit is some excessive grain and flickering. Almost every scene has something the resolution has trouble with and it really can get annoying at times. Still, the print has been cleaned up almost flawlessly with only minor instances of scratches and spots. It looks good, but it could certainly be better. (***)
The re-mixed 5.1 sound is a nice touch, but a missed opportunity as well. There are plenty of opportunities for rear speaker usage but they never seem to kick in. A few sequences use them a little while, but rest assured your sound will almost always be coming out of the front speakers. The LFE channel is also used sparingly (check out the scene when their first power-up the proton packs in the elevator), but again, not as much as it should be. Regardless, voices are clear and understandable with soundtrack never sounding better. (***)
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