Original Release Date: June 8, 1984
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis
Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, David Margulies, Michael Ensign, Steven Tash (bit part), Timothy Carhart (bit part), Reginald VelJohnson (bit part)
Soundtrack: Elmer Bernstein
So, we’ve got a bit of a terminology problem here, don’t we?
Thanks to yet another needless remake, in the tradition of ‘Clash of the Titans‘ and ‘RoboCop‘, we now have to clarify which movie we’re talking about when we say ‘Ghostbusters’.
This appears to be an indefinite issue in terms of spoken language, but I think I’ve found a decent work-around for the written form, and that is to revert to the original title of ‘Ghost Busters’ when referring to the 1984 classic. Don’t believe me? Go watch it again; the title card clearly displays two words.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s talk about one of the best films of all time (because we likely won’t ever be talking about the new one, so there).
“Most movies have problems unless you’re ‘Ghost Busters’ or ‘The Rocketeer’.”
This quote from Mike Stoklasa of Red Letter Media, though somewhat facetious, speaks directly to my heart and my mind, because it’s a true statement.
Of all the lightning ever caught in any bottles, perhaps no film in history (other than one) caught more lightning in one bottle than ‘Ghost Busters’. The amount of zeitgeist it generated at the time and still generates to this day leads me to describe it as the ‘Star Wars‘ of comedy. Where one wrong element could have scuttled it, everything went right for ‘Ghost Busters’: the script (after some major overhauls), the cast and their performances, the visual effects, the production design, the props, the editing, the pacing, and the music all work together in perfect harmony.
Unlike ‘Star Wars’, however, none of the major players on ‘Ghost Busters’ exactly came out of nowhere. Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray (and Elmer Bernstein) all had a hit with ‘Stripes‘ a few years earlier; Dan Aykroyd was well-established from his SNL days, in addition to successful turns in ‘The Blues Brothers‘ and ‘Trading Places‘; and Sigourney Weaver was firmly planted in the public consciousness as “Ripley” from ‘Alien‘. All that said, I’m not sure there was any evidence before 1984 to suggest that any of these folks could pull of something this massive, but they did.
One primary reason why ‘Ghost Busters’ works so well is that the movie is largely played straight, with the humor being dry and usually situational. Really, the only character within the world of the film who’s saying and doing things to be funny is Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and everyone else, even a “silly” character like Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), is meant to be serious. This is, of course, enhanced by the fact that outside of the main cast, almost every other performer in the movie is just a regular working New York or L.A. actor; there aren’t dozens of recognizable comedians making cameos at every turn.
Another incredibly strong thread in the ‘Ghost Busters’ fabric is the world-building and the establishment of its own mythology. The movie begins as a classic going-into-business story: our heroes start out at Columbia University, get thrown out, find money to go into business (by mortgaging one of their family homes), purchase a building and a car, hire a secretary, and put an advertisement on local television. From there, so many wonderful details come into play to make the insanity that follows at least somewhat believable: Spates Catalog, Tobin’s Spirit Guide, “Don’t cross the streams,” Zuul, Gozer, Vinz Clortho, Ivo Shandor, Stay Puft Marshmallows, Camp Waconda; all of these are mentioned as casually as Coca-Cola or McDonalds. The point is, they’re all real to the characters, so, in turn, they feel real for the audience.
Now, let’s get into the really fun stuff. I suspect that even if ‘Ghost Busters’ was just average as a movie, it still would have had a fairly significant cultural impact, because proton packs, ECTO-1, ghost traps, flight suits, utility belts, Ecto Goggles, radios, and P.K.E. meters are all ridiculously awesome, and make every kid want to be a Ghostbuster. Whoever came up with the designs for all of the costumes and props must have been some kind of genius. I know I still wish I could be a Ghostbuster; who wouldn’t want to run around catching ghosts with an unlicensed nuclear accelerator strapped to your back? Of course, the proton packs, along with the ghosts, are made even more amazing by the accompanying sound design and totally non-CGI visual effects (led by Richard Edlund, who worked on the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, among other big hits).
Lastly, what helps to make ‘Ghost Busters’ both a great movie and a pop culture icon is the music. Yes, I mean the Ray Parker, Jr. theme song, but I’m also referring to the other licensed songs (“Cleanin’ Up the Town“, “Savin’ the Day“, “Magic“) and I’m especially referring to the underappreciated Elmer Bernstein score. Every single last musical cue in the movie is perfect in setting the tone for the scene at hand, whether light-hearted and funny, or dark and scary, or righteously triumphant.
Maybe I’m wrong about this, but I think what ultimately makes ‘Ghost Busters’ so wonderful is that there was a genuine effort from those involved to make the best movie they possibly could, and all of the elements fell into place naturally, as opposed to the film being a work of corporate cynicism, trying to shove in as many items as possible to appeal to kids and sell t-shirts. Not that there wasn’t merchandising, of course there was merchandising, but that came about because the movie was worthy of it. ‘Ghost Busters’ is a rare film that was clearly made for adults to enjoy, but also perfectly fit into the imagination of children; off the top of my head, I can’t think of too many other examples where that’s the case, certainly not to this degree.
Anyway, I’ve gushed for long enough. If for some reason you’ve never seen ‘Ghost Busters’ in your life, I don’t know what you’re waiting for. Get on it!
Rating: ★★★★★
