Ghostbusters (www.the-usher.com)

"Who ya gonna call?"

Thrown out of their University, scientists Dr. Peter Venkman (Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Aykroyd) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis) decided to go into business for themselves as paranormal investigators and eliminators. Meanwhile musician Dana Barrett (Weaver) returns home to see her newly bought eggs jump out of their shells fry on the counter and then hear a rumbling her fridge. When she opens it she sees a gateway to another dimension and hears the name Zuul. In fear Dana consults the newly formed Ghostbusters but they are just about to get extremely busy because something is causing the dead to raise from the grave and ghost sightings are been reported all over New York.

When it comes to naming the best family movies of all time, anyone who grew up in the 1980s would all mention one movie and that film is 'Ghostbusters'.

After it was released in 1984, 'Ghostbusters' became a firm family favourite and attracted a cult following. An animated series followed 'The Real Ghostbusters' and then in 1989 the cast and crew returned for a second movie but then nothing. With rumours of cast members not getting on, financing problems and most of the cast moving onto new projects and in new directions, a third movie never came about but 'Ghostbusters' is still a firm favourite and it is easy to see why.

The premise to 'Ghostbusters' is brilliant. Imagine a need for another emergency service, not for law enforcement, fire safety and health but for paranormal activity. So when you are troubled by a pesky poltergeist, a free-floating apparition or a nasty slimmer, who are you gonna call? The answer we all know now is the Ghostbusters and writers Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis combined this with a mixture of Babylonian and Samarian supernatural theories and, most importantly, comedy to bring us a film that is the true definition of what escapist cinema is all about.

The story and excellent visual effects would be nothing without the right people to bring the characters to live. In 1984, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis were comedy royalty. Starring in, writing and directing hit comedy movies 'Caddyshack', 'The Blues Brothers', 'National Lampoon's Vacation', 'Stripes' and 'Saturday Night Live', getting the quartet in one movie made 'Ghostbusters' an instant box office draw. Add in 'Animal House' and 'Stripes' director Ivan Reitman, screen beauty and critically acclaimed actress Sigourney Weaver and you had an ensemble that can bring in an audience and a budget to a high concept comedy adventure. Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Raymond Stantz and Dr. Egon Spengler are vividly brought to life by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, with Ramis' Egon as the brain, Murray's Venkman as the mouth and Aykroyd's Ray as the heart of the Ghostbusters. Throw in Sigourney Weaver as love interest and the first Ghostbuster client Dana Barrett, Rick Moranis as Dana kooky next-door neighbour accountant Louis Tully, Annie Potts as Ghostbusters secretary Janine Melnitz, Ernie Hudson as the fourth Ghostbuster Winston Zeddmore and William Atherton as the deplorable EPA agent Walter Peck and you have a cast and a story that help make one of the greatest family movies of all time.

'Ghostbusters' is the definition of pure escapist cinema. With outstanding performances, a brilliant story, fantastic characters, a theme tune that stays with you forever and a one hundred foot tall marshmallow man, this movie is what cinema is all about and rightly deserves to be considered one of the best movies Hollywood has ever made.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:40 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The HD treatment of the movie is first rate with only the Louis Tully chase sequence letting the visual effects down.

BONUS FEATURES

Cinechat
A new function of BD-Live, which allows you and friends to instant message during the movie

Commentary with Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck
The director, star/writer and associate producer provide a chatty and informative commentary track for 'Ghostbusters'. The trio talk about filming in Los Angeles and New York, the original casting suggestions for key roles, the development of the script and story and the practical effects used to get the correct reactions from the cast. This is a commentary track well worth listening to, especially for all Ghostbusters fans.

Blu-Wizard
This function allows you to watch the film and then insert the featurettes covering the interviews, special effects, multiple angles and storyboards while you watch the film.

Slimer Mode
Watch the movie and see new interviews with the cast and crew, story construction, mythology info and new insights into 'Ghostbusters'.

Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car (15.37 mins/High Definition)
Watch Cinema Vehicle Services rebuild the original Ecto-1 and add in a few new modern touches and then have it driven by star Dan Aykroyd.

Making of Ghostbusters - The Video Game (11.18 mins/High Definition)
Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and William Atherton talk about been involved in the unofficial third movie in the franchise but this time in video game form. Ghostbusters Garage - Ecto-1 Gallery Watch a montage of images from the refurbishment of the original Ecto-1 car from the movie.

Ghostbusters - The Video Game Preview (1.43 mins/High Definition)
Watch the trailer for the all-new Ghostbusters video game.

Scene Cemetery (Standard Definition)
Entitled 'Stake', 'Dana', 'Honeymooners', 'Winston', 'Bums', 'Busy', 'Promotion', 'EPA', 'Puft Hat' and 'No Louis!', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of an introduction or commentary to say why these scenes were removed.

1984 Featurette (9.45 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the original featurette from 1984 with interviews with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and director Ivan Reitman.

Cast and Crew Featurette (10.53 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the featurette from the 1999 DVD release with reflections from director Ivan Reitman and stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis

SFX Team Featurette (15.22 mins/Standard Definition)
Watch the original DVD featurette that interviews visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund and his creative team as they talk about working on the film.

Multi-angle featurettes
Entitled 'Spook Central exploding', 'She's a dog' and 'Crossing the streams', watch all the angles from every camera used during the production of the film.

Storyboard Comparisons
Entitled 'Slimer', 'Dogs drag Dan' and 'Atop Spook Central', here you can compare the footage from the film to the original storyboards.

BD Live
Place the Blu-Ray in an Internet enabled player or PS3 and connect to receive extra content for the film.

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'Ghostbusters' is one that fans should really enjoy. The picture quality is superb with only the 'Louis chase sequence in Central Park' effects sequence looking not too great. The bonus features are also good, with the Slimer Mode standing out but the commentary track is also very good. A must buy for all 'Ghostbusters' fans.

BLU-RAY

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