Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Ghostbusters II arrived in 1989 as Columbia Pictures' answer to years of audience demand following the original film's success, reuniting director Ivan Reitman with the core cast for another supernatural outing in New York City. While it never matched the cultural lightning of the 1984 original, it remained a major studio release with substantial box office returns and expanded the franchise's mythology, giving fans more time with beloved characters and setting merchandising and home video appetites that kept the series alive for decades afterward.
This cell brings together Louis Tully and Janine Melnitz, two of the franchise's most cherished supporting players, portrayed by Rick Moranis and Annie Potts respectively. Louis, the awkward accountant turned occasional Ghostbuster, and Janine, the sharp-tongued receptionist holding down the firehouse, share a rapport fans have followed since the first film. Their pairing on 35mm represents a piece of that ongoing dynamic, a small but meaningful slice of character interplay that longtime collectors seek out specifically for the chemistry between these two performers within the wider ensemble.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Ghostbusters II (1989).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three complete frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual-bilateral (two-track) variable-area pattern.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm yellowish-amber tint consistent with a colour dye-coupler print stock; the dye image appears saturated with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the visible characters and setting are consistent with Ghostbusters II (1989).
Era check
The dual-bilateral variable-area optical track, warm-base colour print stock, and perforation style are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063276
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
