I'm talking about the original one, not any of the sequels and especially not that travesty of a film that had Melissa McCarthy in it. I'm talking about the one that introduced us to busting ghosts with an all star cast of comedy icons. The one that introduced us to Slimer and the iconic siren on a refurbished hearse.
When the trailers for this started appearing on TV in the early 80's, there was no way that a little boy my age was not going to do everything it took in order to go and see it. Back in those days movies were cheap to attend and the weekend matinees are something that my mom would drop us kids off at the shopping mall, give a few dollars and advise us how to sneak all of our snacks into the cinema without paying the extortionately high prices they charge at the concession stand. I want to say that during these matinees that the cost of admission was a mere dollar but honestly, it is too long ago for me to remember. I do remember that Ghostbusters was so amazing to me as a kid that I went to go see it more than once.
The movie really starts off with a bang in the library scene with the ghost librarian that tells the soon-to-be Ghostbusters "shhhhh" before transforming into something that probably gave me at least a couple of nightmares in the following weeks.
That really put you on the edge of your seat and the movie kept the excitement coming as well. It was a good mix of comedy and light horror as well as special effects that were extremely cutting edge considering it was 1984 and not much in the way of CGI existed yet. They were truly pushing the limits of technology at the time and it must have been a very daunting project to even suggest to the studios.
Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler are parapsychologists at a New York University and mostly they are regarded as quacks of the educational and scientific world. There are some funny scenes where they poke fun at their own profession and it is clear that while they are intelligent, most of the rest of the world doesn't even believe that what they do is real.
That scene probably brings back a few memories. Bill Murray is and was such a fantastic actor and this was my first introduction to him. His dry delivery of comedy continues throughout the entire film and while there is not defined star in the cast, he certainly seems to steal the show most of the time.
Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis were pretty big stars at the time and to have them included as rather minor characters was a pretty big deal. Looking back and seeing all the star power as well as what must have been one hell of a high cost for special effects, it's pretty remarkable to me that they were able to make this film for an estimated $25-30 million. This was a lot of money for a movie in 1984 but it paid off for them as the global take at the box office ended up being over $290 million. I think that almost all studios would be very happy with this sort of return with any movie that was made even today.
I loved everything about this movie and I still get a tinge of the chills when i just think about the really cool siren that their car, the Ecto-1, had on it.
The "Terror Dogs" must have been added to the film using claymation and puppetry of some sort because I'm pretty sure that we didn't have computer abilities to do that sort of stuff at the time. They looked very realistic in 1984 though and were absolutely terrifying.
For me It's kind of sad to see the main actors look so young and it kind of reminds me of how old I am becoming as well. All of the main cast is still alive except for Egon (Harold Ramis) who tragically died at the young age of 69 in 2014. Unbeknown to me, Ramis and Bill Murray had a falling out and didn't speak to one another for nearly 20 years. Thankfully, Murray went and buried the hatchet when Ramis was on his deathbed.
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Ernie Hudson doesn't look like he has aged at all
I'm pretty sure that this is one of the most famous movies from the entire 80's and if for some reason, mostly how old you are, you haven't seen it, I think that you should go back and give it a look even though the special effects are deservedly going to look a bit dated. One of the most iconic films of all time in my opinion, and definitely worth a watch. To me it is a piece of cinematic history!