DVD review (region 1)
Directed by Jerry Zucker
Starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn
Release date Out now

Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen are an inseparable couple who remain connected even after Sam is killed in a botched robbery. Rejecting the chance to move into the light, Sam finds himself trapped in the human realm, unable to communicate with the living and seemingly unable to protect Molly from danger. The only one that can hear him appears to be a kooky psychic named Oda Mae Brown…

Now 17 years old, Jerry Zucker’s romantic thriller Ghost is perhaps best remembered for its pottery-making love scene set to The Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody (spoofed to memorable effect in The Naked Gun 2 ½, a film that was co-written by Zucker himself). The scene defines Ghost’s near epic sense of sentimentality, yet the movie also packs in a lot of thrills into its running time, far more than is implied by its advertising.

While Moore and Swayze provide the emotional core of the narrative, Whoopi Goldberg's scenes give the film some crucial comic relief. Awarded a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her scene-stealing turn, she delivers a bravura performance, investing Oda Mae with a powerful sense of restraint and poignancy, especially as the film reaches its dark and violent climax.

The best of the special features included here is a particularly insightful audio commentary with Jerry Zucker and screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin. Also included is a truly weird nine-minute spot featuring interviews with actual mediums who claim to speak with dead people (and, bizarrely, dead pets). We are also given a brief overview of the filming of the pottery scene.

The longest featurette on the disc is the 20-minute 'Cinema's Great Romances', a deadly dull look at classic movie romances. It’s enough to have even the most dedicated Mills and Boon fan vomiting into their popcorn. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 7/10
This romantic classic holds up surprisingly well, thanks to some excellent performances.