Fails the Bechdel test
Ghostbusters
1984. Directed by Ivan Reitman, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 2 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.
The film
Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler work at Columbia University. where they delve into the paranormal and fiddle with many unethical experiments on their students. As they are kicked out of the University, they really understand the paranormal and go into business for themselves. Under the new snazzy business name of 'Ghostbusters', and living in the old firehouse building they work out of, they are called to rid New York City of paranormal phenomenon at everyone's whim. - for a price. They make national press as the media reports the Ghostbusters are the cause of it all. Thrown in jail by the EPA, the mayor takes a chance and calls on them to help save the city. Unbeknownst to all, a long dead Gozer worshiper (Evo Shandor) erected a downtown apartment building which is the cause of all the paranormal activity. They find out the building could resurrect the ancient Hittite god, Gozer, and bring an end to all of humanity. Who are you gonna call to stop this terrible world-ending menace?
- Released
- 08 Jun 1984
- Genres
- Action, Comedy, Fantasy
- Rated
- PG
- IMDb
- 7.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 71 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. 9 wins & 10 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Ray 45 lines, man
- Peter 43 lines, man
- Winston 31 lines, man
- Egon 27 lines, man
- Slimer 12 lines, man
- Zeke 6 lines, man
- Maude 5 lines, woman
- Janine 3 lines, woman
- Box Boy 2 lines, man
- Butcher 2 lines
Full cast, 73 people
- Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman
- Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz
- Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler
- Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett
- Rick Moranis as Louis Tully
- Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore
- Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz
- William Atherton as Walter Peck
- David Margulies as Mayor
- Slavitza Jovan as Gozer
- Alice Drummond as Librarian
- Jordan Charney as Dean Yager
- Steven Tash as Male Student
- Jennifer Runyon as Female Student
- Michael Ensign as Hotel Manager
- Timothy Carhart as Violinist
- John Rothman as Library Administrator
- Tom McDermott as Archbishop
- Roger Grimsby as Roger Grimsby
- Larry King as Larry King
- Joe Franklin as Joe Franklin
- Casey Kasem as Casey Kasem (voice)
- John Ring as Fire Commissioner
- Norman Matlock as Police Commissioner
- Joe Cirillo as Police Captain
- Joe Schmieg as Police Seargeant
- Reginald VelJohnson as Jail Guard
- Rhoda Gemignani as Real Estate Woman
- Murray Rubin as Man at Elevator
- Larry Dilg as Con Edison Man
- Danny Stone as Coachman
- Patty Freedman as Woman at Party
- Jean Kasem as Tall Woman at Party
- Lenny Del Genio as Doorman
- Frances E. Nealy as Chambermaid
- Sam Moses as Hot Dog Vendor
- Christopher Wynkoop as TV Reporter
- Winston May as Businessman in Cab
- Tommy Hollis as Mayor's Aide
- Eda Reiss Merin as Louis's Neighbor
- Ric Mancini as Policeman at Apartment
- Kathryn Janssen as Mrs. Van Hoffman
- Stanley Grover as Reporter
- Carol Ann Henry as Reporter
- James Hardie as Reporter
- Frantz Turner as Reporter
- Nancy Kelly as Reporter
- Paul Trafas as Ted Fleming
- Cheryl Birchenfield as Annette Fleming
- Ruth Oliver as Library Ghost
- Kymberly Herrin as Dream Ghost
- Billy Bryan as Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (uncredited)
- Frankie Como as T-Shirt Vendor (uncredited)
- Peter Costanza as Man Fleeing Marshmallow Man (uncredited)
- John De Bello as Patrolman Matthews (uncredited)
- Paddi Edwards as Gozer (voice) (uncredited)
- Eldo Ray Estes as Redheaded Man (uncredited)
- Brute Force as Hare Krishna acolyte (uncredited)
- Debbie Gibson as Birthday Girl in Tavern on the Green (uncredited)
- Willow Hale as Student at Columbia University (uncredited)
- Jon Hayden as Library Patron (uncredited)
- Ron Jeremy as Man Behind Barricade (uncredited)
- Joseph Marzano as Man in Taxi (uncredited)
- Joe Medjuck as Man at Library (uncredited)
- Danny Nero as Reporter (uncredited)
- Frank Patton III as City Hall Cop (uncredited)
- Harrison Ray as Terror Dog (uncredited)
- Ivan Reitman as Zuul / Slimer (voice) (uncredited)
- Frank Rivers as Prisoner (uncredited)
- Mario Todisco as Prisoner (uncredited)
- Bill Walton as Bill Walton (uncredited)
- Mark Bryan Wilson as Slimer (uncredited)
- George Sasaki as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 2 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 3% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 59
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 to 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 to 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 to 8 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 to 10 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 to 12 | 0 | 4 |
| 13 to 14 | 0 | 10 |
| 15 to 16 | 0 | 12 |
| 17 to 18 | 0 | 18 |
| 19 to 20 | 0 | 6 |
| 21 to 22 | 0 | 5 |
| 23 to 24 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 to 26 | 0 | 5 |
| 27 to 28 | 0 | 20 |
| 29 to 30 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 to 32 | 0 | 14 |
| 33 to 34 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 to 36 | 0 | 2 |
| 37 to 38 | 0 | 1 |
| 39 to 40 | 0 | 6 |
| 41 to 42 | 0 | 2 |
| 43 to 44 | 0 | 2 |
| 45 to 46 | 3 | 3 |
| 47 to 48 | 0 | 1 |
| 49 to 50 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 to 52 | 0 | 11 |
| 53 to 54 | 0 | 8 |
| 55 to 56 | 0 | 5 |
| 57 to 58 | 2 | 5 |
| 59 to 59 | 0 | 3 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 5 are women's.
9 lines from women, 169 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
15 women and 45 men in the cast. 2 women and 5 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 134 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 4% of the words (53), men 96% (1,217). Women have 5% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
26
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ivan Reitman (man)
- Written by
- Harold Ramis (man), Dan Aykroyd (man)
- Produced by
- Ivan Reitman (man), Bill Damaschke (man)
- Shot by
- László Kovács (man)
- Edited by
- David E. Blewitt (man), Sheldon Kahn (man)
- Music by
- Elmer Bernstein (man)
- Production design by
- John DeCuir (man)
- Costumes by
- Theoni V. Aldredge (woman), Suzy Benzinger (woman)
- Cast by
- Karen Rea (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
1 women, 11 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
3 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
-
Other crew
0 women, 6 men
-
Art
0 women, 3 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men, 1 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 3 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 31 on average. Men: 36 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Slavitza Jovan 29, Annie Potts 31, Sigourney Weaver 34
Men
Dan Aykroyd 31, Rick Moranis 31, Bill Murray 33, William Atherton 36, Ernie Hudson 38, Harold Ramis 39, David Margulies 47
Exhibit G: the money
It made 9.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $30 million
- Box office
- $297 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 59 scenes and 183 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
