Ghost Busters – Blu-ray Disc Review

June 27, 2009 – 3:34 AM - Posted by: Danielle Byington

Tags: Annie Potts, BD-Live, Bill Murray, Bonus View, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Sony, Timothy Carhart

has an average rating of 7.7 on IMDb
1080p in MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
Dolby TrueHD 5.1
with Blu-ray Exclusives & DVD ports
–
– 1984
– 105 Minutes
– Sony
–
This uses 28.7GB for the movie out of 43.5GB total.

Overall Verdict – Recommended

Buy it for $12.49 @ Amazon.com

— Review written by: Danielle Byington —

Trailer:

The Movie Itself was directed by Ivan Reitman (“Meatballs“, “Kindergarten Cop“), with the writing credits of Dan Aykroyd (writer for “Coneheads“, and 63 episodes of “SNL“), Harold Ramis (“Caddyshack“, and “Groundhog Day“), and Rick Moranis.

As you know about this popular classic, the story revolves around three parapsychologists, Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis). The three are sort of a laughing stock at Columbie University, where they have just lost their jobs, being unable to convince others with supreme evidence of paranormal activity. Just like many who become unemployed but have a passion about a particular subject of interest, the three open their own business, claiming to exterminate ghosts that are the cause of irritating hauntings. This business venture looks somewhat grim at first as well, until the guys get a call from the Sedgewick Hotel asking for their help. The capture of the nuisance ghost is a success, and from this milestone for the ambitious parapsychologists, the calls for their services start pouring in; so much so that they hire an extra hand, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson).

Among their service requests is Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), a young woman living in an apartment which the guys are investigating under the possibility that it may have demonic inhabitants; the guys are fairly certain the the chaos within her apartment has been started by Zuul, a demigod from 6000 B.C.E. who was a servant to Gozer the Gozerian, a malicious and destructive shape-shifter. While taking their investigation further, Dana becomes possessed by Zuul, and her neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) also becomes possessed by another demonic servant, Vinz Clortho. Both demons want to summon Gozer the Gozerian to bring about the end of the world.

Through much misunderstanding and mostly those who opposed the work of the Ghost Busters, Walter Peck (William Atherton) of the EPA shuts down the guys’ containment grids, which unleashes all of their hostage ghosts to wreck havoc upon the streets of New York. The Ghost Busters fight against the chaos and attempt to return the summoned Gozer to her dimension before civilization as we know it is brought to an end.

In closing, “Ghost Busters” is certainly an iconic film, with a great blend of humor provided by the writers and cast, and even in its most serious or dramatic of times of exhibiting its science-fiction thriller type elements, it does not take itself too seriously, with light to hard comedy around around ounce of dialogue. The collaboration of the minds who wrote the film as well as starred in it bring forth memorable quotes and characters that have left their impression on pop-culture. Not only is the film obviously funny, but it does not lack in the department of smarts either. For 1984, the public’s fascination with the study of serious paranormal activity was not quite as massive of a clique as today, so when now watching the film 15 years later, it is impressive to see the parapsychology intelligence and research that was put forth for this film. Overall, the flick is undoubtedly a classic, earning a certain “5 Star Rating“.

Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 2:40:1 aspect ratio. Purists will be relieved that the video on this classic catalog title has not been butchered in the least. Film grain is still a bit heavy, retaining the flick’s authentic feel, thankfully not sacrificing the transfer’s available definition to the use of a Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) filter. Detail is fairly impressive for the age of the film, with noticeable definition in textures of wardrobe, props, and of course physical aspects of the actors. The color palette has been balanced nicely, with mostly neutral tones, giving fleshtones a more accurate presentation (though they still possess hints of murky browns and reds at times), and a moderate kick in vibrancy in bold colors such as red where ever they are visual present on-screen. The black level here is questionable at times though, with a general solid appearance in some scenes, and salt & pepper film grain suffering in only a few moments. The general clarity of this catalog title is certainly a boost up compared to its previous releases, and though a few minor issues could do with a dab of touching-up, the basics of the video quality here earns itself a “4 Star Rating“.

Audio Quality on this release is presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround. A large portion of the film conveys the audio track in a front heavy manner, though the rear channels do compliment the primary audible action with subtle ambient sounds appropriate to the on-screen going-on’s. The film’s musical score/soundtrack is one not to be forgotten if you are a fan of the film, and the tunes are presented nicely within the soundscape with an agreeable balance in channel usage. Notable subwoofer presence is mostly conveyed with climatic scenes regarding the demonic forces, and especially the use of those handy Ghost Busters proton packs, lending a smooth bass roll through out their use in the movie. Dialogue is generally clear on this audio track, though, it does simply a couple of times present that “dubbed” effect, with a hollow and unfulfilled tone. Overall, it is nice to hear “Ghost Busters” on a 5.1 lossless audio mix, looking back at its first on-home-video heritage of stereo mixes, as here it earns itself a worthy “4 Star Rating“.

Bonus Materials are presented in Standard Definition 480i and High Definition 1080i with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.

• BD-Live – Keep in mind that BD-Live requires the user to be on a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player and connected to the Internet to access online content via the studio (in this case Sony). Once online you can access content such as downloadable trailers for other Sony Blu-ray Disc release upcoming and already available. Title specific content in this case is actually included. 2 different Ring tones are available which are just dialogue from the film. Standard rates apply to get these I’m sure, nothing is 100% free these days.
• “Cinechat” – This BD-live application allows viewers to chat with friends and family while watching the film. A easy to understand tutorial is included.

• “Slimer Mode” is a Blu-ray exclusive feature that is using Bonus View which requires the user to be on a “Profile 1.1” or higher capable Blu-ray Disc Player. If you are capable of it, this is worth the time to watch all the way through. A neat “Ghostbusters” border frames the film while it’s playing, at the same time a Picture-In-Picture track plays interview clips featuring the cast and crew looking back at the production. It is complemented with additional still photographs and behind-the-scenes video. A pop-up trivia track is also inserted into the mix, showcasing interesting facts about the film and it’s shooting locations.
• “Blu-Wizard” – A BD-Java feature that will allow viewers to create their own playlist of special features by selecting only those of interest. Once activated, a pop-up marker indicates when that particular feature is available to view.
• Audio Commentary – Director Ivan Reitman is joined by co-writer/actor Harold Ramis and associate producer Joe Medjuck. It is unfortunate that they weren’t able to update the commentary (originally recorded in 1999 for the DVD release) with thoughts from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, or Sigourney Weaver. This is very informative track but unfortunately it comes across as dry. Optional subtitles are included.
• “Scene Cemetery” (9 minutes – SD) – This is a collection of 10 deleted scenes that while fun to see in their own right aren’t missed in the film.
• “1984 Featurette” (9:45 – SD) – This is a fun vintage featurette shot for the original 1984 release. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and short interviews with cast and crew talking about the various aspects of making this beloved movie.
• “Cast and Crew Featurette” (10:53 – SD) -This is a short 11 minute featurette originally recorded for the 1999 DVD release.It is a collection of interviews with Ivan Reitman, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis talking about the film and its impact in general.
• “SFX Team Featurette” (15:22 – SD) – This is a panel discussion with the original F/X team.They discuss their experience of working on the film.
• “Multi-Angle Featurettes” (SD) – This is broken into three sections: “Spook Central Exploding” (2:49), “She’s A Dog” (2:00), and “Crossing the Streams” (1:23). Here you can watch the rough video and animation work in before-and-after stages from three particular scenes.
• “Storyboard Comparisons” (SD) – Also broken into three sections: “Slimer” (2:13), “Dogs Drag Dana” (2:09), and “Atop Spook Central” (2:04). you can watch the hand-drawn storyboards and compare them to the film’s finished cut.
• “Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car” (15:37 – HD) – Sony and the filmmakers had the hero car restored to its original glory for the promotion of “Ghostbusters: The Video Game“. Interview clips include Dan Aykroyd and the talented crew of people who worked on the refurbishment of the 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Ambulance. The real treat is seeing the process of breaking down the car and building it back up to look better than it ever has. Once it is restored Dan Aykroyd was invited to see the Ecto-1 in all it’s glory and it is a pleasure seeing the genuine joy he displays at being reunited with the old girl.
• “Making of Ghostbusters: The Video Game” (11:18 – HD) – A promotional fluff piece for the video game has the cast and creators sharing their thoughts about the game and its storyline. Brief clips of the video game are interspersed throughout. The game looks like a fun trip down memory lane. The graphics look authentic to the “Ghostbusters” films.
• “Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery” (HD) – This is a beautiful slide show highlighting the restoration process, whilst Elmer Bernstein’s music plays in the background. A few bonus video clips are interspersed.
• “Ghostbusters: The Video Game Preview” (1:43 – HD) – Simply this is the trailer for the now available video game.
• Theatrical Trailers (HD) – A collection of previews in HD ‘The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut,’ ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind,’ ‘Men in Black,’ ‘Fired Up!,’ ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop,’ ‘So I Married an Axe Murderer,’ and ‘You Don’t Mess With the Zohan’.

Blu-ray Disc packaging:

Screenshots:

NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.

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