At times Ghost can be a bit on the cheesy side but the performances of Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg sell it just enough to make it an effective supernatural romantic drama.
Ghost
— Paramount Presents —
(1990)
Genre(s): Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Romance
Paramount | PG13 – 126 min. – $29.99 | July 21, 2020
Date Published: 09/01/2020 | Author: The Movieman
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Paramount provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Sam Wheat (PATRICK SWAYZE) is a banker, Molly Jensen (DEMI MOORE) is an artist, and the two are madly in love. However, when Sam is murdered by friend and corrupt business partner Carl Bruner (TONY GOLDWYN) over a shady business deal, he is left to roam the earth as a powerless spirit. When he learns of Carl’s betrayal, Sam must seek the help of psychic Oda Mae Brown (WHOOPI GOLDBERG) to set things right and protect Molly from Carl and his goons. Quick Hit Review: Ghost is easily the best supernatural romantic-thriller ever made… Well, even beyond that, it’s a solid film featuring some heartfelt performances by the late Patrick Swayze showcasing his undeniable charisma, alongside Demi Moore being able to cry on cue like no other and Whoopi Goldberg showing why she received the Academy Award (as well as Golden Globe) balancing both the drama and comedy aspects of her character. The film was helmed by Jerry Zucker, in his first solo project, having previously also working with Jim Abrahams and brother David Zucker on Airplane, Top Secret and Ruthless People. An odd one for a solo debut after strictly doing comedy, but he does an adequate job (though most other aspects like writing and editing got the award recognition). However, since only worked on two other movies (First Knight and Rat Race). |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This release comes with a semi-glossy slip cover with a front fold-out with the movie’s poster artwork. Filmmaker Focus (6:24), this with Director Jerry Zucker looking back on the film. Ghost Stories: The Making of a Classic (13:06) is a retrospective featurette from 2006 with interviews by the cast and crew including Zucker, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg. Alchemy of a Love Scene (6:16) — Breakdown of the iconic love scene by Zucker, Rubin, Swayze, etc. Lastly is the Theatrical Trailer (2:30). |
VIDEO – 4.5/5 |
| Paramount re-releases Ghost onto Blu-ray where, like all the other in the “Paramount Presents” line, has been given a new 1080p high-definition transfer, apparently remastered from a 4K film transfer. I can’t compare this to previous releases, but found the picture here to look quite good, detail is sharp and well defined, and although the movie does deal with death, and some bleak elements, has some nice splashes of color as well as stark black levels. Didn’t notice any obvious bouts of aliasing, artifacts, specs or other flaws so seems like a clean transfer. |
AUDIO – 4.5/5 |
| The disc includes what I assume the same Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and even so, still is strong, pushing clear dialogue through the center channel and some depth-filled audio via the front and rear channels for the soundtrack and score as well as the shadow spirits coming to claim the bad souls or whatever they were. |
OVERALL – 4.0/5 |
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At times Ghost can be a bit on the cheesy side but the performances of Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg sell it just enough to make it an effective supernatural romantic drama from, of all people, the co-director of Airplane. This new Blu-ray from Paramount has some so-so bonus features but the video and audio transfers are both well done. |