When Nathaniel asked us to pick the best shot from Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters, I immediately knew which one I’d post. And anybody who ever watched the film with me will know it, too, as I always make sure to point out just how much I love it.
It comes at the end of one of the film’s quieter, sweeter scenes, and probably my favorite, too. Euphoric from his conversation with Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barrett outside New York City’s Lincoln Center, Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) does a celebratory spin, imitating one of the street performers (seen on the left side of the frame).
It’s a small, wonderful, human moment in a film that, despite its fantastic premise and elaborate effect sequences, is actually full of humanity, and arguably has endured as a beloved cult classic this long precisely because the people in it are so full-heartedly human.
More shots from that scene, including Murray’s direct glance towards the camera that I don’t think I’ve ever consciously noticed before today:
