A few words about…™ – Ghostbusters: Afterlife — in 4k UHD

Sadness in my heart as I viewed Columbia’s new 4k of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, so soon after Ivan Reitman’s passing. And then seeing Tom Pollack’s name in the producing credits.

It was Tom, then as head of Universal, who was singularly responsible, from a corporate perspective, for moving the reconstruction of Spartacus forward.

Completed as a 4k DI, the film is a positive viewing experience, with an extremely strong Dolby Atmos track. Dolby Vision is available for those with panels so equipped. HDR for projection.

As a film, it’s a mixed bag. I’m in disagreement with Sarabeth Pollock, of Cultress, which proclaims the film to be “A new classic.”

I though it was fun, and filled with nostalgia. Some terrific actors, who have done better work. Young Mckenna Grace is terrific.

I went into this without expectations, and exited, having smiled several times.

Image – 5 (Dolby Vision)

Audio – 5 (Dolby Atmos)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Plays nicely with projectors – Yes

Makes use of and works well in 4k – 5

Recommended

RAH

Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.

His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.

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Malcolm R

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with an extremely strong Dolby Atmos track.
We rented the streaming version from Amazon last week and the LFE was very active there, too. I thought I might have to adjust the settings on my AVR based on the opening scene alone.

Mckenna Grace was good, but as I noted in another thread, she mostly seemed to be channeling her "Paige" character from "Young Sheldon," IMO. And thankfully Finn Wolfhard was not as irritating as I've found him in other projects.

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TravisR

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I had never even heard of Mckenna Grace before and I've only seen Finn Wolfhard in the It movies (which I've largely forgotten) so I didn't really have the baggage of previous roles for them and I thought they were great in this movie. And Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon are always good so I loved the new cast.
 

jayembee

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I didn't even recognize McKenna Grace as "Paige" from Young Sheldon. I never saw the It movies, but I know Finn Wolfhard, from Stranger Things, and I like him there. But, yes, Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd are the principal attractions, as is the brief vocal performance of Shohreh Agdashloo as Gozer.
 

Colin Jacobson

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I had never even heard of Mckenna Grace before and I've only seen Finn Wolfhard in the It movies (which I've largely forgotten) so I didn't really have the baggage of previous roles for them and I thought they were great in this movie. And Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon are always good so I loved the new cast.

I mainly recall Grace from the mediocre drama "Gifted" with Chris Evans from 2017.

She's played a lot of "young versions" of characters in movies, though: young Carol in "Captain Marvel", young Tonya Harding in "I, Tonya", young Madison in "Malignant", even the voice of young Daphne in "SCOOB".

She's been in a crazy # of movies/TV shows given her age.

I don't even remember Wolfhard from "Stranger Things" - been 4 years since I watched Season 1, and I didn't love it.

I associate him with "It", where he plays a very different role than his "Afterlife" part.
 

Robert Crawford

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I didn't even recognize McKenna Grace as "Paige" from Young Sheldon. I never saw the It movies, but I know Finn Wolfhard, from Stranger Things, and I like him there. But, yes, Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd are the principal attractions, as is the brief vocal performance of Shohreh Agdashloo as Gozer.
I thought she was outstanding in "Gifted" a small film with Chris Evans that I liked very much.
 

Kent K H

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As a Ghostbusters superfan from a young age, I get the problems a lot of people have with this movie, especially when it comes to getting around Harold Ramis' death. That said, I saw it twice, and both times I was into the film enough that I just didn't worry about it as things unspooled. I'm definitely not saying it's a perfect movie. But I will say that, for me, it's the second best GB film, coming in just ahead of Ghostbusters 2 (which I also enjoy) and it worked much better for me than the remake.
 

Dave Moritz

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There where a few things here and there but mostly a very enjoyable movie. I was happy to add it to my collection with Ghostbusters 1 & 2 but no plans to add Answer The Call.

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Kent K H

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There where a few things here and there but mostly a very enjoyable movie. I was happy to add it to my collection with Ghostbusters 1 & 2 but no plans to add Answer The Call.

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Somewhere, I still have my original VHS tape with the flap (instead of the open bottom, a la most VHSs.) It's one of the few I've held onto out of nostalgia, along with my original versions of the Star Wars trilogy.
 

Stephen_J_H

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I bought the 4K UHD disc for what is admittedly what some will view as a frivolous reason: the cover art. Before anyone jumps on me about terrible photoshopping, etc., hear me out: Most of the location shooting was done in my home province of Alberta and specifically in southern Alberta, standing in for Oklahoma. The scene depicted on the cover was shot in Fort MacLeod, home base for the North West Mounted Police, who later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP. The Empress Theatre depicted on the cover is a Provincial Designated Historic site, and is home to both cinematic and live theatre presentations to this day. I get huge kick out of seeing a location from my childhood immortalised on physical media; the only other film I own that fits this category is Days of Heaven, which was filmed on the outskirts of Raymond, where I grew up. I knew the people who bought the house from the film, who had it moved from the shooting location to their own property, and that cover still brings a smile to my face.

Nostalgia is a helluva drug. As for the film itself, it was fun, and nothing more. A definite nostalgia trip on so many levels, and I will watch Paul Rudd in almost anything. Carrie Coon does what she can in a largely thankless role, and the kids are fine.
 

John Dirk

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For me this is one of those films that was so unique and special, I cannot see the need or value in any sequels other than lining executives pockets. Hard pass.

 

SD_Brian

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I enjoyed this movie quite a bit more than I expected to, but
the final act deus ex machina ending, where the original Ghostbusters show up to save the day and the ghost of Spengler somehow manages to escape being pulled into the massive ghost trap, made my eyes roll at a point where I think they were supposed to tear up.
I also didn't get
what was supposed to be going on in the post-credits scene between Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson inside the Ghostbusters firehouse that was previously said to have been converted into a Starbucks, but is apparently still an abandoned firehouse?.
 

Malcolm R

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I noticed those, too. Don't have any explanation for the first one.

For the second, that could just be some snarky thing Ray tells people, not really knowing one way or the other.
 

Kent K H

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I also didn't get
what was supposed to be going on in the post-credits scene between Annie Potts and Ernie Hudson inside the Ghostbusters firehouse that was previously said to have been converted into a Starbucks, but is apparently still an abandoned firehouse?.
That bit also made me scratch my head a bit. Making it up doesn’t seem like the kind of joke Ray would make. I’m guessing the post-credit sequence was a late addition to provide a bit more closure to the overall narrative, while also setting up room for a sequel without being obnoxious about it.
 

zoetmb

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IMO, the film was okay, but it was more "The Goonies" than "Ghostbusters" and I think it missed the point of the original film. The point of the original film was not the ghosts - it was the wiseass and quirky original characters and the relationships between them and the fact that a large demographic of the audience could relate to those characters as they saw them as being slightly exaggerated versions of themselves, at least in personality.

I also didn't feel that Murray, Ackroyd and Hudson had their hearts in the scene at the end.
 
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