Mister Ed (1961 - 1966) * * ¾

(opening line of each episode)
Mister Ed: Hello, I'm Mister Ed.

Wilbur Post (Alan Young) is an eccentric and klutzy architect who buys a house in the country. The rambling country home he and his tolerant but domineering wife Carol (Connie Hines) live in has a barn that doubles as Wilbur's office and a horse named Mister Ed (Bamboo Harvester, voiced by Allan Lane). This palomino American Saddlebred can speak, but only to Wilbur, the first human he has ever met worth talking to. Despite all his efforts, Mister Ed will only talk to him. Much of the program's humor stems from Wilbur trying to get Mister Ed to talk to others. Never! Wilbur often looks foolish when friends and family enter the barn and catch Wilbur in mid-sentence talking to Mister Ed. The horse is a notorious troublemaker for Wilbur. Even the way Mister Ed always whinnies "Wwwillburrr" conveys the condescension the horse feels for its master. Confusion caused by having a talking horse, and the situations Mister Ed gets Wilbur into form the stories.

(Wilbur finds Mister Ed sleeping in his living room)
Wilbur: Oh no.
Mister Ed: If you had a dog, you'd let him sleep in the house.
Wilbur: A dog is different. A dog is a household pet.
Mister Ed: Then call me "Rover" and wake me at eight.

Mister Ed is the best thing that ever happened to Wilbur. Without the horse, he would be just another faceless and bland suburbanite. The horse is Wilbur's guru, friend, and confidant. Mister Ed is a "man" of the world, who bones up on his French and attempts to dance the tango. He is also quite ribald, often making risque comments about fillies. His delightful insouciance and devil-may-care attitude make this TV show very appealing and amusing. Everything else is fluffy, banal and plodding nonsense.

Mister Ed: What do you say we go out riding and pick up a couple of fillies?
Wilbur: I'm not a horse, remember?
Mister Ed: Too bad, we could have a ball double dating.

Mister Ed: I love Christmas. Wilbur is so full of the spirit of giving, and I'm so full of the spirit of receiving.

Wilbur: (after Ed finds a straw hat) What are you going to do with a straw hat?
Mister Ed: I'll wear it till it goes out of style. Then I'll eat it! (impatiently) Let's Go Wilbur!
Wilbur: Go? You're on the bottom!
Mister Ed: Sorry! I forgot! Stop gabbin' and get me some oats!

The other main characters in the show are their neighbors the Addisons, Roger (Larry Keating) and Kay (Edna Skinner) until 1963, and then the Kirkwoods, Gordon (Leon Ames) and Winnie (Florence MacMichael). In 1963, the child actor Darby Hinton, cast thereafter as Israel Boone on NBC's Daniel Boone, guest starred as Rocky in the episode "Getting Ed's Goat". Jack Albertson appeared occasionally from 1961 to 1963 as Kay Addison's older brother Paul Fenton.

Wilbur: (after Mister Ed makes a great shot in a ring toss game) Good throw, Ed! I bet you're also good at pitching horseshoes!
Mister Ed: No, Wilbur, I don't play horseshoes.
Wilbur: Really? Why not?
Mister Ed: Because Mom always taught us kids not to throw our clothes around!
Wilbur: Ed, you have run away for the last time! I'm going to lock you in your stall.
Mister Ed: Don't do that Wilbur! I suffer from claustrophobia!
Wilbur: Claustrophobia? You mean you have a fear of confined spaces?
Mister Ed: Sure, it runs in the family. I even get nervous when I put my nose in a small feedbag.
Wilbur: I've been meaning to ask you, Ed. Just how do horses sleep standing up?
Mister Ed: (Shocked) We Do?
Wilbur: Didn't you know?
Mister Ed: How can I? When I'm asleep my eyes are closed! Well, time to hit the hay... oh I forgot, I ate it!

For the final season, the show focuses strictly on the home life of the Posts, which is made more interesting when Carol's grumpy and uptight father Mr. Higgins (Barry Kelly), who appears occasionally through the entire series, apparently moves in with Wilbur and Carol during the final episodes. He never stopped loathing Wilbur since his quirky eccentricity clashes with his emotionless and uptight personality, and he never stops trying to persuade Carol to leave Wilbur, whom he refers to as a "kook" because of his klutziness. The whole thing is good clean silly fun in the tradition of GREEN ACRES, THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, and PETTICOAT JUNCTION.

MISTER ED is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961 and then on CBS from October 1, 1961 to February 6, 1966. MISTER ED was the first series ever to debut as a midseason replacement. The entire six year MISTER ED series of 142 episodes was filmed in black and white. According to Arthur Lubin, the show's producer, Alan Young was chosen as the lead character because he "just seemed like the sort of guy a horse would talk to." Lubin, a friend of Mae West, scored a coup by persuading the screen icon to guest star in one episode. It's hilarious when Mister Ed moves in with the movie star.

The concept of the show was similar to FRANCIS THE TALKING MULE (1950), with the equine normally talking only to one person, and thus both helping and frustrating its owner. Arthur Lubin also produced the 1950s FRANCIS film series. Mister Ed (1949-1970) was voiced by ex-B-movie cowboy star Allan "Rocky" Lane speaking and Sheldon Allman singing, except his line in the theme song, which was sung by its composer, Jay Livingston. Ed was voice-trained for the show by Les Hilton. Lane remained anonymous and the credits list Mister Ed as playing "Himself". However, his real name was Bamboo Harvester. Ed's stablemate, a quarter horse named Pumpkin, who was later to appear in the television series Green Acres, was also Ed's stunt double in the show. There are a few conflicting stories regarding the death of Mister Ed. Connie Hines retired from acting a few years after the show's cancellation in 1966, but she and Alan Young still make public appearances together.

The cast also includes: James Flavin (SIA Agent J.G. Slattery), Richard Deacon (Dr. Stekel, the Shrink), Joe Conley (Photographer), Barbara Morrison (Customer), Elizabeth Field (Bank Teller), Logan Field (Hogan), Richard Reeves (Charlie, Union Truck Terminal Worker), Hazel Shermet (Lady in Shower), Ben Welden (Joe, Union Truck Terminal Worker), Frank Wilcox (Dr. Chadkin), Ray Kellogg (Frank), Karl Lukas (Charlie), Nick Stewart (Mailman), Robert Nunn, John Qualen, Donna Douglas, Lee Goodman, Mary Carroll, Henry Corden, Rolfe Sedan, Howard Wendell, Jay Ose, Olan Soule, Al Checco, Neil Hamilton, Hugh Sanders, Chick Chandler, Norman Leavitt, Robert Carson, George N. Neise, George O'Hanlon, Coleen Gray, Ray Walker, Peter Leeds, Raymond Bailey, Elvia Allman, Eleanor Audley, George Barrows, Les Tremayne, John Hale, Jack LaLanne, Karen Norris, Doris Packer, Anthony Warde, Don Brodie, Carole Evern, Henry Norell, Chris Hughes, Percy Helton, Robert Anderson, Riza Royce, Willard Waterman, Ricky Star, Gail De Cossi, Robert Patten, Ginny Tyler, Butch Patrick, Moyna MacGill, Sharon Tate, Bill Baldwin, Irwin Charone, June Whitley Taylor, Oscar Beregi Jr., Henry Brandon, Nobu McCarthy, and Michael Ross. The original music was composed by Jack Cookerly and Dave Kahn. There were 11 screenwriters, most notably Lou Derman (128 episodes). There were 5 directors, most notably Arthur Lubin (128 episodes).

The theme song was written by the team of Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, and sung for the show by Livingston, who was not the first choice. Only the music was used to open the first six episodes, but when a professional singer could not be found, Livingston agreed to sing the lyrics, because the producers were so pleased with his vocals, and he was never replaced.

The series was sponsored from 1961 to 1963 by Studebaker Corporation, a now-defunct American car manufacturer. Studebakers were featured prominently in the show during this period. The Posts are shown owning a 1962 Lark convertible, and the company used publicity shots featuring the Posts and Mister Ed with their product (various cast members also appeared in "integrated commercials" for Lark at the end of the program). The Addisons are shown owning a 1963 Avanti. Ford Motor Company provided the vehicles starting at the beginning of 1965. It is also interesting to note that in the first episode ever aired, the Posts are driving a 1961 Studebaker Lark.

It is often said the crew was able to get Mister Ed to move his mouth by applying peanut butter to his gums in order for him to try to remove it by moving his lips. However, Alan Young admitted in 2004 that he had started that story himself, and explaining the actual method used. In an interview on April 7, 2007 on radio station 3AW, Melbourne, Australia, he admitted that a loose piece of Nylon was inserted under Mister Ed's lip which the horse attempted to remove on his trainer's cue. Mister Ed was so well trained that the insert would be ignored until the required cue. Examination of Mister Ed footage shows that the "marionette theory" (pulling strings to make him talk) was at work at least some of the time. Excerpts exist from a few episodes where the lighting and camera angle reveal a visible nylon "bit" being pulled for each word Ed spoke. Young denied this occurred in the radio interview. Some may claim a nylon bit was needed in order to have Ed turn his head or perform some other movement without his trainer having to be in the camera shot, but the evidence is that the bit was also used when Ed was standing still and merely had to talk. Young finally admitted during his interview for the Archive of American Television that a string was pulled to make Ed talk, noting that "this is for the Archive, right?" before explaining that he had used the peanut butter fable for years in radio interviews instead of telling the truth.

MGM Home Entertainment released two Best of collections of MISTER ED on DVD in Region 1. Volume 1 was released January 13, 2004 and contains 21 episodes. Volume 2 was released March 8, 2005 and contains 20 episodes. Season 1 has 26 episodes and the previously released Best of MISTER ED Volume 1 only has four shows from Season 1 with the Best of Mister Ed Volume 2 having none, indicating 22 of the 26 shows will be new to DVD. Due to poor sales, further volumes were not released. The quality on the Best of MISTER ED DVD's Is very good. MGM also released a single-disc entitled "Mister Ed's Barnyard Favorites" on July 26, 2005 which contains the first eight episodes featured on Volume One. On October 6, 2009, Shout! Factory will release the complete first season of MISTER ED on DVD in Region 1. Judging by the pattern of other CBS and Filmways programs of the era, it is possible that some episodes from the early seasons may have fallen into the public domain.

In 2004, a remake was planned for the Fox network, with Sherman Hemsley as the voice of Mister Ed, David Alan Basche as Wilbur, and Sherilyn Fenn as Carol. Sara Paxton and Danny Pope were also in the show written by Drake Sather and directed by Michael Spiller. The pilot was filmed, but was not picked up by Fox. The show's writer and producer, Drake Sather, committed suicide shortly before the pilot's completion.

Back to the Future (1985) * * *

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is a 17 year-old living in Hill Valley, California. Browbeaten by his principal at school, Marty also endures the acrimonious relationship between his nerdy father George (Crispin Glover) and his mother Lorraine Baines McFly (Lea Thompson). On the morning of Friday, October 25, 1985, his eccentric friend, scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd), calls him, asking to meet at 1:15 am the following morning at Twin Pines Mall. When arriving home from school, Marty finds the family car wrecked in the driveway, ruining his plans to spend the weekend with his girlfriend Jennifer (Claudia Wells). Inside the house, he finds his father George being bullied by his supervisor Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), who had borrowed and wrecked the car. At dinner that night, his mother Lorraine recounts how she and George first met when her father hit George with his car as George was "bird-watching".

Biff Tannen: And uh, where's my reports?
George McFly: Uh, well, I haven't finished those up yet, but you know I... I figured since they weren't due till...
Biff Tannen: Hello? Hello? Anybody home? Huh? Think, McFly. Think! I gotta have time to get 'em retyped. Do you realize what would happen if I hand in my reports in your handwriting? I'll get fired. You wouldn't want that to happen, would ya? Would ya?
George McFly: Of course not, Biff. Nah, I wouldn't want that to happen. Now, look. I'll, uh, finish those reports on up tonight and I'll run 'em on over first thing tomorrow. All right?
Biff Tannen: Eh, not too early. I sleep in Saturdays. Oh, McFly, your shoe's untied. Don't be so gullible, McFly. Got the place fixed up nice-o, McFly.

That night, Marty meets Doc as planned in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall. Doc presents a DeLorean DMC-12 which he has modified into a time machine. As Marty videotapes, Doc explains the car travels to a programmed date and time upon reaching 88 miles per hour using plutonium in a nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 gigawatts of power it requires. Demonstrating how to program the machine, Doc enters in November 5, 1955 as the target date, explaining that it was the day he conceived the idea of the flux capacitor; the device which "makes time travel possible." Before Doc can depart for his planned trip into the future, a group of Libyan terrorists, from whom he stole the plutonium, arrive in a Volkswagen bus and murder him. Marty jumps into the DeLorean and is pursued by the Libyans until he accelerates to 88 miles per hour and is magically transported back in time to 1955.

Marty McFly: Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?
Dr. Emmett Brown: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?

The car's starter fails shortly thereafter. Marty hides it, and makes his way into town on foot. He finds that the town square now reflects the popular culture of the 1950s, and that the clock tower which was destroyed sometime in his past is once again functioning. Marty runs into his own father, then a teenager, being tyrannized just as he was in 1985 by Biff, then the school bully. Marty follows his father George, who turns out to be a peeping tom, not a birdwatcher, as he is about to be hit by a car. Marty pushes George out of the way and takes the impact. The car turns out to be driven by Lorraine's father, resulting in Lorraine becoming infatuated with Marty instead of George. Marty is disturbed by her flirtations, which contrast sharply with the prudish mother he is familiar with. He flees from her home to track down Doc Brown.

Marty McFly: Do you mind if we... park... for a while?
Lorraine Baines: That's a great idea. I'd love to park.
Marty McFly: Huh?
Lorraine Baines: Marty, I'm almost 18 years old. It's not like I've never parked before.
Marty McFly: What?
Lorraine Baines: Marty, you seem so nervous. Is something wrong?
Marty McFly: No... No.
(Lorraine takes a sip from a liquor bottle)
Marty McFly: (grabbing the bottle from her) Lorraine, Lorraine, What are you doin'?
Lorraine Baines: (laughs) I swiped it from the old lady's liquor cabinet.
Marty McFly: Yeah, well, you shouldn't drink.
Lorraine Baines: Why not?
Marty McFly: Because you--you might regret it later in life.
Lorraine Baines: Marty, don't be such a square. Everybody who's anybody drinks.
(Marty takes a sip from Lorraine's bottle then notices Lorraine lighting a cigarette)
Marty McFly: Geez! You smoke too?
Lorraine Baines: Marty, you're beginning to sound just like my mother!
(Marty wakes up in Lorraine's bed)
Marty McFly: Mom... is that you?
Lorraine Baines: There, there now. Just relax. (pats a damp cloth on Marty's forehead) You've been asleep for almost nine hours now.
Marty McFly: I had a horrible nightmare. I dreamed that I went... back in time. It was terrible.
Lorraine Baines: Well... You're safe and sound now, back in good old 1955.
Marty McFly: 1955?

Doc at first believes that Marty is a lunatic. Marty convinces Doc by recounting the story of how Doc got the inspiration for the flux capacitor, and then by showing Doc the videotape of the 1985 experiment. However, when he hears his older self describe the power requirements for time travel, Doc is shocked. He tells Marty that aside from plutonium, the only possible source of that much power is a bolt of lightning, which cannot be predicted. Marty remembers that the lightning strike at the clock tower will occur the following Saturday (November 12, 1955) at 10:04 pm. As a result, Doc begins planning a way to harness the bolt's power. Doc also deduces that Marty, by saving his father from the car, has prevented his parents from meeting, and instructs him to set things right.

Doc: Then tell me, "Future Boy", who's President in the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Doc: Ronald Reagan? The actor? (chuckles in disbelief) Then who's Vice-President? Jerry Lewis? (rushing out and down a hill toward his laboratory) I suppose Jane Wyman is the First Lady!
Marty McFly: Whoa! Wait! Doc!
Doc: And Jack Benny is Secretary of the Treasury.
Marty McFly: (outside the lab door) Doc, you gotta listen to me.
Doc: (opens the door to the lab) I've had enough practical jokes for one evening. Good night, Future Boy! (closes the door leaving Marty outside)
Marty McFly: No, wait! Doc. Doc. The-the-the bruise--the bruise on your head. I know how that happened! You told me the whole story. You were standing on your toilet, and you were hanging a clock, and you fell, and you hit your head on the sink. And that's when you came up with the idea for the Flux Capacitor... Which... is what makes time travel possible.
(Doc is watching a video of the 1985 Doc)
Doc: What on Earth's this thing I'm wearing?
Marty McFly: Ah, this, this is a radiation suit.
Doc: Radiation suit? Of course, because of all the fallout from the atomic wars.

After several failed attempts at playing matchmaker, Marty eventually works out a plan to have George appear to rescue Lorraine from Marty's overt sexual advances on the night of a school dance, so he can leave to make his return to 1985. However, Biff shows up unexpectedly and orders his friends to lock Marty in a car trunk. Very drunk, Biff jumps into the car and attempts to force himself on the horrified Lorraine. George arrives as he and Marty have planned and is shocked to find Biff instead of Marty. Biff orders him to turn around and walk away, but George cannot bring himself to ignore Lorraine's pleas for help. When Biff pins his arm behind his back and laughs as he knocks away Lorraine who tries to defend him, George knocks out the bully with a single punch. A smitten Lorraine follows George to the dance floor, where they kiss for the first time, ensuring Marty's existence.

Doc: You've gotta get your father and mother to interact in some sort of social...
Marty McFly: Wh-what? You mean like a date?
Doc: Right.
Marty McFly: Well, what kind of date? I don't know. What do kids do in the '50s?
Doc: Well, they're your parents you must know them. What are their common interests? What do they like to do together?

Meanwhile Doc has used cables to connect the clock tower's antenna to two lampposts, which he plans to have Marty drive under in the DeLorean, now with a lightning rod, the moment the lightning strikes. Before Marty can leave, Doc finds a letter in his coat pocket that Marty has written, warning him about his future murder. Doc indignantly tears up the letter without reading it, describing the dangers of altering the future. Marty instead adjusts the time machine to take him back to 1985, the parallel year, ten minutes earlier than he left, giving him time to warn Doc. When he returns to the future, however, the car stalls and Marty arrives at the mall too late to save Doc. As Marty begins crying behind his friend's body, Doc wakes up and opens his radiation suit to reveal a bulletproof vest. He shows Marty the letter he had written, taped back together. When asked about his belief in not altering the future, Doc replies, "I figured, what the hell?"

Doc: (reads the "Save the Clock Tower" flyer and reacts with hope) This is it! This is the answer. It says here... that a bolt of lightning is going to strike the clock tower at precisely 10:04 pm, next Saturday night! If... If we could somehow... harness this lightning... channel it... into the flux capacitor... it just might work. Next Saturday night, we're sending you back to the future!

The next morning, Marty finds his family has been changed for the better. Lorraine is physically fit and is no longer prudish, and George has become a self-confident novelist who confronts a servile Biff. Then Doc arrives, insisting frantically that he has visited the future and that they must go back with him to work out a problem concerning their future children. The three take off into the sky in a newly upgraded DeLorean that can fly, and disappear into the future.

BACK TO THE FUTURE is a 1985 comedic science fiction adventure film directed by Robert Zemeckis, co-written by Bob Gale and produced by Steven Spielberg. Beyond its dazzling special effects, the best element of the movie is the performance of Michael J. Fox, who finds himself in the quagmire of surviving the conservative 1950s with a hip 1980s mindset. When released, it became the most successful film of the year, grossing more than $380 million worldwide and receiving critical acclaim. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, and also earned Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. It marked the beginning of a franchise, with Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III released back-to-back in 1989 and 1990, as well as an animated series and theme park rides.

The story is set in 1955 because mathematically, a 17-year old traveling to meet his parents at the same age meant traveling to that decade. The era also marked the birth of rock n' roll and suburb expansion, which would flavor the story. Filming wrapped after a hundred days on April 20, 1985, and the film was delayed from May to August. But the release date was moved to July 3 after a highly positive test screening. "I'd never seen a preview like that," said Frank Marshall, "the audience went up to the ceiling." It opened on July 3, 1985 on 1,200 screens in North America, and spent 11 weeks at number one. The film went on to gross $210.61 million in North America and $170.5 million in foreign countries, accumulating a worldwide total of $381.11 million. BACK TO THE FUTURE had the fourth-highest opening weekend of 1985 and was the top grossing film of the year. Adjusted for inflation, the film is the 58th highest-grossing film in North America, as of October 2008.

The cast also includes: Claudia Wells (Jennifer Parker), Marc McClure (Dave McFly), Wendie Jo Sperber (Linda McFly), George DiCenzo (Sam Baines) Frances Lee McCain (Stella Baines), James Tolkan (Mr. Strickland), J.J. Cohen (Skinhead), Casey Siemaszko (3-D), Billy Zane (Match), Harry Waters Jr. (Marvin Berry), Donald Fullilove (Goldie Wilson), Lisa Freeman (Babs), Cristen Kauffman (Betty), Elsa Raven (Clocktower Woman), Will Hare (Pa Peabody), Ivy Bethune (Ma Peabody), Jason Marin (Sherman Peabody), Katherine Britton (Daughter Peabody), Jason Hervey (Milton Baines), Maia Brewton (Sally Baines), (Courtney Gains), (Mark Dixon), Richard L. Duran (Libyan Terrorist), Jeff O'Haco (Libyan Van Driver), Johnny Green (Scooter Kid # 1), Jamie Abbott Scooter Kid # 2), Norman Alden (Lou Caruthers), Read Morgan (Hill Valley Cop), Sachi Parker (Bystander # 1), Robert Krantz (Bystander # 2), Gary Riley (Guy # 1), Karen Petrasek (Girl # 1), George "Buck" Flower (Red Thomas), Tommy Thomas (Starlighter), Granville "Danny" Young (Starlighter), David Harold Brown (Starlighter), Lloyd L. Tolbert (Starlighter), Paul Hanson (Pinhead - Guitarist), Lee Brownfield (Pinhead), Robert DeLapp (Pinhead), Christopher Cundey (Lorraine's Classmate), Charles L. Campbell (1955 Radio Announcer), Deborah Harmon (TV Newscaster), Huey Lewis (High School Band Audition Judge), Tom Tangen (Student), and Mary Ellen Trainor (TV News Anchor). Alan Silvestri composed the original music. The screenplay was written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, who also directed.

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote BACK TO THE FUTURE had similar themes to the films of Frank Capra, especially IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946). Ebert commented producer "Steven Spielberg is emulating the great authentic past of Classical Hollywood cinema, who specialized in matching the right director (Robert Zemeckis) with the right project." Janet Maslin of The New York Times believed the film had a balanced storyline. "It's a cinematic inventing of humor and whimsical tall tales for a long time to come." Christopher Null, who first saw the film as a teenager, called it "a quintessential 1980s flick that combines science fiction, action, comedy, and romance all into a perfect little package that kids and adults will both devour." Dave Kehr of Chicago Reader felt Gale and Zemeckis wrote a script that perfectly balanced science fiction, seriousness and humor. Variety applauded the performances, arguing Fox and Lloyd imbued Marty and Doc Brown's friendship with a quality reminiscent of King Arthur and Merlin. The BBC applauded the intricacies of the "outstandingly executed" script, remarking that "nobody says anything that doesn't become important to the plot later."

BACK TO THE FUTURE won the Academy Award for Sound Editing, while "The Power of Love", the sound designers, and Zemeckis and Gale (Original Screenplay), were nominated. The film won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Michael J. Fox and the visual effects designers won categories at the Saturn Awards. Zemeckis, composer Alan Silvestri, the costume design and supporting actors Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson were also nominated. The film was successful at the 39th British Academy Film Awards, where it was nominated for Best Film, original screenplay, visual effects, production design and editing. At the 43rd Golden Globe Awards, BACK TO THE FUTURE was nominated for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), original song ("The Power of Love"), Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Fox) and Best Screenplay for Zemeckis and Gale.

This movie ranked number 28 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies. In 2006, BACK TO THE FUTURE was voted the 20th greatest film ever made by readers of Empire. In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed the AFI's 10 Top 10--the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres--after polling more than 1,500 people from the creative community. BACK TO THE FUTURE was acknowledged as the 10th best film in the science fiction genre. It is among Channel 4's 50 Films to See Before You Die, being ranked 10th. On December 27, 2007, BACK TO THE FUTURE was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

BACK TO THE FUTURE became an international phenomenon, leading to two sequels which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990. The trilogy is noted for its irreverent comedy, eccentric characters and ability to incorporate complex theories of time-travel without confusing the audience. The two sequels did not do quite as well at the box office, but the trilogy remains immensely popular and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks in Universal City, California (now closed), Orlando, Florida (now closed), and Osaka, Japan.

BACK TO THE FUTURE Part II (1989)

Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) travels with Marty (Michael J. Fox) to the year 2015 where he discovers Marty's family is in ruins. Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years of sporting events (1950–2000). However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, where the aged Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) finds it. While Marty and Doc are at Marty's future house, Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to himself just before he goes to the dance at the end of the first movie. When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allows him to turn Courthouse Square into a 27 story casino, "own" Hill Valley, get away with the murder of Marty's father, and later marry Marty's mother. Marty learns that Biff was given the book by an old man in 1955, so he and Doc go back to that date in order to steal the almanac from Biff before he can use it to destroy their lives. They accomplish this in a complex fashion, often crossing their own past-selves' paths. When the duo are about to travel back to 1985, a lightning bolt strikes the DeLorean and scrambles the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded in 1955. In other words, the film ends as a cliffhanger.

Critics and audiences were not too pleased with BACK TO THE FUTURE Part II, the inventive and clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. However it's well worth watching just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. Ending it as a cliffhanger was a cheap mistake.

BACK TO THE FUTURE Part III (1990)

After finding out that Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) is trapped in 1885, Marty (Michael J. Fox) sets out to find Doc in 1955 to help him fix the DeLorean, which has been waiting for him in a mineshaft for 70 years, and restore it to working order. Learning that Doc gets shot in 1885, Marty travels back in time to save Doc, who is a blacksmith, and bring him back to the future. Unfortunately, Marty rips a hole in the fuel line, rendering the DeLorean immobile. Furthermore, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton (Mary Steenburgen), and considers staying in 1885. Marty must convince Doc to come back with him and find a way to get back to his time before it's too late. After several dramatic action scenes involving a speeding locomotive, Marty returns to 1985 in the restored DeLorean. It appears on a train track as planned, and Marty jumps out just in time to see the DeLorean time machine destroyed by a modern train. He worries that Doc has been lost in the past forever, when suddenly Doc Brown appears in a new time machine, modeled after a locomotive. He introduces Marty to Clara, to whom he is now married, and his two sons, Jules (Todd Cameron Brown) and Verne (Dannel Evans). When Marty asks if Doc and his family are going to the future, Doc replies that he's already been to the future. The locomotive flies across the sky and disappears, and the trilogy ends.

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, BACK TO THE FUTURE Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same spirit of the first, but in a new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun.

The trilogy has been released on DVD by Universal Studios. Disc 1 is fine. The second DVD does have the obvious "V2" (for version 2) on the face near the bottom, after all rights reserved. The third DVD does not have "V2" on the bottom. A computer check of the contents proves these are updated versions of the widescreen DVDs. The sound and video are excellent, with the viewing screen filled perfectly. The 5.1 re-master sounds great and is utilized very well. One of the best sound effects is within the last 15 minutes of disc 1, where a helicopter sounds like it is circling the room from the right to rear to left. Unfortunately Universal, when creating the transfers for the 2nd and 3rd movies, managed to improperly matte the films. This means that the image area you are seeing is not the theatrical release. These problems have existed since the R2 versions were released, but Universal decided they didn't want a new transfer process to interfere with their profits and think most people won't notice the problem or won't care if they do. This is a relatively poor product by a studio which once produced quality DVDs.

Each of the three discs supposedly contains the movie and its own supplemental material. The length on some of these extras will leave you wanting more. Only the first disc contains an audio commentary and animated anecdotes, but nearly all of the other types of extras are to be found on all three discs. On disc 1 are the original 1985 and current retrospective featurettes, an interesting makeup test film archive, outtakes, production archives containing various photographs, storyboards to final feature comparisons, and a theatrical teaser trailer. Disc 2 contains the original 1989 and current retrospective featurettes, a hoverboard test on location clip, outtakes, production archives, storyboards to final feature comparisons, and the theatrical trailer. Disc 3 has no original "making-of" but has a retrospective featurette, outtakes, production archives, storyboards to final feature comparisons, the theatrical trailer, and a music video from ZZ Top for the rock song "Double Back". There is also an added promotional trailer for the DVD release of E.T.: THE 20th ANNIVERSARY.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) * * *

Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is a young man struggling to make a living in NYC in the 1950s. While working at a party playing the piano, he is approached by wealthy Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn), who believes him to be a school friend of his son, Dickie. Greenleaf asks Ripley to travel to Italy to persuade Dickie to return to the US. Dickie is a wayward son, throwing his life away on Jazz and a girlfriend. Ripley accepts the assignment, even though he did not go to Princeton and has never met Dickie. He is given $1,000 to carry out this job. In Italy Ripley meets Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and his girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), and quickly ingratiates himself into their lives. Over time Dickie begins to resent Ripley's presence and growing dependence, especially after he learns that Ripley has been lying about their days together at Princeton. Ripley's feelings are complicated by his desire to maintain the wealthy lifestyle Greenleaf has afforded him, and by his growing sexual obsession with his new friend.

Dickie Greenleaf: You know, without the glasses you're not even ugly.
Tom Ripley: I really feel happy. As if I had been granted a new lease in life. (imitating Dickie's father) "To me, jazz is noise. Insolent noise."
Dickie Greenleaf: Wow! Cut it out! It's so spooky, my hair's on end!
Tom Ripley: You're the brother I never had. I'm the brother you never had. I would do anything for you, Dickie.
Tom Ripley: First of all I know there's something. That evening when we played chess for instance it was obvious.
Dickie Greenleaf: What evening?
Tom Ripley: Oh sure, no, no, it's too dangerous for you to take on. Oh, no, no, we're brothers. Hey. And then you do this sordid thing with Marge. F**king her on the boat so we all have to listen. Which was excruciating! And you follow your c**k around and now you're getting married! I'm bewildered, forgive me. You're lying to Marge and then you're getting married to her. You're knocking up Silvana. You're ruining everybody. You wanna play the sax, you wanna play the drums. What is it, Dickie? What do you actually want?
Dickie Greenleaf: Who are you? Huh? Some third class loser? Who are you? Who are you to say anything to me? Who are you to tell me anything? Actually I really, really don't want to be on this boat with you. I can't move without you moving. Gives me the creeps. You give me the creeps!

As a gesture to Ripley, Greenleaf agrees to travel with him on a short holiday to Sanremo. The two hire a small boat and go sailing. They begin arguing while on board, with Dickie rejecting and mocking Ripley. Enraged, Ripley attacks Dickie, smashing him with an oar that kills him. Ripley then sinks the boat with Dickie's body on board to conceal his crime. When the hotel concierge mistakes Ripley for Greenleaf, Ripley realizes he can assume Greenleaf's identity. He takes on Dickie's signature and passport, and begins living off his allowance, while at the same time carefully providing communications to Marge to make her believe that Dickie has deserted her. "I feel like I've been handed a new life," he says. Greenleaf's old friend Freddie Miles (Philip Seymour Hoffman) visits Ripley at what he supposes to be Greenleaf's apartment in Rome. He is immediately suspicious of Ripley. When Miles discovers Ripley's scam, Ripley murders him and dumps the body.

Freddie Miles: In fact the only thing that looks like Dickie is you.
Tom Ripley: Hardly.
Freddie Miles: Have you done something to your hair?
Tom Ripley: Freddie, do you have something you'd like to say?
Freddie Miles: What? I think I'm saying it. Something's going on. He's either converted to Christianity... or to something else.
Tom Ripley: I suggest you ask Dickie that yourself. Otello's is on delle Croce, just off the Corso.
Freddie Miles: Is it on "delle Croce, just off the Corso?" You're a quick study, aren't you? Last time you didn't know your ass from your elbow, now you're giving me directions. That's not fair, you probably do know your ass from your elbow. I'll see you.

Ripley's life becomes a cat and mouse game with the Italian police and Greenleaf's friends. He must alternate between Dickie Greenleaf and Tom Ripley. His predicament is complicated by Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett), a wealthy heiress he met while traveling to Italy, who believes Ripley to be Dickie. Ripley eventually resumes his own identity, forges a suicide note in Greenleaf's name, and moves to Venice. Soon Marge, Herbert Greenleaf, and private detective Alvin MacCarron (Philip Baker Hall) confront Ripley. Marge suspects Ripley of involvement in Dickie's death, and Ripley plans to murder her. He is interrupted when Marge's friend, Peter Smith-Kingsley (Jack Davenport), enters the apartment.

Peter: Sorry, I'm completely lost.
Tom Ripley: I know. I'm lost, too. I'm going to be stuck in the basement, aren't I, that's my, that's my... terrible, and alone, and dark, and I've lied about who I am, and where I am, and now no-one will ever find me.
Peter: What do you mean... lied about who you are?
Tom Ripley: I always thought it'd be better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody.
Peter: What are you talking about? You're not a nobody. That's the last thing you are.

Near the end of the film, private detective MacCarron reveals that Mr. Greenleaf has decided to give Ripley a portion of Dickie's income with the understanding that certain details about his son's past not be revealed to the Italian police. Ripley goes on a cruise with Smith-Kingsley, his new gay lover, only to discover that Meredith Logue is also on board. Logue knows Ripley only as Dickie Greenleaf, and Ripley realizes it will be impossible to keep Smith-Kingsley from discovering that he has been passing himself off as Greenleaf, since Peter and Meredith know each other. He cannot solve this dilemma by murdering Logue, because she is traveling with a large family who will notice her disappearance. The movie concludes with a sobbing Ripley killing Smith-Kingsley to protect his secret, and returning to his cabin alone. Everything indicates that Ripley has successfully gotten away with murders, but the ending is somewhat ambiguous so that viewers can draw their own conclusions about what happens.

(last lines)
Peter Smith-Kingsley: Good things about Mr. Ripley? Could take some time. Tom is talented. Tom is tender... Tom is beautiful... Tom is a mystery. Tom is not a nobody. Tom has secrets he doesn't want to tell me, and I wish he would. Tom has nightmares. That's not a good thing. Tom has someone to love him. That is a good thing. Tom is crushing me. Tom is crushing me... Tom, you're crushing me!

The cast also includes: Sergio Rubini (Inspector Roverini), Celia Weston (Aunt Joan), Fiorello (Fausto), Stefania Rocca (Silvana), Ivano Marescotti (Colonnello Verrecchia), Anna Longhi (Signora Buffi), Alessandro Fabrizi (Sergeant Baggio), Lisa Eichhorn (Emily Greenleaf), Gretchen Egolf (Fran), Jack Willis (Greenleaf Chaffeur), Frederick Alexander Bosche (Fran's Boyfriend), Dario Bergesio (Police Officer), Larry Kaplan (Uncle Ted), Claire Hardwick (Gucci Assistant), Antonio Prester (American Express Clerk), Lorenzo Mancuso (Bus Driver), Onofrio Mancuso (Priest), Massimo Reale (Immigration Officer), Emanuele Carucci Viterbi (American Express Clerk), Caterina Deregibus (Dahlia), Silvana Bosi (Ermelinda), Gianfranco Barra (Desk Manager Aldo), Renato Scarpa (Tailor), Deirdre Lovejoy (Fighting Neighbor), Brian Tarantina (Fighting Neighbor), Guy Barker (Trumpet), Bernardo Sassetti (Piano), Perico Sambeat (Alto Sax), Gene Calderazzo (Drummer), Joseph Lepore (Double Bass), Rosario Giuliuni (Tenor Sax), Eddy Palerno (Electric Guitar), Byron Wallen (Cornet), Pete King (Alto Sax), Clark Tracey Drummer), Jean Toussaint (Tenor Sax), Geoff Gascoyne (Bass), Carlo Negroni (Pano), Beppe Fiorello (Silvana's Fiancé), Marco Quaglia (Silvana's Brother), Alessandra Vanzi (Silvana's Mother), Marco Rossi (Photographer), Roberto Valentini (Onegin), Francesco Bovino (Lensky), Stefano Canettieri (Zaretsky), Marco Foti (Guillot), Ludovica Tinghi (Fausto's Fiancée), Nicola Pannelli (Dinelli's Cafe Waiter), Paolo Calabresi (Customs Officer), Pietro Ragusa (Record Store Owner), Simone Empler (Boy Singer), Gianluca Secci (Policeman), Manuel Ruffini (Policeman), Pierpaolo Lovino (Policeman), Roberto Di Palma (San Remo Hotel Desk Clerk), Cesare Cremonini (Boat Salesman), Fabrizia Dal Farra (Italian girl), Kent Gregory (Dockworker # 2), and Frank Slaten (Dockworker # 1). Gabriel Yared composed the original music. Anthony Minghella wrote the screenplay from Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel. Anthony Minghella directed.

This stylish psychological thriller features outstanding acting by the entire cast. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY is writer-director Anthony Minghella's impressive follow-up to his Oscar-winning triumph THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996). Re-creating late-1950s Italy in detail, the film captures la dolce vita while suspensefully developing the fracturing of Ripley's mind as his crimes grow increasingly desperate. And while Alfred Hitchcock was necessarily discreet with the homosexual subtext in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951), Minghella brings it out of the closet, increasing the dramatic tension and complexity of Ripley's psychological breakdown. Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, the murderous hero, although he is outshone by the dazzling Jude Law, whose violent disappearance halfway through the picture is a great loss. Law is the draw, a sunny, slippery, and pansexual character who would have made a better Ripley himself. However, Matt Damon appears in almost every frame and is mesmerizing. This film feels warm but unsettling, as if hinting at approaching storms. The musical score is evocative and moving, flitting from lugubrious to manic.

THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY was filmed mainly in Italy with famous landmarks in the cities of Rome and Venice being used as a backdrop for the narrative. The beautiful Italian scenery more than compensates for any deficiencies in the movie. It's a very complex yet compelling story that requires strict attention to comprehend. This Hitchcockian character drama was previously filmed as PURPLE NOON (1960).

The DVD from Paramount is a high quality anamorphic transfer from a recent release. There is some noticeable film grain and a picture that tends towards softness. Colors are bright but not strongly saturated, there are no distracting digital artifacts, and only a small bit of dirt flecks or flaws. THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY does have a dark cast to it, even in the brightest outdoor shots, which may or may not be an intentional decision of cinematography. The audio is excellent. Rear surrounds are used sparingly for atmospheric support, as is the subwoofer. Action is primarily in the front, with a nicely wide and deep soundstage. The instrumental score and jazz tunes are reproduced with clarity and zest, particularly in the smoky club scenes. Dialogue is clearly understood.

Extras are plentiful, especially considering some of Paramount's past bare-bones releases. The 20 minute featurette is a decent mix of interviews, behind the scenes looks, and promotional material. A short (8 minutes) soundtrack featurette is a notch higher, as it looks at a sometimes overlooked facet of filmmaking and is less afflicted by PR fluff. The two music videos, "My Funny Valentine" and "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano", are a bit underwhelming, as they are entirely made from edited sequences from the movie itself. Two trailers for the film are oddly matted to a more narrow aspect ratio than the movie itself. Finally, the feature length commentary by writer/director Anthony Minghella is solid and packed with insight into the writing, acting, and production of THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY.

Moby Dick (1956) * * *

"Call me Ishmael" declares the itinerant whaler played by Richard Basehart as the opening credits fade. Though slightly intimidated by the sermon delivered by Father Mapple (Orson Welles) who warns that those who challenge the sea are in danger of losing their souls, Ishmael nonetheless signs on to the Pequod, a whaling ship captained by the brooding, one-legged Ahab (Gregory Peck).

Father Mapple: Delight is to him who coming to lay him down can say, "O Father, mortal or immortal, here I die. I have striven to be Thine, more than to be this world's. Yet this is nothing. I leave eternity to Thee. For what is man, that he should live out the lifetime of his God?"

In New Bedford, Connecticut in 1841, a group of seamen board the Pequod, captained by Ahab. They know they're out to harpoon whales, but they don't realize that Ahab once lost a leg to the magnificent White Whale Moby Dick. Staying in the seaport only long enough to set the wildness and restlessness of his crew and to understand the commerce and pious sentiments that go with the land, the Pequod departs on a three-year voyage. Ahab gets his ship onto the ocean and his harpooners onto a whale soon enough to make it certain that this is the tale. And here it stays, through long watches, terrible torments of the mind, calms and storms, until the White Whale is finally fastened and the climax unfolds. The story is observed and narrated by a common seaman who identifies himself only as Ishmael. Ahab's curious and all-consuming quest is to confront the unknown--to prove that God cannot treat him like the Jonah of Father Mapple's unforgettable sermon, to "strike through the mask" of the God that torments man.

Crewmembers include reliable, courageous and wise first mate Starbuck (Leo Genn), the humorous Flask (Seamus Kelly), enthusiastic and jolly Stubb (Harry Andrew), grotesque harpooner Queequeg (Friedrich von Ledebur), and merchant seaman Ishmael. The whale hunts are invigorating and very exciting, the narration excellent, and the Quaker-spiced dialogue is terrrific. Stubb says, "Did ye not hear Mr. Starbuck? Pull, ye sheepheads!"

Starbuck: (to Stubb and Flask) It is an evil voyage, I tell thee. If Ahab has his way, neither thee nor me, nor any member of this ship's company will ever see home again.
Stubb: Aw, come on, Mr. Starbuck, you're just plain gloomy. Moby Dick may be big, but he ain't that big.
Starbuck: I do not fear Moby Dick--I fear the wrath of God.
Captain Ahab: Captain Gardner, I seek the white whale, your own son's murderer. I am losing time... Goodbye, and fare thee well, I say. God help you, Captain Gardiner.
Captain Gardiner: God forgive you, Captain Ahab.
Pip: That ain't no whale; that a great white god.
Ishmael: Queequeg, such behavior isn't Christian. In fact, it's downright pagan and heathenish.
Captain Ahab: I'll follow him around the Horn, and around the Norway maelstrom, and around perdition's flames before I give him up.
Starbuck, first mate: It is our task in life to kill whales, to furnish oil for the lamps of the world. If we perform that task well and faithfully, we do a service to mankind that pleases Almighty God. Ahab would deny all that. He has taken us from the rich harvest we were reaping to satisfy his lust for vengeance. He is twisting that which is holy into something dark and purposeless. He is a Champion of Darkness. Ahab's red flag challenges the heavens.
Starbuck: It's late; you should turn in.
Captain Ahab: Sleep? That bed is a coffin, and those are winding sheets. I do not sleep, I die.
Ishmael: (narration) He did not feel the wind, or smell the salt air. He only stood, staring at the horizon, with the marks of some inner crucifixion and woe deep in his face.

Charismatic Captain Ahab is a single-minded sailor who fights reason, nature, and God himself in his hunt for the White Whale that chewed his leg off. He'll risk anything to get back at the animal that maimed him--including himself and every member of his crew. This drama has strong, realistic incidents: the killing of one whale to show the danger, the dedication of the crew, the omens of Queequeg, the typhoon, and the sea fights with Moby Dick. There is a great scene of Ahab nailing a Spanish doubloon to the mast and explaining that the first crewman to spot a White Whale called Moby Dick will be rewarded with it. When Starbuck asks if Moby Dick was the whale that took his leg, Ahab says, "It tore my soul and body until they bled into each other." Ahab shows Starbuck a logbook containing the knowledge of many old whalers, which notes times and places various types of whales were sighted. Although Starbuck realizes the logbook can be used to track down whales "in record time," thus increasing the ship's profits, Ahab explains that their "bigger business," that of killing Moby Dick must be their priority. Reckoning by the logbook, Ahab expects that the whale will be in the area of Bikini Island in April and plans to meet him there. In another scene with Starbuck on the bridge, Ahab explains his obsession.

Starbuck: To be enraged with a dumb brute that acted out of blind instinct is blasphemous.
Captain Ahab: Speak not to me of blasphemy, man; I'd strike the sun if it insulted me. Look ye, Starbuck, all visible objects are but as pasteboard masks. Some inscrutable yet reasoning thing puts forth the molding of their features. The white whale tasks me; he heaps me. Yet he is but a mask. 'Tis the thing behind the mask I chiefly hate; the malignant thing that has plagued mankind since time began; the thing that maws and mutilates our race, not killing us outright but letting us live on, with half a heart and half a lung.

The ship Rachel, which lost a longboat full of sailors in a bout with Moby Dick, sails nearby. Captain Gardiner (Francis De Wolff), whose twelve-year-old son is on the missing longboat, asks for the Pequod's help in finding the men, but Ahab refuses, unwilling to deter from his quest. The sailors of both ships are shocked by this breach of mariner etiquette, but Ahab entrances his men with a speech that revives the Pequod crew's fervor to catch the whale.

Killing Moby Dick is the entire motivation of the lean and violent drama that unfolds. Ahab's consuming passion for revenge on the beast that mutilated his body on a previous voyage and filled his soul with hate is the only inspiration conveyed to his zealous crew. And so all the deep, symbolic ponderings of human agony and fate that course through the length of this saga are all focused on this obsession. Ahab's dementia spreads throughout the crew members, who maniacally join their captain in his final, fatal attack on the elusive, enigmatic Moby Dick.

Captain Ahab: From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned whale.

The sailors smell land, reminding Ishmael of Elijah's (Royal Dano) mysterious prophecy in New Bedford. Elijah, a frightening and eerie character, foretold that on the day their shipmates smell land where there is none, Ahab will go to his grave, then "rise within the hour" and beckon, after which "all, save one, will follow." The prophecy is fulfilled stunningly in the final scene that is one of the greatest in cinema history. It begins with the strange melancholy and calm of the "Symphony" scene, and then progresses quickly to the final chase. Seeing Moby Dick in the distance, Ahab and the crew row out to meet him. The sailors harpoon the whale, which pitches, causing the boats to overturn. Grabbing the harpoon ropes, Ahab climbs onto the whale's back and, with his spear, jabs at the whale. In retaliation, Moby Dick dives underwater and remains there. When the animal emerges, the drowned Ahab, entangled in the ropes, seems to beckon to the sailors as his arm flails in the sea. Stubb and the other sailors admit defeat, but Starbuck now feels compelled to kill the whale and orders them forward. Moby Dick, however, overturns the longboats and jumps over them, crushing the men with his tail. He then swims to the ship, crashing into it, beating it until it sinks.

Ishmael's brief reaction shot near the end when the whale rises and Ahab is calling on the attack is excellent in combining an expression of both exhilaration and dread. Ahab's destruction is more powerfully done than in the book. It's profound that he and the whale should be lashed together forever. The sight of Ahab drowned and chillingly "beckoning" to his crew to follow him is the most haunting moment in the film. MOBY DICK ends with the only survivor Ishmael holding onto Queequeg's floating coffin, who is ironically rescued by the ship Rachel, which has continued to search for its missing crew in the longboat.

Director John Huston's adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel is a symbolic and allegorical masterpiece about one man's obsession with battling nature's most powerful creature makes beautiful use of Technicolor in bringing one of literature's most beloved works to life. Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay for this first-rate adaptation of the book. This is the third time Melville's story has been put on the screen. There is no need for another, because it cannot be done better, more beautifully or excitingly again. Captain Ahab's obsession for revenge on Moby Dick isn't always believable, but the moments that click make the film more than worthwhile.

Gregory Peck gives Ahab a towering, gaunt appearance that is markedly Lincolnesque, and he holds that character's burning passions behind a usually mask-like facade. We could do with a little more tempest, a little more Joshua in the role. Mr. Peck spouts fire from his nostrils only when he is after the whale.

The cast also includes: James Robertson Justice (Captain Boomer), Bernard Miles (The Manxman), Noel Purcell (Ship's Carpenter), Edric Connor (Daggoo), Mervyn Johns (Peleg), Joseph Tomelty (Peter Coffin), Philip Stainton (Bildad), Tamba Allenby (Pip), Tom Clegg (Tashtego), Ted Howard (Perth), A.L. Bert Lloyd (Lead shantyman), Arthur Mullard, Joan Plowright (Starbuck's Wife), Iris Tree (Bible Woman), and Carol White (Young girl). Philip Sainton composed the original music. Ray Bradbury, John Huston, and Norman Corwin wrote the screenplay from Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale". John Huston directed.

When the novel was first published, reviewers and readers alike were puzzled by its density and offended by its religious and sexual allusions. "Moby Dick" is probably second only to "War and Peace" as a cultural byword for a long, difficult book that unnerves even the most studious readers with its web of digressions and literary and cultural references.

Of the three film versions of MOBY DICK made between 1926 and 1956, John Huston's is the only one which is faithful to the novel and uses its original ending. Previous film versions of MOBY DICK insisted on including romantic subplots and happy endings. In the 1930 version with John Barrymore, Ahab has a love interest and succeeds in killing Moby Dick, which resembles a floating mattress. There are many other different adaptations of "Moby Dick" in a variety of genres, including a 1998 TV miniseries with Patrick Stewart in the same role. Gregory Peck plays Father Mapple in this adaptation. The script is haphazardly faithful to Melville, with some bizarre changes such as the Pequod stuck in Antarctic ice, a lack of atmosphere, and rather anemic performances, with the exception of Patrick Stewart's fiery version of Ahab. Stewart treated Ahab as a mighty Shakespearean tragic figure, the way he always should have been done. A stage play production by Orson Welles, in which Rod Steiger played Captain Ahab, was funded by Welles' salary from his role in the 1956 movie.

John Huston's MOBY DICK remains admirably faithful to its source. Great science fiction author Ray Bradbury masterfully captures the allegorical elements in the Herman Melville original without sacrificing any of the film's entertainment value. Bradbury suffered his own "great white whale" in the form of director Huston, who sadistically ran roughshod over the sensitive author throughout the film. Cinematographer Oswald Morris' washed-out color scheme brilliantly underlines the foredoomed bleakness of the story. MOBY DICK's one shortcoming is its artificial whale-but try telling a real whale to stay within camera range and hit its marks. However, most of the time the whale looks convincingly real.

As Captain Ahab, the bearded, one-legged, insanely obsessed whaler, Gregory Peck has often been called miscast. The mild, level-headed Peck had many talents, but the emotional eruptions of Ahab seemed beyond him--even Peck himself felt he was a bad fit for the part after he finished playing it. Pauline Kael wrote that Peck looked like "a stock-company Lincoln." Yet Peck's quiet brooding works an intriguing variation on the fiery character. Peck holds Ahab's madness down under a brooding darkness and does maintain a "deranged dignity". He never lets the story become absurd.

John Huston, a director with a taste for location shooting, had his hands full with the difficult open-water filming in Ireland and the Canary Islands. "The catalogue of misadventures was unbelievable," he later wrote. Since Ahab is chasing the rare White Whale, three false whales had to be constructed, two of which were lost at sea. For all the miscues, the film is amazingly controlled, and especially beautiful to look at. The director wrote the script with Ray Bradbury, an inspired choice to adapt Herman Melville's epic novel. Huston fought with Ray Bradbury over the screenplay and the author was reduced to tears by the gruff director, so he wrote a book about the experience

MOBY DICK was probably shot in 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The DVD does not present the film in that ratio, yet it does not appear to be a pan & scan transfer. It looks very good and nothing appears to have been done to tamper with the color. This is most likely how it should look. The director fought with the studio over the color process used in MOBY DICK. It was intentional. He and cinematographer Oswald Morris were trying to capture a visual style that would be evocative of a period style of painting that would contribute to the mood of the story. They developed an unusual color process meant to suggest old whaling engravings. Shot in Eastmancolor but printed in Technicolor, a fourth black and white pass was added to the three Technicolor dyes to provide even more control, subduing colors some and greying out others. Seen in an original Technicolor print, the effect was like an illustration in an old book.

Some extras would have been welcome, but the DVD is more than worth owning by any fan of Melville, Huston or American film. Too bad this DVD was not issued in a widescreen format. It was originally released in widescreen, cropped to 1:66 or 1:85 like any other movie of the time, but MGM has given the film a fullscreen transfer, probably cropping a bit off on both sides. The image is good but has none of the delicate color feeling of the original. There seems to be an ongoing debate about whether or not this film was shot widescreen, and everyone on both sides will insist they are right. The LaserDisc version of this in the early 1990's was matted at 1.85:1, and it was from a better print with better display of the color tinting used especially for the movie.

The film was shot in Ireland and at Las Canteras beach, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. This was originally a Warner Bros. release. However, this film as well as the pre-1950 Warner library ended up being sold to Associated Artists Productions, which later was sold to United Artists Television. This would eventually be the only film in the UATV package that would not end up with Turner Entertainment, and thus UA (via its parent company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) continues to own the U.S. rights to this film today with MGM Home Entertainment holding the home video rights. The international rights are with various other companies.

The Gold Rush (1925) * * *

Preface with historical background:

"During the Great Gold Rush to Alaska, men in thousands came from all parts of the world. Many of them were ignorant of the hardships before them: the intense cold, the lack of food and a journey through regions of ice and snow were the problems that awaited them."

In the spectacular opening scene, there is a view of an endless trail of hundreds of prospectors in the Klondike of Alaska in 1898, in the days of the Klondike Gold Rush. They are winding their way along to seek their fortunes, climbing up a mountain through the snow-covered Chilkoot Pass in search of the gold fields: "The Chilkoot Pass. A test of man's endurance. At this point, many turned back discouraged, while others went naively on." This brief documentary-style introduction is very convincing, since Charlie Chaplin and his crew brought in thousands of extras to the location in northern California near Truckee.

Then "Three days from anywhere--a Lone Prospector", a Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) appears. With his cane, he is making his own trail on a snow-covered path along a cliff, unaware that he is being followed by a bear. He escapes the bear and staggers into the cabin of violent Black Larson (Tom Murray), who is wanted for murder. In our first introduction to him, Black Larson has taken a wanted poster with his own picture on it and thrown it into the fire.

Another fortune-hunter is Big Jim McKay (Mack Swain), who has just made a lucky strike fortune of gold. He exclaims with outstretched arms: "I've found it! I've found it! A Mountain of Gold." Lost and in a blizzard, Big Jim's tent is blown away in the storm. Meanwhile in the cabin, Black Larsen notices the Tramp warming himself and orders him out. In a well-designed sight gag, the strong wind makes it appear that he is on a treadmill. The fierce wind blows him in and out of the doors of the cabin and also blows in Big Jim. Both men need refuge in Black Larsen's cabin.

Black Larsen orders both of them out. He and Jim wrestle with a shot gun, always aiming the muzzle of the gun at the Tramp during their struggle. Thanks to Big Jim's strength, Black Larsen is overpowered with a blow to the head and congratulated by the Tramp, and they are allowed to stay. When their food gives out, Jim experiences hunger hallucinations. The three draw cards in a lottery and Larsen is sent out into the wilderness to brave the storm and search for help, food and provisions. Out in the wilds, he encounters two lawmen who are looking for him. Following a struggle, he shoots both law officers and kills them.

Inside the cabin, hungry and desperate, the Tramp and Big Jim celebrate "Thanksgiving Dinner" in a famous classic feast scene. The Tramp and Big Jim are reduced to starvation, so the Tramp resorts to boiling and cooking a tasty dinner for them. He chooses one of his boots (made of black licorice) as the object of their Thanksgiving dinner, behaving as a gourmet at a feast. He watches it cooking on the stove until perfectly simmered. Then he carves the boot, cutting it like a fillet, and offers the upper part to Big Jim. He pours water over it like gravy and chews on the lower sole part, treating it like a delicacy, then twirls the laces like spaghetti. Daintily he sucks the nails, as if eating the succulent meat from a chicken bone.

Big Jim and the Lone Prospector go weeks more without food. Because they have eaten his boot, the Lone Prospector's foot is wrapped in rags. Big Jim begins to hallucinate that the Lone Prospector is a five-foot-tall chicken. Chaplin masterfully morphs between a man making chicken-like gestures and impersonating an actual chicken by wearing a suit. Eventually the two men part. Big Jim returns to his claim, only to find that Black Larson has stolen it. In a struggle, Black Larson hits Big Jim over the head, then falls off a cliff in an avalanche to his death.

The Lone Prospector goes to a gold rush town where he decides to give up prospecting. At the Monte Carlo dance hall, he sees a beautiful dance hall girl (Georgia Hale). The title card that introduces her says only one word: "Georgia". He immediately adores her. She dances with the Lone Prospector in order to spite her boyfriend Jack Cameron (Malcolm Waite). The Tramp has hitched up his pants with a dog's leash and so the dog follows them along the dance floor, with the Lone Prospector oblivious to the reason why. Even with a dog tied to his pants, Chaplin moves with astonishing grace, which caused W.C. Fields to call him, whether disparagingly or affectionately, "that goddamn ballet dancer."

Hank Curtis (Henry Bergman), takes pity on the Lone Prospector and allows him to tend to his cabin while he goes to mine for gold. The Tramp soon finds himself waylaid by the prospector he met earlier, who has developed amnesia and needs the Tramp to help him find his claim by leading him to the cabin. After being conked on the head by a snowball, the Lone Prospector invites Georgia and her girlfriends to dinner at his cabin on New Year's Eve. Next comes one of the most famous comedic sequences in all of silent cinema, the dance of the rolls. The Lone Prospector places forks in two dinner rolls and holds them below his neck so that they look like a miniature person dancing with delicate grace. Seeing the sequence out of context, it is easy to forget the sadness of this scene, which occurs within a dream sequence in which the Lone Prospector imagines a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner with the girls, who have stood him up.

Soon Big Jim finds the Lone Prospector and agrees to give him half of his fortune if the Lone Prospector will help him find his claim. They return to the cabin, but a storm blows it away, leaving it perched on on the edge of a cliff. In another wonderful comedic sequence, the two men scramble toward safety, as the cabin lurches closer to the cliff with each step. Fortunately, the Tramp and Big Jim manage to scramble out. This scene is a nod to the "thrill comedies" of the era, which got laughs from putting their stars in danger.

The ending of the film is filled with symbolism. Big Jim and the Lone Prospector are now millionaires, occupying a suite on an ocean liner returning home. Both wear fine evening clothes and smoke cigars. Georgia is also on the boat, returning home disappointed. A press photographer asks the Lone Prospector to pose for photos in his old mining clothes. Georgia discovers him when he falls from the top deck onto the steerage area below. She tries to hide him from the staff, who are looking for a stowaway. They tell her that the Lone Prospector is now a millionaire. He orders: "James. Make arrangements for another guest." He takes Georgia in his arms, inviting the photographers to take an engagement picture of them. The couple move their lips together to kiss and the photographer shouts at them: "Oh! You've spoilt the picture."

In THE GOLD RUSH Charlie Chaplin succeeded brilliantly in making a very funny comedy whose subject matter includes cannibalism, greed, and murder, as well as the mercenary nature of love. It is Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece--the one film in which his desire to make the audience laugh and the desire to make the audience love him are held in perfect balance. It was a near-superhuman feat, and Chaplin only achieved it once. It is the quintessential Little Tramp film, with a balance of slapstick comedy and pantomime, social satire, and emotional and dramatic moments of tenderness. This was Chaplin's own personal favorite film. It showcases the classic Tramp character, referred to as "The Little Fellow" in the re-release version, as a romantic idealist and lone gold prospector at the turn of the century, with his cane, derby, distinctive walk, tight shabby suit, and mustache. Chaplin blends comedy and pathos with a dream-like simplicity.

By the time Charles Chaplin made THE GOLD RUSH, he had already been the most famous man in the world for more than 10 years and the Little Tramp he created was the world's most famous fictional character. He had grown bored with the formula nature of two-reel comedies and consciously set out to make a masterpiece that would intertwine comedy and pathos, so that the comedic scenes were also sad and the dramatic scenes also funny and neither could exist without the other.

Chaplin was obsesses with perfectionism. He never used a script, he worked out the plot and the comedic bits of his films through repeating the same scenes over and over until inspiration came. He owned his own studio, so he could shut down production while he spent days working at a fever pitch, trying to come up with a solution. Plots are stripped down to the utmost simplicity, and like a poem or a dream they seem to have been taken directly from the subconscious. The characters often don't have names: they're usually referred to as the Lone Prospector, the Tramp, the Millionaire, the Dance Hall Girl, or the Blind Girl. No one knows where they came from or where they belong.

The cast also includes: Jack Adams, Frank Aderias, Leona Aderias, Lillian Adrian, Sam Allen, Claude Anderson, Harry Arras, Albert Austin, Marta Belfort, William Bell, Francis Bernhardt, F.J. Beuaregard, E. Blumenthal, William Bradford, George Brock, Pete Brogan, William Butler, Cecile Cameron, R. Campbell, Leland Carr, H.C. Chisholm, Harry Coleman, Heinie Conklin, Rebecca Conroy, Dorothy Crane, James Darby, Kay De Lay, Harry De Mors, Kay Deslys, James Dime, W.S. Dobson, John Eagown, Aaron Edward, E. Espinosa, Leon Farey, M. Farrell, Richard Foley, Charles Force, J.C. Fowler, Al Ernest Garcia, Inez Gomez, Sid Grauman, Lita Grey, Ray Grey, William Hackett, Mildred Hall, James Hammer, Ben Hart, Gypsy Hart, R. Hausner, Tom Hawley, Helen Hayward, Jack Herrick, Jack Hoefer, Tom Hawley, Helen Hayward, Jack Herrick, Jack Hoefer, George Holt, Josie Howard, Jean Huntley, Tom Hutchinson, Carl Jensen, Gladys Johnston, Harry Jones, Fred Karno Jr., Helen Kassler, Bob Kelly, John King, Freddie Lansit, Elias Lazaroff, Bob Leonard, George Lesley, Geraldine Leslie, Francis Lowell, Joan Lowell, Chris-Pin Martin, and many others. The music score for the 1942 version was composed by Charles Chaplin and Carli Elinor. Written, produced, and directed by Charles Chaplin.

THE GOLD RUSH is pure gold. It was Charlie Chaplin's third feature-length film, and marked his comeback of sorts following A WOMAN OF PARIS (1923). THE GOLD RUSH was a huge success in the US and worldwide. It is the fifth highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $4,250,001 at the box office in 1926. It is in fact the highest grossing silent comedy film. Chaplin proclaimed at the time of its release that this was the film for which he wanted to be remembered.

In its original 1925 release, THE GOLD RUSH was generally praised by critics. Mordaunt Hall wrote in The New York Times: "Here is a comedy with streaks of poetry, pathos, tenderness, linked with brusqueness and boisterousness. It is the outstanding gem of all Chaplin's pictures, as it has more thought and originality than even such masterpieces of mirth as The Kid and Shoulder Arms."

His method of directing actors was to play out their parts for them and have the actors imitate his performance. In Chaplin's best features, THE GOLD RUSH and CITY LIGHTS (1931), the actors convey their emotions economically, through the use of subtle gesture. Chaplin avoided the broad histrionics that sometimes occur in other silent films, often telling his actors that the audience is "peeking at you." He also used few title cards for dialogue, using action to convey the interrelationships between the characters and using cards mostly to set the scene or advance the plot.

Georgia Hale fell in love with Chaplin during the making of THE GOLD RUSH. She had had a crush on him since she had first seen him on the screen, ten years earlier. In her memoirs she refers to Chaplin as if he were two people: Charlie, who was kind and generous, and Mr. Chaplin, who was cold and imperious.

Chaplin reissued the film in 1942, adding an original music score and replacing the titles with his own spoken narration. He also recut the film, changing the ending to delete the final lingering kiss. The sound version ends before this scene. Another sequence was altered in the re-release so that instead of the Tramp finding a note from Georgia which he mistakenly believes is for him, he actually receives the note from her. All the changes reduced the film's run time from 96 minutes to 82 minutes. Various versions have different run times: 30, 69, 71, 72, 74, 82, 85, 92, 95, 96, and 120 minutes. Probably many of the time discrepancies are due to the frame rates used by the projector. THE GOLD RUSH was supposedly shot using 22 frames per second. Prior to the 1930s, the standard frame rate for film was 18 fps, with variations from 16 to 23 frames per second. The new music score by Max Terr and the sound recording by James L. Fields were nominated for Academy Awards in 1943.

The original 1925 version of THE GOLD RUSH was registered in the U.S. Copyright Office at the time of its release in 1925. Because the copyright was not renewed when the first term of copyright ended in 1953, the film fell into the public domain in the United States at that time. An article on CopyrightData.com argues that the 1925 version of THE GOLD RUSH remains in the public domain in the United States. However, that is probably incorrect. Since 1996 the 1925 version of the film is probably no longer in the public domain for very complicated reasons. Outside the U.S., copyright protection continues in most countries until 2047, and in Canada until 2027. Chaplin jealously guarded the copyright on his films, but the silent version of THE GOLD RUSH supposedly went into the public domain and has been reissued by a number of companies, with varying print quality and choice of musical score. Some versions are elaborately tinted, as was the practice in the silent era to denote day or night, while others are strictly black and white.

In the 2003 DVD release, it is revealed that the reissue of THE GOLD RUSH also served to preserve most of the footage from the original film, as even the DVD-restored print of the 1925 original shows noticeable degradation of image and missing frames, deficiencies not in in the 1942 version. In 1992, THE GOLD RUSH was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Ghostbusters (1984) * * *

(first lines)
Dr. Venkman: All right, I'm gonna turn over the next card. Concentrate... I want you to tell me what you think it is.

Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are a trio of misfit parapsychologists in New York City. When their government grants run out, they lose their research jobs at Columbia University, despite having obtained concrete evidence of paranormal activity and even seeing a ghost at the New York Public Library. They decide to establish their own paranormal ghost exterminator service, "Ghostbusters". The business gets off to a slow start, but just when they run out of funds, the Ghostbusters are contacted by a hotel to investigate a haunting where they successfully capture their first ghost. Business booms for the Ghostbusters with goblins, poltergeists, and other demons invading apartments and taking possession of people, so they hire a fourth member, Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).

Dr Ray Stantz: Hey, Dean Yeager! Are you moving us to a better office on campus?
Dean Yeager: No, you're being moved off campus. The Board of Regents has decided to terminate your grant. You are to vacate these premises immediately.
Dr Ray Stantz: What?
Dr. Peter Venkman: This is preposterous. I demand an explanation.
Dean Yeager: This university will no longer continue any funding for any of your group's activities.
Dr. Peter Venkman: But the kids love us!
Dean Yeager: Doctor... Venkman. The purpose of science is to serve mankind. You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle. Your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe, your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable! You are a poor scientist, Dr. Venkman!
Dr. Peter Venkman: I see.
Dean Yeager: And you have no place in this department, or this university.

(TV commercial)
Dr Ray Stantz: Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?
Dr. Peter Venkman: Have you or your family ever seen a spook, spectre or ghost?
Dr Ray Stantz: If the answer is "yes", then don't wait another minute. Pick up the phone and call the professionals...
Dr Ray Stantz, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Peter Venkman: Ghostbusters.
Dr Ray Stantz: Our courteous and efficient staff is on call 24 hours a day to serve all your supernatural elimination needs.

Tight-lipped bureaucrat Walter Peck (William Atherton) regards the Ghostbusters as a bunch of charlatans, but is forced to eat his words when NYC is besieged by an army of unfriendly spirits, conjured up by a long-dead Babylonian demon and "channelled" through beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and her nerdy geek neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis). The Ghostbusters investigate Dana Barrett's case, whose apartment is haunted by a demonic spirit called Zuul, a demigod worshiped in 6000 BC as a servant to Gozer (Slavitza Jovan), a Sumerian shapeshifting destruction god. Peter Venkman really takes the case in an attempt to woo her rather than out of concern for the paranormal. As they look into the matter, Dana is possessed by Zuul, followed by Louis Tully, who is possessed by a similar demon called Vinz Clortho. The Ghostbusters learn that should the "Gatekeeper" Zuul/Barret and the "Keymaster" Vinz/Louis embrace, they will summon Gozer and bring about the end of the world. While they attempt to keep the two apart, their ghost containment grid, where they store all their captured ghosts, is shut down by the EPA, unleashing a flurry of ghosts in NYC, and allowing the possessed Dana and Louis to meet during the chaos.

Winston Zeddemore: Hey, wait a minute. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Hold it! Now, are we actually gonna go before a federal judge, and tell him that some moldy Babylonian god is going to drop in on Central Park West, and start tearing up the city?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Sumerian, not Babylonian.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Yeah. Big difference.
Winston Zeddemore: No offense, guys, but I've gotta get my own lawyer.
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!

Dr Ray Stantz: Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.
Walter Peck: They caused an explosion!
Mayor: Is this true?
Dr. Peter Venkman: Yes it's true. (pause) This man has no dick.
Walter Peck: Jeez! (Charges at Venkman)
Mayor: Break it up! Hey, break this up! Break it up!
Walter Peck: All right, all right, all right!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Well, that's what I heard!

Dr. Egon Spengler: I have a radical idea. The door swings both ways, we could reverse the polarity flow through the gate.
Dr. Peter Venkman: How?
Dr. Egon Spengler: We'll cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: 'Scuse me Egon? You said crossing the streams was bad!
Dr Ray Stantz: Cross the streams...
Dr. Peter Venkman: You're gonna endanger us, you're gonna endanger our client--the nice lady, who paid us in advance, before she became a dog...
Dr. Egon Spengler: Not necessarily. There's definitely a very slim chance we'll survive.
Dr. Peter Venkman: (slaps Ray) I love this plan! I'm excited it could work! Let's do it!

Dispatched by the mayor to end the catastrophe, the Ghostbusters track Zuul/Dana and Vinz/Louis at Gozer's shrine atop their high-rise apartment, but are unable to stop them from summoning Gozer. Briefly subdued by the team, Gozer assumes the form of the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, created by Ray Stantz's unintentional thoughts, and begins laying waste to the city. To defeat Gozer, the team decides to merge the energy streams of their proton packs and aim it at the dimensional portal Gozer came through, at the risk of their own lives. They ultimately follow through with their plan and destroy Gozer, who is turned into torrents of melted marshmallow. The climax is a sendup of every Godzilla movie ever made. The Ghostbusters survive, and Dana and Louis return to normal. As they exit the building, the Ghostbusters are met with applause from a cheering crowd, and Peter and Dana kiss while they drive off.

(last lines)
Winston Zeddemore: I love this town!

GHOSTBUSTERS, titled on-screen as GHOST BUSTERS, is an Academy Award-nominated science-fiction comedy film written by co-stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists-turned-ghost exterminators. The film was released in the United States on June 8, 1984 and like several films of the era, teamed Aykroyd and/or Ramis with headliner Bill Murray, who steals every scene he is in. That means most of the movie--with a performance full of dead-pan, ironic, world-weary, been-there-done-that hilariousness. He has a sarcastic remark for every occasion, and the audience is the only one in on the joke every time. But he's a gentleman of sorts and doesn't take advantage of the situation when the demon tries to seduce him.

Dana Barrett: Do you want this body?
Dr. Venkman: (pauses) Is this a trick question?

When the script for GHOSTBUSTERS was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, John Belushi was slated to play the Bill Murray role. The concept was inspired by Aykroyd's own fascination with the paranormal and it was conceived as a vehicle for himself and friend John Belushi. His death in 1982 not only necessitated the hiring of Murray, but also an extensive rewrite. Eddie Murphy and John Candy were also intended to star, but they could not commit. The original story was very different than what was eventually filmed. In the early version, a group of Ghostbusters travelled through time, space and other dimensions taking on huge ghosts, of which the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was just one of many. Also, the Ghostbusters wore S.W.A.T.-like outfits and used wands instead of Proton Packs to fight the ghosts. GHOSTBUSTERS storyboards show them wearing riotsquad-type helmets with movable transparent visors.

The cast also includes: Annie Potts (Janine Melnitz), David Margulies (Mayor), Steven Tash (Male Student), Jennifer Runyon (Female Student), Michael Ensign (Hotel Manager), Alice Drummond (Librarian), Jordan Charney (Dean Yager), Timothy Carhart (Violinist), John Rothman (Library Administrator), Tom McDermott (Archbishop), Roger Grimsby (Himself), Larry King (Himself), Joe Franklin (Himself), Casey Kasem (Himself), John Ring (Fire Commissioner), Norman Matlock (Police Commissioner), Joe Cirillo (Police Captain), Joe Schmieg (Police Seargeant), Reginald Vel Johnson (Jail Guard), Rhoda Gemignani (Real Estate Woman), Murray Rubin (Man at Elevator), Larry Dilg (Con Edison Man), Danny Stone (Coachman), Patty Dworkin (Woman at Party), Jean Kasem (Tall Woman at Party), Lenny Del Genio (Doorman), Frances E. Nealy (Chambermaid), Sam Moses (Hot Dog Vendor), Christopher Wynkoop (TV Reporter), Winston May (Businessman in Cab), Tommy Hollis (Mayor's Aide), Eda Reiss Merin (Louis's Neighbor), Ric Mancini, Kathryn Janssen, Stanley Grover, Carol Ann Henry, James Hardie, Frantz Turner, Nancy Kelly, Paul Trafas, Cheryl Birchenfield, Ruth Oliver, Kymberly Herrin, Murray Bandel, Larry Bilzarian, Matteo Cafiso, John De Bello, Paddi Edwards, Eldo Ray Estes, Deborah Gibson, Wendy Goldman, Willow Hale, Ron Jeremy, Charles Levin, Joseph Marzano, Joe Medjuck, Frank Patton, Harrison Ray, Ivan Reitman, Frank Rivers, Mario Todisco, and Bill Walton. Elmer Bernstein composed the original music. Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis wrote the screenplay. Ivan Reitman directed.

GHOSTBUSTERS was well-received and film critic Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "This movie is an exception to the general rule that big special effects can wreck a comedy ... Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines." In the New York Times Janet Maslin wrote, "Its jokes, characters and story line are as wispy as the ghosts themselves, and a good deal less substantial." David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, "Everyone seems to be working toward the same goal of relaxed insanity. Ghostbusters is wonderful summer nonsense." In Time magazine Richard Schickel praised the three lead actors: "Of the ghost wranglers, the pair played by Writers Aykroyd and Ramis are sweetly earnest about their calling, and gracious about giving the picture to their co-star Bill Murray. He obviously (and wisely) regards Dr. Peter Venkman as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop fully his patented comic character." Pauline Kael had problems with the chemistry between the three lead actors: "Murray is the film's comic mechanism ... But nobody else has much in the way of material, and since there's almost no give-and-take among the three men, Murray's lines fall on dead air."

It was most expensive comedy movie made up to 1984, and made money hand over fist, spawning not only a 1989 sequel but also two animated TV series, one of them partially based on an earlier live-action TV weekly, titled "The Ghost Busters". With inflation adjustments, the film's original release grossed over $500 million US dollars counting sales in just the U.S., making it domestically one of the highest-grossing films of 1984 and also domestically the 31st highest-grossing film.

The film spawned a theme park special effects show at Universal Studios Florida that lasted until 1997. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Ghostbusters the 44th greatest comedy film of all time. The American Film Institute ranked it 28th in its list of the top 100 comedies of all time in their "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs" list. In 2005, IGN voted Ghostbusters the greatest comedy ever. In 2006, Bravo ranked Ghostbusters 76 on their "100 Funniest Movies" list. Entertainment Weekly ranked it as the Funniest Movie of the Past 25 Years. In 2009, National Review magazine ranked "Ghostbusters" number 10 on its 25 Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years list.

Elmer Bernstein composed the film score, notable for its use of ondes martenot. Orchestrators contributing to the film were Peter Bernstein, David Spear and Patrick Russ. The hit theme song, "Ghostbusters", written and performed by Ray Parker, Jr. sparked the catchphrases "Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!" and "I ain't afraid of no ghost". The song was a huge hit, staying #1 for three weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and #1 for two weeks on the Black Singles chart. The song earned Parker an Academy Award nomination for "Best Original Song".

There were two novelizations of the film published. The first, which came out around the same time the movie did, was written by Larry Milne and was 191 pages long. A second novelization, written by Richard Mueller, was released in 1985. It was 65 pages longer at 256 pages, and had the subtitle "The Supernatural Spectacular". Both differ from the finished version of the film in many respects, containing scenes that ultimately did not make the cut, most notably the sequence set at Fort Detmerring. Mueller's book in particular also contained a subplot involving the two homeless men played by Murray and Aykroyd in the deleted scene, who are identified as Harlan Bojay and Robert Learned Coombs. A larger A4 sized book was also released by Hippo Books, containing a large number of stills--some from the movie, some publicity shots--tying in with the story on the relevant page. This publication is more child friendly than the previous two, and the story, while still quite extensive, is somewhat scaled down in detail.

The DVD is more than just a movie, it's virtually a library. Packed, stacked, and fully featured, GHOSTBUSTERS has countless extras. Beside a clean transfer, excellent sound and a timeless movie, you get a commentary, and concept to screen both in art work and special effects. You also can use your angle button to watch the finished scene, then flip to the rough cut and special effect cut of the same scene. There are excellent interactive menus, and a facts and trivia track which scrolls inside information in subtitles under the film. Three extra trailers for GROUNDHOG DAY(1993), STRIPES (1981) and GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989) are also included.

The GHOSTBUSTERS Blu-ray Disc Special Features includes:

* Digitally Mastered Audio and Video
* Slimer Mode: Picture-in-Picture Graphical Viewing Experience with an examination of the spook-hunters’ firehouse headquarters, an in-depth exploration of the creatures in the Ghostbusters mythology, behind-the-scenes discussions of making the movie, new cast, crew and special effects artists interviews and much more!
* Featurette: Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car
* Ghostbusters Garage: Ecto-1 Gallery
* Collectible 32 Page Scrapbook
* Filmmakers’ Commentary with Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck
* Featurette: 1984 – The Making of Ghostbusters – Interviews with the cast and crew
* Featurette: Interviews with Cast and Crew
* Featurette: SFX Team - Includes Before and After Multi-Angle Explorations
* Scene Cemetery – 10 Deleted Scenes
* Audio: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese
* Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic
* Storyboard Comparisons
* Closed Captioned

GHOSTBUSTERS II (1989) is a sci-fi comedy film and sequel to Ghostbusters. It follows the further adventures of a group of parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities. Five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters are undeservedly out of business after being sued by the city for property damage incurred during the battle against Gozer, and have a restraining order preventing them from investigating the supernatural. Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) have become entertainers at children's parties, Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) works in a laboratory conducting various experiments, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) hosts a pseudo-psychic television show, and Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) is working at a New York art museum restoring paintings and raising her infant son Oscar (William T. Deutschendorf) at a new apartment, having broken up with Peter under acrimonious circumstances, but strongly hinted to be from Peter's fear of commitment. After a supernatural incident in which Oscar’s baby carriage is controlled by an unseen supernatural force, Dana turns to the Ghostbusters for help, prompting an awkward reunion between herself and Peter. Meanwhile, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol)--Dana’s boss at the art gallery--is possessed by the spirit of Vigo the Carpathian (Wilhelm von Homburg), a seventeenth century tyrant trapped within a painting in the gallery. Vigo orders Janosz to locate a child that Vigo can transfer his consciousness into, thus gaining physical form upon the approaching New Year.

The Ghostbusters' investigation leads them to conclude that the supernatural presence originates from under the city streets, prompting them to illegally excavate the street. Lowered down on a wire, Ray discovers a river of pink slime filling an abandoned subway line. Attacked by the slime after obtaining a sample, Ray accidentally knocks out the city’s electrical grid, and the Ghostbusters are arrested. At their trial, they are found guilty but the judge’s extremely volatile emotional outbursts prompt a reaction from the slime sample presented as evidence. After a final tirade, the slime explodes, releasing the ghosts of two murderers the judge had previously sentenced to death. The Ghostbusters agree to trap the ghosts in exchange for the dismissal of all charges and the rescinding of the restraining order. After doing so, they re-open their business and commence investigating the supernatural once more.

After the slime invades Dana's apartment, seemingly attempting to abduct Oscar, she seeks refuge with Peter and the two renew their relationship. Investigating the slime and the history of the painting of Vigo, the Ghostbusters discover that the slime reacts both to positive and negative emotions, but suspect that it has been generated by the immense amount of negativity reflected in the attitudes of New Yorkers. Exploring the river of slime, Egon, Ray and Winston discover that the river leads back directly to the museum. The Ghostbusters go to the mayor with their suspicions, but are dismissed by the skeptical politician. His scheming assistant attempts to defuse them as a potential problem by having them committed to a psychiatric institution. As they do so, a spirit resembling Janosz kidnaps Oscar, prompting Dana to break into the museum by herself. After she does, the museum is caked in a wall of impenetrable slime.

New Year's Eve sees a sudden outburst of increased supernatural activity as the slime rises through the ground and onto the surface of the city, including a demon invading Washington Square Park and the arrival of a spectral version of the Titanic and its long-deceased passengers and crew into the harbor. The NYPD's emergency lines are flooded with calls from panic-stricken New Yorkers, and an ominous mass of psychokinetic energy blocks out the sun and shrouds the city in darkness. Realizing the truth of the situation, the mayor fires his assistant and has the Ghostbusters released, whereupon they make their way to the museum. Their initial attempt to break through the museum's slime barrier are unsuccessful, the wave of negativity that has generated it proving too powerful to break through. Determining that they need a symbol of equally-powerful positivity to break through the slime, the Ghostbusters use positively-charged mood slime and Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" to animate the Statue of Liberty and pilot it through the streets of New York, using her torch to break through the museum's ceiling to do battle with Vigo and Janosz.

While Janosz is easily dispensed with, Vigo proves to be a difficult adversary. Immensely powerful with both the negative vibes of the city and with midnight and the New Year rapidly approaching, he manages to paralyze the Ghostbusters and attempt a transfer into Oscar’s body, but a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" from outside the building manages to weaken him sufficiently to allow the Ghostbusters to break free and return him to the painting. Although Vigo momentarily possesses Ray, the other three Ghostbusters manage to trap Vigo within the painting, destroying him and transforming the painting to a likeness of the four Ghostbusters surrounding baby Oscar protectively. The movie ends with the Ghostbusters receiving a standing ovation from the crowd and, at a later ceremony to restore the Statue, receiving the key to the city from the mayor.

After the success of the first film and the animated series, "The Real Ghostbusters", Columbia Pictures pressured the producers to make a sequel. However, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman were uncomfortable with this as the original film was intended to be conclusive and they wished to work on other projects. Eventually, they agreed and created a script. Some of the cast and crew were ultimately dissatisfied with the film as well as its box office reception. The sequel had what was, at the time, the biggest three-day opening weekend gross in history ($29,472,894--which is equal to $52,709,710 today), a record that was broken one week later by BATMAN (1989) ($40,505,884). Despite the record-breaking opening, the film received mixed reviews from both critics and viewers. A video game, "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" released in 2009 is actually a sequel to GHOSTBUSTERS II, taking place two years after. Aykroyd considers it as the "third movie".

GHOSTBUSTERS II is a disappointing sequel. There is not enough comedy, not enough ghost busting, not enough special effects, and far too much boring and pointless drama. An episode in the TV series ALF explains it perfectly. Willie Tanner (Max Wright) tells Alf that some people have no morals or scruples, and will do anything for money. Alf responds, "Well, that explains GHOSTBUSTERS II." It's a funny line because it's very true. And it's probably the real reason there is no second sequel.

The original Laserdisc and VHS versions of the film were made incorrectly: instead of being produced either in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 or panned and scanned at the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, the movie was panned and scanned in a 1.66:1 frame. Compared to the "proper" pan and scan version at 1.33:1, width is definitely gained on the edges, though very slightly. However, the DVD version was transferred and encoded at the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. At the end of the version shown in theaters, Slimer comes out from behind the Statue of Liberty and goes right into the camera as he did at the end of GHOSTBUSTERS. The video version ends with a pan up to the statue's head, then a fade to black. Also, in an unusual move, Slimer has his own cast billing in the credits: "and Slimer". Slimer was puppeted and controlled by Robyn Shelby but much of her performance ended up on the cutting room floor. The Blu-ray version of the film is available through Sony Picture's campaign site Ghostbustersishiring.com

A great deal of merchandise, such as coloring books, came out with the release of this film. As was the case with "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon, the makers of this material may have wanted to avoid likeness fees and as a result, the main characters in these bear little resemblance to any other version of the characters. "The Real Ghostbusters" comic book produced by NOW Comics ran a three-part adaptation of the film, using the cartoon character designs instead of the likenesses of the actors. The overall story received minor alterations to run as a three-part series, and includes several scenes that were in the shooting script but were not included in the released movie. In a novelization of the movie by Ed Naha, Hardemeyer rushes at the museum's slime shell, which engulfs him, and the book does not mention him again. In the ending credits of the film, he is shown in the crowd outside the museum, singing with them.

The third installment to the franchise is in production and is set for a 2012 release, with the script being written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. At first it was to be completely computer animated. Dan Aykroyd confirmed that the animated Ghostbusters 3 is in development while doing an interview for CISN fm: "Ghostbusters 3 lives today. A year ago it didn’t." However, in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dan Aykroyd revealed that the third Ghostbusters movie could start filming soon. He said that all the original cast have now signed on, including Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and of course Aykroyd himself. Having Bill Murray onboard was crucial, said Aykroyd. Apparently Murray holds a one-fifth controlling interest in the Ghostbusters franchise. He played down Murray’s reluctance to commit to a third movie.

"I've been very busy. Harold's been busy, Ivan's been busy. And a third script really didn't coalesce properly," said Aykroyd. "And Billy, you can't blame an artist for not wanting to do the same thing again. He did two of them, for God's sake. Although I'm the biggest cheerleader as the originator of the concept but I've never begrudged Billy not doing a third movie. I never said he held it up or that he refused. Hey, listen, he's an artist. You can't force somebody into it. I'm sorry he never read my third draft because I thought it was pretty good but, look, now we're at a point that there's a story that he can accept and that's going to work, and I think we're going to be in production fairly soon. We could be in production by winter."

Dan Aykroyd would like to see Ivan Reitman or Harold Ramis direct and is hoping to introduce a new generation Ghostbusters team with female members. "I'd like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let's revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let's pass it on to a new generation," he said.