Cleanin' Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters

Cleanin' Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters is a nostalgic and engrossing 2019 documentary, directed by Anthony Bueno. Over the course of its two-hour runtime, this film pays homage to the classic 1984 American supernatural comedy, Ghostbusters, taking fans, casual viewers, and cinephiles behind the scenes of this monumental movie. The film features riveting interviews and never-before-seen footage, providing a deep dive into the movie's inspiration, development, shooting, and cultural impact.

The documentary includes iconic Ghostbusters actors, like Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts, as well as the movie's director, Ivan Reitman, and screenwriter and actor, Harold Ramis. each offering their personal anecdotes and memories, grounded in a shared love for the production experience. It also includes great-natured interviews from other production members, such as Alice Drummond, William Atherton, Jennifer Runyon, along with various visual and special effects personnel tasked with bringing the film's unforgettable paranormal entities to life.

The film starts with the inception of the original Ghostbusters script by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It hilariously and insightfully takes you into the mind of Aykroyd, who’s codified and inherent love of the supernatural heavily influenced the type and depth of the hauntings portrayed in Ghostbusters. The documentary utilizes archival footage, photos, and interviews to make one feel as if they're partaking in a lively conversation about past cinematic adventures.

Cleanin' Up The Town particularly documents the challenges of the production process, showing the expert use of practical effects, puppetry, stop-motion animation, and miniatures before the digital effects era. Some of the most fascinating tidbits revolve around the ghost designs and execution – from the terror dog statues to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The painstaking detail put into conveying these creatures and effects onto the big-screen reminds viewers of all the hard work that goes into making a film, particularly one that has stood the test of time.

Aside from the production anecdotes, the documentary also rehashes the overwhelmingly positive reception that Ghostbusters received upon release, its impact on popular culture, and its influence on future comedy and horror films. The film gives a clear picture of what it was like to be at the center of such a pop-culture frenzy and the thrill and pressure that came with it.

However, what's truly impressive about Cleanin' Up The Town is how it looks at Ghostbusters from a cultural and societal perspective. It explores how the film managed to balance the horror, excitement, humor, clever writing, and memorable characters into a cocktail of intrigue that attracted the audience across generations. This is examined both through the lenses of the cast and crew who made it and the thrilled audiences that embraced it, proving just how much of a cultural phenomenon Ghostbusters has been in the ensuing three decades.

Moreover, this documentary transcends the ordinary behind-the-scenes DVD extras, instead of morphing into a deep, insightful exploration of the art of filmmaking – the creative decisions that go into every scene, the problem-solving required on the spot when unexpected challenges occur, and the passion and dedication that drive everyone involved, from directors to every possible crew member. It culminates with the film's legacy and lasting impact on pop culture, carrying an imaginative yet real-world humour into the future realms of cinema, television, and multimedia franchise industries.

To wrap it up, anyone interested in the intricacies of filmmaking, the convergence of horror and comedy, or simply in love with the iconic Ghostbusters film, Cleanin' Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters, is a must-watch. It is an entertaining, illuminating, and heartfelt exploration of the love and dedication that propelled Ghostbusters into cinematic history. It's a testament to the toil, creativity, and film magic that helped birth a timeless classic, offering invaluable insight and rekindling memories of the beloved movie.