Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver

Fired from their university research jobs, Drs. Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler promptly set up shop as parapsychologists specializing in psychic phenomena and soon they're ridding Manhattan of bizarre ...( read more  read more... )apparitions. But the talents of these spirit exterminators--Ghostbusters--are severely tested when beautiful Dana Barrett and her nerdy neighbor become possessed by demons living in their building.

Flixster Users

81% liked it

949,269 ratings

Critics

93% liked it

45 critics

PG, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Ivan Reitman

Release Date: June 1, 1984

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: June 29, 1999

Get It:

Stats: 39,024 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (39,024)


  • October 10, 2006
    Where would we be without "Ghostbusters"? It's a comedy classic on so many levels.
  • November 3, 2009
    I grew up with this classic, it was huge on release and I loved it (it scared me too haha) the effects still hold up today and make modern movies look poor..stil.
    Again another near perfect classic 80's flick.
  • September 24, 2009
    Ghostbusters is an excellent 80?s comedy classic and I love it.
  • August 31, 2009
    Among many things that are bad after revisiting them, this is not one of them. Still one of my all time favorites.
  • August 29, 2009
    Is there any moviegoer in this day and age who HASN'T heard of Ghostbusters? It's so well loved, it's one of the rare franchises to gain wide acceptance based on just two films (well, alright, there are a couple of cartoons but they don't appear to be in the same continuity as th...( read more)e films. Bring on the third film!) It has inspired many a video game too and as of posting this review, my copy of the video game has yet to arrive.the latest looks to be the most faithful yet, since the original cast reunite to voice their characters.

    I want to say right off that I know of the original script ideas for this film and I'm really glad they were rejected. The original conception involved the Ghostbusters traveling through time, space and other dimensions and using wands to fight ghosts. I can accept the far-out, wacky things on something like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but Ghostbusters benefits from being set in the modern day, on our planet. Similar to the Back To The Future trilogy, one of the films key charms is having fantastical science but not making the audience feel stupid while maintaining the idea that it could be possible to do this (though definitely not something that should be done at home. Unless you're a Mythbuster and I don't see Jamie and Adam going for this one just yet).
    Though, one idea I was sad to see go was the original idea for Gozer ("played" by Slavitza Jovan, a model. Her voice was dubbed over by Patti Edwards and was the worst aspect of the film in my opinion. The term "Narm" comes to mind when I think of the voice...). Gozer was originally supposed to resemble an ordinary looking man played by Paul Reubens.
    ... Why exactly did this not happen?! The potential for more laughs was right there! Play him as serious as possible, give him some great lines, how hard could it be?! What might have been, eh...

    Anyway, one of the other great ingredients of the film is the contrasting personalities of the characters. Dan Akroyd's Ray Stantz is like a wide-eyed optimistic child (he just loves that fireman's pole!); Harold Ramis plays Egon Spengler as stoic, scientific-minded and serious (but it's always a joy to see him smile. And I loved the ad-libbed line about the attempt he made to drill a hole in his skull "That would have worked if you hadn't stopped me"); for the role of Winston Zeddemore, Ernie Hudson steps in to portray him as an outsider slowly seeping into a new world and essentially being the audience surrogate (and a damn good one at that); and of course, as smarmy almost car salesman-like Peter Venkman, Bill Murray takes on the role and it fits like a glove (although this is both a blessing and a curse as he would be typecast into similar roles for sometime. But then, if you are going to write one of these roles, you should get the best and Bill is without equal). Throw in Annie Potts as sarcastic secretary supreme Janine, Sigourney Weaver as the lovely Dana and Rick Moranis as lonely accountant Louis and you have an all star tour de force.

    Of course, even a great cast needs snappy dialogue to work with and this film is in no short supply. The entire scene in the mayor's office, the antics at the hotel, sharply written. Who could forget the infamous "Yes, it's true... this man has no dick" or what will happen to the city if Gozer is successful (my personal favourite possibility is the forty years of darkness). And I defy any of you not to laugh when Ray politely asks Gozer to leave New York.

    And the effects... they go unparalleled, even today. Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the librarian ghost. CGI may be the new thing, but Ghostbusters makes most CGI films look pathetic in comparison (Chicken Little, Robots, that means you in particular).

    And no review of Ghostbusters would be complete without mentioning the theme song. Too damn catchy to ever leave your head. No matter how much you want it to go, it ain't going. But it's easy to learn and fun to sing.

    A staple of the 80's, it transcends time. I will love this film until the day I die. Now come on, sing it with me, bustin' makes me feel good!
  • November 20, 2009
    There's something great coming into the neighborhood, and we're ready to believe in ghosts. When the University downsizes the parapsychology department, doctors Venkman, Stantz, and Spengler are fired from their jobs but then set up shop as parapsychologists specializing in psych...( read more)ic phenomena. As the Ghostbusters who rid the city of bizarre apparitions, their talents are severely tested when the bewitching Dana Barrett and her nerdy neighbor become possessed by demons living in their building. They now come face to face with an ancient evil force with plans to raise hell in Manhattan!

    Directed by Ivan Reitman, Ghostbusters features excellent acting performances from the following cast:
    1.) Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman)
    2.) Dan Aykroyd (Dr. Raymond Stantz)
    3.) Harold Ramis (Dr. Egon Spengler)
    4.) Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett)
    5.) Rick Moranis (Louis Cully)

    Just as the lyric to Ray Parker Jr.'s hit track goes, "who are you gonna call?" It's fun listening to that song at any moment of the day, even when you're at work, but it's best when I watch a classic '80s comedy called Ghostbusters. Yeah, I hear of bug exterminators, but those who hunt down ghosts are another: they came to infested areas, they saw their targets, and they kicked their butts. And they also brought in the action scenes that sometimes either amused me or blew my mind away. When I saw that Marshmallow Man, I would mistake that for a balloon float for a holiday parade, but it makes me get hungry and want to eat marshmallows, too. Ghostbusters is pure supernatural comedy, and whether you believe in ghosts or not, I'd like you to enjoy it as you watch it.
  • November 18, 2009
    it's old not really funny but the actors,storey,where o.k.
  • November 16, 2009
    Probably one of the best comedies ever. You've got Bill Murray, whom no one can deny and also thrown in are Dan Akroyd and crazy Rick Moranis. Then you've got Sigourney Weaver, enough said. But what makes this movie so great is the fact that everyone is so enthusiastic in the tea...( read more)m, except Bill Murray who's just in it for the women, even if they're Zule.
  • November 15, 2009
    One of the first geek movie ever. Big laughs.
  • November 14, 2009
    Was funny in the time period that it was made, not so sure today's young people would care for it.

Critic Reviews


October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This movie is an exception to the general rule that big special effects can wreck a comedy. full review

View more Ghost Busters (Ghostbusters) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • MorpheusOne
    July 5, 2009
    I actually heard that this movie, originally, was to star John Belushi in the role of Dr. Peter Venkman and that it was Mr Belushi's untimely demise that caused them to put a halt to the film, to give them time to find a replacement for him in that role, where they then could resume preproduction, which occurs before filming. This was in an interview with Harold Ramis and he went into some detail about how the script itself had to be rewritten to fit the actor to replace him, which was Bill Murray. The script, based on how it had to be rewritten to fit Bill Murray, inevitably would have been quite different if John Belushi had succeeded in playing the role of Dr. Venkman makes me wonder what this movie would have been like.

    I guess we will never know.
  • JonnyMac78
    December 3, 2008
    "Is this true?"
    "Yes, this man has no dick!"
  • SkywalkerJones
    September 17, 2008
    Kick ass movie,man.Ghostbusters forever.
  • jessecoli
    January 11, 2008
    "Nobody steps on a church in my town!"

    "Yes, have some."

    "Tell him about the Twinkie."
  • keymasterforzuul
    July 16, 2007
    That Was your whole plan Ray..."GET HER?!"
  • derrykidd
    March 29, 2007
    "I'm studying the effects of negative reinforcement on esp ability"

    "The effect? I'll tell you what the effect is, it's pissing me off!"

    "Well then maybe my theory is correct Mister!"
  • Keaven
    January 6, 2007
    "If someone asks if you are a God.. You say yes!"

    "So who wants to play Parcheesy? OK, who brought the Dog?"

    "Mother-puss-bucket!"

    "Yes, it's true... This man has no dick"

    We Came. We saw. We kicked its ass!


    And many more that currently escape me.
  • LadyGeekdom
    December 16, 2006
    "Lets split up"
    "Yeah, we can do more damage that way"
    Class.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Casper
    Casper (64%)
  • Back to the Future
    Back to the Future (67%)
  • Gremlins 2 - The New Batch
    Gremlins 2 - The New Batch (67%)
  • Hancock
    Hancock (0%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Ghost Busters (Gh... : Watch Free on TV


Ghost Busters (Ghostbusters) Trivia


  • "Who ya gonna call..."?  Answer »
  • Ray, when someone asks if you're a God, you say "Yes"! This line is from what classic film of the 80's  Answer »
  • Name the film that this audio clip comes from  Answer »
  • "If theres something strange in your neighbourhood... Who ya gunna call?"  Answer »

Most Popular Skin