"Ghostbusters" Theatrical Re-Release for Halloween 2011!

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Frontier, Sep 14, 2011.

  1. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Got tickets to go see this, going Thursday night. Wooo!
     
  2. Mike Farley

    Mike Farley Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Saw it this past Thursday. Had a great time!
     
  3. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Just got back from seeing it, good times. Not quite as fun or exciting as Back to the Future was last year, with that movie it was enhanced and more in the theater creating a better theater experience. Although here I did go to a "Fork and Screen" showing which probably didn't draw as large of a crowd as the regular showing would.

    The presentation of the movie was not one that had been digitally enhanced, though it didn't seem to be a film version as there were no film flaws/scratches or that black timing dot in the corner of the screen so this must have been a DVD or digital copy simply projected on the big screen. A fairly grainy picture but probably not vastly different than how the movie would've looked on the big screen nearly 30 years ago. I had kind-of wished this was a new digital transfer to promote a BD release.

    The movie holds up pretty good still on the big screen, some of the old special effects don't hold up well but they're mostly the ones that never really held up and flaws I knew where there even a kid watching this on VHS (most of the flaws coming with the stop-motion involving the terror dogs whenever they're moving against on-location/set filming.) The post-production effects (the ghosts, the streamers, etc.) look good or at least the flaws in how they're made don't show up.

    As is usually the case with watching these movies on the big screen as opposed to a TV-set is noticing some details and things you may have not been fully aware of before, mostly on the expressions of character's faces or back-ground details. In an early scene taking place in the Ghostbuster's college lab I found myself looking at the signs and pieces of equipment laying around the room. The huge backdrop of Central Park outside Dana's apartment (mostly seen after the freed containment ghosts destroy a corner of wall) is still pretty damn impressive. (On that scene the matte/overlay of the Ghostbusters walking around inside the apartment looks better and more like they're walking inside a room, on TV it always looked to me like they were walking around in a completely destroyed room with no roof, on the big screen it's more clear just the wall(s) are missing.)

    The story and performances are all classics in their own right, most notably Bill Murray's antics as Peter Venkman, and Sigourney Weaver showcases some fabulous legs many times after being turned into the Gatekeeper.

    All and all a fun time in the theater in spite of the smaller crowd and the slightly grainy picture. There's one last showing next Thursday, if one is playing in your area and you're a fan of this movie I recommend it. Nothing beats seeing these childhood favorites on the big screen possibly for your first time.
     
  4. Timby

    Timby o yea just like that Administrator

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    There are very, very few usable 35mm prints of Ghostbusters still in circulation. This was a digital projection that was provided to all theaters.

    The grain in the image was about as true to the 35mm print as you can get. I'm not quite sure which film stock Laszlo Kovacs shot the film on, but I'd guess it's Kodak 5293 (200T), which had a relatively high level of grain (as well as kind of a grungy look).

    As for a new digital transfer, that was done a few years ago for the Blu-ray Disc release, and it's fucking awful. There's so much DNR that everything is unnaturally smooth, and the contrast and color temperatures were completely boned -- everything is yanked towards a green color, instead of the purple hues of the original print and DVD. (Actually, the transfer was done for the re-release of the DVD, which is when everything went to shit. I'll never give up my original DVD.) Anyway, this projection was about as good as the film will ever look.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2011
  5. Ethros

    Ethros Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Well finally saw this on the big screen last night. One word, aweeesssssooooooommmmmmeeeeeeeee


    I thought the whole end part with the guys on the rooftop with Gozer looked particularly excellent on the big screen.



    Loving the opportunity to see some of my childhood favourites at cinemas (with BTTF last year.) It's funny, I think GhostBusters II was possibly the first film I ever saw at the cinema when I was 5 years old :)