Main Feature (1H 45M 8S)
Twenty five years ago Director Ivan Reitman, with help from writers Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, created one of my childhood favourites, Ghostbusters. I have rarely seen a comedy in which the actors fire off hilarious line after another. The comic timing of Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Moranis in particular is something to behold. It is hard to think of another eighties film packed with so many iconic moments such as the team’s run-in with the librarian, Venkman’s coldness during the psychic test, the “cougar” incident, the arrest and release of the gang, and of course that giant sugary white man-beast. This is one of those films which have an ability to immediately put a smile on my face and I wouldn’t be surprised if I were to watch this again shortly after finishing this review.
I feel as though I have died and gone to childhood heaven with this release combined with the Ghostbusters videogame which I reviewed here – http://www.teamteabag.com/2009/06/19/review-ghostbusters-ps3/. It is certainly a great time to be a fan of Ghostbusters and the long-awaited Ghostbusters III might be just around the corner.
I feel the need to add something and I accept that this is incredibly superficial of me. The thing is, I’m a huge fan of Sigourney Weaver, both for her acting ability and looks, and seeing her once again looking smoking hot in that ridiculously sexy dress was a sight for sore eyes. In my defense, if I failed to notice how great she looks in this I may as well wait for the Ghostbusters to show up because it would be pretty clear I no longer had a pulse.
Extras
Commentary (1H 45M 8S) – Director and Producer Ivan Reitman, Writer and Actor Harold Ramis, and Associate Producer Joe Medjuck. This is one of the best commentaries I have heard to date. You can tell that Ramis and Reitman have spent a lot of time together and that they really enjoyed doing this commentary. On the other hand Medjuck seems out of place, lacks the same level of rapport, and doesn’t have as much to offer.
Slimer Mode (1H 45M 8S) – This picture-in-picture is interesting and shows you the group appear as while they look back on their experience with Ghostbusters. There are too many contributors to mention but outside of Reitman, Ramis, Aykroyd, and Weaver, are the likes of film historian Paul M. Sammon and Animation Supervisor Terry Windell. Beside input from cast and crew there are fun little facts which pop-up with information relating to the film.
Ecto-1: Resurrecting The Classic Car (15M 37S) – This is a great little documentary featuring the work of Cinema Vehicle Services in refurbishing that classic Cadillac from twenty five years ago. The highlight has to be Aykroyd showing up with a grin on his face and once more driving around in that vehicle after all those years.
Making of Ghostbusters – The Video Game (11M 18S) – In this you get to see the cast of the original film as they reprise their roles for the recently released videogame plus a look at the physics behind the game.
Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery (5M 27S) – Photographs and short video footage of the work the team at Cinema Vehicle Services did to bring this classic car back to life.
Ghostbusters The Videogame – Preview (1M 43S) – Trailer for the videogame.
Scene Cemetery (7M 40S) – A selection of scenes which weren’t included in the film but most aren’t very good.
1984 Featurette (9M 45S) – This is a playful collection of videos featuring the cast and crew interacting behind the scenes.
Cast and Crew Featurette (10M 53S) – As above but a more detailed look at why the cast and crew felt compelled to make this film together and how they went about creating it.
SFX Team Featurette (15M 22S) – The SFX team discuss their experiences on the film and as with the other extras this is light-hearted and fun.
Multi-Angle Featurettes – Three scenes from a slightly different angle with a before and after version of each.
Storyboard Comparisons -Three scenes are shown alongside their original storyboard form.
Blu-Wizard (1H 45M 8S plus up to an additional 48M 22S) – This is a helpful addition for those who’d prefer to watch the main feature with extras together rather than watch them individually. Before using this feature you can choose which extras you wish to pop-up while viewing the film.
Summary
This is one of the best Blu-ray releases I have had the pleasure of viewing and it’s down to the quality of the extras as much as always fantastic feature. All I need now is that proton pack I have had my heart set on since I first saw one in the film and immediately recognised how incredibly cool they are. I am not sure if that “cool” should be replaced by “geeky” but it matters little as I’ll be the one running around, living the dream, and zapping ghosts!
Rating *****
