Ghostbusters (1984) on Netflix
Three parapsychologists fired by Columbia University open a ghost-catching service in a New York firehouse. Cellist Dana Barrett reports a dog-like demon in her refrigerator that said Zuul.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.8/10490,849 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes95%
Trailer
Plot summary
Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler study parapsychology at Columbia University until a ghost in the New York Public Library leads the dean to dismiss their work and fire them. The three open Ghostbusters, a service that catches ghosts and locks them in a containment unit in a disused firehouse, using nuclear-powered equipment. Work is slow at first. Dana Barrett, a cellist, comes to them after a dog-like demon appears in her refrigerator and says the word Zuul. While Ray and Egon research Zuul and Dana's building, Peter inspects her apartment. A call to the Sedgewick Hotel sends them after a gluttonous ghost, and as supernatural activity rises across the city they bring in Winston Zeddemore.
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Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ghostbusters (1984)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Special effects artist Steve Johnson sculpted the slimy green ghost then known as Onion Head, later named Slimer in The Real Ghostbusters. The design took six months and cost about $300,000, and after executive interference Johnson took at least three grams of cocaine and finished it in one night, partly to homage John Belushi.
- Ernie Hudson auditioned five times for Winston Zeddemore and agreed to half his usual salary for a script that gave Winston a bigger role as an Air Force demolitions expert. The night before shooting began he got a new script with the part greatly reduced; Ivan Reitman told him the studio wanted to expand Bill Murray's part.
- The title Ghostbusters was legally restricted by the 1970s children's show The Ghost Busters, owned by Universal, and alternatives such as Ghoststoppers and Ghostbreakers were considered. Columbia's Frank Price, by then head of Universal, sold Columbia the title for $500,000 plus 1% of the film's profits, which never materialised because the film technically never made a profit.
- Daryl Hannah, Denise Crosby, Julia Roberts and Kelly LeBrock auditioned for Dana Barrett, but Sigourney Weaver got the part despite resistance over her serious roles in Alien and The Year of Living Dangerously. She showed off her Yale School of Drama comedy training by walking on all fours and howling like a dog at the audition.
- Bill Murray was considered essential but never committed to projects until late, so Columbia funded his passion project The Razor's Edge, hoping to secure him. Michael Keaton, Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Steve Guttenberg and Richard Pryor were also considered for Peter Venkman.
- The Marshmallow Man outfit was built and worn by actor and special effects artist Bill Bryan, who modeled his walk on Godzilla. Eighteen foam suits were made, each costing $25,000 to $30,000, and seventeen of them, worn by stuntman Tommy Cesar, were burned during filming.
- Ivan Reitman admitted he invented Ghostbusters' $25-30 million budget by tripling the cost of his earlier film Stripes because it seemed reasonable. The deal left 13 months to finish the film with no finished script, no effects studio and no shooting start date.
- Shortly after Ghostbusters' release, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for plagiarising his 1983 song "I Want a New Drug"; the case was settled out of court in 1985. Parker Jr. later sued Lewis for breaching a confidentiality agreement about the case.
