Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Ghost Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 8, 2020

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Paramount has re-released Director Jerry Zucker's 1990 supernatural romance film 'Ghost' to Blu-ray with newly remastered 1080p video. The disc also includes a new supplement. Paramount previously released the film to Blu-ray in 2008. This new release is part of the studio's new "Paramount Presents" line.

Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore star as lovebirds Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen. The happy couple renovates a loft and plans for the future, but one night Sam is murdered in cold blood. A heartbroken Molly struggles to move on with her life, but it would seem that, even in death, Sam's love will not let her go. He remains behind in this world as a spirit, visible only to other lost souls still roaming the Earth. But one day, he stumbles upon a fraudulent medium named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who can actually hear him. Sam convinces her to connect with Molly and warn her that she too is in danger, that Sam's death was no accident, and that a larger conspiracy has directed his death.

For a full film review, please see Dustin Somnner's review of the 2008 release here.

Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ghost's new 1080p Blu-ray presentation comes sourced from a 4K restoration which was supervised by Director Jerry Zucker, and it's gorgeous. The image holds fast to a satisfyingly film-like texturing, bolstered by a pleasantly organic grain structure. The picture yields impressive textural finesse, a perfect film-based sharpness that breathes organic, effortless life into facial textures, for one, which are showcases for intricate skin qualities and makeup. Likewise, environments are very satisfying, particularly dense and rough city exteriors but also considering more comfortable and manicured interiors, such as Molly's loft and Sam's office seen in early scenes. Various optical effects shots go soft, but such are inherent to the source. The picture additionally offers a well defined color palette. Primaries are appropriately bold without pushing too intense or overly saturated. Tones are found in both balance and abundance, with clothing one of the highlights but also, again, various splashes seen in city exteriors serving as some of the best examples of the image's excellent color saturation and carefully tuned temperature. Skin tones are excellent and black levels are precise and deep. The picture suffers from very few source or compression anomalies; Paramount has delivered another first-rate presentation for a treasured catalogue title.

As for how the image compares to the 2008 Blu-ray, this represents a fairly substantial improvement to sharpness and color accuracy. Whites are crisper, blacks deeper, and grain is more refined and the entire picture appears more inherently filmic. One can only wonder what further improvements a UHD might have brought with it, but as it is this Blu-ray stands well above the otherwise solid 2008 outing.

Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For this new release of Ghost, Paramount has simply repurposed the original disc's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. For a full audio review, please click here.

Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

For this new Blu-ray release of Ghost, Paramount has included a single new supplement, marked as such below and reviewed. For coverage of the included carryover content, please click here. Note that three supplements from the 2008 disc -- a photo gallery, Inside the Paranormal, and Cinema's Great Romances -- are not included here, so repeat buyers have an incentive to hold onto that other disc. No DVD or digital copies are included. A brief breakdown of the packaging is included below.

• NEW! Filmmaker Focus: Director Jerry Zucker on Ghost (1080p, 6:24): Zucker's retrospective covers his response to the script, the Swayze-Goldberg-Moore character triangle, the film's tonal balance, Goldberg's performance, the film's digital effects, the film's Oscar nominations, and the picture's timeless message.
• Ghost Stories: The Making of a Classic
• Alchemy of a Love Scene
• Theatrical Trailer
• Audio Commentary

The packaging is just unique enough to stand apart but not so unique as to draw extra attention towards it. It's basically a slipcover over a transparent, rather than blue, case, all the same essential dimensions as any other case plus slipcover presentation. The outer slipcover is unique in that the front half folds open to reveal an additional image, which is oriented 90 degrees from the front panel, making, essentially, a two-panel vertical that for Ghost shows original poster artwork in a larger format. The interior image includes the text "Before Sam was murdered he told Molly he'd love and protect her forever." A billing block additionally appears at the bottom. The front image is a more generic Photoshop creation that includes the "Paramount Presents" symbol top left and a small banner bottom right displaying the year the film was released. The front panel is identical to the Blu-ray case front artwork, depicting Sam and Molly embracing. There are some alterations between slip and case on the rear panels; the former includes a blurb about the Paramount Presents line while the latter features a billing block and additional stills from the movie. The Blu-ray case is clear and there's an inner print inside that includes stills running along left and right hand sides, a larger shot in the middle depicting Sam and Molly embracing in passion (the same image used for the old Blu-ray case and the main screen for this disc), and a Jerry Zucker quote within. It's nothing fancy but it is at least a little meatier than the run-of-the-mill slipcover and blank interiors that add almost no additional value. Both the slipcover and the case artwork depict the number "8" at the bottom of the spine, denoting the eighth film in the line, clearly an effort to entice completists to gradually buy the entire series.

Ghost Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ghost has not lost its spiritual center all these decades later. Defined by its supernatural flavors but grounded by its heartfelt romance and supported by three terrific lead performances and an unforgettable score, the film has not lost its touch to time. Ghost was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing, and it won two for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay. Paramount's new Blu-ray delivers highly impressive video quality while retaining the original lossless soundtrack. One new extra has been included. It's disappointing that a film of this stature did not earn true 4K UHD release, but the Blu-ray looks very good as it is. Highly recommended, even for those upgrading from the original release.