Ghostbusters
Halloween is almost here! If you’re a regular reader to this site, you know what that means. This week is going to be filled with posts that have a spooky vibe. So, to kickstart the Halloween week, I’m going to talk about one of my all-time favorite movies, Ghostbusters. It seems like nearly every radio station and retail store in the United States plays “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. over the air that last week of October. But oddly enough, my first exposure to this film didn’t occur during the month of October. Instead, it was during Christmas.
Like many kids in the 1980’s, I would do anything I could to try to stay awake in hopes of catching Santa as he made his stop at my house. So, on Christmas Eve of 1985, I found myself holed up in my bedroom, browsing through cable TV. HBO had been advertising a special “Christmas Present” that would air at exactly 11:30 P.M. on the night of Christmas Eve. And, as the kids today like to say, I was there for it. The “present” was a surprise showing of Ghostbusters. A film that wasn’t actually scheduled to appear on HBO until many months later. So there I was, wrapped in a blanket at midnight on Christmas morning, entranced by the mixture of comedy and paranormal science. These days, television stations are packed full of show like Ghost Adventures, Paranormal Caught on Camera, etc. But in the early 80’s, such concepts were unheard of. As a kid, the idea of investigating paranormal activity and actually capturing a ghost was mindblowing.
The movie opens with an elderly librarian going about her business archiving and arranging books in a remote part of the New York Public Library. Then out of nowhere, strange things start happening. Books start floating behind her back and catalog cards start violently flying out of their drawers. The librarian sees this and is understandably spooked. She flees, running through the halls of the library, blindly turning corners in a panic, until suddenly, she comes face to face with a hostile ghost. This scene is followed by the Ghostbusters title card and the now iconic theme song. It was the perfect introduction.
This set up leads into the introduction to three of the main characters, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler – three scientists currently employed at Columbia University. Together, the three research fringe paranormal topics (much to the chagrin of the university administration). After hearing about the haunting at the library, the three immediately depart to investigate. While there, they come face to face with the ghost and make physical contact with it. Reeling from their discovery, the three return to their office on campus, only to find out that the Dean has terminated their employment. Now unemployed, but excited by their paranormal discovery. The three decide to go into business as “paranormal investigators and eliminators” – the Ghostbusters.
I summarize this to illustrate just how well crafted and original the backstory to this film is. What a set up! As a young child, I had certainly never seen anything like this before. And even now, as an adult, the entire concept still captures my imagination.
Ghostbusters is without a doubt, a product of its time. It’s funny, scary, sexy – the full 80’s package. It’s a weird mixture of science fiction and comedy. Anytime you see Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray, you know there’s bound to be plenty of laughs. But there’s really much more going on with this movie than mindless jokes. These days, I feel like most films want to zero in on one concept or another. It’s either strictly funny, or strictly spooky. This film rides the line perfectly. For example, there’s a character in the movie, a young woman who has been experiencing paranormal activity in her apartment. One evening, she while sitting in her living room, demonic hands tear through the chair she’s sitting in and grab her. A door at the end of the hall flies open, and her chair is propelled through the room and into the unknown horror that awaits her on the other side of the open door. If you’ve seen the movie, you know the scene. And these days, you probably don’t think much about it. It’s easy to forget just how scary this scene might have been for a child seeing it for the first time. It certainly scared the heck out of me.
Another thing about Ghostbusters that fascinates me is just how accurate the “science” aspects of the film are. Words and phrases like “ectoplasm” or “PKE” (short for psychokinetic energy) are actual pseudoscientific words. However, it was Ghostbusters that introduced them into the mainstream. If you look at a lot of the science behind modern ghost hunting. It’s pretty impressive how much of it mirrors what was being showing in Ghostbusters. This is a movie way ahead of its time.
I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention the soundtrack. Yes, “Ghostbusters” is an iconic theme song. But there’s more to talk about than just that one song. All the music in the film is fantastic. “Savin’ the Day” by Alessi, “Magic” by Mick Smiley, and “Cleanin’ Up the Town” by The Bus Boys – they are all a perfect fit for this movie. Not to mention the actual film score. The background pieces are a perfect fit. Some are spooky, some are quirky. They just don’t do it like this anymore. It’s a shame.
There’s no limit to the amount of praise I could give this movie. I really do believe it’s one of the greatest comedy films of all time. But it’s so much more than that. Ghostbusters is a masterpiece.
I think almost everyone has seen this movie at some point in their lives. It’s a classic. But in case you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to experience it. Ghostbusters floats around various streaming services, so it’s pretty easy to catch. If you decide to watch it this way, I highly recommend the new 4K master of the film. This new scan of the film is by far the best it has ever looked. As a collector, I recommend physical media over streaming whenever possible. When it comes to physical copies, there are a few options out there. But as I mentioned above, I highly recommend the 4K UHD disc-version. This 4K release of the film is absolutely gorgeous and looks amazing on modern screens. Of course, if you don’t have a 4K television, the Blu-ray release is a little cheaper, and it doesn’t look bad. But if you can, I highly recommend the 4K transfer for the best color and detail. Believe me, it really makes a difference.
