Do you remember that very odd moment in a montage in the middle of Ghostbusters where it appears that Dan Ackroyd is having some kind of sexual encounter with a ghost floating above his bed? It’s been raising eyebrows ever since the film’s release, with fans of the movie poring over old scripts to try and figure out what it was intended for.
Now known as the “Fort Detmerring Ghost,” the scene consists of Ray and Winston investigating a haunting at an old military fort. Ray ends up trying on an old officer’s uniform, before a ghost appears and uh… well. Let’s just say “bustin’ makes you feel good.”
Long considered lost on the cutting room floor, the footage has now been located and is coming to a new Steelbook 4K/Blu-ray release, together with a plethora of neat special features.
Here’s what’s in store:
GHOSTBUSTERS
- 6 Rare & Newly Unearthed Deleted Scenes, including the long-requested Fort Detmerring scenes!
- 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 press kit featurette
- Original Domestic Teaser Trailer
- Original Stereo Audio for the Feature (Blu-ray only)
- 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
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)
It looks like a pretty full release. The only notable absence I see is the excellent DVD commentary for Ghostbusters featuring Ivan Reitman, Harold Ramis and Joe Medjuck. Perhaps there’s some kind of rights issue holding it up?
Whatever the case, one thing a lot of cinephiles will be keeping an eye on is the quality of the transfer. Hopes are high for the 4K release, especially as there’ve been some dreadful home versions of Ghostbusters in the past. The original 1999 DVD was a decent job, but the 2005 DVD and 2009 Blu-ray pretty much butcher the film if you care about color-grading. Things picked up a bit with the 2014 Blu-ray release, but if this is intended to be a definitive Ghostbusters release, you can be assured fans will be picking over the restoration with a fine toothcomb.
Regardless of how the transfer turns out, I still really want to check out these special features. Finally seeing Fort Detmerring will be awesome, and I’m also curious about what the other deleted scenes for the first movie are going to be. We’ll find out on June 11th, when the double feature Steelbook edition hits stores. And who knows, maybe there’ll be a Ghostbusters 3 easter egg tucked away in there, too?