Throwback Theater: Who you gonna call? ‘Ghostbusters’ a timeless delight

“Who you gonna call?”

Ask anyone who was a kid in the 80’s or early nineties, and chances are pretty good they’d know the answer to the preceding words. “Ghostbusters”, the 1984 blockbuster whose Academy Award-nominated theme song bore those lyrics, was as significant a chunk of one’s childhood as “He-Man” or “G.I. Joe”.

Directed by Ivan Reitman and released in the summer of 1984, “Ghostbusters” was an unqualified box office smash, inspiring a slew of merchandise (that continues to this day), a bestselling soundtrack album, a (not-as-successful) 1989 sequel, two animated series, an award-wining videogame (that reunited the original cast in 2009), and a never-ending stream of rumors regarding a potential third film (mostly purported by series star Dan Aykroyd).

Widely recognized today as a classic due to its pitch-perfect balance of comedy, horror, and special effects, the film is also considered one of the quintessential New York films, with scores of fans regularly going out of their way to visit locations such as the old firehouse that served as the Ghostbusters’ headquarters.

For the 30th anniversary, the supernatural blockbuster has taken US cinemas by storm once again, with a series of screenings that started at the end of August. And this isn’t just any ol’ series of screenings: Sony Pictures (the owner of Columbia Pictures, which released the film back in the day) has commissioned a frame-by-frame restoration of the film at 4K resolution, allowing for a true high-definition presentation, to be complemented by a simultaneous Blu-ray release.

The movie tells the story of parapsychologists Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Egon Spengler (the recently deceased Harold Ramis, who also directed “Groundhog Day”), and Ray Stantz (Aykroyd), who have been booted from their positions as university researchers by an administration that sees little value in their supernatural explorations. Taking matters into their own hands, the trio go into business for themselves as the titular “Ghostbusters”, specializing in “paranormal investigation and elimination” mainly through the use of nuclear-powered “proton packs” designed by Egon and Ray.

While their first case – the haunting of cellist Dana Barrett’s (Sigourney Weaver) apartment – turns out to be a false alarm, it isn’t long before ghosts, ghouls and goblins of every size and shape begin terrorizing the rest of Manhattan. As the cases pile up, the team signs up a fourth Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson, doing double duty as the film’s everyman). Of course, when Dana’s supposed dud of a case turns out to be the precursor to a supernatural apocalypse that threatens to plunge the world into darkness, it’s up to our now-jumpsuit-clad heroes to save the day.

Historically speaking, this is the film that made Bill Murray a superstar. To wit, if “Meatballs”, Caddyshack”, and “Stripes” were the films that introduced his brand of sarcastic wit to mainstream film audiences, “Ghostbusters” is the film that showed his ability to headline a major blockbuster. Irreverent, acerbic, and just an all-around joy to watch, this is the sort of vintage Murray that hit its zenith in 1993’s “Groundhog Day,” before the actor turned the bulk of his attention to more serious dramatic fare in films like “Rushmore.”

Alongside Murray is a colorful troupe that includes “Saturday Night Live” original cast member Aykroyd who, as the team’s true believer, plays his scenes with wide-eyed enthusiasm. Rounding out the team is Ramis as Egon, the perpetual straight man to his more manic costars, whose deadpan delivery as the resident genius has more than a little in common with Mr. Spock. As Dana, the statuesque Weaver puts in a solid performance, transcending the love-interest/damsel-in-distress mold, even proving herself capable (for a while, at least) of withstanding Murray’s charms.

Of the supporting cast, Annie Potts keeps the Ghostbusters’ office running as their perpetually snarky receptionist Janine Melnitz. Meanwhile, Rick Moranis does his usual nebbish shtick as Dana’s neighbor, Louis Tully (in a role originally written for comedian John Candy), and William Atherton plays Environmental Protection Agency representative Walter Peck as the sort of uptight blowhard that he would forever be associated with.

So how does the film hold up, three decades on?

Truth be told, “Ghostbusters” holds up remarkably well, with Ramis and Aykroyd's tight script deftly balancing one-liners, set pieces and character building with aplomb. Something that may prove jarring to modern audiences is the script’s relatively high level of intelligence, with none of the sort of mean-spirited or gross-out humor that has come to characterize many of today’s comedy films. Furthermore, the pacing demonstrates a comparatively admirable degree of restraint in the reveal of the film’s supernatural surprises – if the film were made today, we’d probably have a visual effects sequence and a firefight every five minutes or so.

Of course, as can be expected of a thirty-year-old film, some of the visual effects have dated somewhat, with matte lines appearing as unsightly dark halos in obviously-composited shots and some dodgy stop-motion appearing in the creature effects. The money shots, however, are largely free of such blemishes, and as memorably effective as ever; the Ghostbusters using their trademark equipment and the deceptively cheerful Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man’s jaunt through downtown Manhattan are prime examples.

While 1990’s “Home Alone” would eventually dethrone “Ghostbusters” as the most profitable comedy of all time (at that point) and 1996’s “Men in Black” would successfully blend laughs and effects, “Ghostbusters” remains in a class of its own. Packed with memorable characters, unforgettable visuals and a theme song that’ll be stuck in your head for days, “Ghostbusters” is a smart, hilarious film of the type that they just don’t make anymore, and one that everyone should experience at least once.

Highly recommended. — BM, GMA News

Throwback Theater is an ongoing weekly column that will serve as a look back and an introduction to the box office blockbusters of years past, examining the films that helped inspire, inform and define subsequent decades of filmmaking and movie-going.