Ghostbusters

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Ghostbusters
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Written by Dan Aykroyd
Harold Ramis
Starring Bill Murray,
Dan Aykroyd,
Sigourney Weaver,
Harold Ramis
Produced by Bernie Brillstein
Ivan Reitman
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date June 8, 1984
Runtime 107 min.
Language English
Budget $30,000,000
IMDb page
For other uses, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation).

Ghostbusters (sometimes written Ghost Busters) is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three parapsychologists who are fired from Columbia University in New York, and start up their own business investigating and eliminating ghosts.

It was followed by a sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989), and two cartoon series, The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters. On November 6, 2005, it was announced that a script had been written for a third Ghostbusters movie, entitled Ghostbusters in Hell. Harold Ramis stated that he wanted to add Ben Stiller to the cast in this film. Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver will not be returning for the third film.

See The Real Ghostbusters for information about the cartoons and the comics, etc., and for information about the Ghostbusters' vehicles and tools/weapons.

The films sparked the catchphrase, "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!"

In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Ghostbusters the 44th greatest comedy film of all time.

Contents

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Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
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Gozer the Gozerian

Gozer the Gozerian, also known as Gozer the Destructor, Volguus Zildrohar and The Traveler, is a fictional Sumerian god who is the major supernatural enemy in the film, Ghostbusters. The character may have been an in-joke, as gozer in Hebrew means "surgeon who performs circumcisions". (Note: in the real Sumerian religion the deity's true name is Tiamat, but had to be changed to the unique Gozer for the film because of feared copyright issues with the makers of Dungeons & Dragons.)

Gozer has two dog-like minions called Zuul (The Gatekeeper) and Vinz Clortho (The Keymaster). Gozer the Traveller appears in one of his pre-chosen forms. During the movie Vinz Clortho speaking through Louis Tully claimed that: During the rectification of the Vuldronaii the Traveller came as a large, moving Torb. Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex supplicants they chose a new form for him--that of a giant Sloar. Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you.

After World War I, an insane surgeon called Ivo Shandor, a leader of a secret apocalyptic cult, designed a massive apartment building in New York City (55 Central Park West) specifically to gather PKE (psycho-kinetic energy) that would power a portal that would let Gozer and his minions enter the world and destroy it.

By 1984, the building had gathered enough energy to pull Zuul and Vinz Clortho through: the two planned to possess suitable humans to open the portal on top of the building to let Gozer through. Because of this (according to Dr. Spengler's reading), the PKE in the surrounding area in 1984 was a few thousand times normal. As a by-product, numerous ghosts were revived and became active throughout New York City as they waited to join their new master.

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The Ghostbusters come

Unfortunately for Gozer, events interfered. Three unemployed parapsychology professors had formed a business called Ghostbusters, a spectral investigation and removal service armed with technology of their own design that could track down and capture the entities with unprecedented ease.

At first, their clients are few and far between, and the Ghostbusters must depend on their individual talents to keep the business alive: Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) is a scientific genius, Raymond "Ray" Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) is an expert on paranormal history and metallurgy, and Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), although in some ways a scientific charlatan, has charm and business savvy.

Soon, business starts to pick up, due not only to the Ghostbusters building a reputation for themselves, but also due to increased supernatural activity, which turns out to be a direct result of the rise of Gozer. The Ghostbusters add a fourth member to their team: the blue-collar Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) to deal with the rapidly increasing workload, but it soon becomes apparent to the Ghostbusters that they are headed toward a climactic confrontation with Gozer. Although he initially comes off as a bit of a goof and sleaze, Venkman eventually finds a (subtly) heroic side to himself when he learns that Gozer and his minions are haunting the apartment of Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver), a client who has become the object of Venkman's lustful (and possibly deeper) intentions. At first unaware of the cause of this sudden spike of paranormal activity, the company had brisk business capturing numerous ghosts to the point where they were concerned about the capacity of their containment grid.

An overzealous EPA inspector, Walter Peck, ordered the grid deactivated, against the advice of the Ghostbusters-- causing the spontaneous release of all of the captured ghosts. The result of this was a widespread haunting that immediately sparked chaos throughout the city. The Ghostbusters managed to convince the authorities to let them deal with the crisis and they confronted Gozer as he emerged from the portal on top of Shandor's building.

After an initial skirmish, Gozer demanded that Ghostbusters choose the form the Destructor would take. Ray Stantz reflexively chose an innocuous corporate mascot, the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man. The result was the bizarre sight of a giant marshmallow man in a sailor suit with an insane smile stomping through New York toward the building. The Ghostbusters eventually stopped the god by crossing their proton pack streams as they fired at the portal. This created total protonic reversal which caused an explosion that apparently closed the portal and destroyed or at least neutralized Gozer and his minions and returned the possessed humans back to normal.

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Franchise history

Ghostbusters logo ©1984 Columbia Pictures Indsutries, Inc.
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Ghostbusters logo ©1984 Columbia Pictures Indsutries, Inc.

The concept was inspired by Aykroyd's own fascination with the paranormal, and was conceived by Aykroyd as a vehicle for himself and friend and fellow Saturday Night Live alum John Belushi. The original story as written by Aykroyd was much more ambitious -- and unfocused -- than what would be eventually filmed; in Aykroyd's original vision, a group of Ghostbusters would travel through time, space and other dimensions taking on huge ghosts.

Aykroyd pitched the story to director/producer Ivan Reitman, who liked the basic idea but immediately saw the budgetary impossibilities demanded by Aykroyd's first draft. At Reitman's suggestion, the story was given a major overhaul, eventually evolving into the final screenplay which Aykroyd and Ramis hammered out over the course of a few months in a Martha's Vineyard bomb shelter. In addition to Aykroyd's high-concept basic premise and Ramis' skill at grounding the fantastic elements with a realistic setting, the film benefits from Bill Murray's semi-improvisational performance as Peter Venkman, the character initially intended for Belushi (who had died of a drug overdose while Aykroyd and Ramis were still working on the script). The extent of Murray's improvisation while delivering his lines varies wildly with every re-telling of the making of the film; some say he never even read the script, and improvised so much he deserves a writing credit, while others insist that he only improvised a few lines, and used his deadpan comic delivery to make scripted lines seem spontaneous.

Among the featured New York locations were Columbia University, the New York Public Library, still very much active Hook & Ladder 8, Central Park West, Tavern on the Green in Central Park, Lincoln Center, inside a defunct New York jail and various street locations for the montages. The interior of the firehouse was done in LA's Fire Station 23, the basement of the Library was substituted by an LA library, the Biltmore Hotel in LA served as the lobby and entrance for the Sedgewick Hotel, while the other locations were on sound stages.

Gozer's temple was the biggest and most expensive set ever to be constructed at that time. In order to properly light it and create the physical effects for the set, other stages needed to be shut down and all their power diverted over to the set. The hallway sets for the Sedgewick Hotel were originally built for the movie Rich and Famous in 1981 and patterned after the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, where Reitman originally wanted to do the hotel bust. The Biltmore was chosen because the large lobby allowed for a tracking shot of the Ghostbusters in complete gear for the first time. Dana Barrett and Louis Tully's apartments were constructed across two stages and were actually on the other side of their doors in the hallway, an unusual move in filmmaking.

A problem arose during filming when it was discovered that a show was produced in 1975 by Filmation for CBS called Ghostbusters, starring Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker (see the article The Ghost Busters). Columbia prepared a list of alternative names for the event that the rights could not be secured. During the filming of the crowd for the final battle, the extras were all chanting "Ghostbusters", reportedly inspiring the producers to insist the studio buy rights to use the name.

Ghostbusters was released in the United States on June 8, 1984, starring Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson, and grossed approx. $240 million in the US and over $50 million abroad during its theatrical run, making it easily the most succesful film of that year. A video game based on the movie was released by Activision for the Atari gaming system and a number of 1980s home computers, and West End Games released Ghostbusters: A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game.

A song used for the movie, also called "Ghostbusters" was a hit for Ray Parker Jr., and is now a staple at "1980s retro" parties, as well as Jekyll & Hyde's Halloween-themed restaurant in Manhattan.

In 1989, Ghostbusters II was released to critical disdain, featuring the return of the main cast and a new villain. The second film's storyline was nearly identical to the first, with Venkman again acting flippant until he gradually re-charms Dana, and the Ghostbusters again struggling to keep their business afloat until business picks up again thanks to the rise of another demonic/ghostly ruler from ancient times, as well as a river of pink goo below the city that seemed to be the living embodiment of hate and bad feelings. The movie also gave us the return of meek, mild-mannered accountant Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who was introduced into the cartoon the following season.

Aykroyd and Ramis struggled for years to get started on a third Ghostbusters film, but were unable to come up with a script that could meet their own satisfaction. The possibility of a third film grew even more complicated as Murray's interest in reprising his role waned over the years, and Aykroyd finally admitted that a third film would probably never happen. The poor reviews of Ghostbusters 2 presumably played a role. At one stage Aykroyd had a working script, and Murray even agreed to reprise a bit part, but Columbia would not get on board due to the cost. This quandary was parodied in an episode of The Critic, in which Jay Sherman was asked to write a script for a film called "Ghost-Chasers 3," which was a bomb.

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Cast

The Ghostbusters in action. From left to right: Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore.
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The Ghostbusters in action. From left to right: Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman and Winston Zeddemore.
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Memorable lines

Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines. — Roger Ebert
  • Louis: "Gozer the Traveller - he will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Valdranaii, the traveller came as a large and moving Torr! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex supplicants they chose a new form for him - that of a giant Slorr! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slorr that day, I can tell you!"
  • Peter: "Back off, man, I'm a scientist."
  • Dana to Peter: "You don't act like a scientist. You're more like a game-show host."
  • Egon (referencing the Proton Pack): "Don't cross the streams!"
  • Winston (who is black) to the mayor (who is white): "Your honor, I've seen shit that would turn you white!"
  • Ray: "Peter, are you okay?"
    Peter (covered in ectoplasm): "He slimed me."
    Ray: "That's GREAT!!! ACTUAL PHYSICAL CONTACT!!! Can you move?"
    Peter: "I feel so funky!"
  • Dana: "I am the gatekeeper!" Louis: "I am the keymaster!"
  • Winston to Raymond, after the group is zapped by the evil goddess: "If someone asks you if you're a god, you say 'YES'!"
  • Peter: "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!" (Said about a captured ghost)
  • Raymond: "(sigh of resignation) It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man!"
  • Peter (when under threat from the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man): "Hey, this Mr. Stay-Puft is okay! He's a sailor, he's in New York... we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble!"
  • Raymond: "Aim for the flat top!"
  • Ray Parker: "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" (a catch phrase used beyond the film)
  • Winston, to Janine during his interview: "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."
  • Ray: "Our power grid was just fine until it was shut off by dickless here!"
    Mayor (turning to Peter): "Is this true?"
    Peter: "Yes, it's true: this man has no dick."
  • Dana, possessed by the Gatekeeper: "Do you want this body?"
    Peter: "Is that a trick question?"
  • Peter: "I make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people." (pause) "Actually, it's more like a guideline than a rule..."
  • Dana: "That's the bedroom, but nothing ever happened there."
    Peter: "What a crime."
  • Dana/Zuul: "There is no Dana, only Zuul."
    Peter (jovialy): "Oh Zuul, you nut, you! Let me talk to Dana! Dana? Can I speak to Dana?"
    Dana/Zuul (deep, demonic voice): "There is no Dana, only Zuul!!!"
    Peter: "I love that singing voice!"
  • Peter: "Why worry? Each of us is wearing an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back."
  • Raymond (about to capture their first ghost): "Get her!"
    Peter (later, when the ghost has scared them out of their wits): "'Get her'? That was your whole plan? 'Get her'? Tee hee."
  • Janine: "Mr. Tully, would you like some coffee?"
    Mr. Tully: "Do I want some coffee?"
    Egon: "Say 'yes.' Have some."
    Mr. Tully: (bewildered) "Yes, have some."
  • Peter (before attacking Gozer): "Let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown."
  • Peter (to Dana): "Normally you don't see that type of behavior in a major appliance."
  • Peter (after seeing Dana turn into Zuul's demonic K-9 form): Okay, so she's a dog."
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See also

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External links

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