By Paul Rudoff on May. 22, 2004 at 8:37 PM , Categories: Ghostbusters 1, Reviews & Merch, Home Video

In the June 2004 issue of Premiere magazine, there's a five-page article about the GB 20th Anniversary. I still have to get my hands on a copy, but according to GBHQ the article mentions that "Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment's 20th Anniversary DVD of Ghostbusters will be available in October." GBHQ posted a follow-up to say that the DVD isn't going to come out until early 2005.

I would love if this new DVD was a re-release of the 1999 one, but with the following new features and errors corrected:

ERROR CORRECTION: All still photos, conceptual drawings, and storyboards should be displayed full-screen, and NOT angled. If Columbia-Tristar Home Video (CTHV) wants to see how stills are done properly, they should get their hands on some Disney DVDs. Off the top of my head I recommend the Toy Story box set and the Vista Series release of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Both have pages of thumbnails, each page linked to full screen images which could be browsed back and forth in full screen mode with the left and right buttons on the remote (press Enter to go back to the thumbnail page). When you browsed to the ends of that pages images, you'd be taken back to the thumbnail page, where you could use the on screen navigation to go to the next or previous page of thumbnails (or to the main menu).

ERROR CORRECTION: The layout of the Interactive Screenplay on the DVD-ROM should have the scene play in a tiny window on the side of the screen, the chapters could be listed below it, and the screenplay text would be displayed in the frame on the right. This is how New Line does their "Script To Screen" DVD-ROM stuff. Check out The Nightmare On Elm Street Collection box set or Freddy Vs. Jason to see how it should be done right.

ERROR CORRECTION: Although the Filmographies on the DVD-ROM was good in theory, in execution is plainly sucks because it's really a catalog of CTHV DVD titles ... and they don't even have the good sense to put trailers for those films on the disc. Plus they have titles listed there that have a higher MPAA rating than GB1. Advertising the R-rated Booty Call on GB1 is wrong on so many levels. Just ditch the filmographies altogether as it could never be as up to date as the IMDB. I could never understand why Biographies & Filmographies have become standard DVD features, other then the fact that they're so easy to compile (the studios have the biographies done when they do the press kits, so they just copy it over to the DVD). If they want, include biographies on the main DVD portion so all can read them, but leave the filmographies out.

ERROR CORRECTION: Another standard DVD "feature" I hate are trailers for other films or tv shows. This was especially true for the GB1 & GB2 DVDs since they included the same damn trailers on both discs! They need to give us ALL teasers, trailers, and tv spots for GB1. If they want to include other films, such as GB2, Stripes, or Groundhog Day, that's fine, as long as they completely cover the film on the disc. One trailer, which isn't even letterboxed and is cut off at the end (that's the other error they made), just won't cut it.

ERROR CORRECTION: The video commentary should work in widescreen mode. Anyone who has a widescreen tv or a computer with DVD-ROM drive, may have experienced this error. I'm sure that the technology has improved over the past five years so that this can now be done properly.

ERROR CORRECTION: The Tricks & Trivia option is listed in the menu without any indication as to what it really is. Would it have killed them to have added a menu screen that explains that it's trivia played over the film? I'm sure that many people got confused when they selected that option and the movie started playing.

FEATURE: The Ray Parker Jr. "Ghostbusters" music video, with a subtitled trivia option that lists all the celebrities that make cameos in the video. Just pay the damn money to Arista Records and put it on the disc. You'll probably get people who'll buy the disc just for that. Hell, I bought The Goonies DVD simply because it had the super-cool Cyndi Lauper "Goonies R Good Enough" music video on it (gotta love those 1980's WWF wrestler cameos). If there were any other music videos made for the film, put them on there as well.

FEATURE: VH-1's Pop-Up Video version of the Ray Parker Jr. "Ghostbusters" music video. Again, just pay money to VH-1 and slap it on the DVD.

FEATURE: Everything from the Criterion laserdisc that you left out of the 1999 DVD.

FEATURE: The promo video and tv spots advertising the 1999 DVD release. The promo video includes a split-screen Before & After Special Effects comparisons that was left off of the DVD: When Ray first see Slimer in the hotel hallway.

FEATURE: This may be asking too much, but I'd love to see the entire workprint that was used for the Deleted Scenes and Before & After Special Effects Comparisons. If Disney could release Beauty & The Beast with their "Work In Progress" print, so can CTHV.

FEATURE: Speaking of deleted scenes, how about more of them, such as the infamous Fort Detmerring scene (if it's not in the workprint, see note above).

FEATURE: Alternate footage from the TV version (such as "Knockabout of pure fun," "Sue your funny face," and "Wally Wick").

FEATURE: More still photos and storyboards. I'd love to see every single production photo ever taken and every single storyboard on there.

FEATURE: When the film was originally released, the Ghostbusters commercial seen in it was shown on tv as a real commercial with a real 1-800 number superimposed at the end. When called, a message would be played featuring Dan Aykroyd in character saying that the Ghostbusters were out on a job. If Dan has a copy of this message, or it's still in the vaults, put it on there.

FEATURE: Ditch the filmographies, fix the Interactive Screenplay, and put more usable content on the DVD-ROM portion of the disc. Give people a reason to buy a DVD-ROM drive for their computer ... or to use the one they got.

FEATURE: A digitalized version of the original press kit.

FEATURE: Either a music only track or an official release of the GB1 Score CD bundled with each DVD.

They should also do a new release of the Ghostbusters II DVD as their 1999 offering was pathetic. The only thing they got right was the original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio - which they got wrong on the previous VHS and laserdisc releases. Here are the new features I'd like to see on a new Ghostbusters II DVD (most of which mimics features from the 1999 Ghostbusters DVD).

The original theatrical version featuring all the deleted Slimer footage. Better yet, give the viewer the option to watch the original theatrical or home video version (for those folks who prefer the version with the least amount of Slimer). Also, ditch the unnecessary and cropped Pan & Scan (aka "Standard") version of the film ... unless you're trying to illustrate how the Pan & Scan technique ruins films that have a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

The Bobby Brown "On Our Own" and RUN-D.M.C. "Ghostbusters" music videos. On Our Own should come with a subtitled trivia option that lists all the celebrities that make cameos in the video. If there were any other music videos made for the film, put them on there as well.

The Oprah Winfrey Show from June 1989 with the cast of the film. Just pay Oprah's company the money and get it on the disc. CTHV will make enough in revenue and profits from the disc to easily make back what they spent.

The original "Making Of" featurette.

DVD-ROM content, such as an Interactive Screenplay.

ALL teasers, trailers, and tv spots for GB2. If they want to include other films, such as GB1, Stripes, or Groundhog Day, that's fine, as long as they completely cover the film on the disc.

Deleted scenes.

Still photos and storyboards. I'd love to see every single production photo ever taken and every single storyboard on there.

Either a music only track or an official GB2 Score CD bundled with each DVD.

This may be asking too much, but I'd love to see an entire workprint of the film, if one exists (and I'm guessing it does since they got one for GB1).

A digitalized version of the original press kit.

Audio commentary would be nice, but I could live without it if all of the other features I suggested were added.

Oh, and correct the title error on the packaging. It's "Ghostbusters II" not "Ghostbusters 2" for crying out loud

3 comments

Comment from: Dani Stantz (aka Briana) [Visitor]

Wow. You really got into specifics with this. I totally agree with everything. All of that should be included. It’s been twenty years and there still is a loyal following of fans who deserve this. So, people should just pay the money and get it done.

May. 22, 2004 @ 11:55

Comment from: Ecto Freak aka river_of_slime [Visitor]

Thats the best choices i seen Paul but you know how about video(if there is one) of the grand opening of Universal Studios Florida Spooktauclar in Orlando.

May. 22, 2004 @ 23:55

Comment from: [Member]

Great idea Ecto Freak. I don’t know if there’s any video of the attraction’s grand opening (though who knows what Universal has in their vaults), but I do know that there are some park advertisements that briefly feature the GB attraction (I think one was on the original King Ralph VHS release in 1990/91) and I taped a short Making Of segment from tv in the early 1990s. So, at the very least, they could include those, and maybe some text explaining the attraction. I’m sure that there are many people who don’t even know the attraction existed.

May. 28, 2004 @ 17:13

Ghostbusters 20th Anniversary DVD Ideas

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