Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie Review

Ghostbusting has never been more complete.

'Ghostbusters' has previously been released on two separate occasions courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This new release shakes things up with a new soundtrack and several new extras. Please read on below for details. This release is also available as part of a bundle with 'Ghostbusters II.' For reviews of the previous releases, including a full movie review, please click through the links below:

• Original Ghostbusters release
• "Mastered in 4K" Ghostbusters release

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ghostbusters appears to contain the same "Mastered in 4K" transfer from the previous release. Please click through the link above for a full review.

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Of note on this release is the transition to a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack over the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtracks that graced the previous two Blu-ray releases. This isn't a vastly different listening experience, but it does yield a little more weight to the low end, evident right away when the librarian's scream transitions to the iconic beats of Ray Parker, Jr.'s famous theme music. It's a good, effortless track, lively and robust with quality spacing, a strong surround structure, potent action effects, and accurate dialogue. In addition to the English track, this presentation, in comparison to the more recent "Mastered in 4K" standalone release, adds several new tracks, as listed above, but does ditch the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 French track from both the original and the 4K release in favor of a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. French-speaking audiences will have to hang on to that release for a lossless option. Additionally, the Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track from the original release (and not present on the 4K release) has been altered to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for this release. New to this release are Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Added to this release are Japanese, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), and Thai subtitle options. Gone are the Dutch subtitles from the previous two releases.

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This third Blu-ray release of Ghostbusters contains several new extras, one removed extra (the supplement concerning the making of the PS3 video game from the original release), and all of the other extras from that first feature-filled release, including the audio commentary. Supplements new to this release are outlined below:

• Gallery 1988 Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Print Collection (1080p): A collection of images from the "pop-cutlre art" creators.
• Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective (1080p, 24:01): The meat of the new supplemental content. Entertainment Journalist Geoff Boucher sits down with Director Ivan Reitman and Co-Writer/Actor Dan Aykroyd, who recall shooting the original, discussing the role New York City plays in the film, the picture's massive success, the iconic images that arose from the film, Harold Ramis' contributions, the technical details of the shoot, the film's special effects, the cast's contributions to the film's success, music, fan reaction, and more.
• Alternate TV Version Takes (1080i, 4:3, 1:31): A few clips from the television version.
• Music Video (1080i, 4:3, 4:19): "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker, Jr.
• Ghostbusters Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:15).

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This new release of Ghostbusters pack in several new extras and a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. For fans who haven't yet purchased either the original, feature-rich release or the "Mastered in 4K" standalone, featureless release, this will make a quality addition to the Blu-ray library. For those who already own both, however, the cost of a few new extras and a new soundtrack must be weight accordingly to cost. For newcomers, this release comes highly recommended.