Ghostbusters (1984)

Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Ghostbusters was so great because it took the science fiction and fantasy part seriously (considering how Dan Aykroyd IRL is a strong believer in the paranormal this makes sense), so the humor was almost entirely from dialogue and the performance of the cast. It takes the simple concept of "people who start a ghost catching business" and adds things like multidimensional gods and giant killer corporate mascots. These are things you wouldn't expect from a comedy movie at the time. Apparently, Aykroyd's original draft of the story was almost entirely sci-fi action with little humor.The resulting story was dead serious, and rather terrifying. A woman becoming possessed by a demon just because of where her apartment is? Being transformed into a monster, then into stone while she was unwillingly in service to a dark god? That is scary, not funny. What MADE the movie funny was how the actors responded to the situation. They were just like normal people, put in an abnormal situation, and responded in line with their own personal character, which was mainly to crack jokes so they could handle the fear. It was just four guys, out of their depth, going in with a grin because backing down wasn't an option for them.Bill Murray just shows outstanding comedic timing in this one. He had me from the opening scene where he is shocking a male subject in an experiment while simultaneously trying to "get the girl" by convincing her she is psychic.What was 80s about it? Well, the triumph of the private sector over academeia - "I've worked in the private sector, they expect results", and the EPA contributing to the end of the world. Everybody could forget about Watergate, recessions, and nuclear war, and just laugh at the movies for a change. If you've never seen it I recommend it . The comedy is timeless.

Having watched it in 2018 (for the first time), 34 years after it originally released, I guess it is safe to say that this movie hasn't aged well. A disappointing watch when considering the fact that I expected to be entertained by it. I don't blame the VFX of this movie because it might have been appropriate for its time but my main issue is how the film turns out to be, especially towards the end. I hardly laughed or was amused by the comedy in this movie. Funny enough when you consider the fact that a lot of people seem to love it for its "quotable dialogues". The premise of the film does seem interesting but there is an absence of a feeling of genuine threat or conflict inspite of the climax where the world is supposedly going to end. Another thing that bugged me was the treatment of the female lead, i.e, the character of dana barrett (played by sigourney weaver). The character was objectified to a degree that didn't seem necessary as far as the story is concerned. The performances of the lead cast of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and Harold Ramis were decent though.

"Ghostbusters," is considered to be one of the greatest sci fi comedies of all time, and it has endured by many generations as they had grew up with this movie and still cherish it til this day. This movie was definetly a childhood of mine, as I watched this on an old VHS that was recorded on TV before having an actual copy of the movie; then it came to DVD, and now we have Blu Ray. Now I'm an adult, the question is: does it hold up? Well, here is my review. The movie is about these three scientist: Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler as they all got fired from the university, so now all they have left is to start a business of their own by catching ghosts. Furthermore, we have Dana Barrett, who has a ghost problem as the building she lives in is being taken over by the evil Gozer as her minions known as the Terror Dogs to posses both Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis Tully as they are about to bring the end of the world. Its up to our heroes to kick some ghost, and to save the world. Its as ridiculous as it may sound, but it works and definetly well executed. The movie's screenplay is written cleverly by both Dan Aykroyd and the late Harold Ramis, and they both have given great performances. Ernie Hudson, who plays Winston Zeddemore, doesn't show up into the second half of the movie but he does he give a good performance too. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis are both excellent for the roles they were given to play. Annie Potts does fine for playing the secretary. William Atherton plays Walter Peck, as you really love to hate him. The villain Gozer is definetly a real threat, and really has a strong presence in this movie. As for Bill Murray, he is the man! He really steals the show, and his lines of dialogue are outstanding. Speaking of dialogue, the movie is definetly quotable for such great lines like "Nice shootin' Tex," "Nobody steps on a church in my town," "He slimed me," and of course "Back off man, I'm a scientist." The movie itself is really funny, and all thanks to its cast as they know how to make the comedy work. Even Ivan Reitman's direction is really well done as he balance it really well for mixing both the comedy and horror elements into the movie. The movie does go at a very good pacing as it feels tighter, and doesn't drag too long. The ghosts in this movie are memorable as you have Slimer, Gozer, Terror Dogs, Librarian Ghost, Stay Puft, as well as the Dream Ghost which I'll get to. The gadgets as everyone remembers the PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, Ecto Goggles, and the Proton Packs. Cannot forget the Ectomobile! Elmer Bernstein's music is definetly one of his greatest scores, and does have a great soundtrack such as the theme song by Ray Parker Jr., "Cleanin' Up The Town," "Magic," and "Savin' the Day." The special effects may have some bad ones that don't age well, but for the most part, they are really good as this was all done practically without any use of CG at all. That is minor issue, but the major issue, which I am not a fan of is that dream scene where Ray has sex with a female ghost. I thought it was totally out of place, and should've been left on the cutting room floor. That is just my personal opinion. Nevertheless, "Ghostbusters," is still a classic as it is funny, exciting, suspenseful, creative, and has a good heart. I am giving this movie a 9 out of 10!

I watched Ghostbusters for the first time since it's original release, and it has worn well. The story of supernatural exterminators is clever, the pace is quick, the special effects are fun, and much of the movie is very, very funny.The main reason the movie is funny is Bill Murray as a smarmy professor who inexplicably wins over the resistant Sigourney Weaver with his oily charm. Murray's performance reminds me of meaner version of 1940s Bob Hope; they both specialize in the "that looks really dangerous; you go first" style of humor to great effect.Aykroyd and Ramis are generally overshadowed by Murray. Outside of Murray the most entertaining performance is Rick Moranis as a creepy accountant.The special effects are for the most part quite good, with silly ghosts and a tremendous and ridiculous final monster. Some of the other effects are pretty bad, most notably those bear-like creatures. The blue-screen edges are actually visible in places. I watch them and think, how is it possible that critics of the reboot actually claimed the original had better special effects? Are they *blind*? Anyway, very entertaining movie that I found almost as enjoyable as much as the much-defamed reboot. Well worth seeing.