A B C said:
*Meaningless jabber*
For the love of God, somebody make it stop!!!
Back on topic.
I used to really be into Ghostbuster when I was a kid, but haven's seen either of the movies in well over ten years; so I wouldn't claim to be a huge fan or anything. I would not be opposed to their going back and updating the special effects as an alternative to the originals and the originals continued to be released in their original form.
I like to look at films from a historical perspective. I like to look for the methods and style used by the director, and I really like seeing the evolution of costumes, sets, and special effects. Even if a film could be greatly improved by getting a modernized special effects makeover (which I don't really believe is ever the case, a film is much more than the special effects that adorn it), I would still opt to see the film as it was originally shown to audiences.
So basically, I am entirely against special effects updates on older films. Though I would be inclined to consider it a harmless exercise used to breath new life into a film and make it more interesting to younger audiences... as Star Wars has shown us my inclination would be absolutely wrong. It isn't always harmless and the original doesn't always come out on the other side unscathed.
When I watch films my dad watched when he was young, I want to see the same films he saw. When I show films I watched when I was young to my kids, I want them to see the films I saw.
A good analogy would be the old 1976 Ford Mustang. Let's say it was a car you drove when you were a teenager (if you are not that old just use your imagination). You tell your kids about this but you don't have a picture, so they ask you, "Okay dad, next time you see a 1976 Ford Mustang on the road, point it out to us so we will know what your old car looked like." A few days later you are driving along and spot a 2009 Ford Mustang, which is designed to somewhat resemble the old late 70's models and you say, "There it is! There is a Mustang, that is the car I drove when I was a teenager." You would have now given your kids a misrepresentation of what you actually drove when you were a kid. Calling it Star Wars from 1977 and presenting it with 2004 special effects is essentially this exact same thing.