Director: Anthony Bueno (Beware the Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf in London)
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts
Director Ivan Reitman
Producers Joe Medjuck and Michael C. Gross
Visual Effects Crew Members Richard Edlund and John Bruno
Creature Design Consultant Terry Windell
Editor Sheldon Kahn
Runtime: 127 minutes
Our Rating: ★★★½
Rating: Unrated
Do you know how Stay Purft came to life? Did you know that Eddie Murphy was supposed to be a Ghostbuster? Well, CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters answers both those questions and many others that you didn’t know you had.
CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters is the definitive documentary charting the making of the iconic film that inadvertently changed the film industry forever. Featuring interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson and including never-before seen footage. The documentary hallmarks the extraordinary achievements made for the era, and emphasizes just how ambitious an undertaking the making of Ghostbusters really was.
It’s always nice to see how a film comes together, especially one like Ghostbusters which was a major culture moment for those of us of a certain age. Yes I mean you GenXers, Xennials, and older millennials. It is also one of the first films I remember watching with my parents where we all were entertained by it. Looking back now and thanks to watching CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters I realize Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis weren’t writing a kids movie at all. It was a comedy movie first and foremost. Think about it Stay Purft and Slimmer were the only kid friendly ghosts in the film. And, some of the jokes that I didn’t get at time were adult as hell. There’s a certain scene in which Ray receives oral pleasure from a ghost. Thank God I didn’t understand that scene in 1984. Slimmer as I learned from the documentary is based off of comedian John Belushi. Ackroyd had originally intended Belushi, Eddie Murphy and himself to play the Ghostbusters. Since, Belushi was a little bit before my time I can’t imagine that combo, but it’s the origin of Ghostbusters nonetheless.
Although I liked seeing the actors and the director discuss their characters and Ernie Hudson spilled some piping hot Bill Murray tea, the MVP’s of the behind the scenes are the special effects and makeup teams. Even though technology wasn’t as far along in 1983 when they were filming as it now, the mixture of practical makeup, effects and animation still looks pretty good. And, I am impressed they were able take the stuff from the page to screen in those days and make it look that good. Seeing and hearing how that was done is great. CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters is a comprehensive behind the scenes documentary that a true Ghostbusters fan will get a lot out of and really enjoy. And, yes Harold Ramis (Edgon) was a really nice man in real life – downright charming.
CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters is in theaters now and out On Demand October 5th.