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Ghostbusters

year 1984decade 80sdirector Ivan Reitmangenre Comedygenre Fantasy
host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathanproducer Craig Horlbeck
All 36 categories

The film

Ghostbusters (1984)

Directed by Ivan Reitman · Comedy

105 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

35:09

What’s Aged the Worst?

The sequel history, pan-and-scan broadcasts, dated effects, the theme-song dispute, harassment of William Atherton, a...

The sequel history, pan-and-scan broadcasts, dated effects, the theme-song dispute, harassment of William Atherton, and Venkman's conduct

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:09Read transcript
  • The franchise's sequels and reboots are criticized as uneven or money-driven, though one participant strongly defends Ghostbusters II.
  • Pan-and-scan television versions are blamed for making the wide compositions cramped and hiding visual gags for years. — Bill Simmons
  • The similarity between the theme song and Huey Lewis's 'I Want a New Drug' remains a blemish despite both songs' popularity. — Bill Simmons
  • William Atherton's report of being harassed in public after playing Peck is treated as an ugly consequence of the film. — Bill Simmons
  • Some finale establishing shots and matte paintings now appear visibly rendered. — Van Lathan
  • Venkman's use of professional authority to pursue students and clients is identified as the clearest behavior that aged badly. — Van Lathan
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43:21

Most Rewatchable Scene

The fame montage

The fame montage

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:21Read transcript
  • Venkman's biased ESP experiment with the two students opens the candidate list and is praised as very funny. — Bill Simmons
  • The library investigation is praised for exploiting the uneasy quiet and scale of a large library. — Bill Simmons
  • Dana's groceries, the frying eggs, and the Ghostbusters television commercial are nominated together.
  • Venkman being slimed during the hotel call leads directly into one participant's favorite: the fame montage set to the theme song. — Bill Simmons
  • Louis Tully's party is praised for Rick Moranis's improvised financial introductions and detailed comic business.
  • Possessed Dana's invitation to Venkman is admired partly because he recognizes she is not herself and refuses to exploit her.
  • The finale is praised for Ray's comic timing when he realizes he imagined the marshmallow figure and for the decision to cross the streams. — Bill Simmons
  • The jail and mayor sequence, including Venkman's confrontation with Peck, is another finalist. — Chris Ryan
  • The first hotel call is a personal favorite because the team uses its equipment for the first time and the scene functions like an origin story. — Van Lathan
  • The group ultimately identifies the fame montage as the most rewatchable scene. — Chris Ryan
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57:04

The most 1984 thing

The fame montage

The fame montage

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:04Read transcript
  • The fame montage is declared the winner for Most 1984. — Bill Simmons
  • Larry King taking radio calls while smoking and Aykroyd's video camera are runners-up. — Bill Simmons
  • The Twin Towers, Jean Kasem, and the period's fascination with Elvis sightings are offered as markers of 1984.
  • Tribeca being described as a demilitarized zone is contrasted with its later affluence. — Van Lathan
  • The EPA serving as the villain is treated as a period detail whose politics have come back around.
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1:00:51

What’s Aged the Best?

New York City, lasting iconography, economical storytelling, ensemble improvisation, and the movie’s cultural afterlife

New York City, lasting iconography, economical storytelling, ensemble improvisation, and the movie’s cultural afterlife

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:51Read transcript
  • New York is treated as a character, and the film is praised for using the city in a way that feels impossible to relocate. — Bill Simmons
  • The logo, firehouse, Ecto-1, marshmallow man, uniforms, and proton packs remain instantly recognizable cultural symbols. — Chris Ryan
  • Everyday product placement such as Cheez-It, Coca-Cola, Perrier, and canned Budweiser still feels familiar rather than dated. — Van Lathan
  • The lack of childhood backstory is praised because the movie establishes the characters without explanatory trauma. — Chris Ryan
  • The team's financial peril, including Ray's high-interest mortgages, gives the first half comic stakes.
  • The original SNL ensemble appearing across one another's movies is praised as a durable model later extended by the Apatow circle. — Bill Simmons
  • Murray's dialogue is described as partly written and partly generated through multiple alternatives during filming. — Bill Simmons
  • The Real Ghostbusters cartoon helped keep the property culturally active between movies. — Van Lathan
  • Slimer is described as the filmmakers' Belushi-like party-animal tribute, and slime itself is credited with a long cultural afterlife. — Bill Simmons
  • The promotional phone number, the spread of 'busters' as a suffix, and the no-ghost logo's reuse are cited as unusually durable marketing. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie is credited with popularizing 'toast' as slang through Venkman's line. — Bill Simmons
  • The final reflection says friends making movies together may be what aged best. — Craig Horlbeck
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1:08:26

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

The extreme view up the seemingly endless staircase

The extreme view up the seemingly endless staircase

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:26Read transcript
  • The cinematographer is praised for giving the New York crowd scenes a distinctive transitional 1980s look. — Chris Ryan
  • The shot up the stairs near the finale wins because the staircase seems to rise for a hundred floors. — Bill Simmons
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1:11:59

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

No consensus: no weak link; Winston’s underwritten integration; Walter Peck’s thin setup

No consensus: no weak link; Winston’s underwritten integration; Walter Peck’s thin setup

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:59Read transcript
  • Two participants reject the premise that the film has a weak link. — Van Lathan
  • Winston is nominated because he arrives midway through the story and the movie never fully integrates or develops him.
  • The defense says Winston grounds the increasingly fantastical plot as an everyman who needs a job, believes in God, and questions the team's behavior.
  • The criticism is narrowed to a missing character scene rather than Ernie Hudson's performance.
  • Walter Peck is another answer because his brief setup supplies little that an accidental containment failure could not. — Chris Ryan
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1:21:18

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Slavitza Jovan's Gozer performance

Slavitza Jovan's Gozer performance

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:18Read transcript
  • The actor playing Gozer is selected; the machine transcript renders her credited name uncertainly as 'Slot via Yovan.'
  • Grace Jones is discussed as an intended visual and casting reference for Gozer.
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1:25:40

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Four distinct hot takes cover SNL films, ghost imprisonment, Dana's standards, and a Sigourney Weaver–Kathleen Turner...

Four distinct hot takes cover SNL films, ghost imprisonment, Dana's standards, and a Sigourney Weaver–Kathleen Turner swap.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:40Read transcript
  • Ghostbusters is argued to be the best film emerging from Saturday Night Live's creative orbit, ahead of Wayne's World, Blues Brothers, Anchorman, and other contenders.
  • The Ghostbusters are criticized as an unregulated private police and prison service with no clear right to confine ghosts. — Van Lathan
  • Dana is accused of warming to Venkman only after he becomes a successful and famous small-business owner.
  • A final take proposes swapping Sigourney Weaver and Kathleen Turner between Ghostbusters and Romancing the Stone.
  • The swap is defended on the theory that Weaver better fits an initially restrained novelist while Turner would heighten possessed Dana's sexuality. — Bill Simmons
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1:36:50

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

William Atherton

William Atherton

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:50Read transcript
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1:37:16

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Rick Moranis

Rick Moranis

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:37:16Read transcript
  • Moranis and Potts are the initial finalists. — Bill Simmons
  • The group debates whether Moranis has too much plot presence, then accepts that impact matters more than a strict screen-time ceiling.
  • Moranis wins for making Louis and possessed Vince Clortho unusually funny in a small number of minutes.
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1:42:14

Apex Mountain

Dan Aykroyd, ghost movies, and ghost combat: yes

Dan Aykroyd, ghost movies, and ghost combat: yes

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:42:14Read transcript
  • Ghostbusters is accepted as Bill Murray's apex by some, while Groundhog Day remains a strong rival.
  • Ghostbusters is treated as Dan Aykroyd's apex because he wrote it and remained the franchise's custodian, though Trading Places is considered.
  • Aliens is preferred as Sigourney Weaver's apex.
  • Groundhog Day is preferred for Harold Ramis as a director, while Ghostbusters remains a contender. — Bill Simmons
  • The marshmallow mascot, ghost movies, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, New York Public Library scenes, dog transformations, occult architecture, and ghost combat each receive separate apex checks.
  • Ghostbusters narrowly beats Ghost as the apex ghost movie, with Poltergeist and newer horror franchises also considered.
  • Ghostbusters is considered Ernie Hudson's best-known role, while Oz is noted as substantial work; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids beats it for Moranis.
  • The movie is favored as the apex of ghost combat after Ghosts of Mars is raised as an alternative.
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1:46:07

Cruise or Hanks?

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:46:07Read transcript
  • Tom Hanks is the immediate choice in the Cruise-or-Hanks comparison.
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1:49:01

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Untouchable

Untouchable

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:49:01Read transcript
  • The panel says the original should have stood alone despite the sequels. — Bill Simmons
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1:49:01

Is This Movie Better With…?

Zane Lowe greeting Gozer and Shaquille O'Neal analyzing the movie

Zane Lowe greeting Gozer and Shaquille O'Neal analyzing the movie

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:49:01Read transcript
  • Zane Lowe is imagined interviewing or introducing Gozer in his expansive music-host style. — Chris Ryan
  • Shaquille O'Neal is imagined offering a terse Inside the NBA analysis that names Gozer as the movie's best performer. — Bill Simmons
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1:50:22

Just One Oscar

Bill Murray for Best Actor as Venkman

Bill Murray for Best Actor as Venkman

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:50:22Read transcript
  • The theme song and Bill Murray are proposed before Murray is selected for Venkman. — Bill Simmons
  • The actual 1984 acting field is reviewed to argue there could have been room for Murray. — Bill Simmons
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1:54:07

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

A proton pack and Ghostbusters jumpsuit

A proton pack and Ghostbusters jumpsuit

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:54:07Read transcript
  • A proton pack is the first memorabilia choice.
  • A Ghostbusters jumpsuit is the second choice, and Ecto-1 is admired but treated as too large for the category.
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1:54:54

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Ghosts are real and should not be underestimated.

Ghosts are real and should not be underestimated.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:54:54Read transcript
  • The lesson says ghosts are real and warns against underestimating them.
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1:55:30

Who Won the Movie?

Bill Murray as Peter Venkman

Bill Murray as Peter Venkman

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:55:30Read transcript
  • Bill Murray and Peter Venkman are the immediate winner answers.
  • Ivan Reitman receives a strong case for controlling the action and knowing how much spectacle the comedy needed. — Bill Simmons
  • The final majority returns to Murray because he carries the movie and provides a definitive example of why he is funny. — Craig Horlbeck
  • The film's improvised, haphazard production is contrasted with the safe polish expected from modern franchise production. — Craig Horlbeck
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Bill Murray / Peter Venkman
Speaker not identified
Bill Murray / Peter Venkman
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