Ghostbusters 1 & 2 Limited Edition 4K Ultra HD & Blu-Ray Steelbook 2019 Announcement

On June 11, 2019, both Ghostbusters films will be re-released on 4K and standard Blu-ray with a bevy of vintage, and long-requested, bonus features. The full press release is after the jump.


You don't know how hard it was to stay silent for these past few months. If you like what's been announced (details below), then all I can say is, "You're Welcome!" Sony came to me back on December 5th asking what items the fans would like to see on a new release. Let's just say, that I was not shy in providing a list...and continual updates in the months since. I've not consulted so much with a company on an official Ghostbusters home video release since the Time-Life Real Ghostbusters set 11 years ago :-)

My source at Sony was able to get me details on the GB1 EPK, so I will be able to add a page for that to Spook Central soon. I also need to make a page for this new release, and finally update the GB1 & GB2 Home Videos pages. This is a great time to do that latter update, but I gotta finish writing my "Revenge of Shot on Site Summer" event first, so it can be all ready to run starting June 9th.

The artwork for this new release is shown above, which may or may not be final. As you can see, it was designed to resemble the original RCA/Columbia Home Video packaging from 1985. It will be released on June 11th with a MSRP of $65.99, and can be pre-ordered at Amazon right now. The full press release is below, and an excerpt from the ShoWest Exhibitor Reel can be found on Entertainment Weekly's website.

After reading the press release, and getting confirmation with my source at Sony, this will be a re-release of the 2016 4K UHD discs, with updated standard Blu-ray discs, and the bulk of the new stuff on a new bonus Blu-ray disc. That would make this a five-disc Steelbook set:

Disc 1 - GB1 4K
Disc 2 - GB2 4K
Disc 3 - GB1 Blu
Disc 4 - GB2 Blu
Disc 5 - Bonus Blu Disc

No complaints here, as I never got the 4K discs three years ago. They adjusted the feature Blu-rays to add the new commentaries and the stereo audio, and the 1999 DVD text trivia track has been re-added! It's been missing since that original 1999 DVD, and is comprised of text from the "Making Ghostbusters" book. The list of old features also mentions "Photo Galleries" for both GB1 & GB2, so it makes me think they re-added some of the old photos, hopefully in HD fullscreen and unaltered. Even if they were referring to the Gallery 1988 Fan Art Poster Gallery from the 2014 GB1 Blu, that still wouldn't explain GB2, so I'm thinking new stuff here, too. Also, the lists of trailers seems to include new stuff. Hopefully the GB1 trailer will be the original and not the fake HD one from the 2014 Blu.

So, in summary, Discs 3 & 4 are a bit different and Disc 5 is new. The bonus disc alone will make this a justifiable re-purchase for all Ghostheads.



CULVER CITY, Calif. (April 5, 2019) - Join Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Rick Moranis to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Director Ivan Reitman's iconic comedy classic when GHOSTBUSTERS returns to 4K Ultra HD June 11 in an all-new limited edition Steelbook, which also includes the 30th Anniversary edition of GHOSTBUSTERS II. The set includes both films on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, along with an entire additional disc of special features from each film. The films were fully restored from their respective original camera negatives and presented on 4K Ultra HD with HDR and Dolby Atmos audio; the Blu-rays feature HD presentations also sourced from the 4K restorations.

The special features disc includes more than two hours of long-requested and rare archival elements - including never-before-seen deleted scenes from the first film - along with returning interviews, effects breakdowns, multi-angle explorations and much more! Both films also feature brand new commentaries, featuring the filmmakers on GHOSTBUSTERS II and passionate fans with deep-cut insights on GHOSTBUSTERS.

The new Steelbook release is part of overall celebrations for the original film's 35th anniversary, which include the exclusive Ghostbusters Fan Fest (June 7th and 8th), an international Live Orchestra Tour for the original film throughout 2019, multiple limited edition 35th anniversary product lines - such as the recently announced Transformers Ghostbusters Cross-Over product - and a variety of forthcoming to-be-announced documentaries.

Synopsis:

The classic supernatural comedies that defined a generation: GHOSTBUSTERS and GHOSTBUSTERS II, together in a limited edition 4K Ultra HD Steelbook with never-before-seen special features! In the original GHOSTBUSTERS, Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) go freelance, de-haunting houses in a new ghost removal service. As soon as they open their doors, their first order of business becomes saving beautiful cellist Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver) and nerdy Louis Tully (Rick Moranis), who've inadvertently opened the gates of hell…right in their own apartment building! Then in GHOSTBUSTERS II, the superstars of the supernatural reunite to battle an enormous underground river of slime that threatens New York City!

GHOSTBUSTERS and GHOSTBUSTERS II were directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.

ALL-NEW & RARE ARCHIVAL SPECIAL FEATURES:

GHOSTBUSTERS

• Fan Commentary featuring Troy Benjamin and Chris Stewart (Interdimensional Crossrip podcast), Ashley Victoria Robinson (Geek History Lesson podcast) and Sean Bishop (Ghostbusters prop replica expert), moderated by Ghost Corps' Eric Reich
• 6 Rare & Newly Unearthed Deleted Scenes, including the long-requested Fort Detmerring scenes!
  • Also includes Raw Takes for the Central Park Bums sequence
• 1984 ShoWest Exhibitor Reel, featuring Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd pitching an early reel of footage to theatrical exhibitors!
• Full Ghostbusters TV Commercial from the film
• Ghostbusters TV Commercial Outtakes
• "A Moment With the Stars" - Original EPK Featurette
• Original Domestic Teaser Trailer
• Original Stereo Audio for the Feature (Blu-ray only)

GHOSTBUSTERS II

• Commentary featuring Director Ivan Reitman, Star/Co-Writer Dan Aykroyd and Executive Producer Joe Medjuck
• "The Oprah Winfrey Show: Cast of Ghostbusters II" - June 1989
• Full Ghostbusters II Theatrical EPK
• Rare Unfinished Teaser Trailer - featuring the full commercial from the film!
• Original Stereo Audio for the Feature (Blu-ray only)

THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS

• "The Real Ghostbusters - Pitch Concept Pilot" - A Fan Restoration by Robert Barbieri

ALSO INCLUDES:

GHOSTBUSTERS

• Commentary featuring Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck
• Slimer Mode Picture-in-Picture Track
• "Tricks and Trivia" Text Commentary
• 10 Deleted Scenes
• Who You Gonna Call: A Ghostbusters Retrospective
• 1984 Featurette
• SFX Featurette
• Cast and Crew Featurette
• Ecto-1: Resurrecting the Classic Car
• Multi-Angle Explorations
• Storyboard Comparison
• Alternate TV Version Takes
• "Ghostbusters" Music Video by Ray Parker, Jr.
• Photo Galleries
• Trailers:
  • International Teaser Trailer
  • Domestic Theatrical Trailer
  • 30th Anniversary Theatrical Trailer

GHOSTBUSTERS II

• 7 Deleted Scenes
• Time Is But A Window: Ghostbusters II and Beyond
• "On Our Own" Music Video by Bobby Brown
• Photo Galleries
• Trailers:
  • Domestic Teaser Trailer
  • Domestic Theatrical Trailer
  • International Theatrical Trailer

GHOSTBUSTERS has a run time of approximately 105 minutes and is rated PG. GHOSTBUSTERS II has a run time of approximately 108 minutes and is rated PG.