Ghostbusters (1984)

Director: Ivan Reitman

Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Coming To Save The World This Summer.

Plot: After being kicked out of their university, parapsychology professors Spengler, Stantz and Venkman decide to go into business for themselves by trapping and removing ghosts from haunted houses. After some initial skepticism, business is soon booming as The Ghost Busters rid New York of its undead. When a downtown skyscraper becomes the focal point of spirit activity linked to the ancient god Gozer, however, the problem may be more than the team can handle.

My rating: 10/10

Will I watch it again? Duh.

Seriously, what do I need to say about this flick except it was an instant classic. Rarely has a big budgeted comedy reached the heights that this one has. This October there was a limited release of this in theaters for 3 consecutive Thursdays or something like that. I caught the last show and it just kills me that there aren't any theaters in this area that show classic movies. Watching something like this on the big screen makes you realize that is how these things need to be seen - in the dark with a shitload of people laughing their asses off. I saw this during its original theatrical run and it was all kinds of neat seeing it on the big screen after all of these years. I found myself heartily laughing at things I had only giggled at when watching it on TV, like that scene where the three guys show up at the hotel to nab their first ghost and Bill Murry's eyes follow an attractive woman that walks from the right of the screen to the left. I about pissed myself at Murry's brilliance in being able to barely do anything and get such a tremendous response for it. Genius. I love how funny this movie is yet it's got several genuinely scary moments that will frighten the shit out of a little kid and then have him laughing the next. The special effects hold up very well (OK, almost all of them) and Elmer Bernstein's score is so much fun. GHOSTBUSTERS stands high on the list as one of my all-time greatest comedies. GHOSTBUSTERS 2 on the other hand...