Ghostbusters

Plot synopsis:
The film opens within the New York Public Library, where a librarian (Alice Drummond) is first gathering books, before heading downstairs to a remote and empty section. She places a book back on the shelf, not noticing that the books behind her are levitating across the aisle. Later, she passes the card catalogue shelves as they open behind her and suddenly begin to hurl their contents into the air. Frightened and screaming, she runs through the room before being stopped by an unseen ghost, which scares her terribly. This leads into the title card.After the opening title shot, the film continues in the Paranormal Studies Dept. of Columbia University, where Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) is conducting a test on ESP with a nerdy male student (Steven Tash) and an attractive female student (Jennifer Runyon). Venkman continually flirts and lies about her abilities, while enjoying administering electric shocks to the male student. Having finally had enough, the male student departs, and Venkman continues to flirt with the young woman. Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) enters, and frantically begins to tell Venkman about the sighting at the library, insisting they leave at once to check it out. Venkman makes a date with the student, and follows Stantz out.Upon arriving at the library, Venkman and Stantz meet up with Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), and Venkman proceeds to ask a series of personal (and cynical) questions about her medical and social history, before the three head down to the area the ghost supposedly inhabits. While down there, the three men collect ectoplasmic residue, discover a tall "symmetrical stacking" of books from floor to ceiling, and narrowly escape a falling bookcase.Turning the same corner as the librarian, they see the ghost: a transparent form of an elderly lady (Ruth Oliver), reading a book. Having no idea what to do, Venkman begins to talk to the ghost as if it were a lady in a bar. She shushes him, before Stantz proclaims he knows what to do. They stealthily approach the ghost, before Ray yells, "Get her!" and the ghost mutates to a ghoulish, skeletal apparition, scaring the hell out of the trio, who run screaming from the library. They ignore the library administrator (John Rothman) in their frantic way out.After they've calmed down a bit, they walk back to the university. Venkman mocks Ray's idiotic plan, and Egon announces that based on his readings, they now have a "good change of actually catching a ghost and holding it indefinitely." However, once they get back to the school, they meet the dean (Jordan Charney) who tells them that their grant has been terminated due to their shoddy and highly suspect findings, research, and methods.Peter and Ray sit drinking on campus, and Ray mopes about their bleak prospects, before Peter suggests this turn of events happened so that they could go into business for themselves, as the world's first firm for paranormal investigations and eliminations.Peter convinces Ray to take out a mortgage on his childhood home, and use it for startup capital. The trio checks out an empty firehouse to use as a headquarters, and while Egon enumerates the many problems with the building itself, Ray is beside himself with excitement at the prospect of living and working there, specially with the fire-fighter pall in the middle of the hall.At 55 Central Park West, classical musician Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) arrives home with groceries. Her neighbor, übernerd and accountant Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), stops her in the hall, telling her that her television had been left on. Louis badgers her about an upcoming party he's hosting, and Dana finally brushes him away and enters her apartment. As she is putting away her groceries, she notices that her eggs are now leaping out of their shells and cooking themselves on her countertop. She then hears a growl coming from her refrigerator, opens it, and sees an otherworldly temple, and a doglike creature that growls the word "Zuul" (voiced by Ivan Reitman), before Dana frantically slams the door shut.Back at the newly christened Ghostbusters headquarters, Ray pulls up, shocking Peter with the new business car, an old beat-up ambulance that needs a lot of work. Peter goes back inside, makes small talk with their new secretary, Janine (Annie Potts), and waits around for business.Dana arrives seeking an explanation for the events in her kitchen. Peter flirts vigorously with her, while Egon and Ray examine her briefly, and speculate as to what may be the cause of her encounter. After deciding on a plan of action, Peter insists on going with Dana back to her apartment, where he haphazardly looks around, but mostly flirts with her. He looks in the kitchen, and sees the eggs on the counter, but nothing else out of the ordinary. Dana is annoyed, but Peter continues to beg her for a date, pledging to solve her problems in an effort to impress her.Later, the Ghostbusters sit around enjoying dinner, when Janine finally gets a call about a ghost. Peter, Ray, and Egon quickly dress, and race out of their headquarters, to the Sedgwick Hotel, where the manager (Michael Ensign) informs them of a ghost on the 12th floor. They've always had problems, he tells them, but lately it's gotten out of hand. The Ghostbusters assure him they'll take care of it, and head up to the 12th floor. Egon and Ray worry about their equipment, which Peter describes as an unlicensed nuclear accelerator, and decide that they'll ignore the danger for now. They make chitchat conversation with a guest (Murray Rubin) outside the elevator, and they tell him they are going to kill a cockroach, to which the guest answers, "That's gotta be some cockroach." He takes the next elevator.Almost immediately after the Ghostbusters exit the elevator, a maid startles them, and they nearly kill her with their proton packs. The three split up, and Ray eventually sees the ghost: a rotund, green blob, eating everything on a room service cart. Ray tries to hit it with his proton pack but misses, and it flies away, frightened. Ray calls Peter on his walkie-talkie, and Peter, who is now face-to-face with the ghost, is suddenly attacked by it. Ray runs to Peter, and finds him on his back, covered in green slime, but otherwise OK. Egon calls them and informs the other two that the ghost went into the hotel's ballroom.They calm the hotel manager, and then set to work on containing the little green ghost. While shooting their weapons all over the room, Egon suddenly warns the others not to cross their streams, because to do so would result in the destruction of "all life as you know it." After destroying much of the ballroom with their seriously unstable proton packs, the Ghostbusters finally trap the ghost, and burst triumphantly from the ballroom, before the anxious manager and a host of guests burst in. The Ghostbusters haggle with the manager over the bill for a moment, and then head back home, victorious.There is a montage of a series of missions, news spots, newspaper clippings, and stories about the Ghostbusters' new fame and success. There are even interviewed by Larry King and Joe Franklin (themselves).Peter briefly meets with Dana after her orchestra practice, and flirts a bit with her before telling her about Zuul, whom he has discovered is associated with an ancient Sumerian god of destruction, Gozer. He tells her that he'll go over it in more detail over dinner, and finally, she agrees to a date.The Ghostbusters soon hire a fourth man, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson), a black, blue-collar type guy, who is just looking for a job. Hired immediately by Ray and Peter, Winston is handed a couple of traps and led off by Ray to learn about getting rid of the ghosts, while Peter is informed that there is a man from the EPA waiting for him.Walter Peck (William Atherton), the pompous EPA delegate, condescendingly talks to Peter, refusing to acknowledge that Peter is, in fact, a PhD, and therefore, Dr. Venkman, and briefly questions him about the possible environmental impact of their business, and specifically, their custom-built storage facility. He demands to see it, but Peter just patronizes him for a bit before throwing him out.Ray shows Winston how they unload the ghosts they've trapped into the storage facility, while Egon tells them that his latest research indicates that the city is experience a colossal increase in paranormal activity, comparing it to a 600-pound Twinkie. Peter joins them, mentioning the EPA, and memorably asks, "What about the Twinkie?"A brief shot on the top of Dana's building shows that dog-like gargoyle statues atop the roof are breaking apart and real animals are underneath the stone.Back inside, Dana arrives home, and is once again accosted by Louis who is raving about his party. He is disappointed when Dana tells him she has a date. She gets rid of him again, and goes into her apartment, undressing and talking on the phone. She sits in an armchair for a moment before noticing the same growling sounds from the kitchen. Before she can react, three arms burst from the chair and hold Dana down as she is dragged through her kitchen door to one of the Terror Dogs. Another shot on the roof shows that the gargoyles on the roof have completely broken apart, and whatever was in them is loose.Louis' party continues as he rambles on about the price efficiency of his hosting a party. Two guests show up, hand Louis their coats, and he throws them -unnoticing- on the terror dog sitting at his desk. It roars, and bursts through the door, apparently only after Louis. He runs out of the apartment, through Central Park, before being cornered and attacked outside Tavern on the Green.Meanwhile, Peter arrives at Dana's apartment, stepping over the carnage of Louis' party, and knocks on the door. Dana opens it, dressed in a slinky red dress, and asks, "Are you the Keymaster?" Peter says no, so she angrily slams the door in his face. He knocks again, and enters after answering her question "yes". Dana says that she is Zuul, and they must prepare for the coming of Gozer, The Destructor. Peter talks to her and resists the possessed Dana's aggressive advances, before requesting to speak with the real Dana. At first, Dana coyly replies "There is no Dana, there is only Zuul," trying to kiss him but Peter, still trying to get through to the real Dana Barrett, restrains her. The possessed Dana now becomes visibly annoyed at his persistence, as Peter once again inquires about the real Dana; she replies in an unearthly demonic voice "There is no Dana, only Zuul!" Peter sarcastically dismisses her and gives her to the count of three to talk to the real Dana. With each count, Dana presents further signs of her possession: at first demonically rolling her eyes, then panting like an animal, and finally roaring like a demonic beast and magically floating above her bed. She turns over in midair, to face down at Peter whom asks her to please come down. Dana roars fiercely at him, finally frightening him.Louis, looking disheveled and generally abused, runs out from Central Park rambling, and asks a hansom cab horse if he is the "Gatekeeper". The driver (Danny Stone) chases him off, so he runs away, screaming about a sign of Gozer's arrival.The NYPD arrives at the Ghostbusters headquarters, to drop off Louis, who's been captured and rejected by both the city jail and Bellevue's psych ward. Egon looks at him briefly, and takes him inside. Louis reveals his name is Vinz Clortho, Keymaster of Gozer. He goes on about the history of Gozer, how the god assumes various forms and would mean the destruction of the civilization he targets. During the exam, Peter calls, and tells Egon about the developments with Dana, who is now lies heavily sedated on the bed next to him. Egon tells Peter in return about Louis' psychic transformation, and insists Peter come back to headquarters.Winston and Ray are driving back to the office, Winston driving while Ray examines the "very odd" blueprints of Dana's apartment building. Winston asks Ray about his belief in God, and speculates that the reason they've been so busy lately is because the dead have been rising from the grave, as it was foretold in the Book of Revelations, as a precursor to judgment day, and the end of the world. Ray ponders this.Back at headquarters, Walter Peck has returned with a court order, a cop, and a Con Edison worker (Larry Dilg), intent on shutting down the storage facility. Egon tries to talk them out of it, and Peter arrives just in time to antagonize Peck some more, before the cop intervenes and the Con Ed guy shuts off the power grid. A warning buzzer sounds, and everyone clears the building, as the storage facility rumbles and begins to destroy the basement.A supernatural light show occurs, as all kinds of paranormal energy bursts through the building and shoots out of the roof. Across town, Dana, immediately wakes up from her sedation, and walks toward her living room window. Louis is excited, claiming this is the sign he was waiting for. Ray and Winston arrive, and Egon attacks Peck, getting everyone arrested.Ghosts run rampant through the city, but most of the energy seems to run directly to Dana's building. Dana growls at the energy, ripping out the wall of her apartment in a small explosion.Sitting in jail, Ray shows Egon and Peter the blueprints of Dana's apartment building, pointing out highly unorthodox methods and materials, especially near the roof. Egon tells them that the building, he's discovered, was designed by an insane architect/surgeon named Ivo Shandor. In the 20's, Shandor was evidently so disgusted by the First World War, that he decided he would try to bring about the end of the world with a secret society of Gozer worshippers. They performed rituals atop Dana's building, and the roof itself was meant to be the gateway to allow Gozer into our world. A guard arrives (Reginald VelJohnson), and tells the Ghostbusters that the mayor wants to meet them, to deal with the rash of ghosts and other unbelievable phenomenon happening throughout the city.Louis arrives at Dana's demolished apartment, and they share a passionate kiss before slowly making their way up to the roof via a mythical staircase behind the wall where Dana's fridge used to be as lightning flashes ominously.The four men and Peck are brought before the Mayor (David Margulies) both arguing their sides. Peck claims the Ghostbusters are con artists and use nerve gases to force people to hallucinate and have visions of ghosts. Winston steps up and defends the things he's seen as real. Ray reveals that the city is headed for a disaster of "biblical proportions", and Venkman finally appeals to the possibility that the mayor could be responsible for saving the lives of millions of registered voters. The Mayor throws Peck out of his office and offers whatever support he can to the Ghostbusters.People have gathered all around the apartment building, which has clearly become the center of the entire mess. They cheer as the Ghostbusters arrive, and Peter mugs for the crowd. The four men put on their proton packs and are prepared to enter, but a sudden earthquake seems to swallow them beneath the street. Eventually, they emerge unharmed to the continued cheers from the crowd. They band together and head inside.Once inside, they must climb the stairs to Dana's 22nd floor apartment. Dana and Louis lie on a large stone table. Dana seductively wakes up, followed by Louis. They stare in awe at the large Temple in front of them then walk toward the opposite stone pedestals where the Terror Dog statues once stood. The Ghostbusters arrive to find Dana's apartment burned out and more or less destroyed. They see the staircase in the kitchen and go up.Dana and Louis raise their arms to the sky and are suddenly struck by bolts of lightning, redirecting the lightning bolts toward the temple door, causing it to open and signaling the arrival of Gozer the Gozerian. With the temple doors finally open, Dana and Louis now absorb their full power as the Ghostbusters arrive just in time to see the lightning converge on the demonic couple in a huge blast, transforming them back into the monstrous Terror Dogs, who now turn and roar menacingly at the Ghostbusters before leaping towards the side of the Temple doors.Gozer appears in the form of an exotic female with a tall, dark flattop and blood red eyes (Slavitza Jovan). Egon points out that she's not really a woman, but rather, takes the shape of whatever it wants. Peter goads Ray into talking to her. Ray very formally requests that Gozer returns to her place of origin, but she responds by asking if he is a god. He says no, and Gozer responds by shooting lightning from her fingers and nearly hurling the Ghostbusters off the roof.They regroup and decide to attack Gozer, but she nimbly jumps clear of their streams and lands behind them. Another attack proves fruitless as she disappears rather than being caught in the streams. Believing they are victorious, the Ghostbusters begin to celebrate, but it is short-lived as Gozer's booming voice is heard above the city demanding that they "choose the form of the Destructor".Peter tells everyone to clear their minds, and think of nothing, so no form will be taken, but it is clearly too late. Ray admits he did his best, but something just popped in his mind, something he thought could never harm anyone. "It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."A 10-story, white, puffy marshmallow man begins to walk the streets of the city, crushing everything underfoot. When he is close enough, the Ghostbusters open fire, setting Mr. Stay Puft ablaze, as he begins to climb the building, King Kong style.Running for cover, the Ghostbusters appear out of ideas, until Egon suggests that they cross the streams, in an effort to close the door, and destroy Gozer's portal. Realizing this will probably mean their doom, the Ghostbusters go ahead with the plan, and set off to finish the god.Crossing the streams does indeed result in a catastrophic explosion, destroying the temple and incinerating the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, raining molten marshmallow all over the street, including an onlooking Walter Peck.Back on the roof, the Ghostbusters have survived, and slowly emerge from the rubble, covered in marshmallow. Peter finds the roasted carcasses of the Terror Dogs, and believes Dana dead. Behind him, though, her fingers crack through the hardened ruins of the animal, and the Ghostbusters quickly break apart the rest, freeing her and Louis. They leave the roof, and Winston exclaims, "I love this town!"As the closing credits roll, the Ghostbusters return to the street to the roaring cheers of the crowd. Peter and Dana kiss in front of everyone, Louis is helped into an ambulance, and as they drive off, the green ghost from the hotel roars toward the camera as it fades to black.

Tags: comedy, fantasy, mystery, paranormal, cult, haunting, humor, action

Review:
I laugh every time I observe a gag or a quip that I somehow missed the other 20 times I viewed a scene; "Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head, remember that?" "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me", or, to the driver of a van from a loony bin, "Dropping off or picking up?" Brilliant.Not only is Ghostbusters funny, it manages to include some truly scary scenes.
Nowadays I love it for the same reasons, but now that I'm older I find myself appreciating the dialog which is some of the funniest committed to a film, the oddball humor, like Venkman's line about dogs and cats living together and the in jokes, like Slimer being the ghost of John Belushi and Venkman rubbing his hand at glee at the thought of the money to be made from the merchandising of the ghostbusters brand.
My cousin who is five years old has developed a love for the whole Ghostbusters thing, showing that this is truly worthy of being branded one of the most successful films ever made.Unlike many of today's blockbusters which are humorless and pompous thinking that they are serious films and forgetting about any sense of fun along with the complicated visual effects, Ghostbusters is funny and a fun paranormal movie.
The set pieces are superb as we see the Ghostbusters going up against Slimer, Gozer and, undeniably the classic movie moment of the 80's, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. For a film made in 1984 the climax is very well done and looks exceedingly realistic, without any hint of clues as to the fact that it is a special effect.
Bill Murray, one of the finest comedy actors to grace the screen, is superb as Peter Venkmen who gets the best lines in the film as well as the funniest moments.
As well as Murray, we have co writers Dan Akyroyd and Harold Ramis sharing the spotlight as the fellow Ghostbusters, Sigourney Weaver making a wonderful damsel in distress, Rick Moranis is almost scene stealing as her nerd of a  neighbor who becomes possessed himself, while Ernie Hudson and Annie Potts both put in wonderfully sardonic supporting roles who get their chances to shine.Add to this one of the best theme tunes and a truly apocalyptic finale, it is no surprising that this was the biggest film of 1984.
There is a lot to like about  ghostbusters , like bill Murrays  constant and always funny wise cracks,  the films constant shift  from a light hearted comedy to  intense ghost busting thriller and of course , the technically flawless attack of the marsh mallow man  that is probably one of my favorite parts of this film.In this day and age of computer generated  fx wizardry   the completely analogue special effects  still look  great ( especially the stay puft marsh mallow man , its rampage through the city   looks incredibly   real !
I know the story is ludicrous and I don't believe for one second in ghosts so I ignore the "theology" and just laugh at Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson.
Very rarely can you pull off a successful blend of two separate movie genres,but the makers of Ghostbusters were overwhelmingly so.On the one hand,you have the comedic charm of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd,and on the other,a genuine ghostly spookiness that makes you want to hide under a blanket.I recently bought a copy and watched it for the first time in several years,and it's still just as fresh as it was in it's initial release in 1984.It has a great supporting cast for Murray and Aykroyd,including the always great Sigourney Weaver,Rick Moranis,Ernie Hudson,and Harold Ramis,who is just as talented behind the camera as he is in front of it.Watch it with your family,but keep an eye on younger children,as the spookiness may be more than they can handle.
Ghostbusters was nominated for numerous awards including Oscars for best song (Courtesy of Ray Parker Jr.) and special effects, which are now slightly dated but possibly work even better with the wacky style being consistent with the rest of the movie.
Murray worked live for a few years before -- like those prior to him him -- gradually making his way into the film world.I like all of the comedians in "Ghostbusters," come to think of it.
It was Aykroyd, after all, who is primarily responsible for "The Blues Brothers." And Harold Ramis, who later became a director, with an impressive resume of such films as "Vacation," "Groundhog Day," and "Analyze This."Then there's also Rick Moranis, a meek nerd character who is very underrated and very funny, a sort of Woody Allen Lite.
They become so popular, in fact, that they are joined by Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson), another down-on-his-luck city guy looking for a good-paying job.However, Walter Peck, EPA (William Atherton) doesn't believe that the Ghostbusters are really ridding any ghosts at all, so he has them thrown in jail.
The scene that everyone remembers it the finale involving the giant marshmallow Stay Puff'd Man, and whenever I think of Aykroyd's performance in this film, I think of that scene."Ghostbusters" is a very famous comedy, and for good reason.
He said of the three main guys that, Bill Murray was the 'mouth' or the smart ass of the film, while Dana Barrett says of Dr Venkman, ' you're more like a game-show host' and I have to agree with that, Dan Akroyd was the 'hands', meaning the person who was very hands-on when came to the ghostbusting, and finally Harold Ramis was the 'Brains' or the smartest one of Ghostbusters.
The Venkman line at the end of the scene is priceless as he says 'we came, we saw, we kicked its ass!' Throw in scenes with the monsters that run around New York terrorising people, the unlocking of ghosts by the Environmental Protection jerk and the Marshmallow Man are all hilarious parts to a movie that is full on from start to the finish.
This movie is what it is, a perfect 10, because it takes the vision of one of the most imaginative directors on Earth, and realizes them almost perfectly with all the tools that fit the task -- actors, stunts, puppetry, models, and CGI.Ghostbusters (1984) is the best classic original spectacular supernatural masterpiece from Ivan Reitman!
It features an outstanding performance from Bill Murray, great showings by Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and one of the last documented instances of Dan Aykroyd being funny on film (he was blown by a ghost!).
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film, directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Columbia Pictures, Black Rhino Delphi Productions Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson Director: Ivan Reitman Producer: Ivan Reitman Screenplay: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis Rated: PG Running Time: 1 Hrs. 45 Mins.
The dialogue in itself makes me laugh every time I watch this movie, and on the DVD if you turn on the extras you will see how many things are adlibbed right then and there by the actors.Bill Murray undoubtedly delivers his stellar performance as Venkman, and Harold Ramis is perfect as Egon.
They both have a wonderful deadpan manner, especially in a library scene very early on in the film.Dan Akyroyd is the naive mistake maker Ray Stanz, as his thoughts bring on the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and Ernie Hudson rounds out the cast as Winston Zedmore, who is the last Ghostbuster to join up but is necessary.With Sigourney Weaver as Venkman's gorgeous love interest and Rick Moranis as her yuppie neighbor, this movie is a classic for anyone and definitely one of the best comedies EVER filmed!.
Although I personally did not really like the end of the movie, and some special effects were a bit bad; I found the film simply wonderful, very funny, with good characters, good actors and a great soundtrack that we know.
The original movie stars Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Harold Ramis.
After losing their university grant, paranormal scientists Dr Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) set up business as Ghost Busters, professional exterminators for those with supernatural pests, unaware that New York is soon to become plagued by spooks as an ancient Sumerian God named Gozer prepares to enter our realm.When Ghost Busters was originally released, way back in 1984 (bloody hell, that's a quarter of a century ago!!!), cinema audiences went wild for the supernatural adventures of spook wranglers Venkman and Co.: the film was the definition of an 80s, crowd-pleasing blockbuster, with an impressive cast of hot comedy names, a script packed with witty one liners, bucket-loads of flashy, state-of-the-art special effects, and, of course, a catchy theme song that couldn't fail to please.So this afternoon, I sat down to re-live the magical experience with my children (aged 6 and 8), but to my disappointment, discovered that the film really hasn't aged that well.
Despite some classic moments of dry humour from Bill Murray, the impressive sight of a Godzilla-size Mr. Stay Puft trashing New York, and the even more impressive sight of Sigourney Weaver's lovely, long legs, the film just isn't as great as my memory had led me to believe: it's rather cheap looking at times, with shonky props, unconvincing sound-stage sets, and crowd-scenes of, oh, at least 50 people; the effects that once dazzled now look embarrassingly bad, with iffy stop motion animation, crap matte work, random flashy lights, and Richard Edlund's Oscar nominated 'ink in water' clouds looking just like...
I am indeed a fan of Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver, but honestly, this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen.Sure, the effects were state-of-the-art for 1984, with all of those hideous monsters, but that was simply just a way to cover up the absolutely awful screenplay.I'm not sure where all of this acclaim comes from.
But it is a fun little movie, if a little bit over-rated, featuring a solid cast and a good story.Everyone does a good job of treating the material seriously enough to make this funny, and pretty much everyone (with the possible exception of Rick Moranis) seems to be playing this "straight." I suppose one of the weaknesses I see with this movie is just that - everyone's too much of a "straight man." The end result was that I smiled a lot during the movie, and chuckled a few times, but never really burst out laughing at anything.The major stars (Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, etc.) all moved on to other projects over the ensuing years and, in my opinion, to better performances as well.
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis were likewise good and memorable in their individual roles."Ghost Busters" is an enjoyable movie that you can watch again and again, just don't cross the streams..
It was written Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis (Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Spaceballs, Strange Brew) and is directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters Franchise, Up in the Air, No Strings Attached).Ghostbusters follows three scientists: Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon (Harold Ramis) as they start their own ghost catching business and their biggest job yet is in a musician named Dana's (Sigourney Weaver) own refrigerator.
This hilarious movie is carried by is fun characters brought to life by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis.
The film stars Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as a trio of nerdy parapsychologists in New York, after being dismissed by the university, they initiate a service knows as Ghostbusters to deal with the more and more frequent paranormal activities in the city, things then trace back to Gozer, a Sumerian amorphous god of destruction, who is going to wreck havoc on the city, with the aids of its two servants, Zuul the Gatekeeper and Vinz Clortho, the Keymaster, two ferocious dog- shaped demigods.The core trio (later joined by Ernie Hudson as the fourth member to appear politically corrected) predates the current trend of brain-is-the-new-sexy, Peter Venkman (Murray) more or less is a philanderer and particularly disarming in his aloof attitude to the gravitas of their cause.
The special effects are very much 1980s, but they are also the brainchild of a genuinely extraordinary creation, massively uproarious in its pokerface seriousness (not to mention its contagious theme song by Ray Parker Jr. The wacky script written by Aykroyd and Hamis is the mainstay of its distinctiveness, Murray's iconic personification of his on-screen image is droll to watch, Weaver is beguilingly titillating after the possession and Moranis's loquacious improvisation slightly overstays its welcome, but appropriately dovetails itself into the demigod.Very rarely a comedy can blend well with its spectral fodder and family-friendly closeness, GHOSTBUSTERS is far from being a perfectly executed masterpiece, or a cutting-edge cinematic pioneer, but its common-or-garden stance effectively boosts the "everyone can be a hero" message, no wonder it has been an enormous crowd-pleaser and bred into a beloved franchise since the inception.
Everything from his one-liners, his gestures, and his exchanges with Sigourney Weaver who is truly a sport while sparring with him, growing to like him as the film progresses, and Rick Moranis plays his nerdy part so well, it's hard not to start laughing every time he jumps in the scene.
Bill Murray is funny when he is uncontrollable just like he was in Groundhog Day as well , I think the top five comedians of our time have to be Charlie Chaplin , Bill Cosby and Mel Brooks , The Little Rascals ; sorry Three Stooges and the other comedy teams of that time , I always thought the Little Rascals or Our Gang were the best , and now Bill Murray , along with Dan Aykroyd , Rick Moranis , Harold Ramis and the ever beautiful Sigourney Weaver reminded me of an older version of the Little Rascals , they're very familiar .
But we went for new year's eve with all the family and it was an incredible time as the movie has everything an audience can ask: an original idea, a respect for paranormal even we don't stop laughing, amazing special effects, staying score and songs and for sure, deep, well defined characters played by an incredible cast !
"If someone asks you if you're a god, you say 'Yes'!"Murray of course gets all the best lines, delivered in his signature deadpan style, like "Back off, man, I'm a scientist" or "Generally you don't see that kind of behavior in a major appliance." Director Ivan Reitman leaves Murray plenty of space in-between the special effects to establish a "Ghostbusters" voice; even if to me it seems at times more of a collection of catch phrases, I see Reitman giving the film enough shape and subtlety to make those catch phrases click.Yes, the effects are dated, and there are odd moments that don't connect (Ray being seduced out of nowhere by a ghost, for example).
As it was well written with smarts and wit still the funny one liners and comedic parts are often overshadowed by the well remembered ghosts(green ghost slimmer) and monsters(the stay puff marshmallow man) of the film.Also well directed by Ivan Reitman the plot is pretty good as it is set in New York City and it features three college professors of parapsychology named Dr. Venkman(Bill Murray)Dr. Stanz(Dan Aykroyd) and Dr. Spengler(Harold Ramis)who all of a sudden find themselves out of a job as the university starts to downsize as they have cut their study department due to lack of interest and the mid 80's recession of the bad economy.
Well remembered film at a time that features the comedy trio of Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis in their prime and in top form and the lovable and cute ghost like green slimmer and stay puff are very memorable images of joy and fun.
Combining big-budget special effects with irony and sarcasm-laden dialog, "Ghostbusters" is a one-of-a-kind sci-fi fantasy comedy as entertaining as it can get.The movie stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, three graduates from the great schools of "Saturday Night Live", "SCTV" and "National Lampoon", as three "scientists" whose specialty is to detect and hunt down ghosts of all kinds.
And let's not forget the eponymous theme song from Ray Parker, Jr. that will play in the heads of people long after they've seen the film.So, twenty-five years later, we can still watch "Ghostbusters" without telling ourselves that this picture comes from another era.
Well, I can say that I enjoyed this film.I liked the characters - how they acted, it was funny and entertaining.I also enjoyed that the city was under attack by a powerful force, and it was up to the Ghostbusters to stop the evil.And yes, the classic music that everyone already knows, is still catchy to this day.My final thoughts: This was a fun movie and I think you would like it.
Groundhog Day >>>>>>>>>> Ghostbusters (1 & 2)Seriously, that's a MUCH better Bill Murray movie you should check out - whole lot better story, plot, comedy, characters, idea, directing, and film-making!
First of all the casting for this movie is brilliant bill Murray as the sarcastic one Dan akroyd as the cheery one Harold ramis the smart one and Ernie Hudson as the one who only wants a check one and rick moranis who is an annoying neighbour for Sigourney weaver and the when he gets locked out sequences are classic and no one could ever forget the classic theme by Ray Parker Jr and this will forever be the best ghostbusters movie because the sequel didn't have the same impact as the first one it was still good though.