* * * * WARNING: THIS REVIEW, FOR THE SAKE OF CONTEXT, CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS: * * * *
Who ya gonna call?
Probably a phrase that has defined the 1980s as much as the film it was lifted from. GHOSTBUSTERS has become such an integral part of pop culture since it’s original blockbuster release, initially in America where it proved to be a rival for Indiana Jones, making his way into the TEMPLE OF DOOM.
Back then though, unlike today’s global release same day to beat piracy, GHOSTBUSTERS was one of several American hit releases that took their time to reach UK shores, bowing as it did at the beginning of December. It didn’t waste any time making a mark at the UK box-office, hitting the top ten late in 1984, before trouncing everything in its’ wake as the Number One UK box-office attraction of the following year in 1985.
Below: Inside the Prince Charles Cinema ahead of one of the two sell-out screenings of GHOSTBUSTERS – THE PREVIEW CUT.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, GHOSTBUSTERS is the story of three New York University parapsychologists, Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) who, after being kicked out of Columbia University for not fitting the scholastic bill, decide (with help of a mortgage-cum-loan
from Aykroyds’ parents’ house) to go into business for themselves.
Soon enough, their business plan becomes very popular with increased interest from beyond the otherworld with ghosts turning up. At the heart of this action is Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) whose apartment in Central Park seems to be the doorway between worlds. Venkman has a thing for Barrett, along with Barrett’s neighbour, Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), a wimpish accountant.
The finished film is still a fine mix of comedy, FX and horror which pleases audiences across the globe and decades.
So, why am I telling you all this? Well, thanks to Jason Reitman, director of GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, a rare rough cut (only available in a very rougher-than-rough visual VHS copy at present) of the original film, subtitled THE PREVIEW CUT has emerged in a series of screenings in New York and London, playing most recently to two sell-out crowds at the Prince Charles Cinema.
As introduced by Jason Reitman (pictured above at one of the two recent London screenings) this was without much of the trademark special effects and the well-loved soundtrack (there was no sign of the Ray Parker Jr. hit, nor any of the other songs and music from the late Elmer Bernstein.
However, the iconic ‘No Ghost’ logo was in place, plus some key effects elements that could have been done in camera, giving Richard Edlund’s FX team the right guide to create the physical ghost effects we have come to know and love in the film’s final version.
(Reitman also commented in the intro that his father never ever released any ‘Director’s Cuts’ of his film, proclaiming that the version that went into cinemas was his ‘Director’s Cut’)
So, how does this PREVIEW CUT differ? Well, actually not all that much in terms of overall structure. Much of the key moments of comedy were in place (although Aykroyd’s bedtime encounter with a female spectre where his eyes (and everything else!) had it is not in this version). There are some hand-drawn animatics showing where the spirits were flying once Walter Peck (William Atherton) asks an engineer to shut down the Ghostbusters’ base power grid, leading to an apocalyptic effect.
The audience clearly enjoyed filling in the blanks of the film, given that the majority of them (some of whom were wearing their own fancy dress) already knew the film so well. Another of the joys is seeing an early performance from Reginald Veljohnson, playing another cop not far removed from his role as Sgt. Al Powell in another 1980s classic, DIE HARD, as well as the good natured chauffeur in CROCODILE DUNDEE.
Does it spoil the final version that we know and love? Depends on what you are coming to this for. However, if you want to make a mental comparison whilst enjoying a rough-and-not-so-ready workprint of a classic film, then please do give it a look.
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