Ghost (1990) (Paramount Presents) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Jerry Zucker

Cast: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg

Release Date: July 21, 2020

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Celebrating 30 years, GHOST is still one of the most memorable romantic films ever made. Winner of two Academy Awards, Patrick Swayze is Sam, recently departed from the living world, but left behind in spirit form. While desperate to reconnect with the love of his life, Molly (Demi Moore), he discovers his death wasn’t just a random robbery gone bad. To solve his own murder, he enlists the talents of a skeptical psychic (Whoopi Goldberg), who doesn’t even believe her own abilities. Featuring a memorable Maurice Jarre score and a heartbreaking, yet often funny script by Bruce Joel Rubin, GHOST is a truly unique genre-defying film that will cross over into your heart and never leave. This limited edition Blu-ray has been remastered from a 4K film transfer, supervised by director Jerry Zucker.

Be sure to also check out our Blu-ray reviews for the other releases in the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line!

Paramount Presents #1: Fatal Attraction (1987) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #2: King Creole (1958) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #3: To Catch A Thief (1955) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #4: Flashdance (1983) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #5: Days Of Thunder (1990) (Blu-ray Review)

Paramount Presents #6: Pretty In Pink (1986) (Blu-ray Review)

=COMING SOON= Paramount Presents #7: Airplane (1980) (Blu-ray Review)

The unforgettable romantic drama ‘Ghost’ returns home on Blu-ray newly remastered as part of the Paramount Presents Blu-ray line. ‘Ghost’ tells the story of Sam, a banker who just moved into a new home with Molly, the love of his life. But when he is killed in a mugging gone wrong, he finds himself as a spirit still roaming the earth. Before long he discovers that his beloved Molly may be in danger, but as hard as he might try he’s unable to communicate with her. But once he crosses paths with a scam artist psychic who can communicate with him, he tries to enlist her help in order to save his one true love and bring his own killer to justice.

‘Ghost’ celebrates its 30^th Anniversary as the eighth entry in the ‘Paramount Presents’ numbered Blu-ray line of studio classics from Paramount’s expansive library spanning numerous decades, each featuring collectible artwork and new high definition video presentations from 4K film remasters. ‘Ghost’ certainly makes a great addition to the ‘Paramount Presents’ lineup with its touching, tense and romantic approach which can also be quite hilarious when it wants to. It’s a well-made and in many respects unforgettable love story with a smart twist that allows the viewer to journey along with the spirit of our lead as he struggles to find a way of reconnecting with the woman he loves, as well as trying to protect her from looming threats that she’s unaware of. It’s the kind of film that could have gone either way and while the effects may occasionally seem somewhat silly or dated by today’s standards, it still remains a powerful and beloved film that has thus far mostly stood the test of time.

Directed by Jerry Zucker who many (including the film’s writer Bruce Joel Rubin) felt to be an odd choice, if not a downright mistake due to his history of more over the top and ridiculous comedy titles such as ‘Airplane!’, he quickly proved everyone wrong and displayed without a doubt that he’s an incredibly talented director with a knack for tackling subject matter out of his wheelhouse and only greatly surpassing expectations. The film also benefits immensely from the talented folks that comprise the cast including Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn and more, with many offering noteworthy performances that are nothing short of magnificent, particularly Whoopi Goldberg who is outstanding here and even received a well-deserved Oscar for her performance. Swayze is also equally impressive in his own right, delivering a powerful performance in a role that many initially believed he was all wrong for.

Overall, the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Ghost’ brings the beloved classic home on Blu-ray once again in time for its 30^th anniversary. Featuring a rather impressive new high definition video presentation from a new 4K film transfer supervised by director Jerry Zucker in addition to lossless audio, collectible packaging and more, any fan of ‘Ghost’ who doesn’t already own a previous copy of the film on Blu-ray will want to strongly consider finally adding it to your collection in what is almost surely the best quality its seen. Hardcore fans who already own another release of the film may also want to consider picking up a copy of the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release for the new 4K transfer alone depending on whether it’s worth a double dip to them personally. This new Blu-ray release of ‘Ghost’ is definitely recommended for anyone already contemplating a purchase.

VIDEO:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Ghost’ features a new full 1080p High Definition presentation of the film with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio from a new 4K film transfer supervised by director Jerry Zucker. This newly remastered video presentation looks wonderful as a whole and delivers a clean, smooth and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any noticeable troubles or issues along the way and even retains some nice grain and other welcome elements that represent its source material. It holds up impressively even during the various darkly lit and fast moving moments, never faltering or losing its way. Overall, this is a fantastic new high definition video presentation from Paramount that should be a true treat for fans of this modern classic.

AUDIO:

The ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack provides a nice and at times fairly immersive audio presentation that always sounds clean and crisp throughout. It often utilizes all five available channels in order to send some music, vehicle and nature effects along with more throughout the various speakers whenever it might be appropriate and never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible along the way. Overall, this is a great 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that never disappoints and nicely compliments the gorgeous video presentation it accompanies.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Ghost’ comes home featuring the usual collectible artwork that’s standard for the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line-up, featuring a slipcase that opens up to showcase the film’s original theatrical artwork and more photos on the interior of the Blu-ray case insert (as always with these releases we’ve included a beauty shot of the artwork from the studio below to provide a better look). The release also features a few extras on the disc itself including one brand new extra ‘Filmmaker Focus: Director Jerry Zucker on Ghost’ (running approximately 6 minutes in length), along with a few older extras such as an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Jerry Zucker and Writer Bruce Joel Rubin’, plus ‘Ghost Stories: The Making of a Classic’ (running approximately 13 minutes) and ‘Alchemy of a Love Scene’ (approximately 6 minutes). The film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer (approximately 2 minutes) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Ghost’ is Now Available to Own, Newly Remastered as part of the ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line from Paramount Home Entertainment

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