Ghostbusters: the 40th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on July 3, 2024, 10:07 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 40th anniversary of Ghostbusters, one of the best-known media franchises of all time.
The original film was directed by Ivan Reitman, who had already directed several films, including Meatballs, Stripes, and Heavy Metal, which starred both Bill Murry and Harold Ramis, but this film was his major breakout into stardom, and it, also, starred Murray and Ramis (akin to how George Lucas cast Harrison Ford in three different movies); when Dan Akroyd was cast, Reitman had planned to cast John Belushi, as well, since Belushi and Akroyd had been excellent together in The Blues Brothers, but Belushi's untimely death shortly before filming was scheduled to begin brought an end to that plan. Of course, the film ultimately was amazing, as it was, but I still would be interested to see how the film would have been with John Belushi as one of the stars, as it likely would have been very different from the actual movie. As a side note, when I first saw this film, when I was younger, I never realized how obnoxious Bill Murray's character of Peter Venkman was, but I do, now, although I am glad that he was ultimately shown to be a genuinely nice person, despite his abrasive and sleazy exterior.
Not everyone may be aware of this, but there was a television series named Ghostbusters, produced by Filmation, a studio that was once very influential, but now no longer exists, before Reitman made his film, but Reitman was still able to use that name, so the other franchise is often referred to as "Filmation's Ghostbusters," to distinguish it from the better-known franchise, and that is also the reason for which the animated series that followed the first movie was entitled "The Real Ghostbusters," to distinguish it from Filmation's series.
Ghostbusters was officially a comedy movie, but it had an excellent blend of comedic and serious moments, allowing the movie to appeal to a wide variety of audiences, so it was all but certain that it would become a classic film and staple of popular culture, and it certainly elevated all of the actors who starred in it to new heights. As with many popular movies, it spawned an animated series, a sequel, and, of course, plenty of merchandise; I am sorry to say that I have not seen the animated series, but I naturally have seen the sequel, and I do admit that it is essentially a repeat of the original film, but it still is an excellent film, in its own right, and I did see the second animated series Extreme Ghostbusters, which I feel was a worth successor to the first two movies and first animated series.
As has happened with many classic franchises from previous decades, the studio who owns Ghostbusters has recently decided to revive the franchise, with several new movies, and I have seen two of those three, but I feel that they are little more than cash grabs attempts to capitalize on nostalgia for a beloved iconic franchise, so I doubt that I shall watch them, again, but, at least the original two films are beloved classics, and I do hope that Sony celebrates this momentous milestone, in some way.
How does everyone else feel about this? What are your thoughts about this year being the 40th anniversary of Ghostbusters?
FormOverFunction says... #3
Ghostbusters strikes me as a great example of a movie that you get more and more from as you get older. I loved it as a kid, and it got better as time went on. Definitely one of the best comedies out there!
TheoryCrafter says... #2
Ghostbusters was one of my favorite movies. I've seen it so many times as a kid I'm quite certain I can still recite around half the dialogue.
I don't think I'll ever be able to watch a Ghostbusters movie not scripted by both Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis.
July 3, 2024 11:31 p.m.