'Ghostbusters' hits the 'Blu' screen By Julian Burrell "Ghostbusters" fans rejoice. The movie that arguably defined the horror-comedy genre has risen from the dead just in time for its 25th anniversary, in the long-awaited release of "Ghostbusters," on Blu-ray hi def. Perhaps even more exciting, it's well worth seeing all over again for the wealth of new features you'll be gaining. Since its debut over two decades ago, Ghostbusters has garnered the fan base that most other films can only imagine. The story of the three scientists who are fired from their cushy jobs as college professors and go on to found to worlds first ghost research and defense team (the titular Ghostbusters) is as timeless today as it ever was. With this new release, fans are able to not only view the movie that they already know and love, but can also enjoy dozens of other new special features that have been created specifically for this release. Among the most noticeable is improved picture and audio. With the help of full HD (1080p) and Dolby True HD 5.1 sound, Venkman, Stantz, Egon and Winston have never looked or sounded better. Even the popular Ray Parker Jr. theme song has been made all the better thanks to the much-improved sound quality. Viewers should bear in mind, however, that this is a 20-year-old-movie, so don't expect it to look like it was released last summer. Go in expecting good, not great, picture and sound quality and you shouldn't be disappointed. A new look is only the beginning of this film's improvements; this version of the storied film also comes loaded with over a dozen special features. Nearly all of them are new. These range from standard such as the "scene cemetery," which show cases the movies deleted scenes to the more off beat "Slimer mode," which opens up a picture in picture mode while watching the film that will pop up with several interesting tidbits including Trivia, concept art, and all new interviews with the cast and crew. The new interviews feature the actors reflecting on a number of subjects including the first time they were able to set their initial ghost trap to what it felt like to dawn the jumpsuits and proton packs. Rounding out this full package of extras are a pair of features on the Ghostbusters trusted 1959 Cadillac, the Ecto-1 (one of them being a discussion from Dan Akroyd on the original vision of the car and the other being a slide show). There is also a preview for the recently released Ghostbusters videogame. This re-release of a beloved franchise is truly one for the fans of the series. Whether you've seen Ghostbusters once or if the words, "Proton Pack," and, "PKE meter," are permanent fixtures in your vocabulary, this is a disk that's worthy of any respectable Blu-ray collection. • • • Vox is the newspaper of the 2009 CCNMA-San Diego Multicultural Journalism Workshop. Return to index | See also: Vox on Blogspot