Customer Reviews

Ghostbusters Double Feature Gift Set (Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters 2 + Commemorative Book)

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I received the DVD a few days earlier than expected, and in an unexpected way.

There was a knock on the door, it was maybe 2 in the morning. I don't really remember. I slowly got out of bed and peeked through the doorhole to see who it could possibly be.

It was Bill effing Murray. Dressed up as a ghostbuster. When I opened the door, he clicked a remote to turn on a stereo boombox he had with him. Ghostbusters theme blaring, he starts dancing. 70's disco style.

After "WHO YOU GONNA CALL," he held the DVD case up to my face and paused the song. I was silent, he lowered the case and put it in my face again.

"Ghostbusters?" I asked.

He started the music again, put the dvd down on my doormat, took the boombox and danced away.

I opened up the DVD case when I got back inside, and on the INSIDE of the SHRINK WRAPPED DVD CASE, I kid you not there was a note that read

"No one will ever believe you. No one buys DVDs anymore."

I got noise complaints from other people in the apartment the next day. I told them I was sorry and wouldn't play my music so loud. Let's face it. No one would believe otherwise.


Excellent DVD. High quality video and audio, and the extras are AWESOME.

Well, this isn't packed with special features, but it's sure worth more than two stars. After all, what do you expect for a double-feature (each film is in its own thin-pak case) plus episodes of the cartoon (which it will be great to reminisce while watching, by the way) and a scrapbook at such a low price?

The real treat that home theater enthusiasts and most people with eyes will appreciate is that the transfers have been remastered and are marvelous-looking. That alone makes this a good companion to the old discs (KEEP THE OLD RELEASES because the video commentary from the first Ghostbusters DVD isn't on this new one and the neither are theatrical trailers). e-mail me for a link to comparison pics of the transfer upgrades! Worth an upgrade for home theater enthusiasts and fans of the cartoon (and fans of cool gimmick packaging, too, I guess!).

The outside box does say that GB is in fullscreen and GB2 is in widescreen. However, that is a misprint. Originally they did intend to release it this way, but the backlash was so severe that they reversed this (stupid) decision. I guess the box artwork was already printed by this point. Rest assured that the actual movies are BOTH in widescreen and there is not even a fullscreen option. The inside boxes do both indicate widescreen.

Most of the extras from the original special edition are included in this new version with some missing in action. Gone is the video portion of the audio commentary which did add a Mystery Science Theater 3000 quality but is not a huge omission. However, also gone are the trailers and the subtitled production notes that one could see while watching the movie. For these alone you might want to hold onto your previous edition.

The picture quality of both movies has been improved significantly, although, maybe it's because I am so used to the old transfers that, at times, this new one looks too good. And then, some scenes look just as grainy as the previous edition but this may be due to the film stock at the time.

The Ghostbusters 2 DVD originally had no extras and it still doesn't have any that pertain to the movie but two new additions are an episode from The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, entitled "Citizen Ghost" and "Partners in Slime" from the much inferior Slimer and The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. Hopefully, this means that Sony is finally going to release these shows on DVD at long last.

Finally, there is a nice, glossy movie scrapbook that features more storyboards, stills and poster designs from the movies.

Just a bit of information I know I would have like to have had before I bought it: There are some reviews on this page complaining that the first film is presented only in fullscreen.. The slip-cover for the set does, in fact, list the first film as being in fullscreen, and the second as being in 2.40:1 widescreen.. which confused me and I bought it anyway figuring that there was no reason they would do one film properly but not the other. Then I noticed that on the slip-cover under special features they list the FIRST film as being in widescreen, but NOT the second... It gets stranger. When you open it and look at the individual cases, the first film is labeled as being in 2.40:1 widescreen, and the second is listed as being in 2.35:1 (NOT 2.40)...

Well, dyslexic cover-art designers aside, when you watch the films they ARE BOTH IN WIDESCREEN.. whether one is 2.40 and one is 2.35 I didn't really bother to figure out, and frankly I doubt given the attention to detail displayed on the boxes. Either way, the films do look really good.

The special features are, like most people said, nothing to scream about and mainly re-packaged from the earlier releases with the notable exception of episodes from the cartoon, which are pretty awful. The scrapbook is nice, despite having an odd odor like burnt french fries...

As for the films themselves, I haven't really watched them since I was about 12, and so it was pure nostalgia. They were actually better than I expected. The first one is plainly the "better" movie, and the second one basically shamelessly recreates its plot blow by blow (Instead of stay puft, we have the statue of liberty, instead of an evil apartment building, we have an evil museum, instead of arguments with a surprisingly accommodating mayor and his meddlesome underlings, we have... arguments with a surprisingly accommodating mayor and his meddlesome underlings.) However, in some strange way, the second film feels fresher to me, and the real joy of the movies was watching these great actors do their thing, and they're all just as good the second time around. Even if Winston still has nothing to do besides show up once in a while to deflect criticism about an all-white cast.

So, anyway, hoped that cleared up some stuff.

Since these movies came out in 1983 and 1989, before my youngest son was born, he had somehow missed out on seeing Ghostbusters. While he had seen the second film, he had not seen the first. And for me, I did not remember the second installment being nearly as much fun as the first. So, when I saw this set with the two of them, I bought it. It is a terrific set and has a nice little booklet with some of drawings and sketches that were done to originate the ideas for the first Ghostbusters.

The first movie was a sensation. The title song was remarkable and was the song of 1984. The exuberance of the actors, their chemistry, and the downright strangeness of the story delighted nearly everyone and if my youngest son's reaction is representative of young people today, it is still a great deal of fun. Yes, the effects look much cheesier than they did in 1983 (the year the film was made) before CGI took over effects in film.

It is also fun to watch the film with the commentary and learn more about how the story evolved from Ackroyd's original treatment and what went on in making the movie. Some of the classic lines of the film were improvised or were done by the actor. For example, Dana's (Sigourney Weaver) line to Venkman (Bill Murray) that he didn't seem like a scientist, that he seemed more like a game show host was perfect and supplied by Weaver. The original line given her was more hackneyed, that Venkman seemed more like a used car salesman. The difference is one is fresh and memorable the other would just be lost in the rest of the movie.

There is so much that is wonderful in the first Ghostbusters that it is impossible to list them all. We all have our favorite moments and as we watch the movie we are reminded of more that we really like. Just for fun, look up the cast on IMDB and see what they have all done since. It is quite an interesting exercise.

The second film was inevitable given the success of the first. The domestic box office was $231 million and worldwide it was $291 million for the first movie.

However, I remember feeling that Ghostbusters 2 was a bit of a disappointment. The music wasn't very good (the Bobby Brown stuff was terrible!) and the story seemed too much a sermon instead of the best story they could invent (but maybe it was). As I watched it again after all these years, I have to say that it was better than I remembered. Yes, the Bobby Brown stuff and the rap crap are still awful, but I can look past that.

The beginning picks up five years after the other filmed ended. They are on hard times. Ray and Winston are doing kids parties for extra cash. As they do a little dance to the Ghostbusters theme from the first movie and come to "Who ya gonna call?" the kids shout back "HE MAN!". Quite deflating for the boys. Ray also has an Occult / Paranormal bookstore. Egon is doing research about on how emotions affect the human environment. Venkman has a cable access show interviewing paranormal nutjobs. And Dana is working at a museum because she has a young baby, Oscar, and can't travel with the orchestra.

We get introduced to the main idea of the film when Dana rolls Oscar's baby carriage through some goo on the sidewalk (who would notice in 1980s New York?). When she stops to talk with someone the carriage starts moving on its own!

I did enjoy many of the scenes. The digging in the street, the courtroom scene, the ghost train. It is all quite funny. Yes, it is very tough to surprise and delight the way the first film did, but there is a lot to enjoy. But whomever it was that insisted on Bobby Brown should still be taken outback and given a stern lecture about how bad an idea that was.

There are also two shorts about the first film. One from 1984 and the other more recent. Both are very interesting. There are also some deleted scenes and it is clear why they weren't included.

One great comedy, one good comedy, and some nice extras in this fine two DVD set.

I have been a long-time fan of the ghostbuster movies and real ghostbusters tv show (I haven't seen extreme ghostbusters). Regarding the movies though, I've noticed that people have given them mixed reviews. Some prefer the first ghostbusters over ghostbusters II and that's fine. As for me, I think both are equally good. What I can't understand is why some people think that ghostbusters II isn't near as good as the first. Both were well writen, well acted, and had a good mix of comedy and spookiness. Plus, the evil ghost in the painting was creepy, the river of slime was creative, the statue of liberty effects were classic, and the positron slime guns that Ray and Egon created added a nice feature. Honestly, what's not to like about ghostbusters II? Moving on to the DVDs... For the ghostbusters dvd, the picture/sound transfer has been upgraded, there are a good number of features such as ten deleted scenes, making of featurettes from 1984 & 1999, art concepts, storyboards, and a special effects featurette. Ghostbusters received the treatment it deserved. As for the ghostbusters II dvd, the picture/sound transfer has been upgraded as well and the bonus features include two episodes from the real ghostbusters series. This is where the lackluster treatment comes in. Only one of these episodes "Citizen Ghost" is good in my opinion. It was a great tie-in between the ghostbuster movies. The other episode "Partners In Slime" is from the later Slimer & the Real Ghostbusters series which by the way was not good and too childish. Aside from having only one good episode as a bonus feature, there are no more bonus features to speak of. This is a real letdown considering that there was 20 minutes worth of deleted scenes occasionally aired on network television over the years. Not only that, but there was a 30 minute Oprah interview back in 1988 which featured almost the entire cast from ghostbusters II. And what about featurettes, storyboards, production notes, showing special effects, and all that other stuff? I simply don't see any reason for ghostbusters II not getting the same dvd treatment as the original ghostbusters. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if a special edition director's cut dvd eventually comes out for ghostbusters II which I seriously would like to happen soon. Now if you own the previous releases of Ghostbusters I & II, keep those because the bonus material for the first ghostbusters is the same and though the the two real ghostbuster episodes aren't on the previous ghostbusters II dvd, the fact that you can view the movie in widescreen is a good enough reason to keep it.

Goes without saying:"Ghostbusters" is a comedy classic of the finest order for the supernatural/slime obsessed person in us all.It has that element that alot of movies like this tend to lack in today like-pure movie escapism.And the theme is the movie theme to END all movie themes to me-the ultra funky Ray Parker Jr hitting his serious paydirt at last!The cast is like a roll call of classic 80's comedians (missing only Eddie Murphy to make a complete picture) and they all shine their best,especially Bill Murrey as he haplessly begins falling for the lovely but haunted Dana (Sigonour Weaver)even as she is possessed by the freaky Zule,the gatekeeper.Almost know every line-Annie Potts is also hilerous!
I've never seen part two until this point and I must say it was right up there with the first.And I generally don't like sequals.But more slime was added and Dana now gets a baby who's to be kidnapped by a tyranical painting come to life.In fact the second movie may be more pure comedy then the original.The orginal had a few genuine horror movie elements-the second is a little more like an early version of 'Scarry Movie'.Somehow horror and comedy end up being a great mixture no matter how you cut it or (I can't resist) who your gonna call!

Amazon.com is great, right? Of course they are. I ordered this box set and recieved it right on time. I'm old school (age 33) no offence to anybody who think's it's not. Well these movies are awesome. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were kings of comedy back in the 80's. Just a suggestion. Imagine if they teamed up again for a Ghostbusters 3?? Of course with Harold Ramis. In this day and age the special effects would be incredible. The theaters would be PACKED with an audience, and I would guarantee they would be HUGE in the spotlight again. If you happen to be a producer reading this at least put me in the credits. Who You Gonna Call?? Hopefully me.

The original GHOSTBUSTERS and GHOSTBUSTERS 2 are great films, and the DVD packages are done well, but something is missing again in this new gift set. This reviewer had hoped the producers of this package would include the original Ray Parker Jr. music video that contrubuted to the success of the film back in 1984. It wasn't included on either of the original DVD releases of the individual films. The music video itself was hilariously great and the song was a top ten hit. One of the highlights of the video is near the end as Ray Parker Jr and the four Ghostbusters (Bill Murray,Dan Ackroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson) are dancing down New York City's Times Square. The music video includes clips from the film, and the appearances from the likes of Peter Falk, the late John Candy, Carly Simon, Chevy Chase,Terri Garr,George Wendt,Danny Devito, Melissa Gilbert and Al Franken (all of who don't appear on in the movie). It's a shame because it would have made the DVD set a complete package and a worthy timecapsule.