Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When ghosts and demons run amuck in New York City, it's up to a team of ex-college professors turned ghost exterminators to capture the unwanted apparitions. The team of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) must save the beautiful Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and her nerdy neighbor Louis (Rick Moranis) when they inadvertently open the gates of hell.

With terrific pacing, expert comedic timing, and wiz-bang special effects, Ghostbusters burst on the scene in the summer of 1984, ending up as a $234 million smash hit. As with all classic films, it hasn't lost its charm—or humor—over time and showcases Murray and Aykroyd in their comedic prime. Sure, the special effects look dated compared with today's computer-generated imagery, but who cares when you see the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man terrorizing New York!

The AVC 1080p encode lacks the spit and polish of a new release, but it holds up quite well versus other mid-1980s releases. The natural color palette features accurate flesh tones, mostly stable contrast, and decent blacks. Occasionally, the contrast is a bit hot, but these moments are few and far between. The print is in spectacular shape with only a sporadic nick or scratch. As expected given its age, softness creeps into the picture, and the depth is on the flat side. Regardless, this is by far the best it has looked on home video and I'm proud to have it in my collection.

The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack isn't as impressive as the video, with so-so frequency response. Highs sound a bit stressed and strained, and the bass isn't ground-shaking by any means. Dialog intelligibility ranges from crystal-clear to muddied and slightly muted. The surround experience is initially very front-loaded, but the third act features some rich ambience, although it doesn't approach what a newer release brings to the table.

Supplements include an audio commentary, a couple of vintage making-of featurettes, and some deleted scenes found on the previously released DVD. New BD-exclusive features included a "Slimer Mode" PIP and pop-up trivia track, a featurette on the Ecto-1 vehicle, a photo gallery, and a making-of featurette on the Ghostbusters video game.

I wasn't that impressed with how the film looked on DVD, but this Blu-ray is a big upgrade. The video quality doesn't rival a day-and-date release, but it's much better than a lot of other titles from the same era. The new featurettes are a nice addition, but it's the movie that matters, and it's a must-watch for everyone. Highly recommended.

Release Date: June 16, 2009
Studio: Sony

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics