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Bill Murray
Ghostbusters
(1984)
Dan Aykroyd's inventive comedy concept for Ghostbusters attracted an all-star comedy team to bust out an classic of mainstream '80s cinema. Aykroyd's little-boy enthusiasm meshes well with co-screenwriter Harold Ramis' grumpy-old-man expertise, and class clown Bill Murray orbits his nerdy buddies, ready to take them down a notch. Following up on the hits Meatballs and Stripes (both with Murray), director Ivan Reitman pulls them together, orchestrating loose-limned comedy, quirky romance, and special-effects-driven science-fiction into a silly symphony.
Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray), Dr. Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), and Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis) conduct experiments in the Paranormal Studies Laboratory at what looks to be Columbia University. Like Groucho Marx's Professor Wagstaff in Horse Feathers, a college "position" is merely an excuse to boink co-eds and crack wise. His attitude has something to do with the three friends being evicted from campus, but they apply their shared interest to a startup business: Ghostbusters.
And what excellent timing that turns out to be: an outbreak of paranormal activity signals that something is rotten in New York City, or more rotten than usual, anyway. When attractive early adopter Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) offers the strange case of a demon in her fridge, Venkman immediately begins putting the moves on her. An overload of business brings a new hire (Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddmore), celebrity (the covers of Time, Omni, and The Atlantic—"The Politics of the Next Dimension: Do Ghosts Have Civil Rights) but also unwanted scrutiny from—horrors!—the Environmental Protection Agency (as represented by William Atherton's inflamed bureaucrat).
Demonic possession strikes, and a suddenly vampy Dana and her schlubby neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis) become "The Keymaster" and "The Gatekeeper," humorously searching for each other to unlock the gate for ancient Sumerian god Gozer to enter our dimension and deal out Judgement Day. When sexy-scary Dana, possessed by demi-god Zuul, tells Venkman, "I want you inside me," Venkman replies, "Sounds like you've got at least two people in there already. Might be a little crowded." The wild situation also triggers Moranis' immortal line "Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you."
Indeed, Ghostbusters is positively crammed with memorable dialogue. Some of the pithiest lines became popular T-shirt slogans ("He slimed me" and "Back off, man! I'm a scientist!") but Aykroyd and Ramis devised a lot of subtler stuff, and the welcome improvising of the cast raised the stakes. To Murray's line "Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head. Remember that?" Ramis purportedly ad-libbed Egon's response: "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me." In the category of PG-friendly swearing, Murray delivers "Mother pus bucket" with conviction at the sweet surprise of the finale.
Unmistakable chemistry helps to keep Ghostbusters humming. Moranis and Annie Potts (as blasé secretary Janine) make fine foils for the boys, and Weaver generates heat with Murray. Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Moranis are all Second City alumni, and Murray and Aykroyd bonded during their Saturday Night Live years, live from New York. New York becomes an important character in the film, as well: a place where uniformed ghost-catchers wearing proton packs, manning an old firehouse, and driving a souped-up ambulance (the "ECTO-1") may be strange, but also uncommon local heroes worth championing.
Reitman proved expert in building Ghostbusters fervor on-screen (in energetic montages like the one that introduces Ray Parker, Jr.'s hit theme song) and off. He also had the good sense to hire Oscar-winning talent, like Elmer Bernstein for the jaunty score and John De Cuir for the production design. Laszlo Kovacs (New York, New York) shot the film, and Richard Edlund supervised the special effects, which—apart from the odd devil dog shot—hold up very well, indeed. The magical combination of elements makes Ghostbusters an enduring, essential comedy (#28 on AFI's "100 Years...100 Laughs" list).
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Ghostbusters fans began buzzing as the film's 20th Anniversary in 2004 approached. Rumors of a special edition reissue of the film (and sequel Ghostbusters II) swirled, particularly with the anticipation of new extras. The eventually announced Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Double Feature Gift Set, released in summer of 2005, struck many fans as too little too late, but the bargain-priced set offers new transfers (generally sharper and more colorful than the initial releases) and two episodes of the Saturday-morning spinoff The Real Ghostbusters.
As for Ghostbusters (see my Ghostbusters II review for information specific to that disc), the image looks quite good. Brighter and more colorful than it appeared on the 1999 disc, the 1984 film still looks grainy, but not unnaturally so, and the vibrant colors appear to be true (Ivan Reitman told reporters that this is the first Ghostbusters transfer he participated in approving). The new transfer loses a bit of information from both sides of the frame (at least in comparison to the previous transfer); this is most evident in the slightly cropped headlines of the "success" montage. The soundtrack is mighty effective, with additional French and Spanish tracks.
As for the special features, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment joins the rest of the studios in messing with our heads by shuffling extras between releases. Most bonus features from the 1999 disc are reproduced here, but in 1999, the commentary track was a Mystery Science Theatre 3000-styled video commentary using a subtitle track to show Reitman, Ramis, and producer Joe Medjuck in silhouette. On the 2005 disc, the silhouetted filmmakers are gone, making the commentary audio-only. At one point on the track, Reitman refers to pointing at the frame, which won't make sense to viewers of the new set, but otherwise the missing silhouette isn't such a big deal.
This is an excellent, attentively scene-specific commentary, in which the chatty filmmakers draw attention to locations, give insights on the cast and characters (Egon: the brains; Ray: the heart; Peter: the mouth), and reveal the secrets behind the practical effects on set (versus the special effects added later). The origins of the project are kicked around once more, along with a discussion of the writing process and Reitman's openness to improv. Reitman points out the design element of Gothic statuary, from the film's opening scenes to the rooftop climax, and the visual influence of the Western. Anecdotes are plentiful: why John Candy turned down the role of Louis, what Bill Murray blurted at Harold Ramis's wedding, and how Isaac Asimov reacted to the filming of Ghostbusters in his neighborhood.
Inexplicably, two other features are completely absent from the new Ghostbusters disc: a trivia subtitle track and a handful of trailers (including those for both Ghostbusters films). But the rest of the 1999 disc's battery of extras remains intact, starting with ten deleted scenes. The image and sound quality is merely acceptable, but the snippets are mostly entertaining despite having been wisely trimmed. One wild clip features Murray and Aykroyd as propounding homeless guys; another includes Murray riffing "Didn't your mama ever tell you not to get involved with no Ghostbusters?".
Also returning from the 1999 disc arethe 1984 featurette "On the Scene with the Ghostbusters" (9 minutes and 25 seconds of fun interview blurbs and B-roll footage, padded with film clips), a 1999 featurette featuring Aykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman comments (10:51), a Special Effects Team Featurette that reunites Richard Edlund's charges to reminisce (15:22), three special effects comparisons (viewers can use the "Angle" button to toggle between effects-less rough cuts and the finished product), and hundreds of conceptual drawings, production photos, and storyboards (a comparison feature allows viewers to watch storyboard images roll above three finished sequences).
Rounding off the set is the packaging: two slimline cases for the films share box space with a collectible, 28-page Ghostbusters Movie Scrapbook. Its design tries too hard, cluttering the presentation of photos and pre-production sketches. Still, it's a nice bonus, with a page showing the teaser, half-sheet, and one-sheet posters and a back cover that's a mock ad for Stay Puft Marshmallows. Ultimately, the Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Double Feature Gift Set must be considered a bargain, with actual prices running as low as $13 for two new film transfers and all the trimmings.
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